As could be expected , a whole lot of hissing went on during the day due to the fact that the Curlews had insisted on laying two eggs close to the driveway . People coming and going , including one of Santa's elves , so attired, from Darwin , were hissed at .
Even the Queen of the Jungle -who has done so much to protect Australian birdlife and daily feeds a crush of Curlews - got the royal hiss treatment when she arrived , bearing German treats, Kiwi wine and assorted presents.
The Queen set the sitting Curlew off when she collected from the letterbox a Christmas card from Bev and Jason of Man Friday on Magnetic Island and their resident Curlew named Motley, whose inspiring life story will appear soon in this blog .
Home almost alone near the end of the day with the presents , feeling bloated, we lolled about in front of television intent on watching , for the umpteenth time , Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's great Christmas romp .
Before the movie, the outside light was turned on so that the car in the driveway could be closed and locked . The Curlews began screeching , not hissing . On investigating the rumpus , it was discovered that the eggs were visible, the birds , wings outstretched like giant Condor eagles, were going ballistic .
Something was clearly upsetting them . What ? Glancing about, a brownish looking snake was seen in the driveway .
The Curlews were going through the routine of forming a line and shrieking to direct the snake away from their territory .
For its part , the snake , not very big , hard to see properly in the veranda light , coiled up several times , its head raised, as if to strike . A quick, nervous check did not indicate a Death Adder or King Brown , one of the latter we had in a Darwin toilet bowl many moons ago .
Rushing inside to get the camera and a torch , I informed my better half , from a snake free country , that there was a serpent in the driveway .Watch out you are not bitten , was her response . Acting on this advice, I grabbed a bucket , intent on putting it over the snake , placing a brick on top, doing a close up examination in daylight .
On gingerly placing the bucket over the still coiled snake , the Curlews went berserk , continued the high kicking chorus line act from Moulin Rouge . I was firmly told that the Curlews would not be happy if I left the bucket overnight near the eggs ; I had to move the snake on.
Anyway , to cut a poor small apparent python story short , it had taken a liking to the bucket . When the bucket was removed and thrown aside , it slithered back in . It was encouraged to move on , coiled up in the grass and would not move . One Curlew seemed to indicate the way it would like the snake to go by making a run along the route . Eventually the snake disappeared , probably hiding in the neighbours' Christmas tree, like the squirrel in the National Lampoon Christmas Vacation classic , which on viewing made me laugh so much , churning up the Xmas tucker, licorice sticks and German treats, that I felt crook and sweaty , as if bitten by a boa constrictor .
