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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Part 2: The Mysterious Case of the Disappearing Basketball Net


Woke up bleary-eyed after a restless night. Tea wasn't going to cut it this morning so I opted for a strong mocha. I looked out the window to see what state the basketball net was in just in time to see a small bird alight on the hoop. Within seconds the bird had severed what was left of the net from the hoop and left it dangling in a nearby tree. Who did this little critter think he was?

I needed help and I knew just where to find it. Enter Simpson & Day's Field Guide to the Birds of Australia.


Hastily thumbing through its contents I found just what I was looking for. The bird in question was a female Red Wattlebird, its habitat listed as 'forests, woods, suburbs'.

According to Simpson & Day, the Red Wattlebird (a member of the Honeyeater/ Australian Chats family) is at the beginning its breeding season. So the motive may well have been creative not destructive - I'd been on the wrong track all along. Somewhere nearby I hope there is a very warm nest made from twigs and red, white and blue man-made fibres waiting to become the home of some lovely little Red Wattlebird chicks.

6 comments:

  1. .....indubitably my dear Watson....er..my dear Caz......seems you caught the culprit red handed or should I say red feathered.....

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  2. Ah, sounds right. Good on you for checking. I had a butcher bird come right into the washing this morning. Our line came down and the washing is hanging under our back patio close to the house and it sat right up on our table all cheeky like. It's never come in so close before. I was maybe a couple of metres from it. Must investigate possible reasons why. Dog food was my first guess, but the dog had cleaned that up well and good last night. Hmmm.

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  3. You suspected a bird all along didn't you Deb? They are cheeky blighters.

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  4. bizarre, doesn't sound like wattlebird behaviour and their beaks don't lend themselves to that sort of thing, I wouldn't have thought so anyway... cockies and galahs, on the other hand - I would not be in the LEAST surprised at such destructive behaviour from them!

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  5. To be fair to the Wattlebird I only saw it once so maybe their might have been some magpie action too!

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