To each other and sometimes on different branches. They are just like an old married couple often sitting right next When I show my grandkids and godchildren I tell them they're the 'old married couple' and they always remember them. In one of the quieter streets of Byron Bay I've been photographing a pair of Tawny Frogmouth for about six years, locals in the street say they've been there for some fifteen years. My backyard is also frequently visited by the pair of Grey Goshawks and a Collared Sparrowhawk, who unfortunately, catch the doves if they aren't fast enough flying off! Persistence and courage wins the day against power and strength. I did see one of the Whistling Kites today being harassed by a Friarbird, very bravely I thought, who eventually drove him off. The Osprey too swoop around the beaches, sometimes diving down to pick up food and just as quickly swooping off.Īt the West Byron Wetlands the Swamp Harriers reign supreme but currently there's Whistling Kites that give them a run for their money. I'd never seen a Bazza Hawk before, so seeing four of them, mum & dad & the kids, wheeling around and showing off in the big trees in a friends yard was pretty exciting! The Brahminy Kites, and there are a few of them, hang around the wetlands and the coast looking for food & are unmistakable with their white head & breast & deep chestnut brown upper wings. It's August and I notice one of them most days around Byron. To me they have an unusual way of looking which seems a little sad but very knowledgeable, as though they know something that I don't. I'm repeatedly amazed at how close they will let me get, mind you they are always safely perched above the ground, but I've had a few of them just sit for quite awhile and let me take photos before they swoop off, usually to hover above the ground before they pounce on some small unsuspecting mammal, reptile or insect. They have a small hooked beak and a small amount of black on the underwing. They have big eyes with a patch of black feathers which extend slightly past the eye giving them a slightly oriental look. They are only a small to medium sized raptor but they are so beautiful with dove grey wings, striped with a black panel and a white breast which they fluff the feathers out on, almost like bib. The Blackshouldered Kite I would have to say is one of my favourite birds.
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