This is Screech.
For the last couple of months we've had a very diligent Tawny Frogmouth pair sitting on their nest close to the house. We've watched with anticipation and were finally rewarded by seeing a little bundle of fluff popping his head out of the nest.
Then last weekend - DRAMA - I walked outside to see a massive monitor making his way towards the Tawny tree. Screamed at hubby to come and help, we tried to avert disaster, but the monitor was way too fast for us and scaled the tree.
Mumma Tawny was very panicked, as the monitor came closer to the nest she flew off into a nearby tree. She gave me a look of absolute desperation HELP ME! (yes, she did!) but the nest/monitor were way too high for us to do anything. Hubby tried to throw things at the monitor, but I stopped him as the monitor's life is no less precious than the chicks - I didn't want to see the monitor get toppled out of the tree and hurt or killed. Plus hubby damn near hit my car with a rock. ;\
I put some eggs around the base of the tree so the monitor could see them, in a vain attempt to lure him away from the chick. We had to go out briefly, so wished the Tawnys good luck. Alas, when we came back, the nest was empty :_|
Went about our afternoon chores when suddenly I spotted baby Tawny! Sitting on the ground next to the tractor. We dropped everything, made him a makeshift nest and put it up in the tree, then caught him and put him in the nest. We saw Mumma and Pappa Tawny watching nearby.
Cut down a long story, Bubba kept jumping out of his nest over the next three days and Mumma and Pappa abandoned him, so the decision was made to bring him inside to keep him safe from both the monitors and our dogs. (our four young ones would kill him).
He will be released as soon as he can fly properly and learn to catch his own bugs (I am catching them for him at the moment). He's all puffed up and hating me in the photo, that's a good thing, we don't want him imprinting on us. He's feeding really well though (I hate you, I hate you, yum, yum, more please, I still hate you).
Bumping for Screech and Monsters and wondering how you are xx
OMG Monsters, you are just one wonderful human being .... :-x
I had a chuckle the way you described it though ..... "I mentioned we had turtles in our dam and, the next thing I knew, I was walking out of the vet with both meds and a Turtle!" .....:^O ... I think if it had been a big salt water crocodile that needed a home you would have walked home with it too ... :^O
'Arold will be very happy living as a part of your family in the dam.
How gorgeous is Screech, flying down to be a part of the conversation like that. I guess he's getting bigger now and his feathers are getting darker?
When you have some free time, another photograph of Screech would be fantastic .. :-x
Screechy photo update!
This morning I was late feeding him, as I had to take one of the dogs up to the vet early this morning. I usually feed Screech around 8:00am, this morning didn't get back until 8:30am.
Obviously he was a bit put out by this; usually he waits up in his tree until the dogs have been outside to the loo, then I get the dogs back inside and call him down from his tree for feeding. (Dogs are let out again after Screech is fed).
This morning when I got back home I went around to call him down from his tree (dogs are left inside when I go out, so they were still inside) and couldn't find him. Turned around, and he was waiting on top of the ladder I use for feeding him on. "Hurry up, Mum, I'm STARVING!"
I fed him first, then took his photo, that's why he has a bit of food around his beak.
He's getting a bit chubby, not sure if that's all his winter feathers kicking in, or if I'm feeding him a bit much! Might cut back on the rations a little bit.
