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Unhand my partner ! Shrieking female in attack mode .
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The latest trauma in our nesting resident Curlews with two eggs was the arrival home of the male, limping . On examination, it was found there was a cut on a leg. To the rescue came Bev and Jason from the Mexican restaurant , Man Friday, both longtime members of the Magnetic Island Fauna Care Association .
Bev picked up the injured bird which screeched loudly and the female jumped off the eggs and came rushing in with wings outstretched and joined the uproar . From a medical kit, Bev attended to the cut, Jason wrapped the leg in a bandage. Then the bird was placed inside a MIFCA zip up playpen ,below, supplied with water and food over the coming days .
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Curlew recovery ward near blog den .
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When Bev visited the patient one day it was taken outside the pen and placed on the ground to see how its leg was responding . What happened could only be described as being like a Moon rocket launch at Cape Canaveral ... he zoomed off and flew into a clump of palms and golden canes at the back of the block .
Still limping, right , he nevertheless took his turn on the eggs over the following days.On several occasions during the night this blogger has stumbled out of bed on hearing shrieking , an indication that the Curlews were upset. On one occasion, a fat possum was seen sitting within pecking range of the bird sitting on the eggs .
One day the Curlews became upset when the friendly visiting Kookaburra dropped in and took up a position not far from the bird sitting on the eggs. By waving a broom in front of him, he was reluctantly induced to fly away and leave the Curlews relaxed - until the next incident...the hatching , due tomorrow , and two cats have been seen roaming about the street .
Jason recently rescued a baby Curlew in a pitiful state , covered in a mass of Green Ants, one of its eyes so full of the ants it has lost the sight . He took it to the island vet , obtained special ointment for the other eye and it is now being looked after by another carer, the Queen of the Jungle , who is currently entertaining Larry the Talking Lorikeet while his owners are at sea .
One day the Curlews became upset when the friendly visiting Kookaburra dropped in and took up a position not far from the bird sitting on the eggs. By waving a broom in front of him, he was reluctantly induced to fly away and leave the Curlews relaxed - until the next incident...the hatching , due tomorrow , and two cats have been seen roaming about the street .
Jason recently rescued a baby Curlew in a pitiful state , covered in a mass of Green Ants, one of its eyes so full of the ants it has lost the sight . He took it to the island vet , obtained special ointment for the other eye and it is now being looked after by another carer, the Queen of the Jungle , who is currently entertaining Larry the Talking Lorikeet while his owners are at sea .
