Butcherbird finds Eastern Brown Snake

Boxing Day ~ 26th December 2015

BUTCHERBIRD ALERTS US TO AN  EASTERN BROWN SNAKE

Boxing Day 2015 was a rather hot day here in rural South-East Queensland. We all sat outside on the deck to eat our lunch of Christmas Day left-overs, and our friendly juvenile Butcherbird named "Bentley" was sitting on the veranda railing with us.  We were all chatting away, listening to Johnny Cash and talking about how Bentley loved to sing along when nobody was watching, when all of a sudden the bird flew away from the deck down towards the pool fence.  We all commented that it was strange and that he must have seen something, when he then proceeded to fly further and hovered over an Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis) on the lawn. The snake reared it's head at the Butcherbird above and took off towards the garden!  

We all dispersed quickly, searching for the camera, bringing the dogs inside and racing down the stairs to see where the snake went to.  We watched it for a few minutes before it disappeared into the thick garden.  Brendon took some video on his phone (see below).  Bentley the Butcherbird was the hero of the day.  What amazing eye sight he has.  We were very impressed at his instincts, which at times we have questioned a little, when he has been chasing flower petals blowing in the wind.  

We all agreed that it is some time since we have seen an Eastern Brown on our property and couldn't be sure of the timeline as we have not recorded all sightings are recorded on the blog, but believe it's well over 12 months ago.

More on the story of our Butcherbird to come...

B & J

Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis) Jarowair - Boxing Day 2015