Hi folks, Bill here
I know this comes up every so often, but I was down at Banyule Swamp
in Melbourne a few days ago when I came across this guy. I initially
found it at the windmill site, and then had a fun old time slowly and
quietly following the bird north east along the side of one of the old
billabongs. The bird was quite wary of me, and would make short
flights of less than 100 metres along the path. It was about 300
metres before I lost sight of it. Wing profile during the short
glides was a flat M shape with no upturnings of the ends of the wings.
Unfortunately I never got close enough to get a good idea of the size
of the bird. I've discussed it with some others and points supporting
both BG and CSH have been noted. I'm leaning towards CSH due mainly
to the tail shape, but this could possibly be due to moult. Facial
profile (in one photo) indicates a significant brow-ridge, which might
indicate BG. Cere seems a bit indistinct, maybe due to age. It's a
juvenile, about a second year, I think. The foot is pretty well seen
in the photos, but my ability (possibly like the middle toe) doesn't
extend that far.
Photos were taken at the windmill site.
http://birding-aus.org/?page_id=12
What do the experts think? If necessary I can provide details of the images.
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