Whelan at work
We have a Brush Turkey (Whelan) which has been visiting our bushy, messy yard regularly for a few years. He has started making a nest here against a wire fence in a corner of the yard that is like a mini rainforest. Recently I saw him digging a hole in the mound and testing the temperature with his bill. His mate has been visiting here as well. He is still working on the nest and has done a great job of raking up most of our leaf litter. The mound is at least a metre high against the fence. The neighbours placed some boards against the fence on their side to stop the litter coming through into their yard, but luckily they think it's hilarious to have these visitors, and they don't have any garden that can be messed up.
The Australian brush turkey, (Alectura Lathami), also frequently called the scrub turkey or bush turkey, is a native Australian bird and is protected under Queensland State Wildlife Legislation (Nature Conservation Act 1992). It is a serious offence to harm them.
The male builds a nesting mound of soil and plant litter, usually between August and December. The heap may be two to four metres wide and more than one metre high.
The male spends a long time building and defending the nesting mound; it only allows the female access to it once the temperature is correct for successful egg incubation at 33 degrees celsius. Once the eggs are laid in the mound and buried, the male keeps watch, adjusts the temperature as necessary and defends the nest from predators. However, after the eggs are hatched, the baby brush turkey chicks are self-sufficient and left to fend for themselves. Brush turkey mortality rate is high, with only about one in 200 chicks surviving to adulthood.
Here's a link to more information about the brush turkey: www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/livingwith/brushturkey.html
Whelan at work
We have a Brush Turkey (Whelan) which has been visiting our bushy, messy yard regularly for a few years. He has started making a nest here against a wire fence in a corner of the yard that is like a mini rainforest. Recently I saw him digging a hole in the mound and testing the temperature with his bill. His mate has been visiting here as well. He is still working on the nest and has done a great job of raking up most of our leaf litter. The mound is at least a metre high against the fence. The neighbours placed some boards against the fence on their side to stop the litter coming through into their yard, but luckily they think it's hilarious to have these visitors, and they don't have any garden that can be messed up.
The Australian brush turkey, (Alectura Lathami), also frequently called the scrub turkey or bush turkey, is a native Australian bird and is protected under Queensland State Wildlife Legislation (Nature Conservation Act 1992). It is a serious offence to harm them.
The male builds a nesting mound of soil and plant litter, usually between August and December. The heap may be two to four metres wide and more than one metre high.
The male spends a long time building and defending the nesting mound; it only allows the female access to it once the temperature is correct for successful egg incubation at 33 degrees celsius. Once the eggs are laid in the mound and buried, the male keeps watch, adjusts the temperature as necessary and defends the nest from predators. However, after the eggs are hatched, the baby brush turkey chicks are self-sufficient and left to fend for themselves. Brush turkey mortality rate is high, with only about one in 200 chicks surviving to adulthood.
Here's a link to more information about the brush turkey: www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/livingwith/brushturkey.html