10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2012

Feral cats are a huge problem in Australia and they do take a lot of the eggs. These are not pet cats, but cats that have only ever lived in the wild and can survive in extreme conditions. This pair laid a white egg last year on their second attempt in the exact same nest.

Eggs 175

Eggs Turtles Feral Cats Investigation 175

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2015

To the north they are very unlucky with predation before the eggs even hatch out, but to the south the eggs hatch out and then the predation occurs on the chicks. The main problem appears to be feral cats, but there is also predation from birds of prey and the parent Pied Oystercatchers do their utmost to protect their young.

Feral Cats 158

Feral Cats Eggs Feral Cats 158

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2019

In fact we often don’t have any chicks within two weeks of the eggs hatching and other pairs along the coast have not been successful yet this season. More eggs have been laid and hopefully other pairs of Pied Oystercatchers will soon have young to care for. Female on the left and two chicks next to the male Pied Oystercatcher.

Eggs 121

Eggs Feral Cats Shelters Feral 121

10,000 Birds

JULY 29, 2018

We have been busy walking the beach and keeping an eye on our local Pied Oystercatchers and the two pairs that laid their eggs earliest for the 2018 breeding season and successfully hatched out their chicks have now lost their chicks to predation. They have only laid one egg so far and another may be laid within a day.

Eggs 114

Eggs Feral Cats Feral 2018 114

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

I once had a cat who loved to lick plastic bags, and while I find the pleasure in this hard to comprehend, it still seems more understandable to me than the joy (?) According to the HBW, when breeding, male birds do most of the incubation and parenting while females often leave the nest up to one week before the eggs hatch.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2016

Traditionally since 2000 we have encountered our first Pied Oystercatcher eggs in the first week of July, but this year one pair have decided to start laying eggs early! Sadly they have already lost one clutch of eggs to predation, so by July 1st this year they are on their second clutch. Pied Oystercatcher nest.

Breeding 100

Breeding Eggs Feral Cats 2000 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2018

Two weeks ago I introduced you to two pairs of our Pied Oystercatchers that were early egg layers this year and this week the eggs have hatched out after twenty eight days of incubation. Both pairs of Pied Oystercatchers are in a very public area of Cable Beach, but they are always successful with their egg incubation each year.

2018 100

2018 Eggs Feral Cats Camels 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2011

The first eggs are laid during the first week of July each year and if these eggs fail to hatch or the chicks are lost they will lay further eggs within a few weeks. Sadly a lot of eggs are lost to feral cats and chicks are sometimes taken by birds of prey. Nest site with 3 eggs-one white!

2002 166

2002 Feral Cats Eggs 2007 166

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Unfortunately for the hunters these were already all extinct, and with the introduction of cats, rats, stoats and the like the only upland game bird, the New Zealand Quail , was fast on the way out too. Using ministerial connections he obtained 100 mallard eggs from the US and began to breed and distribute them.

Species 165

Species New Zealand Ducks Game 165

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2022

When going to Australia, one of the two birds I wanted to see most was the Tawny Frogmouth. When these birds breed, this can lead to highly cringeworthy announcements, for example from Adelaide Zoo : “We have egg-citing news!” ” Clare has also written posts on Tawny Frogmouths in Broome for 10,000 Birds.

Birds 217

Birds Australia Ducks Mountain Goats 217

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2018

One of our male Pied Oystercatchers has been marked with an engraved leg flag “A1” and was one of the first pairs to lay eggs this season. Sadly the two chicks did not survive very long at all and the pair of Pied Oystercatchers were soon getting ready to lay more eggs. “A1” Preparing another nest site.

Eggs 106

Eggs Feral Cats Feral Raised 106

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2011

The Red-capped Plover chick I photographed last week is developing fast and I have discovered another nest with two eggs further north. Thankfully they do live for many years and the population is not in decline at present, despite the feral cats getting their eggs. Mystery solved!

Feral Cats 165

Feral Cats Eggs Feral Cats 165

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

How do I know of their Gothic moods when they have hidden them so well in an egg-white shell of conformity? Clare and Grant-Broome Western Australia Mar 10th, 2011 at 4:42 am I thought we were just doing “gulls and ducks&# now and if I want I can throw something else in each week! Mar 10th, 2011 at 1:12 am I love it!

2011 158

2011 Birds Deer Europe 158

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

Australia is a vast country with a very small human population, which mostly clings to the edge of the continent. Even the first explorers to Australia documented there was a risk of extinction of birds and animals into the future and subsequently decided to collect as many specimens as possible! Preface,p.xxiv.

Species 174

Species Australia Birds Parrots 174

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2011

They usually have their first eggs in place by the first week in July each year and they sit on them for 28 days. The first egg is laid followed by the second the next day and then they sit fairly continuously despite the warm day time temperature. On rare occasions we have had three eggs in a nest, but this is unusual in this area.

Breeding 169

Breeding Feral Cats Eggs Feral 169

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 17, 2013

But there was this one in Australia. Birds are raised from the egg to follow a certain migration timing, but that timing shifts when the egg hatches later or earlier due to changes in conditions. Or, at least, mass die-offs were less often featured in the news. 06–11 Archaeopteryx may have been black and white.

Science 185

Science 2013 Elephants Birds 185

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

As I watched, it slowly moved into a patch of dried vegetation and I noticed that it was settling over a single egg. Two or three eggs may be laid and either bird may incubate. They are most active at night and make eerie nocturnal calls which have cemented their place in many folklore tales from Africa to Australia.

2011 160

2011 Deer Africa Peru 160