Birding

A Tawny Frogmouth nest

September 4, 2022 by Clare M 4 Comments

Last Sunday we were driving down a gravel road, which is mostly the local red sand known as pindan, when Grant said “we’re going back for that”! The edges of the road are high where they grade it every now and then to keep it less rough-I won’t say smooth! We soon did a three point turn and slowly went back. It was soon obvious that one of the trees right on the edge of the road was not empty and we pulled up just before it. Using our vehicle as a bird hide I was able to take a few photos of the tree’s resident bird. The photo above is the first photo that I took and the one below is the occupied tree.

Occupied tree

I have shown you a few times over the years various families of Tawny Frogmouths. There was a nest north of Broome that we returned to some time later to see the young in it. There is the pair of Tawny Frogmouths that live at the local shopping centre and sit watching people come and go under the eaves. There is also the family of Tawny Frogmouths at Cygnet Park . The family at Cygnet Park still roost in the park and I see them every day, but they prefer the Poinciana trees nowadays.

This Tawny Frogmouth nest appears to be using the least number of sticks possible. We keep hearing about construction costs going up, but it shouldn’t make any difference if you are a Tawny Frogmouth! We carefully moved forward and beyond the nest taking a few photos from different angles. The Tawny Frogmouth did what they do best and just blended in with the tree.

Tawny Frogmouth on a nest

It isn’t far from home to go back in coming weeks and see how big the family of Tawny Frogmouths will be. I hope to be able to update you in the future.

Written by Clare M
Clare and her husband, Grant, have lived permanently in Broome, Western Australia since 1999 after living in various outback locations around Western Australia and Darwin. She has lived in the Middle East and the United States and traveled extensively in Europe. She monitors Pied Oystercatchers breeding along a 23km stretch of Broome's coastline by bicycle and on foot. She chooses not to participate in social media, but rather wander off into the bush for peace and tranquility. Thankfully she can write posts in advance and get away from technology!