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).
Hi Richo, Tas, Debra, Joono :-x
Richo, the camel on the right is a male :^O
They are ever so funny when they're running, they have no control over their huge prehensile lips, which flap about like sails when they run. From time to time Gera (the male) goes a bit loopy and "dances". It looks like he's lost all control of his limbs, legs all akimbo, bouncing around the paddock. I wish I could capture it on video.
Screechy has definately grown, but he's not actually as fat as he appears in the photos. It's getting quite cold in the evenings and mornings now, and he puffs out his feathers to stay warm.
Joono I had a biscuit of lucerne right beside me when I took the pics of the camels, they were stretching out their necks to hurry me up.
Here's a couple more piccies.
This is Poppy Porkchops (black) and Truffles (pink); our "mini" pigs. They've just enjoyed a wallow in their mud bath.
Unfortunately there's not really any such thing as a mini pig in Aus, just pigs who grow slightly smaller than usual. They're about the size of a very chunky labrador. They share the chook yard during the day, and then come inside at night time to sleep (they have a big room off the laundry, but prefer to sleep squished up together in the laundry).
And this is Ulysses, our white peacock, showing off to the "laydees". We have a blue peacock as well, but for some reason I haven't any photos of him displaying - will have to wait until next breeding season, because they moult their trains off-season and don't grow them back again until next time.
And another shot of Poppy Porkchops:
The pigs are pets and will never be eaten. Poppy in particular is full of character, she's very pushy, but very affectionate (they both love cuddles and Poppy gives me kisses on the cheek, very gently).
At night time when we fed the dogs we have to give Poppy and Truffles a snack too and whilst they are waiting for their snack they stand at the gate into the kitchen and make the most piteous noises - "we're sooooo hungry". That's how I got my id, as you see two snouts from their dark room through the gaps in the gate and they look like Monsters in the Dungeon.
Poppy makes a heck of a racket when she's waiting for dinner. She starts off softly and then winds herself up like a jet airplane about to take off. If she gets told off for making too much noise whilst she's waiting for her dinner, she'll often reply "Aaahhh, Mama". Literally, you can make the words out. Of course it's only piggie noises that happen to resemble human speech, but the words are quite recognisable. When she first did it I just about fell over with surprise and then laughing.
Ulysses is stunning. we have a blue boy at awork. he steals the cats food and poops everywhere X-(
