The mound is the work of a male Australian Brush-turkey and SOPA staff are more than happy to leave the industrious bird alone to create his egg-incubating mound.
Hard-wired to construct the mound, and not easily deterred once started, the male is a master composter and will add or remove material to ensure that the heat generated by the decomposing matter sits between 33-38C.
From August to December, female Brush-turkeys will lay up to 24 eggs in a mound, however, due mainly to predation, only about one out of every 200 eggs will survive to adulthood.
The chicks hatch underground and burrow out by laying on their backs and scraping at soil with their feet; usually taking two days to dig their way free. The fully feathered hatchlings are able to fend for themselves immediately and fly within a few hours of emerging.
Like all native birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals, brush-turkeys and their eggs are protected by law, however if one is eyeing your garden as a potential nest site, the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has advice on its website about protecting both your plants and these amazing birds at environment.nsw.gov.au.
