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.

Regurgitated Pellets

Some birds regurgitate their food in pellet form. I have always wanted to see this. I thought it would be near impossible to find these pellets. Like looking for a Magpie poo in a paddock, impossible! So it took me by surprise this past week, when I found some on the ground while searching for gumnuts. I was in surburbia, just out the front of an industrial complex in Ipswich.

Some birds regurgitate food which is indigestible. The pellet may contain bone, fur, or indigestable plant and seed remains. Many owls, hawks and eagles produce these pellets and I was aware of this. Though where I found these pellets just this week, I thought it highly unlikely that these pellets came from owls etc. I came home and did a bit of reading, to discover that Magpies and Currawongs also regurgitate pellets. From looking at the pellets this would most likely be a Magpie or Currawong, due to the size and content of the pellets. I would hazard a guess it's a Magpie. Magpies are far more common than Currawongs in this area. We notice an increase in Currawong numbers throughout Winter at our place. I rarely hear them call in Summer, as they head back up to the ranges near Toowoomba.

You always wanted to see what regurgitated bird food looked like right? :D