…. the chirp of a newborn bird…. the flutter of a first flight
A pair of Red WattleBirds made a nest in a hanging basket of geraniums outside my office door.
We had wondered why the pair were hanging about, then I spotted Mum’s tail as she hunkered down in a neat little nest. When she flew off for more soft grass I spied two tiny eggs.
She gradually stopped rushing away when I came in and out but eyed us warily. Father was always near by in the jacaranda tree keeping guard.
Several weeks later I heard the tiny twerps and there they were; two gaping yellow beaks attached to bald, featherless shapes. For mum it was back and forth on endless feeding trips, then late each afternoon settling down for the night cuddled together, dad on guard.
Photos by Boris Janjic 
Wattle birds 
Baby Wattle birds
We witnessed their first flight of maybe three metres before crash landing on the patio. Mum and dad were not there, so we gently returned the escapees to the nest. Within a week they were zooming to the nearby fence watched by anxious parents.
And then one day…silence. They had safely departed. We hope they return next year. Now the geraniums can have a drink, and a little nest remains waiting.
In the meantime Boris has found newborn rosellas at the bottom of the long nesting box by the carport.
We’d like more of these boxes . . . a good project for a Mens Shed???? (Let us know where to find any boxes.)
DM