January 25, 2023 – Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER

I was on my way in that lovely pre-dawn light to check on a pair of Mudlarks and their nest.
As R L Stevenson said, and “I found the dew on every buttercup”

On a tree some distance down the road, the familar shapes of Black-shouldered Kites. It was enough for me to try to find a place on the narrow roadway to pull over and take a walk back to see what was happening.

As it turned out.
A lot.
This is not a pair that I’ve worked with before, and probably won’t see again with any regularity.

The male was in the business of renovating or newly constructing a nest, and to my surprise, chose the tree quite near me for his timber collecting duties. It caused me to spare a thought for the effort he has to put in to select and acquire just the right piece of wood.

I don’t normally see this action close up so it was quite intguiging to watch him at work, first selecting a stick to break off, and failing, and then collecting another.

She on the other hand, sat quietly on the other side of the tree. Dreaming, no doubt of mice, or a wide screen tv.

The nest I discovered is 600-800 metres further down the paddock, and far too far away to monitor.