FIVEBOUGH WETLANDS, LEETON NSW

After a few days of heavy rain, the sun came out for us during our first visit to Fivebough Wetlands near Leeton in NSW. 

You can read up on Fivebough at this site  or check for bird sightings at ebird - for us it was a delightful walk around the wetlands on a bright and crisp coolish morning. We weren't overwhelmed with birds, it is winter after all, but we did really enjoy seeing the magpie geese, a new species for us. 

Tuckerbil, however, is at least 9km away, and inaccessible after the rain...disappointing. Even so, the trip out to Tuckerbil was not in vain because on the nearby Sanderson Road, a magnificent nankeen kestral was hunting over the paddocks and obliged us with many great poses including its parting shot - cradling its prey - an unlucky mouse - back to its perch.

Early in its repertoire, it swopped down into the paddock to catch an insect or a lizard, and devoured them mid-flight. It had many goes at sampling hovering mid-air, eyeing its prey. What a fun time we had watching and photographing this magnificent bird.