Brown Falcon - Sandy Hollow, Australia

Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) - Sandy Hollow

We were up at a friends farm in the Hunter region of New South Wales on our annual visit over the October long weekend when I came across a pair of Brown Falcons. The area is full of raptors as there is an abundance of prey on the farms. On our previous trips I had photographed Black Shouldered Kites, Kestrels and Wedge Tailed Eagles but had not seen any falcons.

More Photographs Inside.

 Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) - Sandy Hollow

The raptors were perched on some machinery in a field by the side of the road when I passed them. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera with me so had to make a mad dash to the house and back. I was able to pull up and fire off a few frames before one of them decided to fly off. The first shot o this post was taken as soon as the bird took off.

Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) - Sandy Hollow

I initially thought the bird was an Eagle due to its size. It seemed substantially bigger than the Kestrel but this maybe due to proximity. I would have liked to get a few flight shots but it was nearly impossible for me to lock focus on them and the light wasn't great because it was close to midday. 

Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) - Sandy Hollow

The Brown Falcon is said to be one of the more common raptors found on mainland Australia. Apparently it is often seen on perches close to open roads which offer clear views of the surrounding area. Something to keep an eye out for in future.

These photographs were taken with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens.

Black-shouldered Kite

Images have to be viewed large.

Over the last two years I have visited several national parks in and around Sydney with the hope of capturing a decent image of this raptor. Needless to say, I have had very limited success. This weekend I finally managed to spend 45 minutes photographing these beautiful birds of prey. More photographs and info inside.

 

We spent the long weekend at a friend's farm in the northern Hunter region about 4 hours drive north west of Sydney. The area where the farm was located was quite hilly and the slopes were covered in rocky bush land. The valleys were divided into numerous paddocks which were used for grazing and to grow Lucerne. This was ideal habitat for Kites and other raptors as there was an abundance of prey.  I had noticed several Nankeen Kestrels on the drive in and couldn’t help but feel optimistic about finally getting a decent shot of a Black-shouldered Kite.

 

I made an early start on Sunday morning hoping to get an hour and a half of photography done before breakfast. While photographing Superb-fairy wrens (a future post) in a Lucerne field I noticed a white bird perched on a branch about 30 meters off the ground. Initially I thought it was a cockatoo but when I zoomed in on it I realised that it was a Black-shouldered Kite. I promptly forgot about the wrens and started taking shots of the Kite instead. Unfortunately the Kite was facing me and I was unable to get a decent side on shot of the Kites black and grey wings. However the bird was well lit as the sun was coming in over my right shoulder. Ten minutes after I started photographing the kite it was joined by a second Kite.

 

The two spent about half an hour on the branch and I was able to capture a number of images of the birds stretching and in flight. Finally, to top things off, the first bird changed positions and I was able to capture a number of images of the bird where its wings were clearly visible.

Unfortunately I was unable to photograph any Wedge-tailed eagles over the weekend. Maybe next time…

Crested Hawk

This shot was taken at the Royal National Park in December 2008.


The creted hawk is also known as the "Pacific Baza". Click here for more information.

I visited the park with the aim of capturing images of an Azure kingfisher (see image here). While waiting for the Kingfisher to make an appearance I noticed this hawk flying along the opposite bank of the stream. Getting a clear shot of the raptor was virtually impossible as it was darting in and out of the bush. It finally settled on a tree overhead after catching a frog.

See the techs of this shot here.