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The bird came first, just in case you were wondering.  Sure, the official name, and associated behavioral verb, refer mostly to the Old World Kites, which look more harrier-ish than most of ours in the New World.  The name has always seemed to apply to a rather motley group of birds, from the exquisite Scissor-tailed [...]

Over the last few weeks we have seen Roebuck Bay slowly empty as the shorebirds head north to breed. There are still several thousand shorebirds here throughout the year, but not the huge numbers we have had for the last 7 months. Not all shorebirds migrate, so we will see some of our resident shorebirds [...]

This week we decided to do a day trip about 40kms north of Broome in search of a Beach Stone-curlew, as they had been absent in Roebuck Bay for some reason this year. The road north starts off as bitumen/tar and then becomes sand/pindan and a four-wheel drive is recommended due to changing conditions. Here’s the [...]

What do you think when you hear the word raptor? Those of us from generation Jurassic Park can’t help but think of the terrifying dinosaurs nicknamed “raptors,” horribly Hollywoodified versions of Velociraptor that were as it turns out, way too naked. Yes, Velociraptor had feathers, and arguably, it and the other dromaeosaurs could even be [...]

One full week ago, a White-tailed Kite Elanus leucurus, was discovered on Stratford Point, on Connecticut’s Long Island Sound shore.  Considering that the bird’s normal range is the western United States, south Texas, the southern tip of Florida, and portions of Central America and South America, birders were understandably excited about chasing down the rarity.  [...]