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a raptor misses out
On a day with a gentle easterly wing I was in my kayak on a local river pool.
The pool is perhaps 750 metres long and 25-30 wide, it is east west and the downstream end is in the west.
I had paddled upstream and disturbed a collection of swans,ducks and water hens.
They relocated to the western end of the pool.
Just before the western end is a left hand curve when going down wind. I paddled to the curve near the southern bank and stopped paddling so as to drift silently around the corner.
Of course with usual stream morphology the bank on the inside of the curve was gently sloped and the outside bank was steep and had tree deposited during floods lying along it and small jarrahs growing near the bank..
What happened nest was a treat to behold.
First the swans flapped mightily,ran on the surface and decamped back to the eastern end, they were followed by the ducks and finally the water hen. By that time I was at the apex of the curve so the hens, keeping as far as possible from me took off near the timber on the outside of the curve, flying about a foot above the water.
A goshawk that had been perched in on of the jarrahs swooped and just as in good nature films the hawk leant back a large pair of orange claws grabbed an unfortunate hen. The hawk then had to climb rapidly to clear the timber. It failed. The hen it the timber and was dropped.
The hen than raced off after its mates and the hawk departed the scene. I looked up to follow the hawk and lo, there was a wedge tailed eagle circling watching the whole performance.
The trials of a raptor.
Chris
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