COLOUR COORDINATED CURLEWS

The colourful Magnet Island  Curlew colony  has  seen the sudden reappearance of   Bluey , so named because he has a  blue band  about a  leg . He  has joined  Yellow Baby , right , who sports a yellow band plus a dash of dark green , like the flag or armband of some Banana Republic, yet is nevertheless still known as  Yellow Baby  instead  of El Supremo .

 

Wearing  an identification  band  indicates  the bird was probably saved   from  a  near death  or  dangerous situation  as a  chick by  a  carer, of which  there  are  a devoted  number on  the  island . 

 

Another banded  Curlew , left, is Whitey. In the  case of Bluey , he had gone missing a long time ago , so  his return is  a matter of rejoicing   by  Bev,   from  the Man  Friday Mexican  restaurant,  who feared  the  worst. 

  

Meanwhile , here at the Little Darwin ranch, our resident  Curlews have produced another   chick [ above]  with its mother . A  second egg disappeared  for  some  unknown reason , the suggestion being that it could have been taken by  a  Currawong  which had  been  worrying  the  nesting  birds. Ever since the chick  was born it  has been trotting  about  day and night , like the Road Runner , or  a  Russian athlete .

 

Other Curlews on the island are known to be sitting on eggs while some are showing signs of  going  broody . A Coucal was seen passing through the backyard bringing back memories of  cheese loving   Dracula , who also suddenly disappeared . Bev and the Queen of the Jungle  had looked after Dracula  from when he was  young .

Dracula soaking up the sun  before he went missing .