So...you guys want to see what the inside of a rat looks like? Not in an x-ray kind of way either but I'm talking some next level, skin peeled back, vertebrae on display, Silence of the Lambs shit.
We were doing the rockpool thing today, looking for crabs, hoping for Octopus, finding only a few of the former and none of the latter when we looked up to the plant where we saw the BSK last week and wouldn't you know it, sat right at the top was a beautiful bird starting to break into a freshly caught rat. Now being UNDER a feeding raptor is not the best place to stand - BSKs seem to pluck the rats prior to eating - from what I saw today it actually looks like they are making an incision almost, certainly opening up the body and it appears that they (or at least the BSK today) remove the fur from the area to make it easier to get into. Either way, as it's removed the breeze catches it and little tufts of fur rain on down from above - not exactly a pleasant position to be in.
We decided to head up away from the falling fur and for a better vantage point which unfortunately for me (actually probably fortunately for me because I'm needing to reduce my enormous butt somewhat) required some stair work 😂😳 I made it, but I certainly 'felt the burn' and I don't think I breathed normally for about five minutes but wow, was it worth it!!! We had an almost eye level view and watched as the kite peeled back the skin and ate from what looked like a cut really, straight down the centre of the rat's belly.
There's nothing quite like watching a bird partially swallow a string of bones, only to have some remain dangling out of its beak which it proceeds to 'cough' back up and attempt to swallow a couple more times! I started to have flashbacks to eating fish at home when I was younger and the panic of getting a bone stuck in my throat only to have mum hand over the white bread to help get it down - there was no bringing it up and swallowing it back down in my day! 😂
Black-Shouldered Kite
Sandon Point
#birdsofoz #birdnerd #sandonpoint #bulli #blackshoulderedkites #raptors #northernillawarra #coalcoast #birdsofprey #backyardzoology
