A quick trip out west had us staying in a caravan park in Horsham. We arrived late afternoon on a cold and overcast day so I only got a very quick walk in before the light disappeared. Right outside our cabin was a tree full of chattering Musk Lorikeets having a good feed. It was nice to see something other than the noisy flocks of Rainbow Lorikeets that I am used to.
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| Musk Lorikeet, Glossopsitta concinna |
I found a massive flock of Long-billed Corellas near the river.
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| Long-billed Corella, Cacatua tenuirostris |
And a Blue-faced Honeyeater, Entomyzon cyanotis, hanging out in a picnic shelter.
The next day the sun was shining so we headed for a 10km walk along the banks of the Wimmera river. Brown Treecreepers were a common sighting.
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| Brown Treecreeper, Climacteris picumnus |
A group of 3 geese looked pretty happy on the bank of the river.
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| Purple Swamphen, Porphyrio porphyrio |
We saw 3 different birds of prey on that short stretch of river - a Nankeen Kestrel, Brown Goshawk and Whistling Kite.
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| Nankeen Kestrel, Falco cenchroides |
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| Collared Sparrowhawk, Accipiter cirrocephalus |
*UPDATE - I thought this was a Brown Goshawk but thankfully someone has pointed out that this is in fact a Collared Sparrowhawk. This is exciting because it adds another tick to my list. I will be spending more time confirming my ID's from now on!
We saw this Whistling Kite flying somewhat erratically with a branch hanging below it. At first we thought it might have been tangled up in something but thanks to the extra zoom on the camera it was clear that it was grasping this branch in it's talons. It later landed in the leafy top of a gum tree which I presume was it's nest.
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| Whistling Kite, Haliastur sphenurus |
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| Heavily cropped version |
Hi Rachael the bird you've IDed as a Brown Goshawk is a Collard Sparrowhawk. HHas a squared of tail with slight notch, wide goggle eyes and very long middle digit. See for tips picking diff between the species- http://www.birdsqueensland.org.au/downloads/sparrowhawk_vs_goshawk_comparison_table.pdf
ReplyDeleteThanks James, that pdf is really helpful. They look so similar in my book. Any chance you could have a look at the shots from Dec 2013 - seabirds. I think my whistling kite ID's are wrong now - maybe another Swamp Harrier? I'll be taking a lot more time ID'ing from now on!
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