Australian Birds of Prey in Flight: A Photographic Guide

By Richard Seaton, Mat Gilfedder and Stephen Debus

Birds of prey spend most of their time in flight and, when viewed from the ground, they are notoriously hard to identify. Australian Birds of Prey in Flight is a photographic guide to the eagles, hawks, kites and falcons flying high above you. Individual species profiles describe distinguishing features and the text is supported by detailed images showing the birds at six different angles and poses, using photographs from many of Australia's leading bird photographers. Annotated multi-species comparison plates highlight key features that can help differentiate birds of prey in flight.

This book will be of value to anyone who wants to learn more about Australia's birds of prey, and will provide a useful reference for identifying soaring birds in the field, and also while trying to identify images from your own camera.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
• Release date: Feb 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781486308682

Book preview

Acknowledgements

This book benefited immensely from the generosity of the bird photography community. We received many thousands of images (far more than we could ever use) from the following people: Richard and Margaret Alcorn, Terence Alexander, Mick Atzeni, Scott Baker, John Barkla, Chris Barnes, Plaxy Barratt, Paul Brooks, Todd Burrows, Rebecca Citroni, Greg Clancy, Chris Cope, Andrew Crouch, Jo Culican, Kate Delaney, Charles Dove, Philip Dubbin, Elizabeth Ferguson, Keith D. Fisher, Adam Fry, Jesse Gibson, Barb Gilfedder, Geoff Groom, Neil Hickman, Nick Hickman, Nigel Jackett, Micha V. Jackson, Russell Jenkins, Ross D. Jones, Peter Kyne, Judy Leitch, Ákos Lumnitzer, Daniel Mantle, Andrew Martin, Niven McCrie, Bernie McRitchie, Bob McTrusty, Deborah Metters, Euan Moore, Bill Moorhead, Jack Moorhead, Stephen Murray, Jon Norling, Jerry Olsen, Steve Percival, Nathan Piesse, Rawshorty, Jeremy Ringma, Cathy Robinson, Laurie Ross, Robert Schoeb, Jason Searle, Luke Shelley, Jennie Stock, Brian L. Sullivan, Tom Tarrant, Nigel Voaden, Delia Walker, Richard Waring, James Watson, Alexander Watson, Bruce Wedderburn and David Whelan. Specific photographic acknowledgements are at the end of the book. Deepest apologies to anyone whose contributions we have overlooked.

In recognition of all the images that have been donated to create this book, all proceeds arising from its sale will be donated to the BirdLife Australia Raptor Group (BARG).

Richard Seaton: Thanks to Darryl Jones (Griffith University), Liz Gould (South-east Queensland Catchments NRM), Ashley Bunce (Department of Environment of Heritage Protection) and the Birds Queensland Committee for providing the funds and support to get the surveys for Red Goshawks underway that spawned the idea for this book back in 2013. I thank Greg Czechura, Rod Hobson, David Stewart (junior), Stephen Debus, Jerry Olsen, David Baker-Gabb, Penny Olsen and Greg Clancy for advice and for providing feedback on the all-too-frequent red herrings during those surveys. Thanks also to Mick Atzeni for all that time spent poring over images, scratching our heads and of course for the seed that started this project. Finally, thanks to Robin Cutts for showing me Merlins, Buzzards, Peregrines and Red Kites as a kid in the UK and opening the door to a lifelong passion for birds of prey.

Mat Gilfedder: It has been a privilege to work on this book with two amazing raptor experts who are so keen to share their knowledge. I am very thankful to all the wonderful bird photographers out there who willingly shared their images to help make this project a reality.

We acknowledge the many observers who have recorded their Australian birds of prey observations in the eBird database (http://ebird.org/australia). These data underpinned the creation of new maps showing the expected range of each species. We are grateful for the detailed feedback provided by Richard and Margaret Alcorn, Danny Rogers and David Stewart on the draft maps.

Stephen Debus: I gratefully acknowledge the start my late parents, Graham and Beatrice Debus, gave me in early opportunities to observe, read about and identify raptors, and their continued support to graduate level and beyond. Over the years I have benefited from discussion and shared field experiences with the Australian raptor experts named above by Richard.

Introduction

When seen flying, most birds of prey are far away, and at an angle or in light conditions that don’t show key plumage patterns. Learning how to identify any group of birds takes time, but for those with patience and persistence, it is hugely rewarding and in time observers can expect to be able to identify the majority of birds of prey they encounter. From the ferocious little Collared Sparrowhawks flying through urban back yards to the massive Wedge-tailed Eagles soaring over the outback, Australia’s birds of prey are nothing short of magnificent. We hope this book provides the information and inspiration for more people to open the door into the mesmerising world of Australia’s birds of prey.

Many birdwatchers use cameras to take images of the birds they see to identify them. However, despite this book being full of still images, we would generally caution against relying on cameras and still images for the identification of raptors in flight, at least initially. Through experience, we have found that the key to identifying raptors in flight (and at a distance) is not so much how well you see the bird, but how well you observe and record the key features and