THE Weekender’s contributing photographer Gary Tate has the bird watching world a flutter with sightings of a couple of rare species.
He’s recently photographed oriental honey buzzards and a Eurasian hobby over Lake Joondalup in Yellagonga Regional Park.
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READ NOWBuzzards, normally found in Asia, have been visiting the lake over the past three or four summers, and Gary’s recent photographs have attracted bird enthusiasts to the lake’s edge.
“I have encountered people from nearly every other state in Australia who have travelled to Perth specifically to sight this species of bird,” he said.
“With over 140 recorded species of birds, Yellagonga Regional Park could become a destination for ‘twitchers’.
“It is unfortunate that we do not have any bird hides and only two observation decks within the 1400ha Yellagonga park.”
He believed there were up to four oriental honey buzzards visiting the lake this year.
His photograph of the Eurasian hobby (below), “another rare vagrant to Perth and Wanneroo”, coincided with Gary’s first sighting of the species.
“It breeds across Africa, Europe and Asia and is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa and Asia,” he said.
“There have been sightings over the past two years around Bibra Lake.”
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