The Eagle has Landed

Last weekend, a young kangaroo died in open grassland - the reason for its death is unknown but may have been from a snake bite. We were unaware of its death until we noticed Wedge-Tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) feeding on the carrion.

Throughout the week, we took any opportunity to take photographs and movie bytes.

The lighter coloured eagle is a juvenile - and may be from this year, or possibly last years brood.

Juvenile

...and again

The darker individual will be either the mum or dad. To give some dimension to size, the fence post is 1250mm tall, extrapalating, the bird is just over 1000mm from head to tail.

Parent........with fresh meat on the beak

.......about to take flight

We also stitched the following movie from the footage we recorded. You notice that the local Magpies (Gymnorhina spp.) and a Little Raven (Corvus mellori) weren't too happy to have the Wedgies around, continuously hassling them both on the ground and in flight to encourage the eagles to "bugger off".

Once again, a high resolution version is located at :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK1UGWsTTFw

Enjoy!!

Recent sightings

Here's a snapshot of some of the sightings over the past few months.

Short-Beaked Corella pulling out Onion Grass and eating the bulbs 

Yellow-Tail Black Cockatoo's roosting in the dead branches of a tree

Crested Pigeon perched on a fence post

Local - wondering what we're doing?!?!

.......and another after rain.

Black Wallaby - minding its own business, and hoping we'll do the same.

Eastern Rosella

A pair of Sulphar-Crested Cockatoos - on the roof

Mum n' Joey - snoozing in the morning sun

Wedge-Tail Eagle - flyin' by.

Chestnut Teal family

Weasel Skink - warming up on the front garden wall 

White-Faced Heron - hangin' around the dam, hunting for frogs

.........another Wedge-Tail Eagle fly by

Pacific Heron (left) and White-Faced Heron (right) sharing the dam

Biggish male Kangaroo - grazing one morning

Five (5) White-Faced Heron's

......not good with our ID of insects........Black-Faced Percher Dragonfly (we thinks?)

Australian Kestrel - roosting on a fence post

Grazing in the evening

Hope you enjoyed!!!

New Camera

Recent photographs especially in poor light (eg. early morning or late afternoon) highlighted the inadequacies of our Digital Camera, so we've lashed out and purchased a Lumix FZ200 Digital Bridge Camera.

We're still getting used to it but here's a bit of a preview of some images we've taken recently whilst having a play. More to come..............

Wedge-Tail Soaring

....and again

......and once again

Lil' lady lookin' back at me

Her largish boyfriend grazing

Magpie foraging

Black Duck

Chestnut Teal

An adolescent boy lookin' a little flighty

A small congregation at dusk

Snapshot.........the arrival of a pair of Eurasian Coots and the landing of an Australian Kestrel

We awoke today to a beautiful sunny morning. A number of roos, were milling around the home, grazing. Some of the young adolescent males seemed bored, bouncing around for a bit, whacking something with their paws, before looking for something else to do, annoy, or muck about with.....typical boys we thinks.

To our surprise, a pair of Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra) were paddling on the dam. This is our first sighting of this species on the property so it was a very special start to the day.

Eurasion Coot

A little later in the morning, an Australian Kestrel (Falco chenchroides) landed on the driveway. A behaviour it has repeated almost daily over the last week or so. We don't understand why, but will continue to monitor.

Australian Kestrel - on the ground

.......still on the ground.

Yet another flashback...............birdlife

Seventy-three (73) bird species have been recorded :

Note : members of Birdlife Australia - Mornington Peninsula branch
(nee PENBOC) confirmed sixty-two (62) bird species during two (2) field days held in May 2010 and December 2011.

• Australasian Grebe
• Australian (Nankeen) Kestrel
• Australian Magpie-lark
• Australian Raven
• Australian Shell Duck
• Australian White Ibis
• Barking Owl
• Black Shouldered Kite
• Black-Faced Cuckoo-Shrike
• Brown Falcon
• Brown Goshawk
• Brown Thornbill
• Buff Banded Rail
• Cattle Egret
• Chestnut Teal
• Collared Sparrowhawk
• Crescent Honeyeater
• Crested Pigeon
• Crimson Rosella
• Eastern Rosella
• Eastern Spinebill
• Eastern Yellow Robin
• Flame Robin
• Galah
• Golden Whistler
• Great Egret
• Grey Butcherbird
• Grey Currawong
• Grey Fantail
• Grey Shrike Thrush
• Hardhead (White-Eyed) Duck
• Hoary Headed Grebe
• Japanese Snipe
• King Parrot
• Laughing Kookaburra
• Little Black Cormorant
• Little Grass Bird
• Little Pied Cormorant
• Magpie
• Maned (Wood) Duck
• Masked Lapwing (Plover)
• Masked Woodswallow
• Mistletoebird
• New Holland Honeyeater
• Noisy Miner
• Pacific Black Duck
• Pacific Heron
• Painted Button Quail
• Peregrine Falcon
• Red Wattlebird
• Rufous Fantail
• Silvereye
• Southern Boobook
• Spotted Pardalote
• Straited Thornbill
• Straw Necked Ibis
• Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
• Superb Fairy Wren
• Tawny Frogmouth
• Varied Sittella
• Wedge Tailed Eagle
• Welcome Swallow
• Whistling Kite
• White Faced Heron
• White Fronted Chat
• White-browed Scrubwren
• White-eared Honeyeater
• White-naped Honeyeater
• White-throated Treecreeper
• Willie Wagtail
• Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo

..............and some images to whet the appetite :

Great Egret

Buff-banded Rail  (Photo : Ben Cullen)

Laughing Kookaburra (looking serious)

Pacific (or White-necked) Heron

White-faced Heron, Australasian Grebe,
Little-pied Cormorant and Pacific Heron 

Australasian Grebe

Australasian Grebe - nesting

Grey Shrike Thrush

Bronze-wing Pigeon

Australian Raven - with an eye on an egg

Australian Raven - making off with the egg

Snapshot.........another nest

Hand weeding in the gully today, we came across another nest.

We found it laying on the ground firmly attached to a dead tree-fern frond - the frond had obviously fallen to the ground, as they eventually do once they have died.

The outside diameter of the cup shaped nest was around 8cm, increasing to 9cm at the base. The outside was constructed from thin fibres and strips of bark (1 ~ 3mm wide and 15mm to 40mm long) wrapped in a circular direction. The outside material looked to be predominantly Messmate (Stringy-bark [Euc. obliqua]).

The inside diameter of the nest was around 5cm. There were stems and branches left from Coral Fern - we suspect the nest was originally lined with the freshly picked soft fronds, leaving the stems and branches over time (?).   The inside was also lined with very small leaves that appear to be Manna [Euc. viminalis pyoriana].

The outside of the nest was adorned with Lichen and expect it was placed on the sides as decoration - we thinks it's been too dry to grow.

Not sure how it was held together but presume it was spittle.

Don't know who belongs to the nest - any ideas?................maybe a Yellow Robin

Inside of Nest

Showing outside and Lichen adornments

Also came across this Hyacinth Orchid [Dipodium roseaum] - this is only the 2nd one we've sighted, 'king yeehaa!!

Hyacinth Orchid [Dipodium roseaum] - deep in gully