Birds of Prey - Australian Hobby, Black-breasted Buzzard, Brown Falcons, Wedge-tailed Eagle

As I said in my last post on the Brown Falcon, the Birds of Prey action was fantastic over the past few days. The Australian Hobby in particular was almost too graceful and fast to use the camera, just watching was an amazing experience.
This particular one was hunting near my accommodation and then sat up in the tree just outside the accommodation. Alas it was windy and the leaves managed to spoil some great photo opportunities but it was wonderful to be able to watch the bird at work.
Over the fence and another 20 metres beyond was a large bare tree that all sorts of smaller birds used as a perch. On one of the Hobby's runs, Zebra Finches and Diamond Doves scattered en masse as something, later to realise it was the Hobby, zoomed through low. I hadn't realised just how fast these birds are. Luckily for the smaller birds, the Hobby was after insects, mainly dragonflies I think. A thoroughly enjoyable experience:

Built for speed

Change of direction

How lucky do you think the insect is just below the Hobby, already had prey in talon, but still thought about getting more

Banking right

Snacking

Look at that Talon!

Next on the list was a Black-breasted Buzzard. I saw three of these, all doing roughly the same thing, but this one was the closest. I was hoping it would perch in a nearby tree but no such luck, but it was still lovely to watch as it soared effortlessly around the skies:

Even though I have already posted some shots of Brown Falcons from the past few days, I mentioned in that post how there is a large difference in colour between the immature and the older falcons. The first two photos are of a more mature Brown Falcon, and the last two photos demonstrate that difference between the younger and older falcons:

And finally, one of the most awe-inspiring birds in this group is the Wedge-tailed Eagle just because of its size. The one in these photos is an immature WTE that was sitting in a tree on the side of the road with the sun behind:

Happy Birding!