Scene of the Crime

The light around the Dickson fields was lovely this rather frosty morning. Birds everywhere fluttering about in trees and leaves. After getting some general scenery shots (from the heated warmth of the car- thus some compositional compromises) I moved up to a group of about six currawongs jumping up and down in the grass. "Ripper", thought I. "Perhaps I can get a movement shot!" So on I go until it occurs to me that all this fluster isn't romantic morning play in the grass but an attack on a weaker bird. I burst out of the car then, sending them all squawking, to inspect the wretched victim: a parrot, hobbling in the grass. I scooped him up, got myself bitten (until I worked out how to hold him properly) and off to the vet we went. The vet said juvenile parrots are targeted by currawongs and this little fellow would need to go to a carer until he could mend and be released back to his environment. It was a bit of a shame the baby in the back seat didn't understand what was going on, or even seem to realise we had taken a passenger.

The extras show the culprits and the little king parrot. In fact, if you look closely, you can see the parrot's wing extended in the grass between the gang of three.