The first time we ever saw a Tawny Frogmouth, we weren't really sure what we were looking at. It had the legs of a frog hanging out of its mouth!
Last night there was a great crashing noise out side. I was hoping that a big branch might have fallen off a tree. We went out to investigate and there was a very panicky Tawny Frogmouth. When he finally settled down and froze still, which is their normal defence (they look so much like a broken bit of wood they are almost impossible to see in a tree) we could see that one eye was slightly damaged. At the same time we could here squeals of a fox, so it was easy to decide to capture the bird and look after it for a while. We have a cage that is suitable for this, and we covered it in old towels to help keep him calm and warm. This morning I raked through the garden and got a jar of worms, slaters and maggots, and Jon put them in the bottom of the cage. Being a nocturnal owl he didn't show any interest in them. I guess he wasn't particularly starving.
This evening his eye looked almost perfect again, so we opened the door on the cage, took a few photos and left him alone. Of course he wouldn't move while we were there, and we didn't want to frighten him out of the cage. He flew off all in his own good time.
This bird looks like its upside down! You did a great job...
ReplyDeleteHe does look strange doesn't he? He had another pose too that I couldn't photograph through the wire. He somehow folded his wings back so that he formed a shape that had 3 big spikes ... a really fractured branch.
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