The re-examined osprey...

[khiemtran]

Last weekend, I took Liem on a nature walk in Oatley Park, a nature reserve on the Georges River. We were there on a scouting mission for three purposes. First, to check it out as a possible kayaking launch site. Next, to look for fishing locations. And finally to look for birds, as I had seen on Facebook that there had been recent sightings of baby tawny frogmouths (a sort of owl-like bird related to the nightjar). Here's the view from a lookout near the top of the reserve, looking out over the Georges River.



That bridge in the last picture is the rail bridge at Como, where we often go fishing. Oatley Park is only a few kilometres from our house, but since it's on the other side of the river, and between the two nearest road bridges, it actually took us about a half hour to get there in the car.



We didn't see any birds, but we did see lots of fish jumping, and found a few potential fishing spots. We even saw fish jumping in this large fenced-off swimming area (although fishing wasn't allowed within the swimming boundary).



There was a small beach suitable for landing a kayak, but unfortunately it was a long walk up to the carpark, so this wouldn't be a particular good starting point for an expedition.



We had a nice walk around the headland trail, but didn't spot any frogmouths.



When we got home, I checked on the internet for more clues on where the frogmouths had been seen, and I found this article about a pair of ospreys that lived across the river. I hadn't even realised there were ospreys in this area (although there were certainly a lot of sea eagles).

Seeing the photo in that article made me think back to the first time we went kayaking on the Nepean and we saw a huge raptor that we eventually decided must have been an immature white-bellied sea eagle. Sure enough, it now looked decidedly osprey-like.



Note that white belly, but brown feathers on the backs of the wings (where an adult sea eagle would be grey). And the brown eye mask that extends all the way back. It's a bit hard to tell from just this angle, but if definitely fits with the photos on the earlier website. Plus, it also explains what a sea eagle was doing so far inland (and by fresh water too).

Still intrigued, I went back to Oatley Park during the week, keeping an eye out for ospreys (and tawny frogmouths).



This time it was a much windier day.



But, just for a moment, I caught a glimpse of a large raptor hunting over the water...



An osprey! Note the prominent eye mask and remnant chestnut band on its white breast. Not the best photo, but hopefully I'll spot it again now that I know where to look. Who'd have guessed we'd have ospreys in Sydney, as well as sea eagles?

Now, it's just a matter of finding those frogmouths...

Comments

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

That headland walk looks fabulous - and the chance to see an osprey would make it irresistible...

Good luck with your frogmouths! Will you have to go back at dawn or dusk to see them active?

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, evening or early morning would be the best time. Unfortunately, it's going to be hard for us to get there at those times. The thing about frogmouths is that they spend most of the day pretending to bit broken bits of tree branches, so I was hoping I might get lucky and spot one on a branch. (But of course, they're camouflaged so it isn't easy..)

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

That's not a bad shot of the osprey, considering you weren't expecting to see one. Good luck with finding the frogmouths.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I've just uploaded a brightened version of the osprey pic, but there's not much else I can do with it. At least it was good enough to get an id. Looking forward to seeing this one again (and its mate) over the summer...