Without spoiling their thunder, just wanted to let you know I'm awaiting further details from Rod Hobson who's currently away, and Pat & Dave Cleary, on a couple of recent sightings.
Clues? One's a non-passerine, the other isn't.
Watch this space ...
Cheers
One, possibly two, more species for the Challenge!!
Moderator: Mick Atzeni
- Mick Atzeni
- Posts: 1843
- Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2005 9:08 pm
One, possibly two, more species for the Challenge!!
Michael Atzeni
7 Woden St, Murphys Creek 4352
Mob: 0499 395 485
7 Woden St, Murphys Creek 4352
Mob: 0499 395 485
-
- Posts: 509
- Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:03 am
Brahminy Kite in Toowoomba
Mick,
At last I've got around to it. Hereunder some details for my Brahminy Kite of the 21.11.06. That morning I had been for a walk along the edge of Glen Lomond Park and had just arrived at the top of Flagstone Creek Road on my way home; time was 10.20am. I was loitering awhile and was presently attracted to a raptor soaring in a gentle circuit high overhead under a clear blue sky, no cloud, a light breeze, warm and mild. I got very good views through my binoculars (Zeiss 10 x 40B) for about six minutes before the bird decamped to the southwest.
Initially I thought the bird to be a Black-breasted Buzzard with its short, but quite rounded tail (odd!) and without the diagnostic bulls-eyes of the buzzard's underwing pattern (odder!). The wings were held in a moderate dihedral, not quite as exaggerated as a buzzard's (perhaps!) - clearly a bird that I was not familiar with locally - a bit of a puzzler. For various reasons I also eliminated the other possibilities such as Red Gossie, Little Eagle, Whistling and Square-tailed Kites, Brown Facon. Nothing 'fitted', however a conspicuous feature that I did notice very distinctly was the animal's brownish belly onto a very distict buff-coloured vent. These, and a few others were the impressions that accompanied me home and into HANZAB, and there in Vol. 2, plate 7 was the mirror image of my strange bird, a juvenile Brahminy Kite with its diagnostic buffy bum for all the world to see; a most unexpected visitor to the Toowoomba Range escarpment. A long way from the seasides and estuaries of its usual haunts.
GPS for this record is GDA 94 - s 27 deg 36' 17.1", E 151 deg 58' 44.7".
And that it, Mick.
Regards,
Rod Hobson
At last I've got around to it. Hereunder some details for my Brahminy Kite of the 21.11.06. That morning I had been for a walk along the edge of Glen Lomond Park and had just arrived at the top of Flagstone Creek Road on my way home; time was 10.20am. I was loitering awhile and was presently attracted to a raptor soaring in a gentle circuit high overhead under a clear blue sky, no cloud, a light breeze, warm and mild. I got very good views through my binoculars (Zeiss 10 x 40B) for about six minutes before the bird decamped to the southwest.
Initially I thought the bird to be a Black-breasted Buzzard with its short, but quite rounded tail (odd!) and without the diagnostic bulls-eyes of the buzzard's underwing pattern (odder!). The wings were held in a moderate dihedral, not quite as exaggerated as a buzzard's (perhaps!) - clearly a bird that I was not familiar with locally - a bit of a puzzler. For various reasons I also eliminated the other possibilities such as Red Gossie, Little Eagle, Whistling and Square-tailed Kites, Brown Facon. Nothing 'fitted', however a conspicuous feature that I did notice very distinctly was the animal's brownish belly onto a very distict buff-coloured vent. These, and a few others were the impressions that accompanied me home and into HANZAB, and there in Vol. 2, plate 7 was the mirror image of my strange bird, a juvenile Brahminy Kite with its diagnostic buffy bum for all the world to see; a most unexpected visitor to the Toowoomba Range escarpment. A long way from the seasides and estuaries of its usual haunts.
GPS for this record is GDA 94 - s 27 deg 36' 17.1", E 151 deg 58' 44.7".
And that it, Mick.
Regards,
Rod Hobson
- Mick Atzeni
- Posts: 1843
- Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2005 9:08 pm
Aberrant corvid
To complete the other half of the story, Pat and Dave Cleary submitted photos of a very odd corvid, taken at their Withcott property, which had very blue eyes and a slightly deformed bill. As well, it was extremely tame - perhaps a pet bird? - and it was being harassed by the resident crows suggesting it may be something other than a Torresian Crow, perhaps a young Australian Raven.
However, from the photos it appears to be a Torresian Crow. We'll publish some images in a future club NL for those interested.
Thanks to Pat and Dave for supplying the photos. It makes the job a lot easier!
Cheers
However, from the photos it appears to be a Torresian Crow. We'll publish some images in a future club NL for those interested.
Thanks to Pat and Dave for supplying the photos. It makes the job a lot easier!
Cheers