Hi Rod,
Your Bower Birds was released on Monday at
your place. He was flying very strongly. Hope you see him again.
Thanks for bringing him to us.
Cheers,
Marg
RSPCA
From: Rod's Gardening
[
Sent: Sunday, 22 June 2008 12:21
AM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] Holder
Bowerbird
It's rare for me to sleep in so when I was awakened at
7.45am this morning by a severe "thump" from somewhere outside I was
a bit peeved. But when I opened the front door to investigate I
found a distressed green Satin Bowerbird on our front deck, beak open and
looking rather the worse for wear. As I approached it made a couple
of half hearted lunges at the window it had just collided with, then turned and
flew weakly a couple of metres and landed in the garden, leaving behind
several dislodged downey feathers and a dollop of something else. I again
approached and was offered no resistance when I picked it up, beak still
open, panting (if that's the word), claws all curled up with one grasping a
piece of tanbark which I gently removed. I wrapped him (let's call
him "Billy") in a towel and put him in a carrybag and
headed for the RSPCA - only to find they don't open 'till 9am! Back
home, coffee etc. then back again at the appropriate time. In the
interim Billy seems to be recovering nicely judging by the movement
coming from the carrybag during the drive back to the RSPCA. A sneak
peek reveals he has shed the towel and is keen to re-visit the outside world,
but I resist the temptation to release him then and there. Billy
(positively identified as a young male) is rather feisty by the time the RSPCA
lady removes him from the bag, digging in with sharp claws and being quite
vocal. However the diagnosis is good for the slightly
cantankerous patient, some bruising/swelling on one wing, possibly a small broken
bone which is apparently not too serious, and provided Billy takes his
prescribed medication and rests up quietly in his hot box he should be out on
good behaviour in a few days. It wasn't the best way to get up close and
personal with a SBB, but it did give me an appreciation of a truly beautiful
bird, especially that stunning blue/violet eye.
Also seen today 2 Wedge-tailed Eagles circling very low down
(excellent view) above the green re-cycling area at Mugga Lane while being harassed by 6
Ravens.
Last weekend while I was driving to Kangaroo Valley
a flock of perhaps 200 - 300 (maybe more) black cockatoos (yellow-tailed I
presume) flew over the highway just north of Goulburn. There were lots of
Honeyeaters at the Tallowa Dam picnic area, (yellow faced, white naped and
yellow tufted). Flocks of 20 - 30 Currawongs seemed to be everywhere
throughout the region.
