MATT HARVEY IMAGES: 'Wedgies'

One of the perks of my work is the very high occurrence of Wedge-tailed Eagle sightings. You don't have to travel to far in the Cooper Basin to see a 'Wedgie' or two. I have had a long standing fascination with these birds, and have even had the pleasure of working with them in captivity. As with all wildlife, it is in a natural state that I prefer to see Wedgies..

Out at work there is a pair that I have become very familiar with. Most days, at some stage I will head down to a back paddock where there is a pair that seem to spend the majority of their time roosting. The birds are nearly always found in one of three large old Bloodwood trees that are found in the area. The area is a fringe habitat changing from a red sandy low dune field to Gibber plain country. Two large eagle nests are present, barely a hundred metres apart.

The female is possibly younger than the male, looking at plumage and general appearance, she is also bigger, which is to be expected, and she is also comes across as the calmer more content of the two. Over the last few months she has become conditioned to my presence, and these days she is happy for me to approach her, take a seat for a while, then leave her again her without ever giving me too much notice.

The male, however, is far shyer and doesn't really take to being approached or having his photo taken. Not wanting to disturb him or the relations of the pair, I generally give him the swerve, not wanting him to go aerial every time I show up. Normally he is found by scanning the horizon in a several hundred metre radius in all directions from the girl. He is very dark, much darker than the female, suggesting he is a of a more mature age. He has a large head and his talons seem to be big relative to his size. Even now I cant describe what it is, but there is something about him that makes him one of the most attractive Wedge-tailed Eagles I have ever come across.

A heavily cropped shot of the male.

Every so often I am required to drive to the town of Eromanga. Eromanga is the furthest Australian town to any sea. The road out of Eromanga is usually absolutely littered with road kill. Red Kangaroos and Emus are the most prolific victims. Cattle, Dingos, Feral Pigs, Sand Goannas, Brown Falcons and Wedge-tailed Eagles make up the rest. Wedgies are so prolific on this stretch of road that I have seen up to 12 eagles hanging around a single roo carcass. The Wedgies themselves often become a roadside carcass, being to slow and cumbersome to get out of the way of oncoming traffic after gorging themselves on a free meal.

One of many on this stretch of road.

A nice looking pair near Eromanga

Australian Hobby Falcon

These birds are not interested in road kill, but were doing well out of the plentiful grasshoppers around since recent rain.

Back towards the Cooper, a Dingo slinks away from the road.

I stopped for a quick drive of this old beast.

A young Wedgie reclaims a meal from the Crows

Back at the local paddock, I was sitting near the female for a fair period before something caught her eye and she jumped off the perch. After several powerful beats she glided low above the ground for several hundred metres before coming to rest again in a far away tree. I later found a rabbit warren directly under her flight path with fresh rabbit tracks briefly leaving the hole, before quickly turning back down the hole again.

The back paddock turns up a few other interesting encounters, Bourke's Parrots have been pretty common in the area since recent rain. One pair I have been keeping an eye on, are definitely at least showing interest in a nest hollow of a small Bloodwood tree.