Sunday, November 18, 2012

Tawny Frogmouth

We have had two Tawny Frogmouths roost around our yard for many years. Sometimes we spot both of them, at other times we can only spot one. They seem to have two favourite roosting sites. One is behind the children's cubby house in a small Narrow Leaved Ironbark. The other spot is the Poinciana Tree just at the back of the house.

Recently we had only seen one Tawny Frogmouth in the usual roosting sites. I was a little worried about the mate, as we didn't spot two for quite some time. Then yesterday my daughter spotted the pair in our Poinciana tree with a baby chick. They were there again today and so I got some photos of them. I guess we had only seen one all this time, as the other was sitting on eggs in the nest elsewhere.

Apparently Tawny Frogmouth pairs take turns sitting on the nest. So while we could only spot one, the other was off at the nest. They breed between Aug and Dec.

 

Each time I've been out today to have a look, the adults keep a close eye on me. The chick was very active also, moving about on the branch and keeping an eye out for me. It's so thrilling to see this pair with a healthy chick. I feel very blessed to have them roosting nearby and to be able to watch this stage in their lives.