Undrought and the Pecking-Order: Strange Stuff at The Farmhouse

[Supreme Emu]

Readers are probably aware that Eastern Australia has suffered floods of biblical proportions. However, where I am – the South West – we’re having a strange ‘undrought’: the Winter rains failed, and though we’ve had a ‘wet Summer’ of intermittent showers, this district is drier today than some old timers have ever seen it (and I can’t get in trouble for writing about a drought ‘cause I can’t really photograph it . . . ).


It’s changed the emu pecking-order. (I lost an emu, so there are only these two tame emus here at the farmhouse.) Greedy has gone walkabout, and left Felicity in the lurch. ‘Foreign’ emus have come out of the gums, and set up camp at the fig tree, which is quite literally the best food source within a couple of miles. Poor Felicity, who feels responsible to protect her turf, has been reduced to fumphing and feather-flaring just by the back fence: there are as many as a half a dozen hungry adult emus at the fig tree, and they seem intent on holding their ground.

I’ve not seen this behaviour in the three years I’ve been here. Emus that would normally bolt when I come into sight, and not return that day, are now trotting off twenty metres into the gums, and just standing there, waiting for me to go away. This includes the clutch of five chicks, which was here an hour ago. (I am trying, readers: I got some mobile phone video of them from a distance of less than thirty metres, but you just can’t see them on it.)

So, if anyone wants a homegrown adult emu, send a stamped, self-addressed crate to . . .

Supreme Emu

 

[TigerLilly]

Sorry about your luck! Sounds like a classic law of supply & demand...you've got the supply & they demand to keep it!

 

[Supreme Emu]

I'm more intrigued than anything else, Tigerlilly. In three years, I've advanced from 'emus are birds whose bums you see disappearing into the trees' to 'Greedy the Emu is a pet who'll pluck a fig from between my lips.'

For the last two years, fig season has been weeks of fun: my birds follow me assiduously around the tree. If you have a handful of figs, and stop paying attention for a millisecond -- Snatch!! One fig less.

It's been interesting to observe the birds at closer range. The fig tree's attractiveness is the reason I've got so close to the chicks.

Supreme Emu