singing bushlark

HI all

A couple of days ago a tiny bird of a type I’d never seen before hopped its way into our front yard in Geraldton. It seemed completely non-plussed by the presence of humans and was ridiculously easy to catch for closer examination. That revealed some trauma to the back and what looked like a puncture wound – naturally we thought cat bite and assumed the little thing would be dead by morning. That hasn’t eventuated and I’ve identified it as a singing bushlark, which according to my field guides, isn’t generally found this far south. I wonder if it may have been blown in on the cyclonic wind systems that have been prevalent in this area for a while.

This bird is ridiculously trusting. Within a day it was landing on my hand whenever I brought in a fresh supply of grass and seed heads picked from the garden for it to eat, happily fluttering around the bathroom – coolest room in the house at present – and landing without fear on heads, backs, hands, shoulders, anywhere it can get a grip. It’s not panicky in the way a bird is normally and I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience with one of these little guys or knows much about them. The only information I have at present is what is contained in the field guides.

If the weather is cooler in the morning, I shall release the little bloke back into the garden as his back trauma seems to be healing well and there’s no real reason t keep him any longer.

I have to admit though, he’s been an absolute delight to meet and it’s been a very special couple of days to spend in his company.

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