Whistling Kite whistles down, whisks up fish

Whistling Kites in my experience seldom make much of a splash in their infrequent efforts to take fish. Unlike Ospreys they lack specialised flexi-talons and grip-pads for the job, and deep plunges without plumage waterproofing could be life-threatening.

But, along with the odd Black Kite, a few Whistlers will snatch dying fish from the surface as they float up from deoxygenated water during the late dry season. Again, in my experience, few watching kites follow their more opportunistic snatch and grabbers.

So Whistling Kite's swoop down near edge of pool and take of unidentified fish in front of Payets Tower in the Town Common Conservation Park, Townsville, two mornings back, was probably because fish was freshly dead and floating in paragrass at pool's edge. The kite flew to cover in nearby trees and made short work of the small fish. A lucky scavenger rather than a skilled fisher, in my judgement. Others may disagree.

What Beauty and the Beast have in common

Fairy tales and hairy tales - how Beauty and the Beast plays out in a case from the real world. Above, Whistling Kite in the sky low over part of Town Common Conservation Park in Townsville. Not often that kites in flight present so prettily for a photographer. 

More often it's an underview, in this case two looks - right and left. Beauty! But this was just one of six birds hanging about the area. 

Which is, of course, where the Beast comes in. Maybe two beasts, depending on how one regards the actions leading to the presence of six Whistling Kites. Be warned the image below is not a pretty sight.

The beast is a feral boar without its head, sliced off by a hunter. And though Queensland Parks and Wildlife rangers routinely trap and kill wild pigs in the Common and other state and national parks - because of the great habitat damage they can do - private hunting is, within my knowledge, not allowed. 

The hunter may be doing the park a service of sorts, may even be showing considerable courage, since no dog or vehicle tracks marked the scene, but the scene remains, for me, one of beastly unlawfulness. 

So, why show it? Perhaps because Beauty is not whole without the Beast . . .

  

Twitcher's twiggy twists need tweaking

Not often the birds line up for same 'natural' perch beside the road at eye level with the trusty Troopy but busy Rainbow Bee-eater and fidgety Willie Wagtail couldn't get enough of landing spot and feast of insects in air close to northern arm of Mundy Creek on Old Common Road, Townsville, this morning.

'Natural' because on first photographing the Rainbow two annoying side twigs kept getting in the way. So, naturally they were sneakily removed and birds were left alone for 10 minutes or so. On return from hunting other action further along the road both birds were still at it. 

Why not remove the other bits so out of focus? So intent on the birds I didn't twig to intruding debris. Sometime drive for perfection needs a lot more work, I'm afraid.

Second thoughts overnight. Quick tidy-up with Gimp to clone away most obvious OOF bits - and wee extra sharpen. Far from perfect, but better.