Mynas

I noticed the other day that I have Common Mynas nesting under a loose tile in my roof. Ugh.

I’m no fan of Mynas. They're horrible pests and have wreaked havoc on the Australian environment (not as much as humans have, of course), but I can't bring myself to evict them - that'd be a death sentence for the young ones. Damn those principles. When the chicks fledge, I’ll reset the tile and concrete it in, but not before.

However, for pure interest, I did spend some time watching and photographing them. I guess that's why it's called "bird watching". The parents are very industrious.

They have established a perimeter around the nest. Anything that comes close is heckled and, in some cases, swooped. Mickey, our poor mild-mannered Labrador, gets it constantly. She’s such a sook that one of us has to stand guard while she eats her bones.The parents have also established a feeding routine. This is what they do for the whole day, interrupted only when anyone strays too close. I’ve taken some photos to show what they do.

First, the parents are very vigilant and stay watching constantly.

Second, after they collect food for the chicks, they very cautiously approach the nest. They never fly straight to it, as that would give the location of the nest away.

Third, the nest is just above a gutter. The bird hops from a nearby branch onto the gutter and waits until it thinks the coast is clear.

Next, the bird enters the nest by leaping up and, in a most undignified manner, clambering in. There is just enough room for the adult.

Inside the nest, the parent feeds the cheeping babies. As they have grown, their begging calls have got stronger. The parent then cleans the nest of detritus and throws it out of the nest hole. 

Then the parent waits until they think the coast is clear

Finally, the bird launches out to collect more food.

In order to get these photos, I had to aim and focus the camera and fire remotely.