For those interested in the tenacity of POWLs in nest defence the description by Gibbon Vol. 13 (2) 1989 The Australian Birdwatcher is worth digging out. He says that he had known the pair for some years prior to the attack described. My own experience with pairs I have know for some years is the same. It seems that familiarity may breed contempt. Ciao
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Chris, While i don’t have access to The Birdwatcher article, my experience has been a bit different. I was attacked by a first year breeding male in November 2007, 3 months after fledging of their juvenile. This male remains in the area & bred 2008, 2009, 2010 before losing his mate early 2011. He has re-mated & bred again 2014. At no time since has he shown any aggressive behaviour towards me. (He has eye artefacts that identify him.) When I was attacked it was a cool wet morning & I had not seen the male but was looking at the female & juvenile about 8 or 9m away. In the first year, this new pair seemed to roost with the juvenile in unusually open & hot perches & the family suffered the stress of frequent Currawong harassment . Subsequent years they returned to the roosting norm of good overhead cover & deeper lower shade as the weather heated up. Having my eyelid slashed then has kept their powerful potential in my consciousness when I visit. Chris Chris Charles +61412911184 Licole Monopods http://www.licole.com.au
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