With so many interesting birds in my local area, I thought another visit to the Cooks River would be worthwhile. This time I travelled by bike between locations.
I started at the new bridge at Lang Street and cycled up to the Boat Harbour. When looking around for the Tawny Frogmouth family, I got swooped by a Butcherbird. They have been viscous in this area on previous years, and you need to be careful.
The tawny Frogmouths had moved to a different tree, not that far from where they were two days earlier. The tow chicks were together and their father was a little further along. There mother was perched shovel metres away on the far side of the tree.
I don’t like to disturb the birds – they are supposed to be sleeping. But its hard to get a photo of them all looking the same way. You need to be patient, and hope they all wake up. ten what happens, if you wait a while, something does distract them, eg a Noisy Miner making a loud noise nearby.
I left the Boat Harbour and crossed to the south side and cycled down to Younger Avenue. I could see no sign of chicks.
I continued downstream to near Gough Whitlam Park. I knew this Tawny Frogmouth had at least one very small chick. There was no sign of any chicks when I arrived, but the bird was a bit restless.
After about a ten minute wait, a tiny head appeared.
I continued down to to look for the Satin Bowerbird on the island, but could not see or hear it, so I came back to the Tawny Frogmouth. The chick was still visible.
I was wondering if there are two chicks. I can’t tell at present.
Back near Younger Avenue, I saw some juvenile Pied Currawongs.
At the Boat Harbour, the Tawny Frogmouths were closer, but one was facing the opposite direction to the others.
From a nearby hollow, a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo chick emerged.
It went back into the hollow then a parent arrived with food.
By now, the chick had turned around, but the middle one was sound asleep.
The father did look up when the Butcherbird landed nearby and grabbed an insect.
I ten cycled up the river to Croydon Park and looked in the trees there for another family of Tawny Frogmouths, but I couldn’t spot them, so I returned to the Boat Harbour. Now they were all facing towards me and awake (more or less).
And here is a photo of the mother –
