Odds and Ends

This post is a mixed bag of photos from the last couple of weeks. I went to the hills to check out the Square-tailed Kite nest from last year. A bird was on the nest, but there was no sign of the other one. Fingers crossed for another successful breeding event this year. A couple of nice flowers there too, Twining Fringed Lily and one that I cannot identify even with my new plant book! Another day we went to Parra Wirra Recreation Park where this Emu (and a couple of mates) wandered through the picnic area. We also spotted this Shingleback, our first lizard of the summer. The same day, I spotted this small mantid in the garden, I am not sure, but I think it may be a Brown Mantis. It was quite difficult to get close as it stayed between some netting and the fence. I love the shadow on the third photo. Lastly, we took a walk this morning at Henley Beach where this White-faced Heron was very confiding.

Square-tailed Kite

A few weeks ago I found out about a pair of Square-tailed Kites nesting in the Adelaide Hills. Square-tailed Kite is a rare breeding bird in South Australia and I was looking forward to seeing a bird I haven't seen for 5 years. I hadn't had a chance to go and see them until today. I was hoping that the chicks hadn't fledged, as that would have made the birds much more difficult to find. When I arrived at the site, there was another birder there. He had seen the kites before, so could show me the nest location. One of the adults was at the nest, and we watched for a while but there was no sign of the chicks. After a while the adult flew off, and I managed a quick shot against the bright sky. When the adult returned, it flew to a tree about 50m (50 yards) away. I headed over to see if I could get a couple of photos, and found her (?) perched next to a fully grown chick! She had some prey in her talons (it looked like a small bird) and was using it to encourage the chick to fly. The chick wasn't at all interested, though it did try a few wing stretches, before resorting to begging for food.