Mating-Season in Australia

[Tame Emu Guy]

Greedy actually trotting (except to get food).

We shall pay attention to the calls. Can we nut out a sort of dictionary of calls?

Earlier, G. and B.E. were exchanging calls. Greedy was booming, and Boy Emu was replying in grunts. Then I saw Greedy trotting away up the track, and duck into the gums. Forty minutes later, Greedy and Boy Emu returned. This was one of those assignations that I mention above. Is Greedy mating with other males?

Supreme Emu

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Emu-Watching Equation: ‘the longer you sit there, the more likely they are to turn up.’

After at least an hour sitting in the sunshine down at the ‘corridor,’ five wild birds – four adults and a late-adolescent chick -- wandered out of the bush; and I was able, for the very first time ever, to observe on-the-move wild birds that didn’t know I was there.

At first, they grazed down the far end of the corridor. Then they started moving quietly toward me (that is, toward the ‘crossroads’ at the top of the corridor, where there is also fresh water). By this time, my left foot had gone to sleep; but I was determined not to move.

[My notion of 'corridors' still makes sense: emus seem to stay in the scrub when they are not grazing, and move out onto open ground when they graze. I think this is why they will bolt for long long distances if surprised right out in the open: they don't like to stop until they are hidden from view. Perhaps there's a lesson here about the construction of habitats for captive birds: humans show a preference for a particular environment, one with shelter and vistas and water. Why wouldn't an emu? I can't wait to see a male nesting in the wild. Will it be sitting out in the open? as I see safari-park birds nesting? or will it be tucked away somewhere? I sure know where I'd be!]

They eventually came really quite close, about two tennis courts.

[Vocalisations: this sound’s dumb, but good theory comes from minimalism, I reckon:

sometimes emus are talking to one another – be it a pair or a small group – and sometimes they are communicating with birds further away.

On the one hand, for example, I have heard Eric and Mrs. Eric exchange the tiniest 'trickle-grunts' as they left the house-clearing in deep deep dusk. On the other hand, I have seen Greedy bolt off to confront some out-of-sight emu that had clearly called out something provocative.]


Today, over twenty minutes or more, I heard a half a dozen of the tiniest, quietest ‘inter-group’ grunts, and a single cheep from the chick. I saw one bird make a little grunt-and-rush at another bird.

It is remarkable how alert they are. They move very slowly. They look about constantly.

Finally, one of them realised that some guy was sitting watching them through binoculars, and they skedaddled in single file off up the corridor, with the sunlight glinting on their feathers.

Supreme Emu

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Okay, extra bit: I’ve just spoken to a friend of mine. He grew up in the house I now live in – it was his family home in the 70’s – and he knows every inch of this district very very well. He says, from first-hand observations:

an emu likes to nest in a bit of bush on high-ish ground with a good clear view of the surrounding territory. A nesting male will get off the eggs on a hot day, and it will ‘go you’ if you get too close. He has at his house eggs that he pinched from a nesting bird while it was chasing his companion.]

S.E.

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Nest?

It’s early morning here, readers. I fed G. and B.E. just after first light. A little later, I went out to listen to their vocalisations. Now, though, we’ve jumped to Something Else:

about a hundred yards away in the gum trees, Boy Emu has been fussing about while standing in exactly the same spot. If I didn’t know better, I’d assume he’s building a nest. I watched through the binoculars from the end of the aisle. (I’m not talking about gums in the bush, readers. I’m talking about the blue gums that constitute the plantation that I live on. Big chunks of this ex-farm are blocks of blue gums. Big chunks are bush. There are scattered ‘pastures’ – like the corridor.)
Then, Greedy’s head popped into sight just beside Boy Emu. She really did look – I’m not making this up – serious, as though Something Was Going On. She looked intently about; saw me; and withdrew. I waited. She re-appeared some minutes later. Again she saw me. She walked down to check me out. I withdrew, and although I dying to see what happens, I suspect that three’s a crowd.

Supreme Emu

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Boy Emu: I begin to wonder about the whole house-clearing thing. It seems that Greedy has been leaving B.E. at the house while she goes on brief jaunts. Perhaps Greedy’s mating-season is going skewwhiff because other males won’t come to the house-clearing to mate with her. Is it possible that both are just too well fed? All opinions are most welcome.

[Yup. It’s happened again. Greedy has left B.E. here. It’s dusk, and I’ve just spent a half an hour sitting watching and listening to B.E. He’s doing this:

‘guuuuurrrk
guuuuurrrrk

Guuuuurrrrrrkkkkk
GuuuuuRRRRRRKKKKK

GGGGGUUUUURRRRRKKKK
GGGGGGUUUUURRRRRRKKKKK’

But there are no other birds in sight or earshot. He’s been doing it at five-minute intervals for over a half an hour. He also makes tiny noises, as though he’s talking to himself. All opinions welcome.]

I am listening to the emu-talk intently now. What I said above isn’t quite as dumb as it sounds. For example, here today, I was sure that Boy Emu was grunting for Greedy’s benefit, but that Greedy’s glukking was a communication with (male?) emus further afield. I will pay attention, to see if certain calls happen at certain times of the day.

I note [guuuuuurrrrkkkk . . . ] that overall emu movement seems really low. Of course, all the emus are out there somewhere, but are some males already sitting? Are other flocks keeping a low profile? Moving about less? There haven’t been more than a couple of random birds within sight or earshot for days on end.

Don’t forget, readers, that some things that are everyday occurrences for you are rare treats for me. Today was an exquisitely warm and still winter’s day. [guuuuurrrrkkkkk . . . ] After eating and eating and eating, both the resident birds sank down in the sun and just sat there. This is most unusual. At one point, Greedy toppled over, like a puppy baring its belly. I’ve only ever seen this three or four times. I’ve never seen a wild bird doing it.

Supreme Emu

 

[kathyinmo]

I wish I knew. My pair are so young, they still make baby noises. They do, however, roll over. Alot. They run around and "dance," and come sit beside me and groom me.

I love reading your journal. Please continue!

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Early morning: I just saw Greedy drifting off with at least one bird – surely a male. Boy Emu remained foraging by the house. I sat and watched and listened. No noise at all (that I heard. They may have quietly called earlier.). Then B.E. had a little gurk. Then silence. Then a long string of strident gurks. It’s hard not to consider them, solely by their tone, to be hostile. Then B.E. headed off after Greedy and the others.

A few weeks ago, this journal seemed a little pretentious: nothing much seemed to be happening. Now, though – the last few days, certainly – there really does seem to be ‘atmosphere’ here. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I do feel that I can have put the project on a more formal footing -- the binoculars make a huge difference. The literature says that a female emu should mate with one and probably more males over a period of several weeks, laying eggs on almost a daily basis during that period, in the nest of the consort. Let’s wait and see . . .

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Trying to trail a pair of emus through scrub is ludicrously difficult . . . but let’s back up:

Morning feed. Greedy leaves. Boy Emu stays, foraging. I slip out to ‘look/listen for patterns.’ B.E. does exactly the same thing as yesterday: a few quiet guurrkks. Then a string of really spirited gurks, with the swan-neck thing, which almost get down to the boom-ey bass of the female call. I sit and listen. A couple of minutes later, a female calls quietly, just once, down the back.
[Readers, you’ve heard me mention the fig tree a million times. Well, the road and the fence are a little uphill and in front of the house. The fig tree is down the back. Beyond it, you are headed into the ‘secret world’ that is the big chunk of this property that is not ‘under blue gums.’ That’s where the corridor is. That’s where the wild emus hang out. This property is almost a perfect accidental experiment in Emu Habitat: there are perhaps thirty or fifty wild emus here: nope, amendment: there must be far more than that. I've seen sixty in an afternoon.
There used to be much more traffic on and off the property, but the neighbours fixed the fence some time ago, and cut a -- no, the -- major ‘corridor.’ There are places where the fence is down [amendment here]: Emus may cross them. The front gate is open, and Greedy and B.E. and Felicity know their way out. There is a gap in the fence at another point, so wild birds can definitely come and go, but I don’t know if they do. So, ‘down the back’ is heading towards the bush and the rest of the emus.]
Boy Emu headed quietly off in a bee line toward the call. I grabbed my Emu Observation Kit, and followed B.E.’s occasional gurks. Now, here’s where it gets odd: I drifted quietly down through the scrub, hoping to see if B.E. was rendezvousing with wild birds. Then I blundered on two emus standing quietly in an aisle of the gums – G. and B.E.
Hmm . . . they knew I was there. I backed off, and watched a ‘sliver’ of Greedy through the trees for some time. (About fifteen kangaroos loped quietly through just behind them while I was watching.) G. and B.E. were unusually still. Just standing there. Was that because I was there? I welcome all comments here, readers. It’s a fly in our observational ointment: their familiarity with me allows me to observe them, but how much and in what way does my presence influence their behaviour?
Then they walked up close to me, and just stood still some more. B.E. was oriented to me, watching me. Greedy stood curiously still. After some time, I headed quietly back to the house. They are here now, foraging. If nothing else, it’s fairly clear that Greedy called B.E. away from the house-clearing, even though the calls B.E. made were what I yesterday called ‘hostile.’

S.E.

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Felicity is here, and she has brought a consort!!!:

I walked across the clearing, past B.E., to call Greedy for dinner. I saw a pair of emus on the other side of the clearing – thus, three emus. I ducked inside, got the binos, and found a spot to watch from – I love the corridor, but being able to watch wild emus from your living-room is a fine thing.

So, I sat, waiting for the two birds to drift into site (always let them come to you, if you can . . . ). ‘Greedy’ drifted into sight, but it wasn’t Greedy. It was Felicity. Then her consort came into view. He’s an older bird, I think, perhaps with some scars. Not a prime specimen like Dark Emu or Boy Emu – but Felicity is a runt. I can’t get a really good look at the new consort because he is now just as Boy Emu was a year ago: he’s a one-hundred-percent-wild bird that has followed his mate to Strange Place with Strange ‘Tree’ and Strange ‘Emu,’ and that’s very very scary – but hey! The food is great!

Observations: much less vocalisation this evening, and none at all from Felicity and her mate. Indeed, when Greedy called – and I was watching F.’s mate through the binos – neither F. nor consort paid the slightest attention. This is most intriguing – bear in mind, though I feel silly saying it again, but it’s so relevant – that Greedy is a big and very aggressive bird, and usually chases Felicity around and around and around. I have to feed them on different sides of the house. My point here is that I expected, after Greedy had eaten (food is the only thing that Greedy loves more than scrapping with other emus), I expected her to chase Felicity away. Let’s wait and see.
[Felicity has a good-sized tick on her neck, and here’s the difference in degrees of tameness: I haven’t seen Felicity for weeks and weeks, but I was able to pull the tick off her straight away.]

Supreme Emu

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Okay, this is live, a few minutes after the above. The hunt is on, and there are at least five birds here.

Wait . . .

I'll be back