One of our two Curlew chicks died for no apparent reason and had to be buried with a Desert Rose . The mother , with surviving bird under its wing , took up a position near the grave , the father nearby.
Shortly afterwards it was noticed that the surviving chick had fallen down inside a cavity block in a border near the back shed . Its little head could be seen popping up and down as it tried vainly to get out , the parents paying close attention, unable to extricate. When the chick was removed one of the defending parents responded with a peck on the hand of the rescuer . See family below after extraction, the chick in a flat as a pancake safety position .
The father then chased off seven Ibis grazing on the property. To add to the stress , the friendly Blue winged Kookaburra which drops in from time to time reappeared . As Kookaburras eat baby birds, he was urged to move on by gently waving the strawbroom at him . At first he was reluctant to shift from the fence, implying we were once close cobbers me having fed him some of the Curlew food and even allowed him to sit on and peck my pyjamas on the back verandah , but then he eased the strain by fluttering a short distance away to a shed in a neighbouring backyard. After apparently diving into a swimming pool, he returning to the fence to energetically preen and shake feathers. When politely told to fly away , he scornfully turned his back on me... so I pulled his tail feathers. Still he refused to hit the airwaves . Then I reached up , grabbed a leg and gave it a gentle shake , causing him to swing around and face me , pop his strong beak and glare. In that position he sat for hours, under close watch, before flying off. Being a Curlew minder is certainly stressful but sharpens your hearing and is an excuse to run the binoculars (with night vision) over the district like a scene from the film Rear Window. Last night a dreaded Barking Owl, the Murder Bird, was heard in the nearby Pope's Land.
