Living with Tawny Frogmouths

This footage was taken in Hunters Hill, NSW over a few years, 2013-2015. It is likely that we have captured the same pair and their offspring of each breeding season. Each year the chicks have fledged sometime in November.

The nocturnal Tawny Frogmouth is commonly confused with owls but is more closely related to nightjars. Tawny Frogmouths can be found throughout Australia, including leafy urban areas. These intelligent and charismatic birds are relatively long-living and form permanent partnerships. Often we are unaware of their presence because they sit quietly in the daytime and their colouring blends with branches and tree trunks. When they feel threatened they adopt a position that makes them look even more like a branch or stump.

While owls nest in hollows, Tawny Frogmouths raise their family on a loose platform of sticks and leaves placed in a suitable tree fork. But this makes chicks more vulnerable to wild weather or startling events such as nearby tree lopping. Eggs are laid consecutively and can hatch several days apart. Yet despite the difference in age, all the chicks fledge at the same time. This means that the youngest might not be as ready to leave the nest. These two (on the stump in video) managed the transition successfully, but some ungainly fledglings end up on the ground.

In the following breeding season, this youngster (seen on a casuarina branch in video) was found on the ground by our neighbours, who called WIRES for advice. This time the age difference was more apparent, but weather conditions and noisy tree trimming may have played a part. The distance from the known nest and the watchful parent nearby indicated a fledgling. Although the parents usually care for the struggling youngster, it is easy prey for a cat, dog or fox. Unless the fledgling is clearly injured, the best course of action is to place it on a reachable branch out of the sun. Check later to see whether it is still off the ground and the parents are around.

Three days later the fledgling is again on the ground, this time with its father. Occasionally adult frogmouths will rest on shady ground on very hot days, like this one, but it is better to return the fledgling to a shaded branch nearby (which we did). Please contact your local wildlife carer (e.g. WIRES on 1300 094 737 or Sydney Wildlife on 9413 4300) if you are unsure about your particular situation. Or visit this information page for a nationwide list of wildlife rescue organisations - http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/resou.... In the case of fallen nestlings, full-time human care is often required as the nest can be too difficult to access.

Happy ending! The youngest fledgling is now able to perch high in the tree with its parents and sibling. The youngster who received our assistance (and big thanks to our neighbours) can been seen (with back to camera) with its father, while the older sibling is next to the mother on another branch. Interestingly, we saw the father provide most care and attention to the struggling youngster in those crucial early days of leaving the nest.

For more information on this amazing species see http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/speci.... For further reading we highly recommend, Tawny Frogmouth by Gisela Kaplan.

Credits:
Narration: Darren Broughton
Video footage: Thalia and Darren Broughton
Story writer: Thalia Broughton
Editing and video production: Darren Broughton

Special thanks: Residents of Thorn Street