Raptor capture rapture

Don't get many Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) touching down in Tyto. Bird today mostly ignored three birders, who tallied seven raptors (Black, Whistling, Brahminy Kites; Brown Goshawk, Swamp Harrier, Australian Hobby) between them in less than an hour - best tally of the year by far.  

Sights included Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus) - perhaps even this one, overhead earlier in week - trying to bully a Brahminy out meaty morsel: a sight to (s)kite about.    
Click pix to enlarge 

Kite and heron help save the days

Chase after Gey and Brown Goshawks most of a cloudy week and what does one get? A few seconds of posing from a Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus). And this bird only stayed around because it was eyeing a dead wallaby nearby.

Drizzle joined the cloud today, but this White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae) lifted spirits a bit. White-faces on ground seldom allow one close,  less wary when they are higher up.

Often impossible to spot higher up, seldom seen in Tyto, and always wary, Frilled Lizard (Physignathus lesueurii). Small youngster enjoying sunny spot above concrete culvert a few days ago.

Finally, image of White-browed Robin (Poecilodryas superciliosa) shaded in pandanus clump, reworked slightly after helpful pointers on photo forum, BirdingOz.

Click all pix to enlarge. Critiques always welcome.

Raptor picture capture rapture

Enjoyed three decent raptor moments lately. Caught the above Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris) just south of Tyto in the late afternoon. Lack of strong eye colour and generally 'dirty' colouring suggests a young bird. Not a rare raptor though only a sometime sighting in Tyto as they prefer cruising over open land in search of small prey such as mice.

Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus) looks out from Leichhardt tree in Tyto after displacing a Yellow Oriole. Kites have been showing more than usual interest in the wetlands for two weeks, possibly related to several Agile Wallaby deaths (some bodies reveal dog attacks; most do not: kites rarely seen on the carcases, relying, it seems, on dogs or pigs to scatter morsels).

A major burnoff behind the airstrip to the south of the wetlands drew this Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) in to share the spoils with assorted kites. The falcon - which would usually be found sitting on power lines by sugar cane fields - has stuck near Tyto for about a month, presumably picking off prey from among the regenerating grasses.