Holy Moses ! After all the Curlew alarums last night this biblical setting of a baby Curlew in the backyard undergrowth was not expected . The chick had first been spotted trotting after its parents just before this blogger went to bed . Shortly after 3am Curlews were heard screeching . On leaping out of bed to investigate , the portable radio was knocked to the floor and began to play .
When the torch was shone through a window , the adult parents were in full defensive mode, wings outstretched , screeching loudly . A third adult bird , a stranger , then came into focus and all three then flew away . No sign of the chick could be seen , so tottered outside with the torch to look for it . Through spider webs, lurched about the yard vainly searching for the little critter , Curlews in the area making a racket . A prowling cat? A Barking Owl ? Some other marauder ?
Fearing the worst, tottered back to bed . Old Japanese radio still working despite being dropped .No sooner had I settled back on the pillows (4), than a strange thump was heard . Torchlight revealed a wallaby ; later , Curlews screeched outside my window, another larger marsupial .
Because of all the disturbances , this scribbler overslept . On waking, immediately wondered what daylight would reveal about the fate of the poor chick . Looking out the window, there were the parents - and the youngster- as if there had been no drama during the night .Grabbed the camera and secured photo of the newest addition to the menagerie as it ran into the undergrowth.
