Return of the Tawny Frogmouths & other Hatchlings

What a surprise yesterday morning to look out and see the Tawny Frogmouths had again taken up residence in our patio vine since it grew its spring foliage . I had seen them in the pepper tree last week under which we have the bales of hay for mulch and where we go quite frequently. They looked somewhat surprised too, I think, as of course we use that door onto the patio a lot. In and out most of the day to do gardening which is naturally in full swing now with mulching and watering as well.The photo on the left taken from the position of the door shows the birds looking surprised and the next photo taken from outside the vine shows they are telling us " we are not here".

I love the way they stick their beaks up in the air pretending we can't see them.
As there are only two, I am not sure if these are the parents or a parent and a young one. Remember the young one fledged onto the rotary hoist end of September ?
They were not here this morning so I guess they felt they would get a better day's rest back in the pepper tree.

The other bird which nested in the vine was a Greeny, or the White-plumed honey eater. It is a beautifully woven nest of grasses and tied to the vine branches. While it was sitting on eggs it seemed to cope alright with the traffic going on underneath it. When we had family to stay so there were more people, the birds would come in to feed the young via a different route and where they thought we couldn't see them.

The photo on the right shows the Willy wagtail nest with its young in the Ash tree.They only hatched two this time. The parents have been very busy feeding them so a lot of insects have been eliminated .Some one remarked today that they think the Blackbirds have actually slotted into the ground insect control area as not many native birds fulfill that niche.

The photo on the left you will have to click on and hopefully see the Greeny chick in its nest. If not you can treat it as a "Spot the Bird" game.
The chicks fledged and that was it, they have disappeared never to return home!

I got some nice shots of the Bronze wing pigeon at the pond the other day.It is being kept company by a Blackbird sitting on the jug. Do click on the photo as the colours on the wings are just lovely. It sits and "Booms" away in the mornings and I have been wondering if it is nesting in the pale blue eremophila just up the lane between the trees.