Hi Greg, when you say this is a new thing, how far back are you
talking? I've had reliable Grey Goshawks near Coolum sitting on
powerlines for at least 5 years, probably longer.
Regards,
Chris
Sent from my iPhone
On 12/05/2010, at 11:46 AM, "Greg Roberts" <>
wrote:
Andrew raises the interesting phenomenon of Grey Goshawks sitting
out on the
open on the Sunshine Coast.
I also have noticed this, and I see goshawks regularly sitting on
telegraph
wires in the flat sugar cane fields. However, unfortunately, I don't
think
it's a case of adaptability. It is a recent development and
coincides with
something of a plague of rats (species undetermined) in heavily
grassed
parts of the coast.
The proliferation of Grey Goshawks coincides with the recording of
unusually
good numbers of Eastern Grass Owl, Australian Hobby, Spotted Harrier
and
other raptors, including Brown Goshawk. It is nonetheless
interesting that a
species normally associated with wet forest is so conspicuous at
this time.
Greg Roberts
"To: <>
Message-ID: <>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Hi all
As urbanization hits my home area of the Sunshine Coast, I have been
forced
to rethink the description of Grey goshawks as secretive raptors of
tall
forests (the notion I grew up with). On my daily commutes along the
Bruce
Highway in the early and late light hours, I regularly see up to 4
birds
hunting in the open right beside the traffic. They favour sitting on
tall
street lights placed at intersections and occasionally I am lucky
enough to
see one swoop down into the short grass after prey. I have even seen
one
way out in the open spaces of a vast sugar cane field where you more
often
see kites and hobbies.
The birds have also had to adapt to urbanization spreading into the
forest
areas the birds need for breeding and I know of at least one pair that
nested quite close to a bush block residence (though not visible
from it).
That block was steep. Had it been flat, it may well have been
cleared for
pony paddocks and a dam. Some nice forest parts of the Sunshine
Coast have
already been lost to "ranch style" development where a house is
built and
forest cleared for horses and fire risk minimization. This will
continue
with the Queensland government's determination to see a huge
population
increase in SE Qld over the coming decades.
The Grey goshawk's adaptability is in for a real test!
Regards
Andrew"
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