Now there are two baby nene. The second egg hatched overnight.
Mother interacting with the babies while she's still incubating the third egg.
The last few weeks have been full of the loud cheeping of newly fledged manikins - a small brown bird that has a sweet voice much louder than you would expect. There are three overhead, gleaning the underside of the hau leaves that are a lacework of small insect bites. In the patches of sunlight between showers, orange monarch butterflies drift past just above the grass, a pair of Brazilian cardinals with bright red crests turn over fallen leaves, and a male Indian shama, his black feathers gleaming blue in the sunlight, searches the bark of an old Java plum tree. In the distance is the ever-present sound of cockerels crowing, dogs barking and crickets.
It was first light and she sat sleepily. It was a long time before the young bird appeared, wobbling on shaky legs, investigating the sides of the nest, his mother, the sunlight, and then tumbling over the edge. She wanted the gosling to come back, and tugged his gray down, his wing tip, moving obstacles from the slope of the nest, but the baby settled down for a few minutes among the leaves, looking around. They are so vulnerable just now. The male is at the edge of the hau with the second female. Eventually the young bird scrambled back and she raised her wing in welcome, revealing the second baby for the first time. As the two young staggered down the nest again in opposite directions, she leaned as far as she could but remained on the egg, coaxing each one in turn.
By late morning, the second female, Nahe, was giving the loud demanding trumpeting that calls a mate from a distance. Today, for the first time, the male did not respond or even call back. He was walking across the field, in the heavy swaying gait they use at speed, and was going towards the nest. Nahe continued to call off and on for an hour. This kind of trumpeting can seem like an alarm, but there are subtle differences that have fooled me when it was a cat alarm, but was unmistakably different when the pigs were attacking an earlier nest. The situation is sad for Nahe, they have mated at least twice during the incubation, and she may be swelling with eggs. But there are single males in the area that have tried to escort her. The nesting bird is helpless, and it is good to see her mate staying close and defending her at last.
By early afternoon, the male stands alert, a few feet from the nest. The two young ones staggered several feet from the nest on their first adventure, tasting twigs and fallen leaves. Even a root or branch a few inches across is a hurdle for them. The mother left the nest to follow them and lead them back, and the father nudged them from behind with his beak. The nest was in a patch of warm sunlight. The mother settled over the last egg and the two goslings climbed up and under her lifted wing.
It’s hard to believe that by the afternoon the newly-hatched gosling, only hours old, and its day-old sibling, had tumbled to the edge of the river and back - twice! They were family outings, and the young were full of energy and ready to explore. They stood at the edge of the water, while their thirsty mother walked a few feet in, to drink and bathe her underside for a few minutes. This is the first time she has left the nest since the young began to chip their way out of the egg. Nahe watched them from twenty feet away, calling hopefully, but he stayed focused on the young. He seems fascinated by them. Just before the light began to fade the parents led the goslings to the edge of the green field to feed. Nahe went out of sight a little earlier. There are other nene in the valley wetlands, and among the taro-fields.
It was first light and she sat sleepily. It was a long time before the young bird appeared, wobbling on shaky legs, investigating the sides of the nest, his mother, the sunlight, and then tumbling over the edge. She wanted the gosling to come back, and tugged his gray down, his wing tip, moving obstacles from the slope of the nest, but the baby settled down for a few minutes among the leaves, looking around. They are so vulnerable just now. The male is at the edge of the hau with the second female. Eventually the young bird scrambled back and she raised her wing in welcome, revealing the second baby for the first time. As the two young staggered down the nest again in opposite directions, she leaned as far as she could but remained on the egg, coaxing each one in turn.
By late morning, the second female, Nahe, was giving the loud demanding trumpeting that calls a mate from a distance. Today, for the first time, the male did not respond or even call back. He was walking across the field, in the heavy swaying gait they use at speed, and was going towards the nest. Nahe continued to call off and on for an hour. This kind of trumpeting can seem like an alarm, but there are subtle differences that have fooled me when it was a cat alarm, but was unmistakably different when the pigs were attacking an earlier nest. The situation is sad for Nahe, they have mated at least twice during the incubation, and she may be swelling with eggs. But there are single males in the area that have tried to escort her. The nesting bird is helpless, and it is good to see her mate staying close and defending her at last.
By early afternoon, the male stands alert, a few feet from the nest. The two young ones staggered several feet from the nest on their first adventure, tasting twigs and fallen leaves. Even a root or branch a few inches across is a hurdle for them. The mother left the nest to follow them and lead them back, and the father nudged them from behind with his beak. The nest was in a patch of warm sunlight. The mother settled over the last egg and the two goslings climbed up and under her lifted wing.
It’s hard to believe that by the afternoon the newly-hatched gosling, only hours old, and its day-old sibling, had tumbled to the edge of the river and back - twice! They were family outings, and the young were full of energy and ready to explore. They stood at the edge of the water, while their thirsty mother walked a few feet in, to drink and bathe her underside for a few minutes. This is the first time she has left the nest since the young began to chip their way out of the egg. Nahe watched them from twenty feet away, calling hopefully, but he stayed focused on the young. He seems fascinated by them. Just before the light began to fade the parents led the goslings to the edge of the green field to feed. Nahe went out of sight a little earlier. There are other nene in the valley wetlands, and among the taro-fields.
First Outing: These two nene goslings emerged from their eggs yesterday and today. They're following their mother back to the nest area after she took them down to the river so she could have her first drink for at least three days. It's a real challenge when you have to climb over a branch that's shoulder-high - and you only started walking a few hours ago. At this stage, walking is largely a case of tumbling in the desired direction...
First Outing: On their way back from the water - they're tasting everything as they go.
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