Myuna Bay - Evening

Carmel and I went for an evening walk along the foreshore of Myuna Bay today. I always like to do the following when I go there:

1. Do some practice Bird-in-flight photography with Silvergulls and Crested Terns. There were

   

   Crested Tern

   not many about tonight but I managed to get one fairly nice shot of  a Crested Tern. They fly up and down the outlet canal, occasionally diving down for a fish. They are easiest to photograph here when they have to fly into a head wind. tonight there was no wind so they were flying pretty fast in both directions.
2. I like to check on the local raptor population. The Whistling Kites appear to have moved their nest from the Norfolk pine into the adjacent Bunya Pine, although there is still a nest in the Norfolk Pine.

   

   White-bellied Sea-eagle

   I will keep an eye on it to see if only one nest or two are used this year. The White-bellied Sea-eagles started flying around just before we left the area. There were three, two mature and one immature eagles hunting over quite a wide area.
   The real surprise of the afternoon was the appearance of a Brahminy Kite.
   

   

   Brahminy Kite

   Its rich red-brown body and white head made it easy to identify. I have heard reports of Brahminy Kites in the area before but this was a first sighting for me here. I have seen them frequently in Queensland and North NSW but this was a first for here.
3. Other birds observed included a Little Egret, A Great Egret, several Pelicans, and a couple of Australian Ravens.

   

   Australian Pelican