As it is nesting season our birds are gathering to breed in the melaleuca trees bordering the lagoon. The first to start building are the Sacred Ibis who live there permanently. They gather in breeding season, from mid September filling every vacant space with their nests and new chicks.
In mid October, Cattle Egrets arrive and fill any remaining space with their nests. The trees are alive with squawking birds and demanding chicks. It is a sight to behold with all the new life it brings.
This year, however, we had unexpected visitors in the form of a family of Magpie Geese who dropped in and stayed for some time. The two adults and 10 chicks made themselves at home for about 2 weeks and then moved on. Left behind was one of the adult birds which had somehow broken a leg. As it was time for the family to move on, the stricken bird was left behind.
One of our members whose home backs onto the lagoon contacted WIRES. He was told as long as the bird could feed, and it could, leave it be and see what would naturally occur. We were quite happy to have “Hoppy” as a local and it seemed quite content in the company of the other birds that call the lagoon “home”.
One day, it was gone. Happy in its stay and obviously, healed enough to travel. We miss its lovely face but are glad it was able to join the others, wherever that may be. I hope they now make our lagoon a regular stopover on their long trek south from Queensland and the Northern Territory. It is common that they are seen around the Clarence region but these guys really took the scenic route. ~ Liz Philpott, Linden Lagoon Landcare
