Quick update – duck is on the menu

I have almost caught up (yay)…and I have a couple of observations before I take off for Sydney on the train.   Diamond brought in a duck the day before yesterday and it took the youngsters 36 minutes to eat it.  I thought they would pop, although it was the first prey for 19 hours, so poor mites must have been very hungry.    In UK, I believe peregrines are sometimes known as duck hawks as they take so many, but I think this is a first for this nest.   Couldn’t get the species, but wasn’t a mallard or black duck as the legs were dark.  I’ll show it to my ornithological friend Tiffany later.

There have also been more starlings and what I suspect is a crimson rosella, plus various ‘grey lumps’, probably a pigeon.

I enjoyed the sequence of Xavier ‘almost’ feeding the chicks, before thinking better of it.  But he is getting closer to the ‘correct’ behaviour, so I think it’s all positive.   I tried to insert some piccies, but the system is on a go slow.

I’ve also noticed that Diamond has started pushing the prey into the chicks as if encouraging them to take it….probably wishful thinking, but won’t be long at this rate.

Must fly, have a great week-end.  I’ll try and keep a look at the comments over the weekend.

 

 

 

14 thoughts

  1. My first peregrine encounter was last year with a beautiful bird that took out an Australian Wood Duck on the nature strip right outside my front gate. I sat watching it shred the poor duck for about 20 minutes before it took off. It didn’t leave a huge amount of duck behind, and I’m assuming a fox took the rest overnight. The next morning the only thing left was a big sad pile of lovely downy feathers.

  2. Heard there was a tornado at Parkes and awful hail around the Central West….have we had a head count? Last severe weather we lost Bula 🙁

  3. Orange is over 100 km from Parkes, so should be okay.

    Cilla (in Sydney, where it’s just switched from balmy to bitter and there are almost no birds except introduced common mynas)

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