13 January 2023
Branched!!
I was out early this morning to check on the rat trap . . . nothing; up to the roof, up the ladder to check on the chick . . . nothing visible . . . so downstairs and out onto the back roof. A fruitless check for the chick under the nest was followed by careful search of all the likely spots around the roof – but still no sign of the chick.
I could see that both adults were in the Tea Garden, and there were also a lot of bird alarm calls coming from the area – and so I went down to check. There was the chick in one of the Karees near the parents. It has cleared a major hurdle – although much later than usual, but the fact that it is ‘out and about’ will make supplementary feeding a whole lot more difficult. Hope the male comes through!!
By Geoff Lockwood