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Post by biteybird on Apr 20, 2018 5:51:25 GMT -5
Well, we moved up to Darwin, Northern Territory (as a lot of you know) and we brought our two Bourke's parrots and cockatiel with us and put them in their own aviary out the back, as they were accustomed to in Melbourne.
Our male Bourke's we found dead one morning after a storm and we assumed he'd panicked because of the storm. Our cockatiel we also lost - found out he had polyoma virus and assumed that was what killed him.
...A couple of days ago my husband saw a whistling kite (a kind of hawk/raptor up here in the Top End) launching itself at the bird aviary. Our little pink Bourke's parrot was frozen with fear. So the next morning I went shopping for a bird cage to bring her inside the house.
When I got home I parked the car in the driveway, looked at the aviary and saw - that bloody hawk sitting on the top of the aviary! Lord knows how long it had been sitting there, but our little parrot was again frozen in fear. She was on top of the seed feeder on her tummy...she was so exhausted she couldn't even stand up properly.
I went straight in there and caught her, put her in my shirt and got the new bird cage out of the back seat of the car and put her in it straight away.
Up here in the NT there are three raptors (apart from the big eagles) - whistling kites, black kites and brahmony kites (sea eagles). OMG, I'm glad I got home when I did.
Pinky is happy inside, I think. I still need to move all her perches, coils, etc. in from the aviary.
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Post by Jan and Shah on Apr 20, 2018 16:26:30 GMT -5
I love whistling kites as well as all raptors. Such magnificent creatures. When I lived at Castle Hill, I would put the birds in smaller cages for some outside time. The noisy minors (not raptors) were terrible and would land on their cages and try to attack them - so I ended up sitting outside with them, my trusty hose at the ready to spray them if they came near. Many years ago I had a rescue canary who I would pop outside for about an hour each day. One day I caught a currawong (again, not a raptor) with its beak right inside the cage trying to get the canary. I have read posts on this forum about pet birds being taken by raptors. So glad you caught the kite in the act. It would have been horrible for your little parrot with that great big thing trying to attack it. So now you have a spare aviary - ever thought of raptor rehabilitation?
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Post by biteybird on Apr 20, 2018 23:42:22 GMT -5
Nice to hear from you, Jan! Funny you should mention rehab, as we rescued a corella (cockatoo) a few weeks ago, which was walking around on our lawn. It couldn't fly at all and looked to me like it had a broken wing - not that I know much, but one wing was drooping a lot lower than the other and it had wounds all over it, including on its head and around its eyes. So I caught it easily with a towel and put it in the aviary (the aviary was empty at the time because our Bourke's parrot was still in the house after Cyclone Marcus). I rang the wildlife rescue number and they said to take it to the local vet in Parap for treatment - no charge for wildlife. I put the corella in an empty cardboard box (it was NOT impressed!) and took it in to the vet, where I filled in a form and they were happy to treat it. I don't know what ended up happening, but I guess the prospects for a cockatoo with a broken wing aren't that good(?). Yes, so now we have a spare aviary. I guess I could try rescues - except I would need a LOT more time than I currently have. In fact, I'm considering leaving teaching altogether (again), as even up here the workload has increased about 3X since I arrived a year ago. It also seems I have an immune disorder, currently going to lots of appointments. When things settle I'll see if I can do some bird rehab! I actually love the whistling kites, too. I was considering volunteering at the Territory Wildlife Park once per fortnight. When my health issues get sorted out, I may still do that.
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Post by Jan and Shah on Apr 21, 2018 0:08:27 GMT -5
I am sorry to hear about your health issues and hope they are sorted out quickly. What would you do if you left teaching? Would you stay in NT or move back to Victoria?
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Post by biteybird on Apr 22, 2018 5:29:33 GMT -5
We would stay in NT, as changing jobs/fields would be easier here than in Vic, not to mention I handle the heat well up here (in Vic, where I grew up, I constantly had cold/half numb feet, which is not pleasant). Hope you're well!
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