21 July 2023
Going through the motions . . . or better luck this time ????
Yesterday evening I decided to try and monitor the activity of the female from the ground and was on the mound behind the Centre just before 17:20. I had checked on the female in the box three times during the day, and each time the egg had been uncovered – so for whatever reason, she seems to have abandoned this egg.
I could see that she was now sitting outside the box on the step and watched for about 15 minutes as she sat looking around and then flew down to the back corner of the Function Room roof. I could hear the male calling, and eventually spotted him on the dead branches of one of the Bluegums in the carpark. The calling carried on for about five minutes – with no obvious response from the female, and then I saw her crouch down horizontally and raise her tail. At the same time, the male left his perch and flew across and mounted her. After mating, the male flew off into the park, and the female remained perched on the roof.
By Geoff Lockwood