"Come and have a look at this" said my neighbour. A new family has moved into the neighbourhood - a family of Tawny Frogmouths sitting on a low branch of a eucalypt, directly above a footpath. Of course we generated a bit of interest by standing in the street with binoculars and cameras - we met a new neighbour, talked to the postie who stopped to see what we were looking at and showed the birds to a couple of young girls out for a scooter ride with their dad.
There aren't any trees with hollows nearby because it's a relatively new suburb so it's a mystery where this pair nested and why they decided to spend the day in this tree. It will be interesting to see if they're still there tomorrow.
Hi Boobook
ReplyDeleteThese guys rely upon their camouflage for protection. They do not nest in hollows, but make a flimsy platform of twigs as a nest (in a tree).
So flimsy it is a wonder any survive, but they seem to.
The closely related Nightjars are even more at risk, as they nest on the ground.
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Nice family group.
Cheers
Denis
Well, blow me down! I can't believe I never knew that.
ReplyDeleteHi Boobook
ReplyDeleteMy brother has been involved in an attempted "WIRES rescue" of a fledgling Frogmouth
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The outcome is not yet resolved.
But he did send me this message:
"I noticed from your blog that someone else had another nest under observation. For the record these two birds were in the nest for 57 days after hatching and even then a couple of days extra would helped our friend take to the wing better."
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That is a very ling time spent in the nest. No wonder they need such good camouflage.