A Visit Home

Five years is a long time. I’d last visited home before the covid stuff, but I eventually got home to see family and friends, eat a lot, and spend some time with my beloved Australian nature this August. I could write about everyone and everything as a detailed summary, but I feel it’s December now, and time has passed. No need to write about the details. Just tell that it was the highlight of my year, and I want to say thank you to all.

I will say I had the most amazing experience with this beautiful Square-tailed Kite who didn’t care about me standing right in front of it when it came and broke off nesting materials, then circled all around me. What a wonderful experience.

Black Falcon

Square-tail in a Cloud

Square-tailed Kite

Prince Henry Drive, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

January 6, 2016

Michael Atzeni and I enjoyed a walk around Prince Henry Drive back on January 6. Such a special place with a number of beautiful species. The highlight, however, was a pair of Square-tailed Kites playing in the breeze. I ran up ahead and was lucky one passed right overhead, but alas, a single grey cloud cloaked the encounter and I watched the raptor disappear into the blue sky beyond the trees.

A Square-tail in the Blue

Square-tailed Kite

North of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

August 2015

Another exciting raptor seen with Kevin Williams on my August visit home. Unfortunately, it was a bit high but these are my best shots of this species since 1994. That’s what you get when you live away. I have sighted them high and far away on other occasions but failed to get any shots at those times.
This one also seemed to be carrying nesting material which is good. Notice how long those wings are and the huge primaries. They are a unique Australian species and certainly not common. A nice encounter indeed!

Enter Australian Magpie