For decades, injured birds of prey have been nursed back to health and returned to the wild with carers not knowing if they survived…until now.
Firehawks – the back kite, whistling kite, and brown falcon – pick up smoldering grass and sticks from raging bushfires and transport them up to a kilometre away, cornering their prey.
A unique wildlife moment captured in the Cromarty wetlands of Queensland.
If you’re looking for a handsome bird, look no further than the black-breasted buzzard.
We chat to zoologist Claire Hawkins who recently launched a crowdfunder to help the public count how many wedgies are left in Tasmania.
We know very little about the wedge-tailed eagles’ (Aquila audax) movement across Australia’s vast arid lands. And with dramatic changes to the habitats of the native raptor, mostly caused by human activity, the more we know the better. Wedge-tailed eagle expert, Simon Cherriman has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to purchase satellite-trackers to research the movements of juvenile wedgies. Having raised enough money to fund three satellite-trackers in 2015, which were attached to wedgies in the Perth Hills area, Simon explains that our knowledge depends on following the stories of more than just a few birds. “Despite being subject to a period of extensive persecution for over a century, when hundreds of thousands of eagles were culled, the Wedge-tail is currently listed as Least Concern. However, this status is based on information collected using methods designed for small songbirds, and it does not consider the complex population structure of a large raptor,” Simon explains. To donate to Simon’s crowdfunding campaign, click HERE.
IN THE NSW SOUTHERN Highlands, Peggy McDonald has helped run the Australian Raptor Care & Conservation Centre since it was founded in April 2015. The 17ha property rehabilitates injured birds, mostly birds of prey, with the aim to return them to the wild. All photography by Esther Beaton. Read more about Peggy’s life-long passion for wildlife and how she co-founded the centre in AG#135, out now.