Behind the Study: Tracking Australia’s Rarest Bird of Prey

Australia’s rarest bird of prey, the Red Goshawk, is a species most birders would be lucky to sight in a lifetime.

AWC Senior Ecologist, Dr Richard Seaton and PhD candidate Chris MacColl are not most birders. By taking advantage of technological advancements the pair have defied this trend, with support from AWC, The University of Queensland, Queensland Department of Environment and Science, and Rio Tinto Weipa.

Though the endangered species’ elusive behaviour and low population densities previously made it exceptionally difficult to study, technological advancements have allowed us to counter these challenges. By equipping the birds with GPS satellites, Chris and Dr Seaton have been able to track individual’s movements for many years at a time, gain a previously unafforded view into the species’ lives.

Nine years on, the results of this research have been both enlightening and significant, informing the species’ conservation…