supreme emu

[briefvisit]

Guys, I am gonna let my Internet connection go for the time being. So, here's a report.

Thanks to Yinepu for posting for me.

Felicity has retaken command of the clearing. S.E. was fortunate enough to be smack in the middle of the fight. The two females --- Felicity and Sassybird -- are well matched, and went seriously head to head a couple of times a day.

So, I was feeding Felicity by the house in the cool of dawn. Perhaps my presence encouraged her, but when Sassybird hove around the corner, the pair went into pre-attack crouch, necks pulled right in. Then they charged each other. Felicity leaped clear off the ground, and gave Sassybird a single swipe that settled the issue -- though they still go head to head every day.
Felicity has begun absenting herself for days at a time. I am ninety-five percent sure she is crossing into the National Park, to look for a consort.

Is Sassybird Emu really Number One? She continues to behave more familiarly than a wild bird would. It has me puzzled.

Also, in the interests of objective data, I gotta say that Sassybird is singularly assertive: she will stand her ground against me; flare her feathers; and even some times advance a couple of paces. It's really unusual behaviour. I have had a couple of birds, on a couple of occasions, mistake me for another emu, and make a little rush. However, Sassybird's behaviour is something quite different. I am not afraid of her: she runs away if you say, 'Boo!'; but it IS remarkable.
Sassybird has clearly settled in, and regards herself as head bird when Felicity is absent.


Hello to all!! to Yinepu, Sheriff, E.S., Calla, Ellamumu, Emu Hugger, Casuarius, Yoda, K.B., Kathyinmo, and everyone else. We have been a community for YEARS at this point.

[Found 'Land of 1000 Dances' in the Goodwill: 'Mama hully gully/Papa hully gully/baby hully gully too']

The birds are already taxing unripe figs from the tree, from big shimmering-black crows to squabbling twittering silvereyes. A magnificent array of birds still plays in the birdbath in the garden every morning. S.E. has been here nearly six years, facing a seventh winter.


And our great interest? the emus? It's sad, but it's data. Here's the list of rothschildis which have crossed The Fig Tree Stage:

Eric Emu, the original emu, father of my birds. One of only three double-alpha birds ever observed. Probably deceased.

Mrs. Eric: status unknown

Greedy: double-alpha female, sister of Felicity. Probably deceased.

Number One: sister of Felicity and Greedy. Is she Sassybird?

Alpha and Omega Chicks: no sighting since they left. You recall that Alpha 'went solo,' but I sense he did okay.

Speckles: a male who almost-but-didn't-become a consort of Greedy. Sighted just a couple of months ago!! Came close enough one evening to see the 'speckles' on his neck that are his identifying mark. No mistaking him.

Boy Emu: Greedy's consort 2012. Departed with a clutch. No sighting.

Noddy Big Ears Emu: Felicity's consort 2013. Departed with a clutch. No sighting.

Felicity: alpha female, daughter of Eric, sister of Greedy and Number One. Six years old this coming winter. First ate wheat here in January, 2009. (Guys, check the avatar photo of 'Tame Emu Guy.' That's Felicity and Greedy as chicks. Note the fig tree in the background.)

'Kay, S.E. gotta roost. Sassybird is here, and will vocalise later on. I can easily distinguish her calls from Felicity's. Sometimes of late they are both audible at night. We just stepped outside, fellow ratite-lovers. The stars are bright. The air is clear and cool, with the scent of a pine from the garden. It's still and quiet.

'It's not the years in your life. It's the life in your years.'
Henry David Thoreau

S.E.

 

[Calla]

Hi Mark, thank you for your report, we miss you and your message.
Sad to hear you are leaving us.......for the time being ......Hope you will be back soon and tell us all about you and your Emus.
Best wishes
Calla

 

[yinepu]

I love the updates plus the messages you send me Mark.. stay safe.. we miss you!

 

[briefvisit]

Got a fortnight of Net left.

Got my head under a sheet to keep the light out.

Got Joni Mitchell singing, 'We're captive on the carousel of time.'

Got Sassybird's Incredible-Hulk-green blessing -- pure unripe fig, seventh fig-season here -- out the side of the house.

Wheee!

S.E.

 

[briefvisit]

There's a stretch of cool shade on the garden and fig tree each morning until the sun tops the trees on the east, and blindie boy must hustle inside. I just busted a breeding-pair under the fig tree -- I could hear Sassybird threatening them -- and checked their blessings: this has not been a hard season, but these two birds are eating a lot of pretty chunky stuff. There's a broad flat plant that I'd like to identify.

Also, there's a tree next to the lilly pilly that I want to identify. It has little red berries. They aren't ripe yet. Still literally green. But I have seen several birds at it already.

This is the fun part of the year (seventh autumn here starts in five weeks!), when wild birds don't just come into the house-clearing, but RIGHT UP TO THE HOUSE -- the lilly pilly and this other tree are literally just feet from the car port. Enthusiastic emologists wait until they hear wild birds squabbling, then creep into the back bedroom, and quietly push their nose up against the window glass. With binos you can sometimes get exquisite close-ups of wild birds that don't know you're there.

S.E.

 

[briefvisit]

The Sassybird Thing has me beat; and for newer readers, here's the background:

the last that we saw of Number One Emu was her running in panic into the bush, with a 'tutu' of fence wire around her upper legs. S.E. was heartbroken by this episode: Number One returned in pain and confusion to her home turf, and couldn't understand that I was trying to help her when I was trying to trap her. It was pathetic to see her pecking in weak confusion at the wire.

This is the first time I've ever offered detail of that weird day -- you remember I have mentioned hoiking rocks at my beloved birds? That was that day:

both Greedy and Felicity were in residence when Number One turned up, hobbling and hungry; but they weren't in the house-clearing at that second. Number One was the least tame of my three birds, so I knew I would have real difficulty getting close enough to somehow trap her. I rushed into the house, and 'kitted up': leather gloves, protective glasses, a pillowslip (to put on her head), rope, pliers, and wheat and sultanas. Things were going well about five minutes later. It was quiet. Number One was eating a big ration of wheat, and S.E. was creeping on his belly towards the ten-foot length of wire that was trailing N.O.'s tutu.

At that point, Felicity and Greedy arrived, and set resolutely about killing Number One. They approached from different angles, and S.E. was trying not to alarm Number One as he rushed back and forth. Within a minute, it got ugly. I had Felicity at bay with a tree branch, and stopped Greedy's attack in its tracks by hitting her in the chest with a rock as big as a tennis ball. At that point, I managed to get hold (with leather-gloved hands) of the trailing wire.

It snapped. Number One fled.

So, I now have here a female whom I call 'Sassybird'; but I suspect she is really Number One.

SE

 

[yinepu]

The Sassybird Thing has me beat; and for newer readers, here's the background:

the last that we saw of Number One Emu was her running in panic into the bush, with a 'tutu' of fence wire around her upper legs. S.E. was heartbroken by this episode: Number One returned in pain and confusion to her home turf, and couldn't understand that I was trying to help her when I was trying to trap her. It was pathetic to see her pecking in weak confusion at the wire.

This is the first time I've ever offered detail of that weird day -- you remember I have mentioned hoiking rocks at my beloved birds? That was that day:

both Greedy and Felicity were in residence when Number One turned up, hobbling and hungry; but they weren't in the house-clearing at that second. Number One was the least tame of my three birds, so I knew I would have real difficulty getting close enough to somehow trap her. I rushed into the house, and 'kitted up': leather gloves, protective glasses, a pillowslip (to put on her head), rope, pliers, and wheat and sultanas. Things were going well about five minutes later. It was quiet. Number One was eating a big ration of wheat, and S.E. was creeping on his belly towards the ten-foot length of wire that was trailing N.O.'s tutu.

At that point, Felicity and Greedy arrived, and set resolutely about killing Number One. They approached from different angles, and S.E. was trying not to alarm Number One as he rushed back and forth. Within a minute, it got ugly. I had Felicity at bay with a tree branch, and stopped Greedy's attack in its tracks by hitting her in the chest with a rock as big as a tennis ball. At that point, I managed to get hold (with leather-gloved hands) of the trailing wire.

It snapped. Number One fled.

So, I now have here a female whom I call 'Sassybird'; but I suspect she is really Number One.

SE

Did you get all of the wire off of her?.. if not and she is Number One.. I wonder how she managed to remove the rest

 

[briefvisit]

Hey, Yinepu. My thought is the frantic running might have allowed the wire to 'work' down and off.

I really am confused. "Sassybird's " familiarity with coffee cans is mystifying. If she is Number One, I am treating her poorly: she is a citizen of Planet Rothschildi. If she is not, and I start regularly feeding her, I am leaning on Felcity's dream.

[Felicity has been away about a week. I am sure she will turn up with a consort.]

SE

 

[yinepu]

Hey, Yinepu. My thought is the frantic running might have allowed the wire to 'work' down and off.

I really am confused. "Sassybird's " familiarity with coffee cans is mystifying. If she is Number One, I am treating her poorly: she is a citizen of Planet Rothschildi. If she is not, and I start regularly feeding her, I am leaning on Felcity's dream.

[Felicity has been away about a week. I am sure she will turn up with a consort.]

SE

it sounds to me like it may very well be Sassybird.. as to if you should extend more of the home hospitality.. that's a tough call!

 

[briefvisit]

Supreme Emu got summer rain, still got Net. So, one draft, just for fun: Report: last year we analysed the pastures of this 1200 acres: it's about emus-per-square-mile. But that's not how it works. Here's how it works: water comes first. Then pasture. The north east corner of this block -- about 300 acres -- is starvation scrub with an uncroassable fence to the north. There is water, but wild emus don't frequent it both because it's starvation scrub and because there's no logic in crossing the area. A couple of hours' rain lays the dust, and S.E.'s eyes are okay for a dusk walk to the corridor and the dam just north of it. This morning it was still raining, so S.E. puddled across (in anti-burr gum boots) to a dam about four hundred yards from the house. (Guys, I ferried in a bucket a few crawdads. I want to see if crawdads will grow in this particular dam.) So, four dams checked in a day. There is an hiatus here in the house-clearing. Felicity remains away -- but this year we are knowledgeable enough to be pleased about that: she's seeking a consort to bring back. Sassybird commanded until a few days ago. She got the last of the grapes on the feral grape vine, and pretty much the last of the unripe figs. There's been a breeding-pair here three days in a row. We are fairly sure it's the same pair. It's unlikely that it's three different pairs coming and going several times a day for several days. That's what checking the dams for tracks is about, readers. Sightings is data. Audits is data. Tracks are data. Blessings are data. There's a fresh track at the dam on the east of the house. I bet it's the pair we saw yesterday. There were no tracks visible on the dam near the starvation scrub, and no blessings evident on the Corridor itself. (There are roos by the dozen. There teeth make the pasture viable. At dusk, you see whole rows of low brown humps scattered across the pasture.) There are no tracks visible on the two dams to the west. So, tracks at just one dam. We are presently coming into the critical part of what we call 'The Big Jump.' This is a good season -- it's raining, and there'll be fresh pick in two days. But in a bad year, wild emus would be beginning to die of starvation this month. I suppose that it's just about now that these 'migrations' that we read about would begin. What else? We are part of a formal Australian environmental study, BYC folk -- and I mean we: I wouldn't be doing this stuff without you. Do you remember the 'coastal emus' that I posted about ages ago? Did you check the picture of the yellow-headed emu? Well, in search of details about high up into the snow country the emus live, I contacted Dr. Greg Clancy of the Clarence River district. (two hundred miles north of Sydney). The taxonomic system is profoundly changing, and in the interests of protecting a known group of the emus, the local conservationists are having DNA studies done of feathers from these endangered birds. In our conversation, Dr. Clancy asked me if I could supply some emu feathers from the 'rothschildi' district. Wheee! Okay. There's a dead emu on a fenceline at Oudman's. I saw it the last time we had rain, when I walked the half mile there and back. So, I returned to the poor critter's body, and got some feathers to mail to Dr. Clancy. Does anyone know if you can mail a feather internationally? Is it a breach of quarantine law? It would be worthwhile to provide these guys with a feather from the U.S. population of emus. The corridor smells of mint and cool eucalyptus oil. There's a tiny pasture, on which I've seen wild birds, that even now, in the middle of summer, has tiny flowers. It's a brown colour almost purple, and it's a joy for an old man (hat, dark glasses, walking stick, gumboots) to cross it in dusk rain. Once the corridor was a mere step down the back. Now I get there only once a month or so. It's quiet as a cathederal except for bird calls. S.E.