Frogmouth chick rescue 

Following on from the last post on how frogmouth fledglings are vulnerable to becoming grounded and dying in tall grass, I found such a bird yesterday. I was monitoring the progress of some of my study birds and was expecting them to have fledged the night before. When I went to the nest site, I saw that they had indeed fledged. The nest was empty and the parents were perched on a branch in a neighbouring tree with one chick beside them. That raised alarm in me as I knew there had been two chicks ready to fledge only a few days prior. Usually, when there are two fledglings and they have split up, mum will sit beside one chick and dad with the other. But, there were both parents with only one chick. Where was the other. Unlike in the previous post, when one chick had probably grounded in wet tall grass and succumbed to hypothermia, in this case the grass was tall, but dry, so I reckoned that if a chick had grounded in the tall grass in the previous night, it could still be alive. So I searched for it, very, very slowly, and careful to look down into the grass before I moved my feet. I didn't want to step on it.

As the adults tend to sit with a chick each if they are separated, I thought the missing chick might be directly below where the rest of the family were perched. And yes, it was, and it was alive.

The grass was more than knee deep and thick, so the bird could not climb up, fly up on its weak wings, or even struggle through the dense growth. It would have died if I had not found it.

The fledgling had fluttered about twenty metres before grounding, not far from the nest branch which can be seen in the background.

And yes the chick was not only alive but perky, giving a ferocious sounding growl as I bent down to pick it up. It opened its big mouth wide and flashed its wings to appear powerful and more fearsome than it really was. 

Of course, once the fledgling began to react, its parenst both reacted to my interference. They both hooted aggressively and swooped over me. That is a big commitment for frogmouths as they only fly in daylight under extreme circumstances of danger. Here dad sits above me, watching my every move as I carefully picked up his still-dependent offspring.

The fledgling looked bigger than it actually was. Most of its growth so far had been in bone and feather development. There were only weak muscles beneath all that fluff.

I popped the bird onto a dead branch in the shade below where the family were perched. This is the best thing to do if anyone finds a frogmouth chick on the ground. The adults will be close by watching. Just because we might not see any adults, that does not mean there are none there. These are frogmouths, masters of disguise and they can be very difficult to see when perched motionless in a tree, which is what they do most the day.

The fledgling soon settled on its new perch and as I walked away it faded deeper and deeper into the mix of branches. I reckon it would have been safe and a parent would soon fly down to perch next to it for the rest of the day to defend it.

But how many other fledglings have died this year in the wet and windy we have had.

Three Capes Track - Tasmania

A slideshow of photographs from a recent trip.

The lighthouse on Tasman Island is picked out by sunshine. The rocky pillars on the right form the Blade, a spectacular highpoint above the sound. The island is mostly bare of tall vegetation since its forest was cleared for firewood by the lighthouse keepers and eaten by their stocks of sheep, goats, cattle and pigs. The light was first lit in 1906 and automated in 1977. Shrubs and small trees are slowly reclaiming the land, and the island's breeding populations of Short-tailed Shearwaters and Fairy Prions are recovering after near eradication by feral cats, which were descendants of the lighthouse keepers pets.

This walk was over four days and is on well-laid paths all the way. Day one was short, beginning in dry woodland on the west coast of the peninsula and ending with a view over to Cape Raoul. On day two the path followed the clifftops and then cut inland through heaths full of wild flowers. Day three was spent walking out to Cape Pillar and back to the lodge, taking in the views across the Tasman Passge to Tasman Island. The fourth day was a long one out to Fortesque Bay, through the wetter east coast forest with lush ferns and mosses. Before heading down to Fortesque Bay, a detour leads out to Cape Hauy. That path ends abruptly right above the gap seperating the Candlestick from the mainland. The Candlestick is a very dramatic pillar and would be stunning enough if alone. However, its glory is stolen by the much smaller, singular dolerite pillar of the Totem Pole standing right in the narrowest section of the gap. This pillar is a popular rock climb (65m) although as can be seen, access to its base and return from the summit are difficult and weather must rebuff many long-awaited attempts.

The whole walk is so photogenic that I took too many shots to show here. So, I have collated some of these to give a sense of the walk's atmosphere as it meanders around the peninsula. Every turn in the path revealed another view, flower, tree or cliff. The whole mix was refreshing and I don't have any favourites. Others who have been there too, or plan to go will have their own favourite experiences. 

This slideshow follows the route as described and is merely an illustaration of what to expect. For details of the walk check the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service website: https://www.threecapestrack.com.au/ 

Watch out for the Tiger Snake, it's a black variety sunbathing in the grass.

Follow this link to follow my experience: 

Link to the slideshow

Tawny Frogmouth chicks:

vulnerable when fledging

Tawny Frogmouth chicks are now fledging in Canberra, and unfortunately there have been some heavy and prolonged rainstorms at the same time. This has caused some chicks to be grounded when they fly between trees and if they stay there, they can be vulnerable to predators such as cats and foxes - both introduced pest species. Every year, people find such grounded fledgling frogmouths and are tempted to take them home to save them. After all, they are the most Instagrammable bird in the world, with their fluffiness, big forward facing eyes and apparent sad mouth-line. See the scientific paper below that describes the relevant study:

Thommes, K. & Havn-Leichsenring, G. (2021). What Instagram can teach us about bird photography and color preferences. i-Perception, 12: 20416695211003585.

This chick was low to the ground, on a fallen branch, but its sibling had disappeared. It probably died during the heavy rain in the previous night after grounding in the tall grass and weeds that are growing all through the woods this year due to the rain. The birds cannot climb up out of tall wet grass and can quickly succumb to exposure. 

It is difficult for me to walk through the tall grass and weeds. It must be deadly for frogmouth fledglings. And I have seen this happen before.

Nevertheless, please do not pick these birds up and take them home. They are not pets. The best thing to do is place them on a nearby branch, up off the ground, as high as possible and walk away quietly, without drawing attention of any predatory birds that might be watching, such as ravens or currawongs. The chick's parents will be watching them, like the adult pair in the background of this picture.

And the chicks have a very good threat display, if they are attacked. Although even that pose makes them very Instagrammable. 

 A New Spring

By our calendar it is still winter in Canberra, but the wildlife have considered it spring for a couple of weeks now and they are showing the signs.

This Shingleback was sunning itself in a wood the other day, the first of two I saw that day and the fourth so far this Spring. They all lay perfectly motionless with their bodies spread wide to absorb the sun's heat.

This Golden-headed Cisticola popped up out of the grass as I passed through an ungrazed paddock overgrown with weeds. He gave a few alarm calls at my presence then dropped back down and disappeared into the grsss.

And the first Tawny Frogmouths have laid their eggs. The males are now incubating all day, for the next four weeks, remaining still to avoid detection by predators, such as Brown Goshawks, a pair of which were displaying over this birds nest wood. 

The frogmouths share incubation during the night, but during the day, this bird's partner will remain similarly still in her nearby roost all day, watching for predators - and watching me as I pass by.

 Snake skin 

I found this cast skin from an Eastern Brown Snake last week. It was lying in the grass in the old riverside graveyard in Queanbeyan. 

I have never found a complete skin before and it was quite long with a sizeable girth. Snakes need to cast their skin to grow.

Laid out, it measured 135 cm tip to tail.

Although, the neck was concertinaed, so the actual length was probably more like 140 cm. 

The best feature of the skin was the preserved detail. The scale pattern on the back, belly, head and lips were complete. The pattern of the scales is unique to each species and the pattern on the head and lips can help identify them if ever in doubt of whether they are venomous or not. Handy when in close, very close, proximity. Best of all were the spectacles, the scales or brilles, that cover the eyes were still in situ, if a little popped open. Two transparent semi-spheres turned inside out.

I wonder how long that snake is now.

 Poor snake

This Eastern Brown Snake had been run over by a car and its body was lying in an agonised twist. 

The snake had been killed a day or before and ants had began eating it.

The ants had exposed the bone structure of the snake's body. They were nibbling away at the skin and flesh from the belly round to the back and the long looping ribs were being stripped clean. 

It was a good opportunity to see an example of the specialised skeletal structure that has evolved over millennia. However, one I would have preferred not to have seen. Please take care not to run over animals on the road, even snakes, they are fascinating animals.