Tawny Frogmouths (continued)
I have put up an initial post about the 2011 activities of 'my' pair of Tawny Frogouths, but feel that recent developments deserve an up to date post.
The nest has been well used in its new location about 70m West of the site they have used for the last three years. Here are a couple of images of Dad in situ.
He became rather wriggly (changing position quite often) on 5 October and I wonder if that was the date of hatching. Sometime soon after that I noticed white 'stuff' embedded in the structure of the nest. On 13 October I found a chunk (sorry about the technical terms) of eggshell on the ground under the nest. The first sighting of a chick was on 15 October, and judging by its size it was at least a week old.
The chick is the white 'blob'.
About 9am on 16 October the parent was very actively preening the chick - or possibly feeding it, but I can't imagine where it was getting food from (regurgitation?) at that time. Of course I had neither binoculars nor camera with me at the time.
On 20 October I am reasonably sure I was able to pick out two chicks from an image. Certainly the beak of a well developed chick is clearly visible.
On the morning of 21 October, after hanging out some washing, I happened to notice that at least one chick was clearly visible. Perhaps as the morning was warm it stayed out while I galloped indoors to get my camera and took an image, with Dad busy preening either himself or one of the kids..
Looking closely you will either see two chicks or the first evidence of the new subspecies Podargus strigoides birostratus. This image is a few more pixcels than usual 'cos I think it is pretty nifty!
As the day was warm one of the chicks was well exposed later in the day and a couple of cute images were captured.
As usual with baby birds they have grown very quickly. Here are some images from 3 November (ie 14 days after the above).
The behaviour of the female has been interesting as it has mainly roosted in the same tree it used last year (10m from the old nest but about 65m from the new one). Perhaps it will move closer as the demand for food increases?
Even more interesting has been a change in behaviour of the Pied Currawongs that nest in the old tree. They have also changed their nest site this year, but only to the other side of the same huge Yellow Box. However in past years their behaviour towards me has been very rugged: I have been swooped every time I walk across our lawn. Touching wood, they are not doing so this year. I wonder if this is just coincidence or if the presence of the Frogmouth's nest in the tree caused the 'wongs to be permanently stressed? They are not totally docile as they assault the local magpie gang when they get too close to the nest site.
The nest has been well used in its new location about 70m West of the site they have used for the last three years. Here are a couple of images of Dad in situ.
About 9am on 16 October the parent was very actively preening the chick - or possibly feeding it, but I can't imagine where it was getting food from (regurgitation?) at that time. Of course I had neither binoculars nor camera with me at the time.
On 20 October I am reasonably sure I was able to pick out two chicks from an image. Certainly the beak of a well developed chick is clearly visible.
As the day was warm one of the chicks was well exposed later in the day and a couple of cute images were captured.
The behaviour of the female has been interesting as it has mainly roosted in the same tree it used last year (10m from the old nest but about 65m from the new one). Perhaps it will move closer as the demand for food increases?
Even more interesting has been a change in behaviour of the Pied Currawongs that nest in the old tree. They have also changed their nest site this year, but only to the other side of the same huge Yellow Box. However in past years their behaviour towards me has been very rugged: I have been swooped every time I walk across our lawn. Touching wood, they are not doing so this year. I wonder if this is just coincidence or if the presence of the Frogmouth's nest in the tree caused the 'wongs to be permanently stressed? They are not totally docile as they assault the local magpie gang when they get too close to the nest site.
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