Hunted

First the Guineas were hunted by a pack of dogs, then a whistling kite and the final threat was a black shouldered kite.  All in all, it was an unsettling morning.  Shorty raised the alarm and sprang into action when she heard them calling around 11am.  When we followed her out, we saw a dark shape chasing the guineas near the dam.  As Shorty ran down, I saw a second shape and thought there were 2 foxes, but realised it was actually two of the Schnauzers that live next door.  They were lucky they weren’t shot and even luckier they were chasing the guineas that can fly and not my chickens that can’t.  We spotted the third schnauzer so realised that they had all come over for a bit of “fun”. I was relieved that they weren’t accompanied by the collie and the staffy that are often on the property too. 

As the guineas came back up to the house, with their guard dog Shorty, they started their alarm call again and when I looked up I saw a Whistling Kite circling overhead.  We  soon realised that one bird was missing, so we we went down to the dam expecting to find a dead bird or a pile of feathers.  As the other birds followed us down, I heard the missing guinea calling from the creekline.  I started calling, the birds joined in and Brad hopped the fence to  flush her out.  But, moments later they started another alarm call and I spotted a Black Shouldered Kite sitting on a dead tree watching us.

As it was the first one I had seen, I took photos of the kite as the birds made their way north along the fence line calling as they went.  The Kite soon flew off and I realised the birds had gone quiet and they were walking back towards me.  A quick head count confirmed that they had reunited.