Sunday, December 28, 2014

DIARY OF A CURLEW CARER #13

Double trouble chicks
Walking  outside late at  night  to lock up the car , a limping  Curlew , which looks like one of the two  adventurous chicks is seen disappearing into shrubbery. The chicks should not  be outside because  the Berlin Wall was erected to keep them in the  backyard  in comparative safety .  Run inside  to get  torch , when emerge the hurt  bird is seen  limping after  adult birds into vacant  allotment across the  road.  

Apprehensively  jump  out of bed early next morning  and  see the limping chick is in the  backyard. The Berlin Wall is examined and it seems a  potplant  inserted in the wall may have been responsible for the Curlew getting over the  barrier and hurting  its  leg in the process .
 
Wife scatters  food, and while  the chick is distracted, grab it and examine   its legs. It squawks , the parents  screech  and  with  wings  extended in attack mode dance about  me .What  could  be  a  bruise or  a  scuff  is detected on a leg. Also noticed are black fly  like  insects  which  had  previously been seen on  the birds  over the years. These  seem  to blend  into the  feather markings  of  Curlews. The Berlin Wall is readjusted  and  the  chicks  do not escape . Over  the  weeks  the  injured  Curlew  mends . 
 

There  was  another crisis yesterday when one of the chicks got caught in  netting,   above, placed over  the  lemon  tree to  protect it  from  Cockatoos .  Run to get a  pair of  scissors   and  cut  the  squawking bird  free .  Its parents were  again in full attack  mode ,  tails  fanned  out , wings  extended , running  about  my  feet .