A brief, yet interesting encounter late yesterday afternoon.
I was watching a Black Kite hunting over a patch of recently burnt ground near Picnic Point. The lone bird was soon joined by another three, as well as a single Whistling Kite.
As I watched on I started to hear some low ‘peeping’ sounds from a couple of seperate patches of rank grassland nearby … Brown Quail! One of the coveys burst skyward and landed near to where the others were calling.
This spot is a favourite for the species and I’ve seen and heard them regularly there over the years. As I sat tight a few of the quail scuttled across the path some fifteen metres away, clearly concerned about the circling kites. A Flame Robin landed just in front of where I sat … it too gazed skywards nervously.
Native raptors, quail and robins are all part of a dynamic, functioning ecosystem. Not so welcome are cats; stray and feral, such as the one I spotted at Cotswold at the weekend.

Black Kite hunting, Picnic Point, Cairn Curran Reservoir, 29th May 2023

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Brown Quail

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Flame Robin

Feral cat near Cotswold, 27th May 2023