Remarkable footage captures return of rare predator after decades: 'Needle in a haystack'
The photographer was initially baffled by what he spotted by the outback lake.
Remarkable video has captured Australia’s rarest bird of prey hunting in Central Australia, an arid region where the species hasn’t been seen for 30 years. Footage taken on Friday, which was supplied to Yahoo News, shows the striking figure of a red goshawk perched on a dead branch close to a lake.
Federally listed as endangered in 2023, the species is now locally extinct across most of eastern Australia, primarily due to habitat destruction. So when ecologist Dr Tim Henderson first spotted the bird on January 15, he was baffled by what he’d seen.
“It looked like nothing I was familiar with. It was a weird shape which is what initially caught my attention… You look at it and are immediately impressed by it on a personal level,” he told Yahoo. “It’s such a rare and endangered bird, so seeing one in Central Australia is like finding a needle in a haystack.”
Henderson found the bird while surveying the grounds of non-profit Australian Wildlife Conservancy's 262,000-hectare Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, which lies 400km northwest of Alice Springs. It’s not uncommon to see large flocks of budgies, wild dingoes, and occasionally the park’s resident grey falcons.
You can watch the rare footage of the red goshawk drawing unwanted attention from another predatory bird below. Another clip further down the page briefly captures the bird in flight.
Related: Hunt for Aussie animal not seen for 30 years
Predatory bird spotted trying to take on duck
Red goshawks survive mostly around Australia’s tropical north, but recent research has shown juveniles sometimes travel inland to learn how to hunt and survive.
The bird Henderson documented is believed to be in its first year of life. He first spotted it with its crop completely filled with prey, making its neck bulge. The individual has now been documented on three occasions, most recently on Sunday, meaning it's called the region home for close to two weeks.
“It’s exciting to see it learning to hunt — it will fail and then succeed. It’s trying to work out what species it can take. It tried to take on a grey teal, a medium-sized duck. Then we saw it trying to catch a zebra finch, which is tiny,” Henderson said.
🦐 Banning of 'morally outrageous' trap a major win for Aussie animal
🌳 Call for nature strips to be replaced with bee-friendly plants
Was the red goshawk sighting a 'freak event'?
While many Aussies think of Central Australia as being inhospitable, last year the region received heavy rainfall which filled the lakes. Henderson believes the red goshawk sighting highlights the importance of arid zones in supporting the complex lifecycles of wildlife.
“I wouldn’t put the sighting down to a freak event. It seems like it happens on a regular basis. It’s just that these birds are so rare, and the areas are so remote,” he said.
“There could be dozens coming inland. Not as far south as Newhaven, but definitely to northern Central Australia’s semi-arid zones.”
The sighting was confirmed as a red goshawk by Dr Rich Seaton, from Birdlife Australia, who is collaborating on research into the species with Indigenous ranger groups.
“It’s a unique-looking bird of prey, but they can be very tricky to identify in the field,” he said.
“It has beautiful, barred plumage; long, broad wings with finger-like feathers; and big feet and talons for hunting other birds. They’re quite fearsome — there are not too many predators that would take on a sulphur-crested cockatoo, but this thing eats them for breakfast.”
Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week’s best stories.
