Contact Call - Birds Australia

Contact Calltarget on the back. Emerging from the twigs with itsprey, it spiralled onto the roof of my neighbour’s shedfollowed by the flock. As the gang descended, theGoshawk let go and its prey strongly flew off with thegoshawk noisily pursued in the opposite direction.White bellied sea eagleImage courtesy of Doug HerringtonRaptors of WoreeSince moving into my house in Woree in early 2008 Ihave been quite impressed with the variety of raptorsin the neighbourhood. There are many that are simplyflyovers such as White-breasted Sea-eagle, BrahminyKite, Black Kite, Square-tailed Kite, Kestrel, PeregrineFalcon and Australian Hobby. This year the Black kitesturned up about a month before the start of the sugarcrushing season and I was surprised the other day towalk out onto my back patio and see a Black Kite andSquare-tailed Kite flying meandering lazy circlestogether about 15m above ground level. I seem to getat least one or two sightings of a Square-tailed Kiteeach year. Some of the more experienced local birderstell me that this species used to be sighted regularlyyears ago. The Peregrine Falcon and Australian Hobbyare often seen making high speed runs through theneighbourhood in the early morning or late afternooncausing alarm among the other bird species.My neighbours have large trees in their yards whichare popular roosting spots. I have recently witnessed aWhistling Kite bring a squashed toad recovered fromAnderson Road and turn it over and consume it,leaving the skin on the back and head. The more leafytrees are often butchering refuges for Grey Goshawk,Brown Goshawk and Collared Sparrowhawks. I havenoticed that a favourite prey appears to be the SpottedDove which seems to get to an abundant populationand then the various raptors arrive and the numbersnoticeably drop.I was of the opinion until a few years ago thatCommon Mynas seemed to be immune to predationfrom raptors due to the aggressive tribal response.That was until I was driving down a Kirwan street andsaw a Sparrowhawk or Goshawk fly out of an Albiziatree and take a Myna from behind and return to itsroost unnoticed in matter of a few seconds. The mostspectacular display in Woree was the raptor call goingup and a flock of Mynas who flew into the drying twigsof a massive tree followed by a Grey Goshawktravelling feet first at speed. It caught its protestingThe interactions of the Grey Goshawk with theSulphur-crested Cockatoos are interesting. I noticedthat often predator alarm calls go up when Cockatoosapproach. I often wondered why until recently Inoticed that a Grey Goshawk flew in with about 6Cockatoos and when close enough to prey it made itsmove…albeit unsuccessfully. I have also noticed thatGrey Goshawks will torment Sulphur-crestedCockatoos by flying behind them and having a go attheir tail. I have seen a cockatoo pursue a GreyGoshawk in a similar manner.I am not sure if the Grey Goshawks are resident ornomads. The grey phase is often seen around homefor a few weeks and then they turn up at my aunt’splace about a kilometre away. I have seen the whitephase turn up for a few days and then not seen againfor some time or a white individual may later befollowed by a white pair. The Grey Goshawks appearto have mated in the neighbourhood judging by thepersistent calling over a number of days but I neverfound the nest. The Brown Goshawk and CollaredSparrowhawks seem to be passers through sincedifferent ages are seen for a few days and then leave.In late 2012 my sweet potato patch was being wasbeing ravaged by hungry rats. As I appeared on thepatio the lights came on and a surprised Barn Owl flewoff into the darkness. I never saw it again. I suspectthough that this is not the only owl species in thelocation since not long after moving in I am sure that Icould hear a Rufous Owl in the early hours of themorning calling from the nice thick tree canopies in thepark. A few weeks later I did hear a Boobook calling.Black kiteWritten by Greg BortolussiImage courtesy of Doug HerringtonAugust 2013 13