What goes around...

I have been lamenting some brush-turkey damage in the garden recently. Especially when it had been so dry. Watering any plant, was an invitation for them to scratch it up. Because water, brings life to the soil. They're not silly, those turkeys. They gotta eat, and my garden is a good buffet, when times are lean elsewhere.

More recently, we discovered a new ritual they were up to...

Click to enlarge ~ scratching up hill

Mr Turkey was building a nest. He started a line of scratching, where there was leaf mulch to be had (under the trees). He patiently worked his way, up and down, scratching the mulch back to the nest. It was incredibly funny, once he reached the canopy of the trees again - because he'd immediately race back to the nest, like a hungry velociraptor on steroids!

By golly, they look hilarious when they run!

I was lamenting my garden again, when Mr Turkey cleaned-out the leaf mulch under the trees. Because it was my nearby garden bed, he turned to next!

 Denuded of mulch

Luckily the rain had been around, so I wasn't worried about the soil drying out, after he made off with the mulch. But I had to observe carefully too. If the sun decided to come out, for a long stretch, I'd have to get something else to cover that bed. I really didn't want my plants to be set-back, after the rain had finally hydrated the soil again.

 Flooded gully

The rainy weather, ensured I never had to deal with re-mulching for the short term. And Mr Turkey, was certainly a dedicated father, flying over the flooded gully to reach the nest every day. He wanted to add more mulch, to keep the eggs in the nest, dry.

As much as I didn't want him pilfering mulch from my plants, I had to admire his tenacity, to bring another generation of chicks into the fold. I was quietly cheering him on. Crazy, I know! Why would we want more brush turkeys, feasting from our garden.

No longer a mound of leaf litter

Then, one day Mr Turkey didn't return to the nest. Maybe he'd done all he possibly could, and now it was the waiting game for his chicks to emerge? The baby chicks must fend for themselves, once they emerge from the nest. Dad is long gone, by then - and mum left, once she laid the eggs.

When I found holes in the nest, I thought - maybe they had emerged? But something didn't seem quite right. Why had so much mulch been displaced?

Mulch everywhere?

Mr Turkey, always kept a clean operation. We were amazed how neat that pile of mulch, was. It appeared, something else had interfered with the nest. There should have been one hole the chicks emerged from, not three that we found. Nor should there have been mulch strewn everywhere.

It could only be one thing - a goanna must have raided the nest. We get plenty of those around here. Especially at this time of year, when birds are laying.

He worked hard

Sorry, Mr Turkey. You availed much, but you were robbed in the end. I know how that feels. But I get why you're doing it. You've got to live somewhere, and pick the best place you can, to set up the next generation. You're making a living, like the rest of us. I don't begrudge you that. And our garden is pretty cool. No wonder you like hanging out here, so much.

Once I spared a moment, for Mr Turkey's loss, my attention turned to something else...

Organic bounty

The rain had stopped, and the sun made a more regular appearance. I needed to cover my garden bed again. Mulch! What goes around, does indeed, come back around.

Not only did I have the few remains of the wood chips we dumped there - which Mr Turkey saw as an opportunity for a nest, but I also had all this new leaf mulch too.

Phew!

My beds have been re-mulched again, preserving the moisture all that rain left behind. With summer around the corner, I'm relieved for that. And no doubt, Mr and Mrs Turkey will be finding another suitable location for a new nest.

I saw them in the yard, just yesterday, checking out real estate, under the mulberry tree. I gave them a warning chase, but only because they were a little too close to my vegetable beds. They're not threatened by me at all, because they're always back, a minute later!

March 2016

I wonder if one of these nesting Brush Turkey's, is the one, old Matriarch hen adopted in March 2016? Old Matriarch has now passed on, but the brush turkeys, remain in our landscape. And no doubt, will, for a long time to come.

Growing, brush turkey chick, April 2016

 November 2017 - the resemblance is uncanny

 

What goes around, comes around - whether it be seizing organic mulch, adopting baby brush turkeys, or tolerating the grown ones in our garden. I guess even Mr Goanna has to make a living too. And his offspring, will be (ironically) preyed upon by the carnivorous birds in our location.

There's still plenty of time in spring, to build another turkey nest. And if I know anything about the brush turkey's in this area, they're as tenacious, as the landscape is challenging. They'll be back...and so will their kids! That's how it's meant to be.