There are not many celebrities in the world of wildlife. Western Australia has a few – the dolphins at Monkey Mia being the ones that most readily come to mind. But, Herdsman Lake in the Perth suburb of Wembley has its own in the form of the Kambekor or Tawny Frogmouths (Podargus strigoides). It is another of Australia’s strange animals. This is a bird that can’t fly very well and hardly walk. It’s main strategy is to sit in a tree and look like a stick, and that is something they are very very accomplished at, which normally makes them frustratingly hard to find. The Tawny Frogmouths at Herdsman Lake aren’t that hard to find because most people who frequent the area whether it be walkers, joggers, cyclists all seem to know which tree they hang out in.

 

 

Let’s back track a bit. What is a Tawny Frogmouth? Well the common misconception is that they are some form of owl and that is really down to an English bloke, by the name of John Latham, who in 1801 thought he’d discovered something entirely new which in reality he hadn’t as the indigenous population had known about them for nearly 60,000 years before he arrived on the scene. He gave the bird its Latin name Podargus strigoides. Strigoides literally means “owl like”. They are, however, not owls but belong to a small group of 3 birds, all frogmouths, found in Australia and New Guinea. Outside of that small group their closest relatives are nightjars. They are a fairly large bird, up to 54cm long and weighing up to 680g which should make them easy to see. They have a large head and a stocky bodying their plumage is silvery-grey with patterns of white, black, and brown streaks and mottles which enables them to seamlessly blend into the appearance of a tree branch, rendering them nearly invisible in the bright light of day despite a preference for roosting and nesting in low branches. When alarmed they angle their heads upwards and close their eyes remaining perfectly still. The Tawny Frogmouth is a nocturnal bird that feeds on large insects, small mammals and reptiles. When an Owl hunts it will swoop down on its prey and seize it with powerful talons whereas the Frogmouth literally falls on its prey from a branch and grabbing it in its beak. Because it is considered one of Australia’s most effective pest controllers Australian farmers thankfully don’t shoot them, but that wouldn’t be too much of a problem if they did as the Frogmouth has adapted very well to city life and can be often seen in parks and gardens that are near to fresh water. Which brings us back to Herdsman Lake.

 

 

I’ve been trying to get a decent photo of one for years. It is so difficult because they have better camouflage skills than the Australian Army, and then when you do find them they generally roost in the fork of a tree and it is nearly impossible to get a clear view. So I’ve been following sightings of the Tawny Frogmouths at Herdsman Lake on Facebook for a while, so when the significant other says casually last week she would like to see one I quickly announce an expedition is to be made. It is not often a birding trip gets “officially” sanctioned.

 

On arrival at Herdsman Lake we were a bit daunted as there looked to be hundreds of trees that could be home to our quarry. After a while of looking Helen – the beloved significant other – sees a lady photographing rufous whistlers and asks where we could find our well hidden friends. “They’re in the next clearing” she says in a manner that indicates that Tawny Frogmouths are old hat. We walk round the next clearing staring up at the trees. About now I’ve developed a crick in my neck and Helen has somewhat given up hope and wandered off to look at some birds who are not hiding. Determined that I’d not driven 130Km for nothing I carry on looking. I had avoided one tree as it had a bench underneath it and that bench was occupied by a young woman studying. I hadn’t wanted to go near in case she thought me to be some sort of stalker, but at the same same time I had this feeling that if the bloody birds were going to be anywhere this is where’d they’d be. So I nonchalantly approach the tree making a conscious effort not to look at the young lady but stare at the top of the tree. I must have looked very strange because this older couple walked over to me and he asked “Are you looking for the birds?”. To which I replied “Which birds?”. She answers “The ones everyone comes here to photograph” while pointing at this grey lump in the fork of the tree. After looking for a few minutes at this I suddenly realise that it is not a bundle of twigs and tree bark but two adult Tawny Frogmouths and a chick. I profusely thanked the couple and reported in to management that the birds had been found and she quickly made her way back to me. We spent about half an hour just looking and photographing. As we wrapped up and prepared to leave a young couple approaches and asks us “Where are the birds?”. I point them out and leave them to get down to photographing them. During all this time the birds just sat there, they didn’t adopt their alarm posture, it was like they’d been doing this for years.