I went for a walk with the dog to Honeyemoon Gap the other day. It is about 15 kms west of Alice Springs township, and despite all the rain we had recently, the creek has dried up completely now.
The sacred Kingfishers have been there each time I have gone this year, and on this occasion I spotted a young one, managing to fly horizontally low to the ground and then it tried to fly up to a low branch of a young tree in the middle of the river. The dog was running around so I was trying to keep an eye on both of them. fortunately the stern words in the backyard as far as chasing birds seems to have been effective as the dog had no inclination to go towards the bird. I eventually located the bird sitting quietly in the shade on a small sand bank. I snapped off a few photos from a fair distance and then started to wonder why it hadn't flown off. I crept closer until I was only a few feet from the bird. I was starting to worry it was injured, when it flew off, again horizontally, straight past the disinterested dog and flew around the base of a large river gum. Now I knew it would be in trouble as dingoes frequent this area, so I found a longish stick and then went to find the bird. Wasn't hard. Sitting right at the base of the gum, this time it didn't move as I got closer, and its beak was wide open, obviously the bird was a bit distressed and it had been a hot day. I eventually got the stick under its short tail feathers and maneuvered the stick so it had to lift its leg. After a short time, the other leg clung on and I lifted the bird up into a nearby large tree with a low branch, but also plenty of shade. Unless the parents hang around as it finds its "wings", it is probably doubtful if it will make adulthood, but it survived at least part of an afternoon it may have otherwise not done so.
Here are the pics:
The sacred Kingfishers have been there each time I have gone this year, and on this occasion I spotted a young one, managing to fly horizontally low to the ground and then it tried to fly up to a low branch of a young tree in the middle of the river. The dog was running around so I was trying to keep an eye on both of them. fortunately the stern words in the backyard as far as chasing birds seems to have been effective as the dog had no inclination to go towards the bird. I eventually located the bird sitting quietly in the shade on a small sand bank. I snapped off a few photos from a fair distance and then started to wonder why it hadn't flown off. I crept closer until I was only a few feet from the bird. I was starting to worry it was injured, when it flew off, again horizontally, straight past the disinterested dog and flew around the base of a large river gum. Now I knew it would be in trouble as dingoes frequent this area, so I found a longish stick and then went to find the bird. Wasn't hard. Sitting right at the base of the gum, this time it didn't move as I got closer, and its beak was wide open, obviously the bird was a bit distressed and it had been a hot day. I eventually got the stick under its short tail feathers and maneuvered the stick so it had to lift its leg. After a short time, the other leg clung on and I lifted the bird up into a nearby large tree with a low branch, but also plenty of shade. Unless the parents hang around as it finds its "wings", it is probably doubtful if it will make adulthood, but it survived at least part of an afternoon it may have otherwise not done so.
Here are the pics:
Sacred Kingfisher juvenile
on the bank where I first spotted it
the river gum it flew to the base of
the base of the tree, can just make out the bird slightly to the left of the middle
not moving, so I'll be a statue on the base of the gum
Do you ever try to rehabilitate a bird such as this? It seems that it would have been a good candidate for a little home TLC until it could fend for itself. Over the years I helped many young birds to get some extra time to hone their flying and foraging skills until they became more self sufficient. Some succeeded, some did not.
ReplyDeleteHi John, with the parents nearby I decided against interfering. My son is one of the local wildlife carers for injured and sick birds, so there was definitely that possibility if I couldn't see the parents nearby. Thanks for your comments, I probably should have explained that in the text.
Delete