24/03/2022
Two new local residents on the Mountain 🌿🦉
Tawny Frogmouth are nocturnal, carnivorous, loyal and monogamous birds that remain paired up together for life, living for up to 10 years. "They remind us that we are never alone and tell us that we are part of everything that surrounds us including the wilderness."
Tawny Frogmouths have excellent hearing and eyesight, with large yellow eyes and binocular vision (eyes facing forwards), making them formidable nocturnal hunters. Remaining well hidden and camouflaged, they spend the day roosting on a tree branch waiting for food to come to them with a wide open frog like mouth. Breeding season is from August to December, using the same nesting site each year.
Encountering such an elusive and mysterious bird is rare and considered incredibly good luck as well as a reminder that seemingly hard to reach things are often found close to home. Even when they cannot be seen the call of the frogmouth "ooom-ooom-ooom" echoing can mean that it’s time to channel that gaping frog-like mouth to find and use one’s own voice to speak up.
"The idea of such a striking bird living, unseen, right under the noses of so many people reveals the incredible adaptability of the animal kingdom and how nature still has secrets to uncover."
"If the frogmouth can teach us anything it’s that the beauty of nature often lies in the things that we don’t see. Perhaps, as many of us peer inquisitively into the natural world there are just as many hidden, curious, eyes peering back at us."