Pod and Pal

Photo is blurry and kind of far off. I didn't want to get too close and scare them.

Yesterday morning Pod's parents were very active on the ground around Pod's pine tree. After a while of observing them I noticed a small creature jumping up and down, trying to fly. It was too big to be Pod. Moving closer I realised it was another fledgling (bigger and more developed) which the parents were feeding and teaching to fly. It was hopping about, jumping into bushes and stretching its wings ... not yet knowing quite how to use them.

Meanwhile Miss Pod was still on her branch.

I put bananas and a mango on the gate post for the parents and observed from a distance as they picked off bits of fruit to feed to the fledgling on the ground and Pod in the tree. It's fascinating to watch them. I could have stayed for ages, but had to go out with a friend.

We returned after midday and I immediately went to check Pod on her branch. There was no sign of her or the other fledgling.

Then something, perhaps a squeak, alerted my eyes downward. There were Pod and Pal (I'll call her Pal even though it's Pod's sibling), sitting quietly next to each other on a small bush just a few feet from Pod's pine tree. Their parents were not far off, watching protectively as usual. Amazing how Pod had come down so successfully from her branch and how she and Pal were able to find each other.

With them now on the ground hopping around and learning to fly, definitely Jasper is under serious lockdown. I feel sorry for him. But this morning when I let him out (under supervision), he headed straight for the bush where Pod was sitting (Pal has since moved - to where, I don't know). Clearly Jasper has bird radar.