Its a Hop, Skip and Jump to Kangaroo Island - Retrospective TR (updated 5/1)

[PrincessInOz]

Catching the Early Bird



We did head out relatively early. Most of us were on the road by 8 am in the morning. 9 am in the morning, and the group made it to Raptor Domain.





Raptor Domain is an establishment that takes in any raptor that needs help. Sadly, most of the birds that they take in cannot be released back into the wild so the centre uses them to create awareness.
The Domain normally opens at 10 am; but we had negotiated an early opening and special presentation for us.
Yes, this is all about catching the early bird!





If you aren't into birds, move right along. This post will be all about the birds.




Meet Missy. She is a Peregrine Falcon.





She is fast and swift.......and hungry.





Tilka, the Wedge-Tail Eagle was next.




It chased the lure......




....and was rewarded with it's breakfast portion.





(continued in next post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

Breakfast was a quarter rabbit. I'm just glad I ate before I came!







Tilka is one of those birds that was unable to be released back in the wild.





We moved from the open field to the show arena. From there, we were treated to more birds.
This is Acacia, the Carnaby Black Cockatoo.






We were also treated to a flying display by Yacca, the yellow tailed black cockatoo.




Boo Boo the owl also came out to say hoot hoot.




She was a real poser.




So was Nellie, another Wedge Tail. A number of us were lucky enough to hold her.






Maraki, the White Bellied Sea Eagle, was just majestic.






She did a number of flying passes and was just a dream to shoot!




Maybe there is such a thing as too close!





(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

Caspar, the Barn Owl, was next.




It might not have been night time, but Caspar was happy to show off as well.




Such a beautiful bird!





Wally and his daughter Muppet are Tawny Frogmouths. I thought they might have been a bit grumpy, but it was still early morning.





Where's Wally????





Matilda, the Masked Owl, was next.







She was really pretty!






Omen, the Sooty Owl, kept a watchful eye on us.







As did Muriel, the Pacific Baza.





The group could have stayed here all day; but we needed to fly.





By this stage, we had truly exceeded the 90 minutes it was supposed to take to get to the other side of the island. Bwa ha ha ha ha!

 

[juniorbugman]

Matilda, the Masked Owl, was next.

Love all your pictures but I really like the colours of this bird and its wings look like a crocheted vest

 

[PrincessInOz]

Love all your pictures but I really like the colours of this bird and its wings look like a crocheted vest

Thank you! You and I think alike. That bird made my calendar last year.

 

[franandaj]

I'm not a huge bird person, but your pictures were spectacular! I really liked looking at all the different species of birds that they had there!