Dad 4's chicks travelling well
Hi All,
Sometimes you don’t know how good you’ve got it till it’s gone. This week we lost our newspaper delivery service and I haven’t seen a paper all week. I mostly miss the Tully Times and Anne and Laurie’s wonderful wildlife articles. Other than that perhaps there will be some benefit in not reading the news.
It’s two weeks now since Dad 4 left his chicks. Thursday morning the chicks were separated. One showed up when I filled the Western food station at 6am. He was whistling loudly and I could hear the other chick out to the east in the mangrove forest whistling a reply. At 10 am the whistling stopped and I saw them reunited. This morning as I opened the gate in the drizzling rain the chicks ran out of the rainforest and up behind me.
Sometimes you don’t know how good you’ve got it till it’s gone. This week we lost our newspaper delivery service and I haven’t seen a paper all week. I mostly miss the Tully Times and Anne and Laurie’s wonderful wildlife articles. Other than that perhaps there will be some benefit in not reading the news.
It’s two weeks now since Dad 4 left his chicks. Thursday morning the chicks were separated. One showed up when I filled the Western food station at 6am. He was whistling loudly and I could hear the other chick out to the east in the mangrove forest whistling a reply. At 10 am the whistling stopped and I saw them reunited. This morning as I opened the gate in the drizzling rain the chicks ran out of the rainforest and up behind me.
When I turned to look at them they stopped suddenly then ran off into the rainforest. I had a dark grey raincoat on and I swear I could see the disappointment in their eyes when they realized I was not their Dad.
The lone chick at Coquette Point now has subadult colour. I do not known its parentage however it is looking healthy. I often see it hanging about the houses at the top of the range. Another chick about the same age was reported wandering the streets in East Innisfail. It is most properly the chick I photographed about a month ago, it had crossed the bridge and was heading into the Sea Haven site. The chick’s position was reported to the Cassowary Hotline.
The lone chick at Coquette Point now has subadult colour. I do not known its parentage however it is looking healthy. I often see it hanging about the houses at the top of the range. Another chick about the same age was reported wandering the streets in East Innisfail. It is most properly the chick I photographed about a month ago, it had crossed the bridge and was heading into the Sea Haven site. The chick’s position was reported to the Cassowary Hotline.
The Zodiac moths are spilling out of the Moresby Range National Park and are in the mangrove and riparian forests at the mouth of the Johnstone. They are clustering together in small groups to mate.
The sunbirds are busy building nests and I can tell you it can be quite hazardous to stand in the way of a busy nest-building female as she tirelessly zips backwards and forwards, at great speed, carrying nest material.
Meanwhile the male takes a background supervisory role. I was delighted to observe two males in a singing contest while the female looked on, unimpressed. The male seems to have a bevy of songs. The song I heard on this occasion was a continuous vibrating note in a high pitch.
Meanwhile the male takes a background supervisory role. I was delighted to observe two males in a singing contest while the female looked on, unimpressed. The male seems to have a bevy of songs. The song I heard on this occasion was a continuous vibrating note in a high pitch.
The male shining flycatcher has his eye on a beautiful female he is intent to mate with. They hang about my sediment pond but they never stay in one spot long enough to get a good photo. The male shining flycatcher has a beautiful song but at the moment the birds are busy talking to each other with grasping squeaks. He preens and frills his feathers, bobs his head and fans his tail and she ignores him and flies off. I watched them for an hour yesterday. In past years they have built a nests in the orchard.
With a whole hour of extra daylight this month and the weather warming fruit is ripening in the orchard. I picked a bunch of bananas tonight, YEY! and my dehydrator has been busy all week with jackfruit, black sapote and pawpaw. Then there is the surplus from the vegetable garden to make pickles and chutneys. This has been the best winter production for ten years. Ah well must go and cut up cucumbers for salting to make pickles tomorrow.
Cheers Yvonne.
With a whole hour of extra daylight this month and the weather warming fruit is ripening in the orchard. I picked a bunch of bananas tonight, YEY! and my dehydrator has been busy all week with jackfruit, black sapote and pawpaw. Then there is the surplus from the vegetable garden to make pickles and chutneys. This has been the best winter production for ten years. Ah well must go and cut up cucumbers for salting to make pickles tomorrow.
Cheers Yvonne.
