I’ve been under the weather with a bad cold but am now finally able to start wandering around outside again, for more than 10 minutes. So today, I went for a wander around our property and down into the paddock. Nice to venture further outside.
I was down the back listening for birds when suddenly I heard a bird screaming further up the hill behind me, so turned around and walked back up towards our Silver Birches where the sound seemed to be coming from. Two Kookaburras nearby started calling and three Blackbirds also carried on nearby and took off.
I pulled apart some Arum Lily leaves where the sound was coming from and a Blackbird immediately flew off towards the neighbour’s property and straight afterwards a Kookaburra flew out over my head, and behind me, into a tree. The Kookaburra was attacking the Blackbird for a meal – not the first time I’ve witnessed that, but the first time I’ve actually heard the scream.
Looking at my photos, yes the Kooka got some feathers from the Blackbird, but looking at the Kooka’s chest, it would seem the Blackbird was giving a good try at attacking its attacker back. I watched for awhile, then continued my walk but when I came back, I saw the Kookaburra back amongst the Silver Birches, waiting and watching for an unsuspecting victim foraging amongst the lilies, still with the feathers in its beak. Such is the circle of life with nature and always provides more learning for me.
Below: Evidence in the beak, second and third shots show the kookaburra’s chest with what looks like blood stains and the fourth, it’s back in the Silver Birches, waiting for another unsuspecting victim.
