A tiger snake got more than it bargained for when it eyed the chicks of a pair of Tasmanian native-hens on the Lower Pipeline track in South Hobart.
The parents immediately swung into action, emitting an alarm call before rushing at the snake. It had emerged from the Sandy Bay Rivulet, which runs parallel to the track, and the tiny, matt-black chicks seemed too tempting a target to resist.
But approaching the chicks, it was immediately put to flight – or should I say put to a slither – by the irate turbo-chooks who certainly showed a turn of speed when they became aware of the danger.
The story of the snake and the turbo-chooks kept members of the Waterworks Valley Bushcare group entertained as they conducted their last working bee of the year, attacking the mother of all problems weeds, foxgloves.
Two days later I saw my own example of turbo-chook parental aggression along the Hobart Rivulet Track just north of the CBD. Like the tiger snake, a golden retriever was given a few anxious moments. Admittedly the dog was on a lead, but it still did not stop the native-hen parents charging at it when it appeared to get a little too close to their three off-spring.
The lesson in all this? These curious birds, although flightless, are not to be messed with.
It’s been a good year for breeding turbo-chooks and I seem to see young wherever I walk in native-hen territory, like most of the stream-side trails of Hobart.
It’s good news, especially, in my usual stamping ground of the Waterworks Reserve where feral cats stopped both the turbo-chooks and masked lapwings from breeding in recent years, taking eggs and young. The cats have now been eradicated and the native-hen population is booming.
I see them virtually every day and I never tire of their understated beauty. Their dark green and grey plumage is infused with blue, which lights up under sunlight. A white stripe down the side of the breast enhances their appearance.
The native-hens are a drawcard for the bird-watching tourists who visit the Waterworks Reserve at this time of year. They are one of 12 species found nowhere else on earth than Tasmania and, coupled with this, the turbo-chook’s breeding behaviour is unique among birds of all species. They have a largely matriarchal society, with females taking a “harem” of young males, who help rear their young.
Although many flightless birds – especially on islands – have a history of extinction, falling prey to introduced predators like feral cats, dogs and rats, native-hens have increased in number. This is largely due to the introduction of European-style agriculture, which has created more open space for them. They have also benefited from the demise of the Tasmanian tiger. Unlike the tiger snake, the thylacine would not have flinched when under attack..