AUGUST 2020 AND THE WONGAS ARE STILL IN BREEDING OVERDRIVE. I BLAME COVID-19; THEY MUST FEEL THE NEED TO INCREASE THEIR NUMBERS IN CASE OF CROSS-SPECIES INFECTION.
After producing two single chicks over a Blue Mountains winter (yes, I did tell them it wasn’t the right season) our sweet Wongas failed in their third attempt after several days of heavy rain. I thought they might give up, but not a bit of it. After consoling each other on their regular courting bench they mated again.
However, they abandoned their old nest in a neighbour’s cedar tree and built a new one, this time in a native conifer. The lofty conifer is in the bottom corner of our Blackheath garden.
It’s a good move, away from sad associations. Also, the cedar is under threat of removal. It was only due to the nesting Wongas that my husband Rob and I negotiated a stay of execution.
We discovered that the best viewing spot was up in the third storey of the new house we are building. At this height I am almost at eye level with the nest.
My reference point for locating it is this wishbone shaped branch high in the canopy. It’s appropriate, because we certainly do wish the couple well. They had to endure a fall of snow last week, plus a few days when all the birdbaths were frozen.
Fortunately my little ‘point and shoot’ Sony has a good enough lens to zero in for reasonably close shots.
The parents share egg sitting duties. In the photo below the afternoon change-over is about to take place. Mind you, it had taken nearly an hour of calling for the relief to arrive
A brief greeting and the retiring sitter was up and off for a drink, a stretch of the legs and something to eat.
Meanwhile, the incoming partner settled down for the next shift.
AUGUST 13 – The eggs should be hatching in a few days….I’ll keep you posted. Note my use of the plural ‘eggs’. Wongas usually have twins and now that spring is in the air they may have risked two eggs instead of their earlier singles. which led to the sweet winter chicks Spirit and June.
UPDATE – AUGUST 15 The mid afternoon change-over was a testing business today. It was windy and absolutely freezing, The sitting bird was calling in the conifer for nearly an hour and a half. I’m pretty sure there are chicks now, that are moving about, because look how the bird was spreading itself out.
