The first clue that something was digging in our garden was the poor upturned native raspberry bush that looked like it had been scratched out of the ground. The second clue was the distinct scratching noise coming from up the back near the magnolia. A third clue wasn't needed because I found the culprit. An Australian Brush-turkey chick!
Brush Turkey chick up a tree.
We see Brush-turkeys (or Scrub Turkeys as they are sometimes called) often around here. Their huge leaf litter mounds, raked up for the female to lay her eggs in, are a common sight along the paths we walk in our neighbourhood. Those impressive mounds are quite the feat; keeping eggs at a constant temperature thanks to the efforts of the male bird.
Impressive Brush-turkey mound in the park near our house.
The adult male Brush-turkey.
(The owner of that impressive mound in the park.)
Australian Brush-turkeys are protected native birds. They can do a fair bit of damage in a garden with all their raking and scratching so we are hoping this chick doesn't decide to live here permanently. There are things one can do, such as laying wire mesh down under mulch, to try to deter them but once a Brush-turkey has decided to build a nest in your yard, they can be pretty persistent.
We haven't seen this little chick since it flew up into the hedge but I'm keeping an eye out for tell-tale signs of its presence!
Meg
Oh dear!
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping he decides to move on!
Better moving on than moving in, Cheryl. A few years ago, one of our neighbours had a Brush-turkey take up residence in his yard and it nearly drove him mad all the damage it did to his beautiful garden. Meg
DeleteMeg I haven't seen any here but I don't think they could do much more damage than the chooks are doing...scratch scratch scratch all day long :-)
ReplyDeleteWe don't have chooks (mainly because the pythons that live in this area would love them) but I imagine a flock could do a fair bit of damage if given free reign in a garden. Do you have to fence of areas of your garden, Nanna Chel, to keep the chooks out? Meg
DeleteThank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. You certainly grew up in a lovely area. My dad was a canecutter as a young immigrant in the 1920s so I grew up with his stories. I have family in the Innisfail area so that was the reason for that trip last year.
ReplyDeleteNow about this post...I've written a few posts over the years about my battles with those pesky brush turkeys...so annoying! So I know what you are going through. 🙁
My Mum was born in Innisfail, Maria and I have an aunt who lives there now. They can certainly get some rain up that way! Meg:)
DeleteThe only turkey we have in Virginia, USA, are wild American turkeys and they won't come near a residence unless passing through. They prefer the woodlands. My chickens are the culprits that destroy my flower beds but now that I'm retired I keep close watch on them and "most" of the time they steer clear. Love your blog and the beautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteRita
Thanks Rita, for your lovely comment. Our native Brush-turkey is typically a shy bird that likes rainforest and dry open forest but that habitat is under threat in many parts of its range as housing/development spreads. While I haven't seen this chick for a few days now, if it returns regularly then we'll need to look at how to protect some areas of the garden while it forages. Do you have to fence off areas of your garden to stop your chickens getting in and scratching things up? Meg:)
DeleteThose nests are amazing. I have never heard of this kind of turkey before. I am used to seeing the wild turkeys we have up here in my part of the world though. How big do your bush turkeys get? Our's can get quite large.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if they'd be as big as your wild turkeys over there, Debbie. They can grow to about 75cm long or so. Meg:)
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