Boobook: Volume 17-2

RAPTOR FILE
	Hungry Eagles a traffic Hazard
	Rabbit Killer Virus may Push Eagle to New Diet
	Hungry Birds of Prey
	Peregrines Fall Prey to Poisoner
	Scourge of the Arial Rat
	War in the Air
	Why Our gardens Grow More Silent
	Assessing the Impact of the UK's Raptors
	Harrier Numbers Show Increase
	Caught Out in the Hay Paddock
	White-bellied Sea Eagles in South Australia
	Powerfull Owls in Southern Victoria
	Bone Lengths of Laughing Owls
	Vulture Lifting Capacitry
	Flying Colours
	Barred and Great Horned Owls in New Jersey
	Status of Australia's Tropical Raptors
FIELD NOTES
	Territorial Behaviour in Male Southern Boobook Owls
	The Mother of all Faux Pas!
	Road-Killed raptors
	Peregrine pursues Latham's Snipe
	BOP Watching Outback Birds
	White-bellied Sea Eagles Nesting near Canberra
	Tree Substitute Saves Eagles
	Wedge-tailed Eagles with Three Chicks
	Wedge-tailed Eagle Flight Behaviour
	Peregrine hunts Little Pied Cormorant
	New Guinea Harpy Eagle
	Possible Sighting of a Papuan Harrier
	In Pursuit of the Urban Collared Sparrowhawk
	Raptors at Kikori, PNG
	Little Eagles and Rabbits
	My Favourite Spot
	Sooty Owls near Melbourne
	Raptors at Amberley Airbase
	Good News for Peregrines at Bunya Mts National Park
	Barn Owls in Tasmania
	Collared Sparrowhawks: Hunting and Lurking
	Banding White-bellied Sea Eagles
	Harrier Takes on Ewe
	White-bellied Sea Eagle eats Lamb Carcase
	Notes on the Masked Owl
	Winter Sighting of Marsh Harriers in Tasmania
	Cat takes Prey From Brown Goshawk
	Cat Preys on Brown Goshawk
	All-Star Raptor Wrestling
	Mouse Gets it Both Ways
	Hang Summer Time - Lets have Raptor Time
	White-bellied Sea Eagle Twice Catches Fish
	The Luminous Owl: Bird Shot in the Dark at West Bilney
	Foraging Behaviour in Griffon Vultures
	The Effect of Barn Owls on Gerbil Foraging Behaviour
	Courtship and Nesting of Captive Lanner Falcons
	Effects of Helicopters on Nesting White-bellied Sea Eagles
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
	Hopes Soar for Survival of Javan Hawk-Eagle
	Man gets Five Years Goal for Poached Eggs
	Californian Condors to be Released in Arizona
	Falcons Take Cover
	Fish Hawks for Millenneum
	Fire Damages World Center for Birds of Prey
	First Joint Annual Meeting American Ornithologists' Union and Raptor Research Foundation
	1995 Leslie Brown Memorial Grant
	Californian Condors for Public Viewing at World Center for Birds of Prey
	Long Term Planning for Owls
	New Scientific Policy Guidelines

Big Wedge-tailed Eagles, deprived of their staple diet by the Rabbit Calicivirus Disease, appear to be causing increasing damage to vehicles in the Outback. The release of the Rabbit Calicivirus has reduced rabbit numbers in some areas by up to 95 per cent.

Older birds which previously got their food by hunting rabbits have turned to dining on corpses of animals killed by vehicles. Reports are increasing of windscreens smashed and steel roofs torn from cars by eagles trying to flee from their meals as vehicles approach on the Barrier Highway out of Broken Hill in New South Wales. In one case a Broken Hill baker's van hit an eagle that ploughed straight through the window. The driver fled as the eagle tore the cab apart looking for a way out. One car windscreen repairer said "If you're cruising down the road and see a big wedgie sitting on a carcass, slow down because they make a mess. Some people collect them in the grills, pull them out and just drive on - but they're the lucky ones."

Brisbane ornithologist Peter Slater said cars would have to be travelling fast to have their windscreens broken by the birds, which can have wingspans of up to 2.5 m and weigh 5 kg.

Mr Slater said Wedge-tailed eagles had always feasted on roadkill and it was hard to believe there had yet been a change in the numbers along the roads. The calicivirus would have an effect because rabbit had been their main prey for a long time.

"They are going to have to hunt something else and possibly more will come to kills on the road," he said.

Tasmania's endangered Wedge-tailed Eagle is likely to swoop on other prey if the rabbit population declines due to Rabbit Calicivirus Disease.

Australasian Raptor Association President Mark Holdsworth said yesterday there was a healthy population of small animals in Tasmania that made up most of the diet for the majestic birds. Unlike mainland Australia, where many small mammals have dwindled in numbers because of introduced predators such as the fox and feral cats, Tasmania still has a bountiful supply of wallabies, possums, bettongs, quolls, potoroos, and echidnas.

Interstate reports indicate Wedge-tailed Eagles are relying on road-kills of native animals because the calicivirus has reduced the rabbits. Mr Holdsworth said "wedge-tails" predominantly ate dead animals.

"All birds of prey only breed and only produce young if they have a good food source but we're fairly confident there are not going to be any birds of prey endangered because of the rabbit calicivirus," he said.

Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagles, a sub-species of the mainland bird, were threatened more by human persecution and insecurity of nest sites. It is estimated there are about 95 breeding pairs in the state and between 700 to 900 individuals.

Mr Holdsworth said that monitoring would begin of the nesting sites of two other birds of prey in the state, the Grey Goshawk and the Marsh Harrier.

"Both of these birds had a high reliance on rabbits in localised areas," he said.

Also yesterday, Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association President, John Gee said with the calicivirus in the state it was time to control feral cats. The outbreak of the disease should lead to a massive drop in rabbit numbers and a corresponding decrease in feral cats.

"With a co-ordinated approach to both rabbits caused by the calicivirus, and feral cats we may well be rid of the worst pests in our environment," he said.

A Western Australian expert on raptors, Mr Phil Pain, recently warned of neglect in determining what impact the rabbit calicivirus disease will have on native birds of prey. Ornithologists are also questioning the lack of funding, study and research into the future survival of some of Australia's unique birds of prey.

Many species of birds of prey will be severely affected if rabbit numbers decline dramatically. The Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax could cease to breed. Other species at risk reportedly include the Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides, Black Kite Milvus migrans, Spotted Harrier Circus assimilis and certain goshawks and falcons. Birds fanciers come from Europe to see our birds of prey, to the benefit of the ecotourism industry.

Authorities in charge of the agricultural-backed program to wipe out rabbits with calicivirus do not fully understand the role the rabbit has assumed in the food chain of Australian predatory animals in the last hundred years.

I do not believe that any studies have been undertaken to investigate whether native animals could replace the rabbit as a source of food for raptors. In any case, land clearing and poor farming techniques including soil degradation and overgrazing have contributed to the demise of our native small mammal species. Survival in an altered landscape as well as other factors will influence the ability of small mammals to reproduce in the numbers necessary to ensure the survival of our noble hunting species.

In time our birds of prey will be named on the list of endangered species, as have so many other species.

Some of these concerns are valid but I challenge others. Certainly, there is a frightening lack of funding for looking at the indirect effect of RCV on raptors and other wildlife. No doubt breeding of these species mentioned will reduce locally but they are relatively common raptors and I have little doubt these local reductions will be reversed once other anmals replace rabbits as prey. It is highly likely that the removal of rabbits will greatly benefit other raptors. Once rabbits' devastation of grasses is reduced, much more seed will be available for parrots, doves and finches, benefiting bird-eating raptors. Although we are raptorphiles we must take a broad view and accept some local and probably temporary reductions in some raptor populations for the greater good of other nature fauna, flora and Australia as a whole. - Ed.

The hand of a poisoner is once again suspect in Swansea. The city’s entire peregrine falcon population has been wiped out by the mystery attacks and some are pointing the finger at pigeon-fanciers in the city.

The latest victim was found at the foot of Swansea city centre’s Telecom Tower. It is believed to be one of a pair living at the top of the 160ft tower in a nest built by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Although a post-mortem examination on the male falcon is being conducted by Ministry of Agriculture vets in Surrey, an initial examination by Roger Lovegrove, the RSBP’s Wales officer, has led him to expect the worst.

The only other peregrine falcons known to have been living in urban Swansea were poisoned two years ago. Carcasses of four falcons were found round the city’s Guildhall clock tower where they had been nesting.

The falcons are attracted to high buildings in urban environments because they are relatively free from disturbance and have a good uninterrupted view of passing birds which may have led to their extinction. Pigeon fanciers can pay several thousand pounds for a single racing bird.

They are the only raptors that nest on the ground and the marking of their nest sites is helping with their population numbers.

Latrobe’s Peter Tonelly, a long time registered bird bander and rehabilitation person, in conjunction with the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme, Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife and the Australasian Raptor Association, has undertaken a bird banding scheme for Marsh Harriers.

With the help of local farmers, he is collecting data and helping to protect the Marsh Harrier, known locally as the Swamp Hawk.

Commonly seen along highways, eager to scavenge animals killed on the road, the harrier has fallen prey to the speed of modern machinery. Nesting among crops and long grasses, farmers are often unaware of the existence of a nest and will destroy it unknowingly with machinery. Mr Tonelly said the chicks would be killed in the incident along with some adult birds which would remain with the nest to attempt to defend the site. At about the age of six weeks, the chicks become active and begin to wander throughout the surrounding area, leading to farmers having to take extra caution.

His banding of about six chicks per season was regarded as successful in the past, but Mr Tonelly said that 21 chicks had been banded so far this season. Receiving calls every day in relation to the location of nests, Mr Tonelly said that the program had been very successful and in extreme situations he had been able to leave his place of employment, the Latrobe Council, to tend to emergencies with the birds.

The support of the farmers, especially the North-West farmers Contractors Association, had made the program possible with each of the nests discovered being plotted for reference.

Mr Tonelly said that the harriers were a "friend of the farmer", eating rabbits, mice and native hens.

The effect of the coming Rabbit Calicivirus Disease on the birds was not exactly known, but Mr Tonelly said the Tasmanian Native Hen population would be ample for the birds' existence.

Harrier nests could generally be found in areas with a north to north-eastern slope, at least three hectares in area and within 1 km of a dam and creek with plenty of natural food including aquatic life, mammals and birds. Clutch numbers generally were two or three chicks, with the breeding season between October and February. The birds migrate to the Australian mainland in late March, returning in July or August.

Collection of data was the main purpose of the efforts which covered an area from Deloraine to Burnie and south to Sheffield.

Although not reported here, 'Omar' Tonelly has also been helping collect pre-RCD dietary data on harriers and giving advice on conserving harriers during harvesting, ie how much to leave around nests. Problems include the speed of modern harvesters, visiting contractors not knowing where harriers are and night harvesting. Pete has been attempting to 'flag' nests by leaving out baits with lengths of coloured tape attached. However, although adults have taken baits this dead prey does not seem to be taken back to the nest. At least we have the co-operation of most farmers. In much of Europe conservationists have to do this plus rescue chicks in utmost secrecy since farmers will kill them!(the raptors) ! If you look carefully you will see two chicks in the conserved patch of clover. - Ed.

Holidays at last, six weeks off to do as I please, one week to cover for a mate while he went on holiday to Cairns and then time is mine, off down South and travel around, maybe even catch up with Phil at Eagles Heritage. Well that’s what was supposed to happen anyway, but not for me I’m afraid, a call from the curator at work changed all of that. "Was I interested in rearing two young Grass Owls Tyto capensis from Kununurra?"

Our information was that a nest had been destroyed by heavy machinery (hay cutter) and two young had been saved out of eight. The rest were either killed outright, died of their injuries or were taken by other predators. I made contact with Geoff in Kununurra to find out the time these two young orphans would arrive in Perth. 9.30 pm the following night via Ansett Airlines, so it was battle stations, organising myself for the job of rearing them. It’s strange how time goes slowly when you are really looking forward to something special, this was the first official record of Grass Owls breeding in this state, instead of being recorded as vagrant sightings. I duly left for Perth Airport to pick up my new charges and on arrival home discovered that the box contained three not two, apparently the eldest bird had absconded from the nest site and returned early the next morning.

Well no problem this would be a cinch. I’ve reared Barn Owls Tyto alba before, wrong! Upon opening the box I was confronted by three aggressive little owls who proceeded to jump and scamper in all directions. After the capture of my new charges from various parts of the room, it was apparent that the two younger birds both had a broken leg each, thus began not only the rearing but also trips to the Animal Health Department at the zoo (76km there and back). I had to isolate the two injured birds from the other two as the aggressive behaviour at feed times, toward me, not each other, resulted in the two who were incapacitated being knocked all over the place by the oldest bird.

Things settled into a routine for the next five weeks and eventually it was back to work. All the birds still had down on the chest/abdominal area, the amount varied with age. Plumage was quite dark but this is possibly due to age. There was a distinct variation in plumage when the down was lost, two birds having typical female plumage and one with typical male plumage, even the facial disc was lighter although not completely white as in the adult male, time will tell if in fact we have one male and two females.

All three are housed off limits at Perth Zoo and are progressing well. They will form the nucleus for our breeding program.

Winning the raffle at the Currumbin ARA Conference (a wonderful painting of Grass Owls by Sally Elmer) must have been an omen.

A survey conducted between 1988 and 1994 located 55 occupied territories of White-bellied Sea-Eagles Haliaeetus leucogaster in South Australia. Survey methods included: information from the literature; systematic survey in the Great Australian Bight region, southern Eyre Peninsula and Kangaroo Island; opportunistic survey elsewhere; and contact with other people.

Eighteen (33%) of these territories were found on the mainland, including three from inland river systems on Coopers Creek and the Murray River. The majority of the breeding population (67%) was found on offshore islands, including Kangaroo Island where 17 occupied territories were known. The remaining 20 occupied territories were found throughout the island groups off the far west coast, Eyre Peninsula, and through Investigator Strait.

Extensive areas of typical coastal habitat in the south-east region of the state, on Yorke Peninsula and around Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent were found to be vacant despite historical records of White -bellied Sea-Eagles breeding in those regions. This suggests that the distribution of the breeding population and the abundance of this species has declined in South Australia.

Many of the occupied territories on the mainland and on Kangaroo Island are regarded as vulnerable to further decline unless residential and tourism development and particularly coastal recreation, are carefully managed.

The South Australian population was found to be physically isolated with the nearest occupied territories 860 km to the west, and 700 km to the east.

A pair of Powerful Owls Ninox strenua was studied at each of two sites near Melbourne, Victoria, for three years (1977-1979 inclusive) and 15 years (1980-1994 inclusive) respectively, by diurnal and nocturnal observation. Home ranges were mapped, nest sites characterised and breeding chronology and success monitored. General observations at these and eight other sites, of roosting, courting, nesting, parental and juvenile behaviour, fledgling mortality, hunting, inter specific conflicts, bathing and camouflage posing were presented.

The regularly used parts of the home ranges of two pairs were estimated as c. 300 ha, although for one pair this applied only to the breeding season. One pair used seven nest trees in 15 years, commonly two or three times each (range 1-4 times) over consecutive years before changing trees. Nest-switching may have been encouraged by human inspection of hollows. Nest entrances were 8-40m (mean 22 m) above ground. The owls clearly preferred the larger and older trees (estimated 350-500+ years old) beside permanent creeks rather than seasonal streams, and in gullies or on sheltered aspects rather than ridges. Laying dates were spread over a month from late May, with a peak in mid June. The breeding cycle occupied three months from laying to fledging, of which the nestling period lasted 8-9 weeks. Breeding success was 1.4 young per pair per year and 94% nest success; early nests in gullies were more successful than later nests on slopes. The post fledgling period lasted 6-7 months from fledging. The diet consisted mostly of possums and gliders, primarily the Common Ringtail Possum Pseudochirus peregrinus (78-89% by number). A resident breeding pair of owls took at least 95 major prey items in 368 days.

A while ago there was a discussion on this list about the lifting capacity of the White-tailed Eagle, where Christian Steel referred to a "documented" case in Norway in the 1930’s. The main message was: no bird weighting 4-5 kilos could possibly carry a prey weighting close to 20 kilos. I made a story about this in a radio program. Now, one listener claims he has seen an Ethiopian vulture (does not know which species, but probably one of the common scavengers) lift not only quite a lot of the guts of a new-slaughtered cow, but also a dog that happened to get entangled in them. The dog was carried several metres up in the air before it got loose and fell to the ground.

Question: Does anybody have any information about the lifting capacity of medium sized African vultures?

All of Australia's 34 raptors are found in the tropics. Two of three threatened, diurnal full species, the Red Goshawk (vulnerable) and Square-tailed Kite (rare) are endemics found only in tropical forests. The goshawk is threatened by loss of habitat and persecution in the south east of its range and egg collecting. Conservation is by legal protection, education and keeping nest sites secret. The kite is widely distributed and except for clearing of woodland, threats are not obvious. Many raptors from arid areas, including the endemic Grey Falcon (vulnerable), 'winter' in tropical woodland. Valuable areas must be identified. These arid raptors should be helped in the long term by the decimation of rabbits in arid Australia from the RCD virus. Clearing of tropical woodland for agriculture continues as does local, heavy use of pesticides. Although no full species of owl is threatened in Australia five subspecies are so in tropical areas; two of the endemic Rufous Owl (one rare, one insufficiently known) and two of the Masked Owl (both insufficiently known).Threats are loss of critical habitat by fire and to agriculture. On Christmas Island the small population of endemic subspecies of Brown Goshawk and Indonesian Hawk Owl (both vulnerable) are threatened due to loss of habitat to mining and urbanisation. Besides legal protection, conservation is by education and reservation. Viability of these small populations is assessed. The tropical Grass Owl is secure although some populations are under pressure from agriculture and urbanisation. Coastal, tropical raptors appear secure.

Steve Tredinnick, from Mount Riverview in the Blue Mountains, recently held a successful exhibition of his paintings at the Everglades Gardens, Leura. Entitled "Eagle-Eyed", the majority of the watercolours were of raptors and the month-long exhibition provided an exellent opportunity in raising the public awareness of these birds. Steve was also successful in winning the award for the "Best First Time Exhibit" at this years' Wildlife Artists Society of Australasia annual exhibition in Melbourne with a Wedge-tailed Eagle painting. For any members interested in viewing Steve's work, a number of his paintings are exhibited at the Lurline Gallery, Katoomba, NSW.

Three adjacent nests of Southern Boobook owls were located and the three males and two of the females were colour banded.One of the males was radio-tagged. Territory size was close to 111 ha , not the 4 - 10 ha reported in the literature. Males defended the territorial borders with the familiar "boobook" call and often roosted away from their nest and young. Females gave an apparently food-begging "bray" call and were never confirmed giving the " boobook" call. During pre-nesting, incubation, nestling, fledging and post-flegding stages males appeared to 'duel' using the "boobook" call and even enter a rival's territory to challenge the resident male, sometimes close to the latter's nest. At least one border changed near the site of such 'duels'. One previously unrecorded male foraged with adults and fledged young and was accepted. Both sexes fed the young for 2 - 4 weeks after fledging when females seemed to loose interest. At this stage males moved with young further and further from the nest 'camping out' in various parts of the territory he had previously defended. Females did not follow, remaining near the nest and may have migrated. Males have sole responsibility for, including defence of, the young from late in the fledging phase until the latter dispersed.

This paper was presented by Jerry on 7/2/97 at the Second International Symposium : Biology & Conservation of Owls of the Northern Hemisphere in Winnipeg, Canada. Despite the conference title such meetings are always very accommodating of quality papers from other areas and Jerry has been asked to publish in the proceedings. Jerry reports that much owl work in Canada and the US has become so management/politically oriented that more 'ecologically academic' contributions such as his are becoming a bit of a novelty. After all, we are the clever country! As usual Jerry had a great time with field trips and he will write specifically on that later. - Ed

A few years ago, a good friend returned from a surfing trip to Bruny Island with a bunch of Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax, feathers from a road kill. These feathers held a lot of significance for Steve, and he spent many hours cleaning them up and gave several away as gifts to people who were special to him.

A short time later his friend Jim was killed in a tragic accident. At his funeral Steve lovingly laid a feather in the open casket and sent him on his way with the blessing of the greatest of the ‘Winged Ones’.

Later that day at the wake, I wandered up to the chook house to escape from the crowds. A large cock turkey came over to see if I had any food, and as I stood admiring his plumage, a realisation hit me. I called Steve over and told him to check out the turkey feathers.

A couple of minutes later the grieving widow came up to check on our mental health, fearing we were hysterical and joined us rolling around on the ground when she discovered we had sent him off with a turkey feather! We all agreed that Jim would have laughed the loudest.

Turkeys have been known in our house as ‘Bruny Island Wedgies’ ever since, and my feather identification has vastly improved. How embarrassing!

When Peta McKay (Land for Wildlife - Swan Hill) and Malcolm Vallance (CNR) found two fledgling Wedge-tailed Eagles Aquila audax fallen with their nest out of a lone Belah Allocasuarina cristata in a paddock, they knew that foxes would soon end their short lives unless they got out of harm's way. An old drum net, confiscated from the Murray River, proved a suitable site. It was secured close to the nest tree and the remains of the nest were placed on top with the young birds. The parents returned to feed them that evening and the young flew off some 4-6 weeks later. A happy story and an interesting use for an old illegal drum net!

It was late September 1986 and early in the evening. My son and I were out in the Cooper Basin Saddlers Court about 30 miles from the Stryzlecki Track. The sun was about to disappear over the horizon and already the sky was painted red. We had finished work for the day and had permission to use one of the company's 4-wheel-drives to investigate this particular part of the oil and gas fields for birds of prey. My son who in his work as an operator with the company, travels far and wide to service the well heads. He had noticed a pair of Letter-winged Kites Elanus scriptus in this particular area and suggested we take a ride out to see if there was any nesting activity. So armed with a video and SLR camera we started to look around the area.

We came upon a Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax nest and disturbed a parent bird at the scene. We had found many of these eagles' eyries over the years in this desolate corner of the state, so there was no great excitement as we decided to have a Bo Peep. The tree which the nest was built in was 5 metres high, as most of these which are scattered sparsely around this part of the desert area. The nest was in the centre of the tree, so by driving the vehicle underneath the lower branches, we were able to stand on the cabin roof and peer into the nest.

To our surprise we found 3 young birds lying as flat as they possibly could in their apparent fear of these 2 human heads looking at them over the rim of their home. These young birds were fully feathered and all appeared to be in good condition and within 2 to 3 weeks would be leaving the nest.

To have three youngsters in the nest at this stage of their development is an unusual occurrence. In this part of Australia, these eagles in a good year lay their first egg in May. This part of the country was inundated with rabbits so there would have been no trouble for the parent birds to feed this very large brood. The parent birds would have been in very fit condition and fertile because we have found other eyries with often only one chick and an addled egg in the nest.

It is a well-known fact that most Wedge-tailed Eagles only rear one and rarely two chicks. This is because the sibling rivalry turns murderous with the dominant chick killing off its brother or sister. Usually by commandeering all the food and leaving it in a weak and pitiful condition, it succumbs to the attacks of its stronger relative.

So this was indeed a rare find. My son on his daily work routines established that all three survived and left the nest. The video and photographs of the young eagles were excellent and the Letter-winged Kites were seen, but no nest located.

On 17/7/96 at 11.30 am I was translocating some native galaxids into a 100 x 80m farm dam near Lake Sorell (highlands of Tasmania). I was making my way back to my vehicle about 100 metres away, when I heard a loud pitched whistling noise high above my right side. It was an incredible sound, similar to a low-flying jet. Sighted was a bird of prey hot on the tail of another bird diving towards the dam; they were both on a mission at high speed. The bird in front dived vertically and plunged straight into the water, remaining submerged for about thirty seconds, while the "chaser" swooped past and perched amongst the trees some distance from the dam. Upon surfacing, the bird in the dam was identified as a Little Pied Cormorant Phalacricirax melanoleucos. The cormorant then flew from the dam towards the tree line, oblivious to where the bird of prey was perched. As the cormorant began to gather height and speed the bird of prey, now identified as a Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus (probably a female), left its perch and continued the chase, hitting the cormorant in mid-air from above and knocking it to the ground. The falcon now appeared alarmed for some reason - maybe my presence, and returned to the perch amongst the tree canopy. The cormorant remained stunned on the ground for a short time minus quite a few feathers, before gingerly wandering off in a distressed motion. Five minutes passed before it again took to the air. This time the cormorant gained a reasonable break in distance and height, before the peregrine pursued its quarry once again. Once the cormorant was in her line of sight she quickly picked up remarkable speed and closed the gap considerably. At this point, I lost sight of both birds behind the trees in the distance, but my prediction is the Peregrine Falcon was successful in capturing its prey? For me this was an interesting, rather intimate observation.

Cormorants, although very common in Tasmania, are not popular prey of peregrines. They are a large, tough bird, hard to catch near water for obvious reasons. At this high altitude in winter there are few small birds so perhaps it was a case of "beggars and choosers". - Ed.

1 presumed male (relatively small size) caught in Tabubil on 15.3.93, having being knocked out of a tree by a stone at Ok Menga a few days earlier. The bird had a broken leg and was flown down to the vet in Port Moresby, where the leg was pinned and splinted. Many families in the town were saying prayers for the recovery of Balus as he came to be known. A full recovery was made and the individual was eventually released at Mount Stolle Research Station in August. Thanks to Warwick of the Port Moresby Veterinary Service for his interest and expertise, and to Ok Tedi Mining for Transport. An amazing saga!

On one of those rare occasions when Melbourne and surrounds had beautiful weather, and Sydney copped a lashing, a small group of Birding - Aus - ers and hangers on (Lawrie Conole, Grant Baverstock, Russell Woodford, Stuart Dashper, Susan Myers, Mike McLeish, Malea Kneen) ventured out into the sunshine in the hills to look for a Sooty Owl. The location was Bunyip State Park near Gembrook (east of Melbourne), and we succeeded. Views were not so flash as the owls persisted in viewing us from a great height, but we found one or maybe two juveniles, and an adult. We were treated to a fairly comprehensive range of calls - a few half hearted screams, lots of clicking and buzzing. It was a lifer for 85.7% of the group!

What follows is an account of owls in the Forthside (TAS) area, some referred to as Barn owls Tyto alba. I have just checked the Atlas of Australian Birds which states, "some barn owls reached Tasmania in 1980 after a plague of mice in South Eastern Australia and consequent eruption of barn owl population." Otherwise the species is a rare vagrant in Tasmania; but was it always so?

Sheaves of oats were stacked in stacks in paddocks and barns. These attracted many rats and mice, on which the owl population fed, along with rabbits.

A very large Masked Owl, accidentally caught in a rabbit trap had three claws damaged. It was kept in a barn and hand fed on rabbits until its foot healed. Although free to go, it stayed and layed two eggs on the sheaves. When the threshing machine was due Mr Parsons made a wire netting covered frame and laid oats on it, then the eggs and put it in a corner of the barn. The owls hatched and reared two chicks. The parent owls took no notice of the threshing machine working so close by.

Owls were often caught in rabbit traps. One morning a female had been caught, but fortunately no broken legs. They were looked after if their claws were damaged. There would be up to three pairs of owls nesting in one barn.

Barn owls were the very pale birds and seemed more knock kneed than the masked owls and it was stated that ‘the barn owls didn’t like the masked owls too close to them.’

Both species nested at the same time in the barn. Barn owls usually on the tops of the large pole supports, and the masked owls on the sheaves. Very noisy when the young were being fed!"

This makes extraordinary reading. IIt's nothing like that now - no records of owls nesting in barns, Masked Owls uncommon and Barn Owls very, very occasionally. -Ed

From 1954 to 1959, I was involved in the Wildlife Survey Section of the CSIRO, studying rabbit populations. This involved continuous night watches on pens containing very different population densities of rabbits (from 20 to 200 per acre). As predation was part of the study, we also took notes on that effect. Feral cats and dogs were effectively excluded from the pens by electric fencing.

Thus, in the absence of foxes, Masked Owls Tyto novahollandiae proved to be the main effective predator, and Marsh Harriers Circus approximans the main scavenger of owl kills. We saw some dozens of kills, using spot lights at night.

Site: The pens were erected some five kms west of Woodbury in the Tasmanian midlands, on W. Websters property "Waringa". It was classical savannah woodland, with tall grass (Stipa, Danthonia, Themada) and scattered eucalypts, acacias and prickly box trees. The site was below the walls of the Western Tiers, there Blackmans Creek issues from the highlands. Rabbits, Brown Hares, Eastern Barred Bandicoot, Brown Bandicoot, Echidna, Platypus and Brown Rat Rattus norwegicus , Common Ringtail (their populations crashed in 1957 due to disease) and Brushtail Possum were all fairly common and there were some Southern Potoroo.

From the evidence of road-kills, the Masked Owl was at that time, plentiful in the midlands, wherever large hollows in trees existed.

No records of owls were later obtained in rainforest work around Maydena, but Masked Owl roosts were found and pellets (in winter, rich in the remains of starlings, presumably from the reed-bed roosts along the shore of the Derwent River) were collected from sandstone caves in the valleys to the south of the Hobart and New Norfolk road.

The sharp decline in rabbits, and subsequently Eastern Barred Bandicoot numbers from 1955 onwards undoubtedly deprived these owls of their usual prey, and this was in turn followed by a decline in feral cats, as well as Brushtail Possum and Echidnas which used rabbit burrows as shelter. We had once presumed that the Marsh Harriers were effective rabbit predators, but we later found that they almost invariably fed on Masked Owl kills, and we also found that an owl with young to feed killed more than once a night, as they found it difficult to relocate dead prey in the tall grass on dark nights.

Account of predation: Owls often sat on or near our hides at night, watching and listening. They made slow lateral head rocking movements before launching into a long glide to their prey; their flight in this glide was almost noiseless. The attacks were most successful within a range of three to five times the height of the tree used as a perch. The rabbit or hare was grasped by the outstretched talons, across the back. The owl then spread its sails as a drag, and held on until the talons pierced the victim, often being dragged a few meters. They stood on the rabbit and ate from the neck and back of the skull, and were never seen to open the body cavity or peel the skin, unlike the Swamp Harrier. We never saw an owl revisit a carcass after the first meal, and just after dawn the Swamp Harrier would find the owl kills and reduce them to bones and rolled skins.

Whilst living next door to a patch of bushy foreshore land at Kayena (on the Tamar River, Tasmania) with a pair of resident Brown Goshawks Accipiter fasciatus I heard the persistent calling of the female. I went to investigate but found nothing unusual and sighted neither of the goshawks. The calling persisted the next day and imagined or not I thought a mournful note to the calling. I phoned a fellow raptorphile to query as the time (April 1990) was not the ‘busy season’, they also were not able to provide possible reasons but were a touch sceptical of the ‘sad’ interpretation. However as the calling persisted I again went to the land and conducted a more thorough search, eventually I found what I sadly expected - the body of the male goshawk at the base of a small tree. Probable cause of death (ascertained from injuries/ remains) = CAT. Dr. R. Green - Launceston Museum later confirmed species/sex and cause of death. The female continued to call for another two days then ceased calling but remained in the area.

December 1990 and wild flapping and a flurry of activity on the shore of a small inlet at Kayena on the Tamar River in Nth Tasmania snapped me to attention. Two recently fledged juvenile Brown Goshawks Accipiter fasciatus were engaged in serious combat with a Swamp Harrier Circus approximans over item unknown. The fighting continued with lots of leaping, flapping and striking out with talons. I took my eyes off them for long enough to grab the binos and scoot outside for a better look and to see if I could identify the treasure. On inspection with the binos I noticed an adult female Brown Goshawk perched in a large tree almost directly above the combatants. (No doubt yelling encouragement and instructions). The fighting went on for another minute or so with lots of action and apparently very little damage when the adult goshawk swooped from the tree and struck at the harrier which then departed. The adult goshawk grabbed the unidentified treasure - pecking at one of the juveniles as it attempted the same and flew off with both of the juveniles (looking a bit ruffled) following in her direction a few seconds later. I have never previously witnessed tag team warfare.

The results are reported of a three-day study of helicopter effects upon small birds and breeding White-bellied Sea-eagles Haliaeetus leucogaster on Eshelby Island, Great Barrier Reef a remote, rarely-visited Queensland island. Regular close passes by the helicopter above a Sea-eagle nest, compounded by the presence of people and rain, probably caused breeding failure. Habituation to such activity is unlikely to occur because it represents an intense short-term exposure to piercing sound and wind. In all such cases the birds could be expected to leave the nest and remain away during the operation of the helicopter. If helicopters must be used near eagle nests, authorities must choose more appropriate times in the breeding cycles of the birds. No lasting impacts on small non-breeding birds was detected.

Important new information on the status, habits and conservation of one of the world’s least known birds of prey, the magnificent Javan Hawk-Eagle Spizaetus bartelsi, was presented by BirdLife expert Bas van Balen to the American Ornithologists Union (AOU) International Conference, in Boise, USA, in August.

This study of Indonesia’s national bird and symbol of endangered species, was based on extensive fieldwork by BirdLife International - Indonesia Programme. When Bas van Balen began his surveys in 1986, the estimated population of this little known bird was just 50 to 60 pairs. This rain forest species soars above the trees on sunny mornings. Many long hours of scanning from forest ridges throughout Java over the last nine years by Dr van Balen have resulted in many new sightings, and the conference heard that BirdLife’s new population estimate is 126 - 160 pairs. Bas van Balen comments "Although the Javan Hawk-Eagles are hard to detect, we did find them in nearly all suitable forest habitats on Java, but this majestic bird is facing many threats."

BirdLife, working with the Government Nature Conservation Department (PHPA) has pin-pointed the threats that endanger the Javan Hawk-Eagle and actions that are essential to safeguarding the future of this majestic eagle. Large scale forest loss in densely populated Java has undoubtedly caused a decline in the species numbers, but currently the most severe threat to the hawk-eagle may be the capture of chicks for the bird trade. Iwam Setiawan, Species Officer with BirdLife, who recently monitored a nest site in West Java, comments "The Javan Hawk-Eagle breeds once every two or three years and lays only a single egg, so recruitment to the population each year may be as low as 40 birds. Pressure from the removal of chicks from traditional nesting trees could have a big impact."

Now that the status of the Javan Hawk-Eagle is better understood and the bird has gained a higher profile as Indonesia’s national bird, BirdLife, and a joint Norwegian/Minister of Environment project are preparing an action plan for the conservation of this rare Javan endemic. A programme to strengthen protection in existing reserves, regular monitoring and the guarding of nests during the breeding season, coupled with a public awareness campaign are some of the actions thought to offer the best hopes for the continued survival of the species.

Valuable financial support for this project was provided by the World Working Group of Birds of Prey and Owls, the Oriental Bird Club, the J.C. van Hucht Fonds and the Martina de Beukelaar Stichting.

No, this is not Enid Blyton's "Magic Faraway Tree". The trap door has been cut into the lower portion of the eucalypt to provide access to nestlings at the base of the hollow that runs up the centre of the tree. The door allows the thief to return in subsequent years to pillage the same hollow, although often the base of the tree is simply hacked away.

Recently, officers of the Department of Nature Conservation and Natural Resources were flown to America to give evidence in the trial of Bill Wegener, a resident of San Diego, who was charged with importing Australian wildlife to America. He arranged for couriers, often students looking for a holiday in Australia, to steal cockatoo eggs from trees such as the one pictured. The birds raised from these eggs were then sold in the US for large sums of money. In December 1995, Mr Wegener was sentenced to five years' gaol.

If you suspect any illegal activity related to wildlife, please contact a Fisheries and Wildlife Officer at your nearest CNR office or police.

• This might be cockatoos in this case but it could well be raptors another time; these professionals couldn't care which. It's good to see goal (or jail?) sentences. - Ed

When the threatened northern spotted owl Strix occidentalis caurina winged its' way into the spotlight in the 1980’s, it came to symbolise the controversies over forest management that have gripped the Pacific Northwest. In an effort to find a balance between the needs of people in the region and the conservation of forest resources, President Clinton commissioned a Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment team in 1993. The team was charged with developing a Northwest Forest Plan that would set a foundation for the future management of national forests in the Pacific Northwest........

As part of the biological opinion, the FWS identified "reasonable and prudent matters measures" designed to minimise take by preventing disturbance of spotted owl pairs and their progeny during the nesting season, and protecting the nest trees of active spotted owl pairs. These measures included the following non-discretionary terms and conditions: First, prohibit timber harvest activities within at least 0.25-mile (0.4 kilometre) radius of an owl nest site or activity centre between March 1 and July 15, during the year of harvest. Within all types of habitat, prohibit harvest and any other activity with the potential to disturb nesting spotted owls. Second, if an active spotted owl nest is located within a timber harvest unit, modify the timber sale to establish a 300-foot (91-metre) no-harvest buffer around the nest tree. Prohibit timber harvest activities between March 1 and September 30, or until agency biologists determine that nesting has failed or young are no longer present.

The compromise achieved through the consultation process in the above example reflects the spirit upon which the Northwest Forest Plan was crafted, which is to provide the best timber and spotted owl habitat. ........

The keys to success included strong leadership, coordination, and a determination to transcend traditional biological assessment processes and administrative boundaries.