Over the last five years a pair of tawny frogmouths have lived and bred around our home, giving much pleasure by their continuing to stay close by.
One year I feared one of the pair had died as one was on its lonesome for several weeks, then a mate joined, and the baby rearing started, though only one chick hatched that first year.
Last year the first laying of an egg [or was it two; the nest perched high in the old gum tree was too distant to check out] was disastrous. The egg did not hatch. The bird laid another with the result that Bambino came into this world. [I have written about Bambino previously]
On 3rd September this year 'Eggsitter' had made a flimsy nest and began the task of sitting and keeping the egg warm. Not being completely sure of how long the sitting was it was with interest that I checked that nest daily; Eggsitter did not mind, peering down from the safety of the high branch at me staring upwards. To show my interest, I ran a short conversation each day ... just to prove I was a friend, not a foe.
Five weeks later on 10th October a tiny ball of white fluff peeped out from beneath Eggsitter's wing. Baby birds need a name! Not difficult! What better than Ten10 for a chick hatching on 10th day of the 10th month.
For some reason I didn't check the following two days, but on the third day another ball of white fluff emerged from hiding under Eggsitter's warm wing. These little birds are only white for the first few days of their lives; as they grow the colours similar to the parents takes the place of the white feathers, yet to this day I have not noticed any tiny white feathers on the ground.
With one bird having a name, it would be churlish to allow this one to grow up nameless. Mmmm .... suddenly a name sprung to mind ... 2winny. Both birds were named, and continued to grow and grow, until they fledged on 30th October.
Each day the parents move the chicks around seeking shelter from the unseasonable rain we are having, but they are never far from the house.
Earlier was I hung out a little washing, hoping to beat the occasional showers, I heard a tawny frog mouth 'humming' and looked up. There directly above the clothes-line the frogmouth family looked down at me. A camera opportunity!!
