An adult Little Eagle flies low overhead
PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM STUDY OF LITTLE EAGLES IN THE ACT AND NEARBY NSW IN 2018–2019
Rae, S., Wimpenny, C., Mulvaney, M., Davies, M., Fletcher, D., Roberts, D., and Olsen, P.
(2019). Preliminary results from study of little eagles in the ACT and nearby NSW in
2018-2019. Canberra Bird Notes 44: 145-151. Open pdf
Abstract. There was a minimum of nine nesting pairs of Little Eagles (Hieraaetus morphnoides) in the ACT in the 2018/19 breeding season. Seven pairs laid eggs and five pairs successfully fledged a chick each. Two pairs were seen attending nests but were not known to have laid eggs. Four additional breeding pairs were monitored in nearby NSW; single chicks were successfully reared by three of these and one nesting attempt failed. The main prey type was rabbits (61%), then small/medium-sized birds (32%) and lizards (7%). More rabbits and fewer birds and reptiles were eaten in 2018–19 than in 2017–18. Samples of birds’ movements were followed with GPS-satellite transmitters. Adult males ranged mostly within 2-5 km of their nest sites and they left their breeding areas in early March. By April one had flown 2000 km to northern Queensland, one 450 km to Melbourne and another had ranged between 50 km west of the ACT and 100 km to the east. Juvenile eagles stayed mostly within 2 km of their nest sites before they left the area in early March. By April, one juvenile had dispersed 2000 km to Northern Queensland and another 450 km to south-east Victoria, via Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. A juvenile reared in the ACT in 2017 flew to south-east Queensland in its first winter, then to south-east Victoria via South Australia in the following spring and summer.
Flight paths of Little Eagles that dispersed from the ACT post breeding season:
three adult males (D2, X2 and Z5) and three young birds (B6, D4 and V2).
The highlight of this year's report was the distribution of the birds out of the breeding season. The above map shows how both young and adult birds dispersed widely across eastern Australia. Click on the link above to read the full report.