26 June 2023
Some hopeful signs . . . But!!!
Since my last post, it has seemed as if the male had given up trying to entice the female to the nest box and he has been heading out into the park early each evening.
On Friday evening however, the female was sitting on the parapet close to the Evergreen Oak. The male started calling from the Oak, and although the female didn’t respond, she did at least look interested. The male then flew out of the tree and mounted the female – the first sign of ‘normal’ breeding behaviour in weeks!
On Saturday evening, she was back under the function room roof overhang, where the male is not able to easily mate with her . . . and he again flew straight off towards Delta School.
Last night she was back under the overhang, but when the male started calling, she walked out into the open, and then flew up onto the Function Room parapet. A few minutes later the male flew in to join her – perching about 8m away. I expected them to mate again, but after a few minutes the male flew off . . . and the female flew up to the nest box. Once inside the box she didn’t appear to be moving around much – but rather seemed to be looking in the direction where the male had flown to. The dysfunctional behaviour continues!
By Geoff Lockwood