Vale Ping, beautiful friend

by sophie. Posted on February 21, 2015

21 Feb

Soon after we got here, almost 8 years ago, we got our first ducks. Just some little ducklings from the rural store. Of course we knew nothing about ducks and some of them drowned in the washing up bowl of water we had given them to swim in. Two survived. They were Muscovies and as they grew with their red beaks and crowns we decided we wanted prettier ducks so we went online and bought Peking ducklings. Little bundles of yellow which Phoenix happily herded around the yard in awe and wonder.

One was called Ping after the little yellow duck on the Yangtze River in the story of the same name that I loved and treasured as a child. Ping & Pong were the favourites of 6. They grew into gorgeous glowing white bundles of feather with glossy golden beaks. Waddling from the house paddock to the river where they bathed, primped and preened before gliding over the river below us. They huddled down at night in front of the tie rail and it was from there over a serious of nights that 4 were taken by a wild dog creeping right into the house paddock night after night. Such brazen thievery deserved the death penalty which Ged duly delivered when he was home. We do not tolerate predators who treat us and our animals as an all you can eat buffet.

And then there were two. Ping and Pong remained. We were given an Indian Runner x Peking and the girls had a boyfriend. A happy trio. Always a joy to see on land or water and very noisy at feeding time when they waddled to the feed shed and demanded to be fed. Not long after Brave (Ged’s horse) came to live with us we found Ping in a terrible state with a broken leg and broken wing. We can only conjecture what happened but my feeling is that Brave, young, cheeky and a bit wild and excitable probably kicked her.

Sometimes we have to make cost-efficiency calls about sick animals. We were unlikely to take Ping to the vet. So we amputated half the wing (secateurs) and splinted the leg with paddle pop (lolly) sticks. We dosed her up with antibiotics (wing was infected) and Flower Remedies and Homeopathics, our go to staples for physical, psychological and all other ailments. We kept her on the verandah for about 10 days, every morning expecting her to have died overnight, every night exhorting her to live.

It was a miracle that she recovered. But she did. And she has lived a lovely happy life. Only stressed by the visitations of the sea eagles which have shown me what duck diving really is! But she has slowed down a lot over the last year. Presumably with arthritis in that broken leg which never set completely straight having broken right above the knee joint. Ged and I have watched her and known that at some time we were going to have to do the right thing by her and end her life. But who wants to end the life of such a true and trusted friend who has delighted us so much over so many years? Not I. Not Ged.

But that decision has thankfully been taken from us. She is gone. Ben woke us up yelling at us one morning ‘the sea eagle, the sea eagle’. And since then we have not seen Ping. Ben has said he saw the sea eagle low and carrying something white. Whether that is true or not we will never know. But we know that Ping is gone. Vale, friend, thank you for all the joy you gave us. I hope the end was quick. We will never forget you, always remember you with great love.

Wild Dogs and Wedge Tailed Eagles

by sophie. Posted on January 5, 2009

05 Jan

Happy New Year!
Here on the farm without radio, television or newspapers the days blur into one another like the endless summer days of childhood, and we didn’t even realise that it was New Year’s Eve til mid-afternoon. Not that it made much difference, we had decided not to go to the annual bash at Steve and Cherie’s with Benjamin in tow – too loud, too much booze, too tired, too happy just pottering on the farm . . . We had a bottle of Bolly in the fridge but didn’t open it – couldn’t be bothered, didn’t feel like drinking, I’m sure another opportunity for celebration will present itself . . . .
Australia very much grinds to a halt at this time of year – everyone is on holiday and businesses are closed for weeks so it really is time to slow down, relax and enjoy hearth, home and family. It is so quiet here, although for some reason (maybe all the slashing both we and the neighbour are doing) we have recently become home to hordes of sulphur crested cockatoos, who are gorgeous in their flock but make a helluva racket with their cawing.
We had a dead wallaby on the other side so the wedgetailed eagle was in residence for about four days before Ged built a funeral pyre and cremated the wallaby’s remains before it got too potent . . . because we have had such a good extended spring and there is so much feed, there are an incredible number of wallabies (did you know that wallabies breed more in a good season?) and so there are also more wild or feral dogs. Phee and I had a terrible scare on a run/walk the other day – as usual he was ahead of me and out of sight, and suddenly I heard him yelping and screamed his name and started running. As I ran, first a wild small brown dog appeared to the right of a big clump of timber debris, then on the left appeared a dingo X. The face, ears and colouring of a dingo, just smaller, and stockier than a purebred. My heart stood still as I screamed Phoenix’s name again and again. Thankfully he appeared, tail between his legs but unhurt as far as I can see. Terrifying. And he is so lucky. Most wild dogs would have torn him apart , I don’t know how he survived (he must have nine lives!). Needless to say he has been sticking close to his Mummy on our forays over on ‘the other side’ (we have to think of a name for each side of the property, clearly! – suggestions on a post card, please). I don’t want to get the wild dog shooters onto Avalon if we can help it (normally the neighbours do so that keeps the population under control) but they seem to have become more adventurous and visible this year with the proliferation of wallabies on the pasture.
We often see the ‘wedgies’ free wheeling overhead – they are stunning birds. And the one who ate the wallaby is often to be found in an old dead gum on ‘the other side’ at dusk when Phee and I go for our walk. I always have him ‘heel’ when wedgie is around as I imagine the eagle looking at Phee and thinking ‘dinner’! We also have a sea eagle who patrols both sides of the property – about the same size, just completely different colouring. And I have recently discovered that not only do we have yellow tailed black cockatoos on the farm, but also red-tailed – gorgeous!

Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax)

The Wedge-tailed Eagle is a beautiful Australian eagle, and is also one of the largest eagles in the World. They are large creatures weighing an average of 4 kgs, with an average wing span of 2.5 metres. They are a dark brown/black feathered bird, however the young eagles are a lighter brown colour.