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Booted out by fecund parents , poor Chicky seeks solace inside.
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From the
police horse paddock
at the Peter McAulay Centre in Darwin to
Magnetic Island in North
Queensland , Curlews are acting
strangely and cruelly . It is the
annual clucky time when
they pair off to
mate and lay
eggs , hissing , throwing leaves and sticks about . In the case
of couples who have been together for years, they
drive off last year’s
children so that they
can prepare for
the next brood. In the case of
our
resident backyard Curlews , the parents
have been hissing at and
pecking poor
Chicky , the chick we saved from the marauding Barking Owls. She ( we think ) is continually being driven out
into the
cold , cruel world by her
parents . Forlorn looking , fluffed up ,
Chicky often comes
tapping at my den
early in the morning , while I am shivering over the computer , wanting soothing
words of love and
affection- and a feed. At
times , she comes inside the
back door for some welcoming words and walks about the house . The
art of Curlew
consummation is faster than a speeding bullet , even slicker
than that of the legendary Speedy Gonzales . Blink and
it is all over . By a sheer
fluke , this writer happened to
witness the event , on dusk under the mandarin tree, which seemed like a split second performance by Cirque du Soleil and two
Chinese gymnasts . Since then , the
female has spent much time in the
old nesting area and
takes up a stretched out prone position when you go
near her . Like Greta Garbo , she wants to be
alone . The male is on guard nearby
and issues a warning hiss . Just
this morning , the parents
once more chased poor
Chicky when my wife threw
food out onto the grass
for them. Chicky ran down the side of the house , a piece of tucker in beak . Apprehensive Chicky
returned and took up a position
outside the den , sad looking . At times there are nearly 20 Curlews in the front
garden and verge , looking
like scattered garden
gnomes . Now there is a lot of canoodling going on out there in the
form of couples pairing off and
hissing seductively at each
other . It is going to be a trying Mango Madness Season.
