I'm not sure why, but I've been getting emails of some Australian birds from a couple of people--don't get me wrong, I love 'em, I just didn't expect 'em.
I have been sent these photos from Maarten Vanderhaar who has a couple of blogs. One is Maarten's Digital Travels (and be sure to check this post--no possible way I will ever use that toilet) and now is starting a bird related photo blog.

He sent this, which was a treat:

They have osprey in Australia--sweet. I can't explain it, but there is something a little different about the Aussie version--looks a little beefier than our sleeker ospreys. They must deal with heavy duty fish.

This was originally sent as a sea eagle but the face to me doesn't say eagle. I was thinking it might be a whistling kite, but I'm not an expert on raptors down under. I almost turned this into a photo contest but was worried that it might cause a mutiny.

Out of curiosity, anyone want to take a gander at this species? Yes, it's from Australia.