• Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Read Our Newspapers Online
    • Read the Latest Western Port News
    • Read the Latest Mornington News
    • Read the Latest Southern Peninsula News
    • Read the Latest Frankston Times
    • Read the Latest Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News
  • Competition
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • 8 Danny Street, Rye
  • Mornington get first win over Tyabb in 107 years
  • Election picks linger for Liberals and Labor
  • Wakkakiri next week
  • Donations help land, sea projects
  • D-day looms large for local clubs
  • Wild weather strikes, finals fixtures locked in
  • The publisher of ‘The Standard’ stands for council
Facebook Twitter
MPNEWSMPNEWS
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
MPNEWSMPNEWS
Home»News»Eagles soar over shops, freeway
News

Eagles soar over shops, freeway

By Keith PlattFebruary 23, 2015Updated:February 23, 2015No Comments3 Mins Read
Air raid: A magpie resents the presence of a wedge-tailed eagle at The Briars Park, Mt Martha.
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
Air raid: A magpie resents the presence of a wedge-tailed eagle at The Briars Park, Mt Martha.
Air raid: A magpie resents the presence of a wedge-tailed eagle at The Briars Park, Mt Martha.

THE sound of screeching seagulls is nothing new over the shops at Mt Martha. The birds are masters of the air and making the trip across the road from beach to scavenging on the footpath is just a wingbeat away.

But on a Sunday afternoon in early January a glance upwards would have shown shoppers that the screeching of the gulls had nothing to do with squabbles over food.

Not too far above the shops glided a wedge-tailed eagle, its characteristic silhouette raising alarm among the birds underneath.

Sightings of Australia’s largest bird of prey are becoming more common on the Mornington Peninsula, although they may have always been unseen, hunting above paddocks now dissected by Peninsula Link (which also provides a larder of roadkill).

“Just as we drove onto the beginning of Peninsula Link on our way to Dromana today, I was amazed to see a young wedge-tailed eagle fly up from next to the road,” BirdLife Mornington Peninsula member Gillian Barnett has reported earlier this month.

“It swept in a semi-circle and alighted in a eucalypt nearby. Lucky I wasn’t the one driving so I could have a good look.

“I calculated we were inland from Seaford or, if anything, closer to town than that. Perhaps it is looking for a territory of its own?”

Another Birdlife member, Mike Carter, reported a pair of wedge-tailed eagles near the Eastern Treatment Plant, Braeside, on 25 January.

The birds are also a common sight from the leash-free area at Citation Oval, Mt Martha, as they ride the thermals above properties between Nepean Highway and the Moorooduc Highway.

Birdlife president Max Burrows said the eagles had large territories and had previously been known to nest at Main Ridge, Red Hill and Arthurs Seat.

“I have seen them fly over my place at Langwarrin,” he said. “I don’t think they have much competition on the peninsula, but they would be limited [in numbers] by the availability of prey.”

Mr Burrows said wedge-tails preferred live prey, mainly rabbits, to carrion.

Sue Brabender, information ranger at The Briars Park, Mt Martha, said a pair of wedge-tailed eagles has a nest on private property near the The Briars.

“They have one large juvenile so we are still seeing all three or just two of them regularly across The Briars.

Ms Brabender said the trio had also been seen with a fourth “ring-in” and on a recent Friday morning she photographed an eagle being harassed by magpies as it sat in the top of a dead tree near the old quarry half way along the entry driveway to the visitors centre.

“Of course it was not concerned,” she said. “I have also watched them disappear across Nepean Highway and hope people’s small pets are safely concealed.”

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Door opens for comfort

August 15, 2022

Dogs reduced

August 15, 2022

Sharing the bay with dolphins

August 15, 2022

Jetty closed for repairs

August 15, 2022
Add A Comment

Comments are closed.

Weather
Aug 19, 2022 - Fri
Mornington, Australia
10°C
overcast clouds
overcast clouds
1 m/s, W
90%
758.31 mmHg
fri08/19 sat08/20 sun08/21 mon08/22 tue08/23
light rain
11/11°C
moderate rain
11/8°C
scattered clouds
12/11°C
moderate rain
13/9°C
light rain
10/8°C
Peninsula Essence Magazine

Click here to read

July 25, 2022
Peninsula Kids Magazine

Click here to read

May 26, 2022
Council Watch

Shire ‘committed’ to aged care

August 8, 2022

Shire not forced to drop aged care services

August 1, 2022
State Elections 2022

Election picks linger for Liberals and Labor

August 16, 2022

‘Justice’ for animals and climate

August 8, 2022

Peta Murphy wins second term in Dunkley

May 23, 2022
Interview

All aboard for murder mystery

July 25, 2022
Property of the Week

8 Danny Street, Rye

August 17, 2022
100 Years Ago This Week

The publisher of ‘The Standard’ stands for council

August 16, 2022
Contact
Street: 63 Watt Road, Mornington, 3931
Mailing: PO Box 588, Hastings, 3915
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
About

Established in 2006, Mornington Peninsula News Group (MPNG) is a locally owned and operated, independent media company.

MPNG publishes five weekly community newspapers: the Western Port News, Mornington News, Southern Peninsula News, Frankston Times and Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News.

MPNG also publishes two glossy magazines: Peninsula Essence and Peninsula Kids.

Facebook Twitter
© 2022 Mornington Peninsula News Group.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.