Wild Emus at The Lilly Pilly Tree

[briefvisit]

Well done! Yes, two dams with water. Just east of the house is a dam that goes dry in summer.

You can see the lilly pilly tree just on the west of the house; the fig to the north.

You can see sections of boring blue gums, and sections of natural bush.

 

[briefvisit]

To the east, between the house and Noobijup Road, there's a block we call 'the 400.' Its northern edge is a wetland -- degraded, but still pretty in winter.

You should be able to identify it. It's a part of a pre-historic wetland that ran from the Cobertup Reserve -- there's a reed swamp you should be able to identify -- across the northern edge of the 400; then on to my block, where it's a proper swamp, then across to the place next door, which has a paddock that has a rivulet running across it in winter.

Here -- https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/mating-season-in-australia.641934/page-28 -- on the final page of Mating Season in Australia, you can see a section of the 'swamp paddock' next door.

[The little creek eventually comes out about two miles away, down at the Frankland River.]

 

[briefvisit]

So, this is a part of the original observation area -- going back to around 2010.

If you found a reference to the 'Stinky Creek pasture,' That's about seven hours return trip: 2.5 over to Stinky Creek. 2 hours observing. 2.5 hours back. A big day. (Brumbies over there.)

And to see the photos gives you some sense of the territory. A quarter mile south of the Stinky Creek pasture is the National Park. Below the Frankland River bridge -- where I cross when I go over there -- are the natural fords where the critters cross. That's about two miles south of the bridge.

So emus you see on Stinky Creek almost certainly come and go into a massive section of the National Park over towards Rocky Gully. Yet the emus you see on the 400 are probably based over towards Lake Muir.

To even roughly outline these emus' territory would give you a figure of 40-50,000 acres.

 

[briefvisit]

In recent days, right after they come into the house-clearing from their roost, Limpy Chick and Offsider have been having convserations that we don’t understand. They stand quietly together, vocalizing to and fro.



We got fine observations this morning at dawn, readers; but The Old Guy Here is complaining again about the cold. You see, we want to observe as much as possible as we head towards mid-winter, and a possible incubation; but within a month, getting into the house-clearing at first light will be something of an adventure.



And Undersized Emu? She’s hilarious. When Limpy Chick or Offsider chase here, she just runs around in a circle. She’ll run a hundred yards in a circle back to exactly where she started from.

 

[briefvisit]

5:20 a.m.

Half moon. Very still and quiet – except for the frogs

Old Guy: jumper and two jackets



For only the third time ever, we saw an emu out in the moonlight. It was Undersized Emu.



But let’s back up: only Undersized Emu was here at dusk, so we were interested to hear if she ‘went big’ with her vocalisations while L.C. and Offsider were absent. She didn’t.



In the hour before dawn, The Old Guy Here imagined, however, that U.E.’s vocalisations were ‘moving around.’ So I got up; rugged up; made coffee; and went outside.



And there was U.E., vocalizing in the middle of the house-clearing.



Some minutes later – cold but comfortable in the big chair in the garden – we heard the faint call of a female to the north. Each of her calls was met with a response from U.E.



So, let’s discuss this in coming days: females calling inter-territorially.

 

[briefvisit]

So, if Undersized Emu responds in the wee hours to a vocalization from the female to the north, is it possible that that some other female (that we can’t hear) then responds to Undersized Emu? Could there be ‘waves’ of calls?



If we had the recording equipment, could we ‘map’ such a phenomenon?

 

[briefvisit]

Lilly pillies are on!

 

[briefvisit]

Two wild emus have been lurking on the northern edge of the house-clearing for three days. The home team seems intent on ignoring them. They seem unprepared to make an incursion.

We'll try to get a clip of them.

SE

 

[briefvisit]

https://imgur.com/9SBcuvP

Meanwhile, here is Limpy Chick. You can see his head at top centre of the screen, as he gets ready to jump up to score juicy lilly pillies.

 

[briefvisit]

For the fourth day, a foreign emu has been lurking on the northern edge of the house-clearing. Quite sandy in colour.

https://imgur.com/RgAKlaF

Here is one of the home team ‘paralleling’ the intruder, who is doing the classical thing, skirting the clearing.



And Undersized Emu gave a fine performance of ‘sideways boogie,’ with chest feathers all puffed up, and walking sideways, and booming – but she stayed her distance.



Ten minutes later – we aren’t sure if Limpy Chick and Offsider were still present – the foreign bird was making itself right at home:

https://imgur.com/m24AFE8