Adventures with Peewees and Kestrels

[den]

I was scattering food on the ground ("No food onna stick for you! You're wild birds! Be WILD! Get off my head.") for the peewees and magpies, when a movement caught my eye. I looked into the neighbour's yard and saw a kestrel closing in low and fast. He was flying straight at me and using the aluminium fence for cover. I had enough time to register that he was hunting peewees just as he flew up and over the fence.

"I say old chap! Do you mind not hunting my birds?" I said* as I waved my arms. Peewees gave the alarm call and there was a flurry on black-and-white as birds flew into the trees. The kestrel looks surprised at me leaping and waving and pulled up in a tight turn, entering the sycamore tree at high speed. There was a crash, a lot of screaming and swearing in Raptor, followed by a shower of old sycamore seeds and small brown feathers. After a moment he flew off. The yard was very quiet; the only movement were spinning sycamore seeds and feathers settling on the ground.

The only way I will ever be able to document any of this on film would be to wear a webcam every time I step outside.

Shades of Last year




*When this comes out it sounds a lot like "AAAARGGH! GETTOWDAVITYABASTARD! AAAGH! AAGH!" with leaping and waving.

Comments

[muy-confused.livejournal.com]

Goodness!
I'd never heard of an Australian Kestrel. They're very pretty though, surprisingly similar to the American ones, but more of a solid red, interesting. I'm glad he didn't hurt your birds though, phew.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

They're very small birds, not much larger than a Bantam.

[redfishie.livejournal.com]

you know my first reaction to that comment, was oh that's informative, what's a Bantam...? must go look that up now.

[muy-confused.livejournal.com]

Me too.. isn't it a kind of smallish chicken?
Can't say I'm very good with my birds.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

*ponts at self* Dragged up on a farm.

Bantams are very small chickens, more like pheasants.

[goodluckfox.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall a similar incident where you had to yell at a bird that was hunting your patients.

You totally need your own show. Find a friend with a camera. :) I'd watch.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

That was last year, a young falcon actually caught one of the peewees and I beaned him with a tennis ball.

[rosequoll.livejournal.com]

What do you scatter for the magpies? Pi has spent the morning outside chasing...

grass. Pieces of grass! Then he picks them up and runs in circles with them. GRASS IS NOT FOOD.

Damn birds.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

My magpies do that too! I found one on his back, grasping grass in his feet and beak. Weird.

I use an egg, mincemeat and Wombroo mix.

[rosequoll.livejournal.com]

I just have visions of infestations of ants. EVERYWHERE.

My problem right now with Pi is that he's flying. VERY well, and he happily snags the mealworms and then beats the hell out of them and drops the squishyt remains on the ground. He refuses to feed himself, but I can't keep him inside or he flies ALL over the house. I know he can pick up food and eat it himself...he just doesn't *want* to.

Tips, hints, otherwise?

[jim-lane.livejournal.com]

I'd wager that once he gets hungry enough, he'll quit playing with his food and EAT it---

But then, I'm not trying to raise a juvenile delinquent bird, either... };-)

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Juvenile delinquent describes young Australian magpies well.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Before I released my two I got them eating out of a dish in the cage by dropping the food in and using their food-stick to pick it us to give to them. Outside I did the same off the ground, and eventually they just picked up the food without the stick. At first I fed them all they needed and gradually reduced it so they had to hunt. Right now I feed them 3 times a day, plus there's a dish of mushy dog bickies in water for them to east if they want.

[rosequoll.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a good idea. Pi had a blast today. Now it's raining buckets so I put ihm in his cage (outside under cover) so he doesn't get soaked or scared and fly off. I'll start tomorrow with teaching him to eat on his own. =)

Thankyou! I'm still learning. =)

[goodluckfox.livejournal.com]

Is your icon a bat? And is its nose pierced???

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Her icon is a quoll. With a pierced nose.

[rosequoll.livejournal.com]

My icon is my fursuit (a quoll) and yes, nosepierced.

[goodluckfox.livejournal.com]

I don't know what a quoll is, and DAMN that is one realistic fursuit!

[goodluckfox.livejournal.com]

*googles "quoll"*

*dies of cute*

+.+

Up to 30 young??? The size of a grain of rice??? Oz=Another Planet.

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

It's that kind of place.

[rosequoll.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/Quoll

And thanks! =)

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

Crikey! Den's a bit stroppy!:D

And a good thing too, for non predatory bird life:D.