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| Double trouble chicks |
Walking outside late at night
to lock up the car , a limping
Curlew , which looks like one of the two
adventurous chicks is seen disappearing into shrubbery. The chicks should not be outside because the Berlin Wall was erected to keep them in
the backyard in comparative safety . Run inside
to get torch , when emerge the
hurt bird is seen limping after
adult birds into vacant allotment
across the road.
Apprehensively jump out of bed early next morning and
see the limping chick is in the backyard. The Berlin Wall is examined and it
seems a potplant inserted in the wall may have been
responsible for the Curlew getting over the
barrier and hurting its leg in the process .
Wife scatters food, and while the
chick is distracted, grab it and
examine its legs. It squawks , the parents screech and with wings
extended in attack mode dance about
me .What could be
a bruise or a
scuff is detected on a leg. Also noticed are black fly like
insects which had
previously been seen on the
birds over the years. These seem to blend
into the feather markings of
Curlews. The Berlin Wall is readjusted
and the chicks do not escape . Over the
weeks the injured
Curlew mends .
There was another crisis yesterday when one of the
chicks got caught in netting, above, placed over
the lemon tree to protect it from Cockatoos
. Run to get a pair of
scissors and cut
the squawking bird free .
Its parents were again in full attack
mode , tails fanned
out , wings extended ,
running about my feet .
