Birds of the week – two freed Wedge-tailed Eagles

This picture is of one of the two Wedge-tailed Eagles (Alice and Acacia) that have lived at and performed free-flying exhibitions during twice-daily shows at the Alice Springs Desert Park just outside of Alice Springs in central Australia.

I’ve been going to the Desert Park for a few years, both as a local interested in seeing the great collections of birds and animals of the desert at the Park, and also as a volunteer from time to time.

And it was while I was volunteering at the Park a few years ago that I came face-to-face at very close quarters with one of the two Wedgies then flying at the park. I spent a week volunteering at the Park and a day or so up with the raptor keepers at their area behind where they free-fly their charges. One of the jobs I was given was to hose out and clean the cages (known as ‘mews’) where the larger birds of prey spend their days.

The Southern Boobook Owl was cool as were the Brown Falcons, the Black-breasted Buzzard and the Australian Hobby – they mainly just hung in the corners while I hosed food scraps and shit off the walls and floor. But the big fellas – the Wedgies – that was another matter all together.

They seem big enough when you see them in the wild – but close up – that is another matter entirely.

Wedgie females – most Australian raptors are sexually size dimorphic with females substantially larger than male birds – can weigh up to 5 kilos and have a wingspan up to 2.3 metres across – but none of that means much when you are stuck inside what seems an ever-shrinking mews 10 metres long by 4 wide and 5 high where you would think there was plenty of room for the two of you – until the bird comes rushing at you at hair-parting close quarters, wings and tail spread and bill agape. It is one of those moments when you hope you have put a clean pair of jocks on that morning and have your will in order.

The Alice Springs Desert Park has a great collection of raptors – and many other birds from around the region and I try to get there as often as possible – partly to see what new birds they might have in and also to familiarise myself at close quarters with birds that I will come across in less favourable viewing circumstances in the field.

The Wedgies are among my favourite birds at the Park – particularly their twice-daily free -flying exhibition where several other raptor species are flown on a rotating basis. I’ve seen quite a few free-flying raptor displays at various centres across the globe and the show at the Desert Park is the best of all.

Another of my favourite birds at the Park is the Australian Hobby Falco longipennis – a small, incredibly fast, agile and beautiful raptor found across Australia and that can be seen at its glorious best during the free-flying displays at the Park.

So, after becoming so familiar with Alice and Acacia and their free-flying displays at the Park I had mixed feelings about the recent news that the birds would be released into the wild.

On the one hand I would miss their stunning displays the next time I returned to the Park – which I will try to do when I’m in Alice Springs next week. On the other hand I am pleased for the birds – I always have a vague unsettling feeling when I see birds in a cage – and this would be among the real moral questions that I am sure the keepers at the Park wrestle with on a daily basis.

I’m sure would have been given long and careful consideration about the release of Alice and Acacia that had spent the majority of their lives in captivity. But the overwhelming consideration would have to be the health and welfare of the birds – not how it might affect revenue of the feelings of the many thousands of tourists that have seen the eagles flying free.

Ever since I first saw the Wedge-tails free-flying at the park I have been aware that there were real issues of concern with the interaction between the two captive birds and a pair of wild local Wedge-tails.

The Park is set in large grounds that butt up against the sheers cliffs of the north facing wall of the West MacDonnell ranges just outside of Alice Springs in central Australia.

On several occasions I have seen the wild birds, who had established a breeding territory along the nearby ranges, storm into the Park area while the captive Wedge-tails were being displayed.

The ensuing interactions are spectacular and riveting – watching these top-predators engage in the whole box-and-dice of agonistic, defensive and aggressive display behaviours – talon-grappling, undulating flight, mutual soaring, rolling and cartwheeling – at close quarters is a fantastic and all-too-rare thing to see.

But at what cost to the captive (and the wild) birds?

And it is this behaviour – the territorial dispute between wild and captive birds – that finally forced the hands of the Park’s dedicated bird keepers and the decision was recently taken to set the captive birds free in a similar, but distant, territory.

To see an excellent, if too short, video account of the birds’ release see this report from the ABC.

And, as could be expected with two species that have shared this land in central Australia for thousands of years, Aboriginal people in the desert have a great deal of knowledge about the life histories and biology of the Wedge-tailed Eagle (and other raptors).

The Warlpiri people have lived in the Tanami Desert region for tens of thousands of years and the entry for the Wedge-tailed Eagle in Kirr-kirr, the Warlpiri language interactive dictionary, provides an inkling of the depth of this knowledge.

The main Warlpiri name for the Wedge-tailed eagle is Warlawurru and this entry records some aspects of ceremonial use of Warlawurru feathers:

Nyanungu warlawurru – ngulakarnalurla pinkirrpa watjirni kankarluwarnu. Kankarlumparra-warnu?. Wiri-wiri karnalu pinkirrpa pajirni – kankarlumparra-warnu-pirdinypa – kanunjuwarnuju karnalu warntikirlilki mani – mardukurulku. Mardukurulku karnalu kanunjuwarnuju – pajirni. Watjirni karnalurla – mardukuru warntikirli yangka – ngula karnalu jujulku – yalirliji kijirni. Parnpangku. Mardukururlu nyanungurluju. Mardukuruju warntikirli-jala. Warntikirli karnalu – yalilki karnalu warntikirlilki kanunjuwarnulku kirlka-mani – ngaka karnalu ngula-jangka purrami. Ngakalku. Purrami karnalu. Ngarninjakulku.

That Wedge-tailed Eagle, we put out its feathers from on top. And from underneath. The pull out the big feathers from on top and then we pluck the white down from underneath. We then pull out the down that is underneath. We pluck it of that white down and we use it to make ritual designs during ceremonies. The down is white. It is the white down that we clean off from underneath and then we cook it (i.e. the bird) after that. We cook it to eat it.

And this entry illustrates the depth of Warlpiri biological knowledge and life history of the Warlawurru:

Warlawurruju ngulaju witawangu. Palka witawangu ka nyina. Kujaka nguruwana wapa warlawurru. Marlurlangu ka – pantirni. Pinyi kanyanu kuyu marlu. Yulkaminyirlangu, marlu, manu yulkaminyi – mala – pinyi kajana nyanungurluju. Warlawurrurluju. Kuyu ka ngarni. Warlawurru kujaka nyina, ngulaji ka panukuju kamparru nyina. Wiri. Marujala palkaju, manu layirlayirlangukula ngari yangka marurlangukula – warlawurruju. Mulyu ka wiri nyina. Kirrirdi. Kaninjarrakarilki ka narntirn-karri yiri-nyayirni. Mulyuju. Wirliya, yiljirli kujaka nyina, yiri-nyayirni wiri. Ngulangku kujaka kuyu pantirni kanyanu. Kurlardapiyarlu – nyanungurluju warlawurrurluju. Puuly-mardarni ka tarnnga. Pinyilki ka yangka walyangkarlulku – kankarlarrajangkarlu, kankarlurlujala ka nguruwanarlu nyanyi; kulalparla wuruly-parnkayarla warlawurruku, marlurlangu, kankarlumparrarlu ka wajirli-pinyi, kaninjarrakarilki karla pantirninjakungarnti jangkardu kaninjarrakari-jarri. Kujaka kuyu ngarni pinjarla, warlawurrurlu, ngulaji karla witaku yangka warlawurruku kanyi yuwalikirrarlangu. Kuyuju. Watiya wirijarlu ka yirrarni warntawarnta, yuwalirlaju, yuwalikila ngantirninjaku yuwaliki, kurdukungarntiji, parrkalku kankarlumparra, ngulangka nyina kankarlarningintilki. Kuyurlangu yangka yingarla kanyirni. Witaku. Warlawurruku. Kankarlarninginti nyinamiyi nyanungu. Yinga ngarniyi witangku.

The Wedge Tailed Eagle is very big. It has a big body. The eagle Hawk moves about in the sky. It kills animals like kangaroos in its talons. It kills itself kangaroos to eat. The eagle hawk kills wallabies, kangaroos and small marsupials. It eats meat. The Wedge-tailed Eagle is the biggest of all (birds). The Wedge-tailed Eagle’s body is black, but it is also grey as well as black. It has a big long beak which is curved downwards and which is very sharp and pointed. Its feet, those claws are very big and sharp. It is with them than the Wedge-tailed Eagle stabs itself meat – like with a spear. It grabs hold of them and doesn’t let go. Then it kills them down on the ground, after coming down from the sky. It sees some animal when it is up overhead in the sky. An animal like a kangaroo cannot run away from the Wedge-tailed Eagle. It chases it overhead and then it swoops down to attack and stab it in its talons. When it has killed the animal it eats it and then it takes some meat to the little ones, the baby Eagle Hawks in their nest. It puts a big piece of wood across its nest, that is to construct the nest before the little ones are born, it puts leafy branches over the top and they perch on top of that. That is where it takes the meat for the baby Eagles. It perches on top while the little ones eat.

And, while it is useful to appreciate the depth and value of this Aboriginal knowledge of birds, for most people the closest they will ever get to a Wedge-tailed Eagle is when they run into one with their car.

We see a lot of Wedge-tailed Eagles here in central Australia – mainly on the side of the road on or near to road-kill kangaroos and cattle.

Many eagles and other birds of prey get hit by cars as, gorged with meat from the road-kill, they are slow to get airborne.

And of course many people drive far to fast and fail to keep a watch out for birds on or near to the road.

Wedgies won’t be threatened by this needless slaughter but wouldn’t it be nice if people were able to appreciate the birds live rather than dead?

Do you have a story about Wedge-tailed eagles from where you live? Or an opinion about this essay?

Register (once only) and leave a comment!