This is a crazy time of year for wildlife carers as so many nestlings fall from nests and are rescued by caring members of the public.
Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)
1/800, f/4.5, ISO 1600
Recently I had the absolute delight to sit in a flight aviary with thirteen tawny babies huddling in little clusters and bobbing up and down at the sight of visitors. The Boobook Wildlife Shelter is run by Nalini Scarfe in Melbourne’s outer Eastern Suburbs and at the moment it is full of twitters, screeches, cackling laughter and the softest sweet mutterings I’ve had the pleasure to hear.
Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)
1/640, f/4.0, ISO 3200
Tawnies are so comical and often remind me of muppets. Their feathers are beautifully marked and their eyes are stunning golden spheres. Lighting in the aviary wasn’t good for photography. Setting an ISO of 3200 is getting pretty close to being desperate for light. In the olden days a standard roll of film was ISO 100, if I’d used that setting I’d have had totally black photographs in the aviary.
Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)
1/800, f/4.5, ISO 3200
The little one above is practising its ‘I’m a branch’ posture. They are incredibly difficult to see in the wild as their poses and camouflage blend perfectly with the branches they snuggle on.
Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)
1/800, f/4.5, ISO 3200
Not every nestling that is found on the ground needs to be taken to a shelter operator, sometimes it’s better to return them to a branch or to create a new ‘nest’ and quietly watch from a distance to ensure the parent birds continue feeding the nestling. For more information please visit lirralirra – Rescuing nestlings
Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)
1/800, f/4.5, ISO 3200
Having thirteen sets of eyes staring at me was pretty funny. Tawny Frogmouths eat nocturnal insects, frogs, small mammals and other small critters. They often pounce to the ground to catch their prey but catch flying insects in flight.
Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)
1/800, f/5.0, ISO 1600
The young tawny above was mesmerised by a cricket that was hopping about on the floor of the aviary but it’s not yet sure exactly what it’s supposed to do with it.
Tawny Frogmouth nestling on my lens (Podargus strigoides, homo sapiens)
I hadn’t been in the aviary for long when the tawny above nestled beside me on the ground, it was so sweet. When I shuffled back to get more distance between me and the main clusters of tawnies, this little one moved with me, snuggling close and pecking at my cardigan. Then it hopped onto my lens and stayed there for ages, burbling with soft, churring/purring sounds – it was magical. Eventually it was getting late and I needed to head for home. I felt quite sad as I gently lifted it to a perch. It seemed to treat me as if it thought I was a parent tawny, or maybe my hair reminded it of the scraggly nests made by Tawny Frogmouths.
Mulga Parrot – 2020 Boobook Wildlife Shelter Calendar – Nalini Scarfe
Years ago I had a wildlife shelter for long enough to have the utmost admiration for the dedicated carers who wake up every morning to the sound of hungry critters. Carers who drive many kilometres to collect injured and orphaned wildlife. Sometimes it’s clear how they need to be helped, at other times they need to be taken to vets or specialists to work out what injuries or illnesses they may have. Their feed needs to be bought, prepared and fed to individuals until they are able to feed themselves, appropriate medication needs to be administered. Branches need to be cut to provide fresh leaves for possums and gliders, and every few days those branches need to be bundled up and removed. Cages, aviaries, towels, perches and food bowls need to be kept clean. Despite conscientious effort not every bird or animal survives, sometimes after days or weeks of deep attachment and careful nurturing. It can be heartbreaking. On the bright side though, it’s great to know that people care enough to get expert help for birds and animals, and it’s awesome when a ‘patient’ makes a full recovery and can be released. Imagine returning a bird to where it was found and allowing it to fly free – it’s sublime.
2020 Boobook Wildlife Shelter Calendar – Nalini Scarfe
This Christmas maybe you could help support a wildlife shelter with a donation or you could buy Nalini’s stunning calendar as a gift for yourself or or lucky family members or friends. The calendars are beautifully printed with Nalini’s exquisite images and cost just $20, with all profits being used to help fund the Bookbook Wildlife Shelter. Nalini can be contacted via the facebook page: Boobook Wildlife Shelter or, if you are not on facebook, please contact me and I’ll put you in touch.
Happy birding
Kim
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