Mystery Emu

[mishka brownley]

We believe that there is an emu running loose in our woods. We don't know anyone in our area who has or has lost one . Our property is heavily wooded and there are a lot of coyotes around here, which makes me worried for this guy.

Are there any ways to attract an emu to an area, or to encourage him to keep coming back? From what I've read, they are near impossible to catch. I'd really like to get him to a safer environment.

*Our neighbor saw the emu in his yard yesterday and this morning, we disturbed something very big and skittish while walking on our trail.

 

[briefvisit]

What fun to answer this one!

One: if you have time, observe. Emu poop = emus. Emus vocalisations = emus.

Two: yeh, if emoo got a whole woods to elude you in, you don't have a hope in hell of catching her/him.

Three: The emu came into someone's yard? Hmmm . . . Suggests an escaped pet -- where are you? There are feral emus in the U.S.

Four: attracting it? Emooz are semi-territorial. They roam, in an ordinary day, across a range of 'pastures' -- maybe three or four over a couple of miles.

Supreme Emu is annoying because he has time to observe, and therefore suggests observing. Your bird may be well, but certainly skittish with noise and movements in its new environment.

So, if you can 'stake out' the Yummiest-looking pasture, or even just find spare half hours to creep quietly to the edge of the woods, and sit on a cushion and listen . . . that's how you'll find out what is going on.

And that's where Yummies come in -- but heck, mishka, as I said, you're talking about weeks and more -- you put a plate of dried fruit down, perhaps a handful of wheat. Emooz love wheat and dried fruit.

Supreme Emu

 

[mishka brownley]

Well, what better time could there be to stake out an emu, than during quarantine?! All of your suggestions sound like a lot of fun. The spot where we believe we startled him/her, is a clearing near the edge of the woods. We had put a pile of sunflower seeds out there yesterday. My kids ran home and got a hunting blind and sat out there for about an hour, waiting to see if it would come back, but no such luck. I will say that I'm sure that right after it ran off, we heard a sort of"chirp" come from the forest, which we didn't recognize, but that might be wishful thinking. My 9 yr old swears that she heard that "purring" sound they make while they sat out there.

I had no idea that there were feral emus in the USA! We are in north/central VA.

Thanks for your suggestions.

(I'm attaching a footprint that we found where we frightened off the large creature. I definitely don't recognize this as anything we usually see)

 

[briefvisit]

One: the simple reality, mishka, is that one has time to observe or one does not. But if you do, it's enjoyable, almost cosmic. I've done hundreds of hours.

So, some advice:

drab-coloured clothes, almost 'camo.' Binos. Cushion. A pocketful of 'trail mix' is good. Move into position as patiently and quietly as you can. The Cardinal Rule is: let them come to you.

I once observed a male with young chicks from a distance of no more than ten metres, and they never saw me: I was in position, hunkered down in a pile of gum 'litter.'

Two: kids gotta be kids: sitting still is tortuous. But if your kids are smart, explain to them -- the hunting blind was a fine idea!! -- that their chances of good observation are a million billion times greater is they can move v. quietly and v. slowly.

Three: I would not dismiss your 9-yr.-old's claim. There's This Thing, Mishka: observing emus without the presence of any actual emus -- and again, if you are uber patient, it's so soothing for the soul:

feathers in fences, footprints, poops; and vocalisations. Representing noises in language -- in Indonesian, dogs don't go 'woof,' they go 'gong gong' -- is notoriously difficult. But you tell your kid that Supreme Emu believes her. And your kids are entirely welcome to open a thread here, and post Notes.

And you can 'observe' a very great deal from vocalisations.

And the fun is: hmmm . . . vocalisations m o s t l y indicate more than one emu!! I look forward to your reports. Whatever, sit and listen, and identify all the woodland sounds you can. Grunts and 'foomphs' and purring are all emu sounds.

Four: the footprint is go!! Check the Net. An adult emu's footprint is a little smaller than a woman's hand. It has three talons: a larger central one, and two flanking that.

Five: observation on a pasture just next to the woods? Yup. That's exactly where you'd expect to get sightings -- and this takes us back to the patience thing, mishka: emooz got awesome sight and hearing, and they will 'recon' a pasture at length before they move from the cover into the open. So you do best to be in position -- they'll still see you! But if you are quiet and still, and other birds and critters are not alarmed, then they may come out and graze.

SE