AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. SEARCHING FOR THE LETTER WINGED KITE IN QUEENSLAND'S REMOTE OUTBACK.TIM SIGGS ABM.

The letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus)


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The Letter-winged Kite is an iconic Australian Raptor that lives in remote desert areas.
There is so much that is unique about this bird and it’s status is almost mythical among birders.
The fact that they hunt nocturnally is in itself fascinating and they are reliant on the Long-haired Rat population as their main diet. This desert species (Rattus villosissimus ) have a ‘boom-bust cycle and in the boom years, the Kites breed in loose colonies, often along dry creek beds. Following these successful years, the rat population often crashes and leaves the Kites searching for food.
Unfortunately, many Kites starve to death and their numbers plummet. Feral cats are also a big threat to their survival as they predate on the eggs and nestlings. Some colonies have been wiped out by these introduced predators.
My own personal quest to find and film this species has spanned 2 decades. It’s a long way out to the deserts and the conditions have been poor on my first few visits. Ironically, there were a pair only 1.5 hours from Brisbane in the late 90’s but I had the desire to see these birds in their Outback environment and passed on this opportunity.

After all, it was the only Australian Raptor I had not filmed.
Back then, there was no internet where information is shared and the best thing we had was general localities from trip reports. Conditions change rapidly out there and by the time one could get to the location, the birds may have moved on.
This short documentary represents my 4th attempt to find them and I am grateful to Laurie Ross ( Tracks Birding and Photography Tours ) for putting me in the right area. The outback is unthinkably vast and it’s a big advantage to know approximately where to look.
I do hope to find a colony one day and to learn more about this special bird.
The beauty of any venture 'Out west' is that one invariably finds a range of not only birds but all kinds of Fauna including some wonderful Reptiles.