It was still very windy weather – so I didn’t want to venture too far, but I did want to spend some time outside. So I visited two local sites – first a short walk to Morton Park on Canterbury Road at Dulwich Hill to see the Tawny Frogmouths. Then, later, a walk along a section of the Cooks River between Wardell Road and Canterbury Road.
I had, from earlier visits, thought that there were chicks at the Morton Park Tawny Frogmouth nest, and if so, then they may now have fledged. This turned out to be the case. When I arrived, I first looked for the nest, and found it vacated. So then I looked for perched Tawny Frogmouths. I soon spotted a single adult with a single chick.
They were perched facing opposite directions, so impossible to get both their faces at the same time. These photos emphasise the chick –
And one of the adult.
I looked around and cold not spot any others – no more chicks or the other parent. Last season, the same pair of tawny Frogmouths nested in the park, and there was never any sign of the second parent – it seems to perched elsewhere. So there could be another chick (or chicks) perching with the second parent. But probably unlikely. The young fledglings tend to perched close if there are more than one.
Later in the day, I walked down to the Cooks River and walked upstream from Wardell Road.
There is no change to the Tawny Frogmouth nest at Ewen Park.
I could see no sign of any chicks. I think this nest is occupied by the pair that used to nest on the opposite side of the river (near Younger Avenue – so very close), and each season I observed, I never saw them produce chicks.
Continuing along the river –
Pelicans
Little Black Cormorant
Red Wattlebird
Superb Fairy-wren
This Fairy-wren was one of a larger flock that live in the bushcare site near the Foord St Bridge. It was created by the Mudcrabs – the Cooks River Bushcare Group, in order to provide suitable habitat to attract smaller birds, and it has certainly been successful.
Great Cormorant
The Magpie Lark nest under the Sugar Mill Bridge is occupied –
And at the Cup and Saucer Creek Wetlands –
Dusky Moorhen
Chestnut Teal
I had been told about another pair of Tawny Frogmouth further up the river, but despite a lot of looking, I could not spot them.