Update on Tooshtoosh’s chicks
We’ve lost one of the five. Death confirmed; cause unknown.
The chicks have now been on their own for a season – Tooshtoosh left them in mid-winter. They remain a unit, but it seems they are slowly getting used to going off on their own for short periods.
LimpyChick Emu (adult female – their auntie) turned up the other day, and didn’t even squabble with them. They all sat quietly together to eat their wheat.
The chicks’ plumage is getting very adult-ish. You can just see a little ‘chick pinfeathers’ on their necks. They rarely cheep anymore. This is interesting: they cheeped incessantly when younger.
Meanwhile, the logging on my block continues. But the chicks have remained unfazed, grazing quietly even while machinery was operating quite close.
The reason we’ve had the chance to observe this clutch of chicks for over a year is because their Dad is a bit of a sook. He and LimpyChick were both injured and orphaned on the same day several years ago, and spent more time here than is usual for chicks. So the chicks were here because their Dad was here. So we got a unique observation.
