Yesterday I went for a bushwalk nearby and startled a fledgling Rainbow Lorikeet which had been roosting in a shrub near the track. It landed the creek below, but managed to swim to the other side, climb up the embankment then up into some sedge grass. I had difficulty making my way to the edge of the creek to observe it, as it was so overgrown, but eventually managed to find a way through the bush and spiderwebs to observe it for a little while. It seemed OK, so I left it there.

In the evening I returned to check on it and was surprised to find that it had somehow crossed the creek again and returned to its original shrub, albeit on a twig almost touching the ground. It was whistling and screeching and I could see adult (parent?) lorikeets nearby. They were warring with currawongs. Speedy Jnr suggested we take the lorikeet home, but I figured it probably had a 50% chance of survival if we left it there, otherwise it likely faced a lifetime in captivity. We left it there.

Today I returned and found a pile of lorikeet feathers :( which I was half expecting, but there was also a wide (40cm) clearing leading from the main track to the creek (3m long). This was definitely not there yesterday. It looked like someone had dragged a heavy object through the scrub, bending and breaking the undergrowth. The feathers were on top of this clearing. The only animal I can think of that could do this is a feral pig, but AFAIK, we don’t have those here.

How else could this have happened?

Failed attempt at crop circle. Or, someone trying to hide a body.

Divine Angel said:

Failed attempt at crop circle. Or, someone trying to hide a body.

Hehe. I must admit I followed the tracks to the creek and looked into the water, just in case.

I’d bet on feral pigs.

You probably have got feral pigs then. Did you look for evidence of rooting about in the damp earth by the creek?

Did you not accidentally make the clearing and path yourself in your attempts to observe the bird yesterday? Perhaps the grass didn’t just spring back into position as you thought it might, and the impact looks greater today than it did yesterday.

roughbarked said:

You probably have got feral pigs then. Did you look for evidence of rooting about in the damp earth by the creek?

Not really. There are sometimes small dug-out areas along these tracks, but I always assumed they were likely from Brush Turkeys or the occasional echidna.

We definitely have cats and foxes here (NW Sydney) but I didn’t think we would have pigs.

party_pants said:

Did you not accidentally make the clearing and path yourself in your attempts to observe the bird yesterday? Perhaps the grass didn’t just spring back into position as you thought it might, and the impact looks greater today than it did yesterday.

No. I actually reached the bank further downstream and trod very carefully when I did. This ground looked like it had been scraped.

Would a pig eat a bird?

• It looked like someone had dragged a heavy object through the scrub, bending and breaking the undergrowth. The feathers were on top of this clearing

Poor bird. Must have been hit by a meteorite…

Speedy said:

party_pants said:

Did you not accidentally make the clearing and path yourself in your attempts to observe the bird yesterday? Perhaps the grass didn’t just spring back into position as you thought it might, and the impact looks greater today than it did yesterday.

No. I actually reached the bank further downstream and trod very carefully when I did. This ground looked like it had been scraped.

crocodile?

Speedy said:

roughbarked said:

You probably have got feral pigs then. Did you look for evidence of rooting about in the damp earth by the creek?

Not really. There are sometimes small dug-out areas along these tracks, but I always assumed they were likely from Brush Turkeys or the occasional echidna.

We definitely have cats and foxes here (NW Sydney) but I didn’t think we would have pigs.

Echidna and pig diggings are distinctly different and recognisable once you have seen them. Brush turkeys are a bit like big chooks.

I’m all out of ideas then. Perhapsit two events, like it was a feral cat that ate the bird, and just by coincidence some kangaroos came by and chose that very same spot to rest of a while.

Or it could have been a sabre-tooth cat.

roughbarked said:

Speedy said:

party_pants said:

Did you not accidentally make the clearing and path yourself in your attempts to observe the bird yesterday? Perhaps the grass didn’t just spring back into position as you thought it might, and the impact looks greater today than it did yesterday.

No. I actually reached the bank further downstream and trod very carefully when I did. This ground looked like it had been scraped.

crocodile?

Funny you say that. When I was standing at the edge of the creek peering into the water, this did occur to me. Honestly, the track looked like it could have been from a croc. Too cold for one here though.

Speedy said:

Would a pig eat a bird?

Pigs eat anything. I doubt they’d worry about plucking it though. The scraped track and the bird feathers may yet be unrelated though.

furious said:

• It looked like someone had dragged a heavy object through the scrub, bending and breaking the undergrowth. The feathers were on top of this clearing

Poor bird. Must have been hit by a meteorite…

….

Speedy said:

roughbarked said:

Speedy said:

No. I actually reached the bank further downstream and trod very carefully when I did. This ground looked like it had been scraped.

crocodile?

Funny you say that. When I was standing at the edge of the creek peering into the water, this did occur to me. Honestly, the track looked like it could have been from a croc. Too cold for one here though.

We have climate change now.

As far as I know, platypus don’t eat small birds.

party_pants said:

I’m all out of ideas then. Perhapsit two events, like it was a feral cat that ate the bird, and just by coincidence some kangaroos came by and chose that very same spot to rest of a while.

Or it could have been a sabre-tooth cat.

Actually, yes, we do have swamp wallabies here. I forgot about those. They could have made the track….then the lori was eaten by a cat/fox. What’s the chance of that?!?

Speedy said:

party_pants said:

I’m all out of ideas then. Perhapsit two events, like it was a feral cat that ate the bird, and just by coincidence some kangaroos came by and chose that very same spot to rest of a while.

Or it could have been a sabre-tooth cat.

Actually, yes, we do have swamp wallabies here. I forgot about those. They could have made the track….then the lori was eaten by a cat/fox. What’s the chance of that?!?

Sounds likely.

Goanna?

roughbarked said:

Speedy said:

party_pants said:

I’m all out of ideas then. Perhapsit two events, like it was a feral cat that ate the bird, and just by coincidence some kangaroos came by and chose that very same spot to rest of a while.

Or it could have been a sabre-tooth cat.

Actually, yes, we do have swamp wallabies here. I forgot about those. They could have made the track….then the lori was eaten by a cat/fox. What’s the chance of that?!?

Sounds likely.

Okay, question has been answered. I’m happy enough with that. Thanks all.

FWIW, I will not be telling Speedy Jnr about today’s find or I’ll never hear the end of it.

sibeen said:

Goanna?

It’s possible. I’ve seen them about 2km away in the same stretch of bushland.

sibeen said:

Goanna?

someone is thinking.

Speedy said:

sibeen said:

Goanna?

It’s possible. I’ve seen them about 2km away in the same stretch of bushland.

Don’t think they’d bother plucking the bird though.

roughbarked said:

Speedy said:

sibeen said:

Goanna?

It’s possible. I’ve seen them about 2km away in the same stretch of bushland.

Don’t think they’d bother plucking the bird though.

It wasn’t plucked. I found a clump of feathers from a small part of the bird and this clump had spread.

Speedy said:

roughbarked said:

Speedy said:

It’s possible. I’ve seen them about 2km away in the same stretch of bushland.

Don’t think they’d bother plucking the bird though.

It wasn’t plucked. I found a clump of feathers from a small part of the bird and this clump had spread.

Don’t discount a sparrowhawk for eating the bird.

Yeh, probably a wild dog, a Labrador with hip displacement, scavenging around in its twilight years.

Feather scatter is usually distinctive of the predator. A cat will remove many feathers and they will be spread over a metre or two, while a fox will usually only dislodge a few where the actual kill was made and then it will carry it off.

PermeateFree said:

Feather scatter is usually distinctive of the predator. A cat will remove many feathers and they will be spread over a metre or two, while a fox will usually only dislodge a few where the actual kill was made and then it will carry it off.

If it was either of these, it was a fox. Thanks PM.

My bets are that it was larry

wookiemeister said:

My bets are that it was larry

Larry Hagman?