Wild Emus at The Lilly Pilly Tree

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[Years ago, we used a tool called ‘Flash Earth,’ I think, to show the house-clearing. It shows aerial photographs not maps, and you could get amazing detail of things like dams and pastures.]

 

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https://imgur.com/5FPoWwj

Here is the foreign breeding-pair, two days ago.

Later, they came sooooo close to get a bit of wheat while Limpy Chick and Offsider were getting theirs. LC and O paid them no attention -- ??

 

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More random emus. These two, probably a breeding-pair, cruised through. So, in just days, we’ve had Home Team, Undersized Emu, the Cheeky Chicks, the pair that made themselves at home with some wheat, and this pair sorta just ‘bouncing off’ the house-clearing.

https://imgur.com/tDV3V2P

 

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Limpy Chick and Offsider have been drifting away during the day time, leaving Undersized Emu in charge. Here she is, 'doing eagle eyes' at the departing pair in the photo above:

https://imgur.com/fpOupsM

 

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Offsider Emu vocalized at real length last night. And a little louder, it seemed. So, She may have an unusual call; but look at the bigger picture: we’re half way through autumn – which puts us theoretically 12 weeks from the day that the male would be sitting to incubate – and we have an established pair copulating, with the female vocalizing at length at night. That’s good.



[The Old Guy Here has moved into the little ‘winter bedroom,’ in which night-time sounds are a little more audible. Big moon last night. So we got good ‘audio.’]

 

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We are almost certain that Limpy Chick and Offsider didn’t roost here last night – so what female vocalized at length through the early hours? Was it, in fact, Undersized Emu? (She’s definitely female.)

 

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https://imgur.com/n37tpDA

Two emus, probably a breeding-pair, here at dusk yesterday. Same pair as two days ago? It's that time of year, readers: emus be shmooozing around all over the countryside.

 

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And: The Cheeky Chicks are here.

Here are two of them:

https://imgur.com/9fk3qIq

You can quite clearly see the difference in the colour of their plumage: one ‘sandier’ than the other.



Over time, identifying individual birds is a crazy shot-in-the-dark game involving their tails, their ‘hair-dos,’ their ‘colour,’ some other things – and their personalities

 

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Finally, here is Undersized Emu – who is a virago when the breeding-pair is away (except she won’t tackle The Cheeky Chicks) – foomphing at . . . someone.

https://imgur.com/AG4IHpe

The Cheeky Chicks are behind her at this second. So, are there emus just off in the bush? Quite likely – it’s where the pair were yesterday evening.

 

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Female emus vocalizing at night here?

The night before last, we’re almost certain that Undersized Emu was the only female here.

Last night, both she and Offsider were here at dusk.

So, on the night that Undersized was here alone, I heard oodles of vocalisations – a lot. Not loud, and ‘jumbled.’



Last night, different. There was a quite classic boomer vocalizing: not ‘spaced out’ foomphs, but sort of ‘rolling.’ And just a few times, a different female, much quieter, and ‘jumbled.’



So, wild guess: on the night that Undersized Emu knew she was here on her own, she went to town, and made lots of territorial noise.