Whistling Kite

This post is for World Bird Wednesday.

This Whistling Kite was sitting high in a tree close to where I put my kayak into the water at Crab Creek. It looked very beautiful against the blue sky but when I zoomed in it looked very rumpled! It was doing a very thorough preen of all its feathers and looked like a very fluffy feather duster! Or maybe it was just having a "bad hair day"!

Pairs wait to be Photographed

I very seldom find birds resting in a position that is good for photographs! However, these Beach Stone-curlews (Esacus magnirostris) were standing right out at the end of the bush track at Inskip Point overlooking the water. The large trees behind them have been under-cut by high tides last season and it is possible that the trees still standing will go in the next lot of high tides and high winds. When I finished taking photos I backed off slowly and the birds walked towards me until they reached a very thick piece of undegrowth and then they disappeared very quickly.
Out at the water's edge I saw a Whistling Kite (Milvus sphenurus) wheeling overhead. I was following it with the camera when I realized that there were two birds in the frame. Unfortunately I wasn't quite fast enough to change the focus and the bird on the right is slightly out of focus. However, I did get some good photos of one bird right overhead where I could see the beautiful patterns on the under wings.
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Who was it that said "...To err is human..." ? Denis pointed out that I had made a major error in naming a Whistling Kite an Osprey. I have now corrected the blog above to name the bird correctly. Thanks Denis! In future I will double check!

Whistling Kites

I always enjoy an early morning walk along the bayside. Yesterday, I walked up to the saltmarsh area where the mist was still curling around the trees on the far side.
Although I could hear birds up in the trees none were down close enough for photos until I was almost back at the picnic area when I saw two Whistling Kites sitting in a tree. One was high up on a bare branch and the other was almost hidden in the tree leaves. The one in among the leaves flew off to another tree close by and let me get good views there. Then a very aggressive Spangled Drongo scolded and hassled the birds until both flew a little further off and sat together in the top of another tree. Both birds are juveniles showing the typical pale spots down the back and heavier streaks down the front.

Whistling Kite

Yesterday morning I decided to go for a walk along the foreshore at Tin Can Bay to look for waders as well as whatever other birds were around. I was at the southern end close to Crab Creek and was trying to find a Kingfisher which had briefly flashed across in front of me when I heard the distinctive sound of Whistling Kites somewhere overhead. Usually these birds glide overhead and then out of view but this time I spotted two birds sitting in the sunshine and preening. These two saw me but then decided they could ignore me and get on with the important task of putting every feather into place. They looked rather different from their usual sleek selves with their feathers all fluffed up.
Ten minutes later they had both left their perch and I saw one gliding overhead.
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Right Place - Right Time

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Whistling Kites are quite common around the bay. However, I usually see them soaring overhead and have learnt the shape of their silhouette and listen for their distinctive whistling cry. I have only once – in five years - seen one perching close in a tree and that time I was too slow to get photos.

The other morning on a walk down at the Mullen's Picnic area I was in the right place at the right time. A Kite flew down onto the branch of a tree and sat for just long enough for me to get a couple of photos. Slater's Field Guide describes them as “dingy-looking” but this one is definitely not. Certainly flying overhead they do not show the distinctive markings and colorings of some of the other raptors but up close like this and with the morning sun shining on it the colors are beautiful.