This Spotted Harrier fluttered across the paddock like an oversize butterfly, skimming just above the grass, then flew into a nearby patch of small trees. The paddock is opposite the Tuckean Nature Reserve, a swamp and wetland that was once the outflow of the Richmond River Catchment. Over time offshore currents built the sand barrages that finish at the Richmond’s present outlet to the sea at Ballina on the coast of Northern New South Wales.
The area is now mainly farmland, with patches of the original bush that clothed the Richmond Catchment. Further to the north is the Victoria Park Reserve, home to a variety of rainforest birds in one of the few remaining patches of the Big Scrub, a 78,000 hectare semi-tropical forest that once covered a large part of the catchment.
A Spotted Harrier seen across the road from the entrance to the Tuckean Nature Reserve.
A nice view of the Spotted Harrier’s underwing.
A Pale-yellow Robin at Victoria Park Nature Reserve
Pademelon at Victoria Park Nature Reserve.