MID AUGUST 2020 – I was creating a new garden bed recently when I spotted a currawong gathering roots for its nest. A yellow robin on the look-out for worms was watching on with a wary eye.
The currawong nest was constructed high in a eucalypt (local Mountain Gum), framed by golden wattle. We have a resident breeding pair in our Blackheath garden. My husband is not keen on them as they once stole our tawny fromouth’s eggs. I tell him it’s just nature, but he is not convinced.
It’s difficult to get clear shots of the sitting bird.
Honestly, how could you not admire this handsome specimen? And they sing so beautifully.
On a gloriously warm, spring morning one of the pair was relieved of nest duty and fell asleep sunbathing on a woodland path.
October 16 – We have a cicada ‘plague’, the earliest and loudest singing I can remember in my twenty years here. It must be making life much easier for the currawong parents. People throughout the mountains are reporting finding 50 or 60 by their front door, mostly the yellow Masked Devils.
THROUGH THE KEYHOLE
I have found the perfect spot to watch the nest, through a ‘keyhole’ formed by silvery branches of the gum. It’s right at the limits of my little ‘point and shoot’ camera, but never mind.
The chicks are now very active, spreading their wings and hopping out of the nest. The bird on the left is a baby, not a parent.
OCTOBER 21 – The nest is empty now. Oh good grief, the relentless squawking all around the garden. I have a feeling this poor parent is wondering whether having kids was a good idea.
