Not all calls to WILVOS Hotline 5441 6200 are about cute furry, feathery, scaley or spiney animals. Sometimes the call may just be about eggs, but they are no less important.
Recently two nests of plover (masked lapwing) eggs came from a very busy sports ground. They were in danger of being trampled. Eggs aren’t removed unless all options are investigated.
The little plover chicks that have hatched in the humidicrib are patiently waiting for the last chick in their batch to appear. I’m sure their squeaking encourages any other little ones in the egg. Before the first one hatched, it was quite noisy inside the egg. It was the squeaking that alerted me to the impending event!
It was also interesting to get a call about a nest of seven emu eggs, in west from the coast. The eggs have to be moved due to clearing and it is not advisable to fence off this area around the eggs. It is always important to check the reasons for removal of eggs, in case there is another solution. The male hasn’t begun sitting on the eggs yet. Because there are no incubation facilities on site, WILVOS were called upon.
My only experience with emus has been in having a female lay her eggs, and being very excited when the male sat on them. It was a long almost two months for the very cute chicks to arrive. These chicks were removed from underneath the male and successfully hand-reared, as the female was intent on killing them!
Technology is amazing with calls coming from all over Australia. It was just last weekend that the Hotline had a call from a lady who had hit a mob of emus and had injured one. With a quick google search, a Rockhampton wildlife group agreed to solve the problem.
There is never a dull moment for our WILVO Hotline volunteers.
Donna Brennan Wildlife Volunteers Assoc Inc (WILVOS) PO Box 4805 Sunshine Coast Mail Centre Q 4560 PH 5441 6200 www.wilvos.org.au