Whilst guiding near Port Douglas recently my guests and I were observing an Eastern Osprey nest which is positioned on a large electricity stauntion. It is one of eight nests close to town. As we watched one of the Ospreys then returned from the direction of the sea with a sizable fish. About one hundred metres out from the nest a Brown Falcon loomed “out of nowhere” with a full on aerial attack from below on the Osprey. The pursuit continued until both birds went out of view behind some tall melaleucas. The Osprey then returned unceremoniously (without the fish) to it’s mate at the nest within a minute. Aside from robbing a larger species, how did the Brown Falcon develop a taste for fish? In a lifetime of observing raptors, this is the first time that I have observed a Brown Falcon act in this manner and it would appear with this particular bird that the procedure may have been well practiced.
Del. Richards, Fine Feather Tours, Mossman, NQ. ===============================
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