Wild Emus at The Lilly Pilly Tree

[Finchbreeder]

That makes sence.
The female in smaller birds always takes a bigger share of the burden with egg laying and raising.
But the males do a lot of feeding work.
I still very much remember one time mum was unwell and I went over, we went down to feed the breeding budgies and one chap was sitting there looking like he was about to drop.
There was not a seed in the bowl and his missus and kids were stuffed to the gills. He stuffed himself the minute the seed was suplied.
Yes he was always to top dad.

 

[briefvisit]

Anecdote: Supreme Emu was younger and fitter when Boy Emu incubated here (about 100 yards into the bush off the front verandah).

An observation post was establshed. For the first time in the world, as best as can be determined, someone observed an incubation from beginning to end.

We could get to about twenty yards away, and at that distance, observations through binoculars are of a high quality.

By Week Five, Boy Emu was almost catatonic. You could see his eyelids fluttering as he struggled to stay awake. His head would sink back backwards onto his back, then jerk upright:

"I'm not asleep! Was just resting my eyes!!"

Now, 'Dad Plus' (what we call a Dad and chicks) moves off the nest shortly after the last chick emerges.

The chicks are hungry and thirsty. Dad is starving.

My point here concerns attrition rates. The first weeks are the most dangerous, before the chicks are big enough to get fast. A female who had both fought for territory and laid before incubating would truly be at a low ebb at this most important moment in the reproduction cycle.

SE

 

[briefvisit]

Transmission resumes

Bush and Haystack have been here morning and night.

Lilly pillies should be coming on -- ??

No other emus noted -- but Supreme Emu is hunkered down in The Little Bedroom. It's pouring rain, and cold!

B and H were here in late late dusk, so we listened for vocalisations during the night -- quite still. Didn't hear anything.

SE

 

[briefvisit]

Undersized Emu is here . . . with The Cheeky Chicks.

Of course, we looked for U.E.'s consort; and yes, he is lurking on the edge of the clearing -- so, no Big Green Eggs yet.

The Cheeky Chicks are looking just a little bigger.

SE

 

[briefvisit]

https://vimeo.com/1102405432?ts=0&share=copy

 

[briefvisit]

https://vimeo.com/1102406885?ts=0&share=copy

U.E.'s consort has skirted the house-clearing, and snuck in for wheat. It's not a Big Wind Day. But it's a great winter's day: windy, clouds passing fast, occasional shower.

 

[briefvisit]

Bush and Haystack here at dawn.

Bush was hilariously trying to figure out 'bowl.'

'Bowl' had a little left-over rice and veg.

 

[briefvisit]

Farmhouse duties completed. Transmission resumes.

 

[briefvisit]

Let’s go back to Felicity and Noddy Big Ears, the second of the two breeding-pairs whom we have observed at length:



Felicity and Noddy spent a month or more fighting for the south-west corner of the house-clearing. And we were very very fortunate to be able to watch this process closely.



F. and N. ‘circled’ closer and closer to where Noddy eventually sat on Big Green Eggs just about thirty yards into the trees, off the pasture.



The point here, readers, is that we’ve observed this year Limpy Chick and Offsider, and Undersized Emu and her consort, and Bush and Haystack, but not seen at all the sort of ‘circling’ that F. and N. exhibited.



Perhaps we need to re-jigger our definition of ‘breeding-pair.’ We’ve always naively assumed that any two emus that spend months getting around together are a breeding-pair – why wouldn’t we think that?

 

[briefvisit]

https://vimeo.com/1103629646?ts=0&share=copy

Bush and Haystack here this morning at dawn.



And yesterday, they showed some territorial behaviour to a foreign pair. The video is of the female quietly skirting the house-clearing. The male you could hear back in the bush.