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... and now here is a "Brilliant Story" from Alan and Rhona Morish
Subject - "Life in the Suburbs"
Hello folks
Just thought I'd share a couple of events that have occurred here at Unit 135
Just recently we've had two curlews, Graham and Gloria, nesting right beside the path at the front of our unit
Well, nesting is being rather generous !!
Their nest certainly wouldn't be in the pages of "Better Nests and Gardens" ... just some leaves cleared and two eggs layed on bare ground !!
The pair take it turns to sit on the nest ... one guards whilst the other sits
Well Gloria, being somewhat younger than Graham and also highly strung, tends to over react when we happen to walk by and hisses and expands her wings in a quite threatening show of warning
We've put up with this behavior for about a month, and knew that the hatching would soon occur, as she was becoming even more aggressive, when on guard duty
Old Graham has been pretty calm and laid back during the whole process ...
Until Wednesday Night !!
I could hear these strange noises outside my bedroom window, where the nest was, at 11.15pm
Looked out and saw an agitated Graham in the warning stance, staring into the garden, no bird on the nest, two eggs exposed, the resident wallabies also looking alarmed, staring into the garden, ears twitching
My worst fears were realised when I finally saw what was upsetting them
About an eight/nine foot python, camouflaged in the leaf foliage in the garden
Then it started moving towards Graham, who was trying to distract it away from the eggs
But when it slithered into the light I could see a large lump in its body
By this time we had been looking out to try to see where Gloria was ... no sign of her
Graham, the wallabies, Alan and Rhona, still tracking, at a safe distance, the python, as it slowly dragged it's now engorged body through our gardens to another part of our complex ... we know not where ... at least not up our drainpipe like the last one !!
After all this drama, the wallabies went back to grazing, a very stressed-out Graham was back on the nest (still no Gloria), and we finally went off to bed, with the sinking feeling that the lump we saw in the snake was Gloria
During the night I kept on checking, but it was only Graham I saw on the eggs
Next day, Thursday, just before we were heading out for lunch, joy oh joy, there was our temperamental Gloria, back on the nest !!
We think she'd been out clubbing the night before !!
Sorry, that's not quite the end of the story
That night, we heard an almighty lot of screeching coming from the front, grabbed the torch, and went flying outside
It was Gloria in full confrontational mode ... Barry, our neighbour, must have heard a noise and armed with his torch came to investigate
Well, Gloria was going at him, due to the fact that the eggs had finally hatched and Graham was staring down at these two little striped fluff balls between his long stick like legs
So, with much relief, we are pleased to announce the arrival of Brian and Audrey who, when not under mum or dad, are becoming quite adventurous and are now moving further afield in short bursts, only to be gathered up and sat upon by either parent !!
Who says we don't have high drama where we live ?? !!
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