Thanks to Jennifer, who lives along the Cooks River, I had heard that the Tawny Frogmouth pair that live near the Dog Area were raising a new set of chicks. I had seen these birds in October last year with two chicks, so this is their second brood for the season.
When I visited, I spotted their nest straight away – it was in the same place as their last one, and was again a very flimsy structure – just a few sticks resting in a fork of a gum tree. But I could not see any chicks. All I could see was one parent sitting on the nest. Jennifer’s photo had shown two small chicks, so I assumed that the parent had covered them up.
Nearby, perhaps two metres away was the other parent.
I will keep watching this pair. I then crossed the Cooks River and had a look at the Cup and Saucer Creek Wetlands. From the small bridge on the path, I could not help noticing a very small Purple Swamphen chick inspecting its surroundings. It seemed to be very inquisitive. Its mother was not far away, and didn’t seem to mind my presence with a camera. This chick was much smaller than the one I had seen in the same place the day before.
The chick seemed to be pecking itself with its beak – perhaps cleaning bits of its egg?
In the middle pool of the wetlands, I heard the shrill call of a Dusky Moorhen.
It repeated the call a few times, and then I saw its two chicks hurrying towards it.
