thanks all. i had to catch a pair of painted for a guy today. i'd been putting it off for two weeks. these birds hide behind a complex of 5 partitions.....even i don't know whats going on inside.it's rough in there but they never stop breeding.
so in i go to catch the birds in question and suddenly young birds were flying in all direction.
i'd say at least 12 to 15 young fawn diamonds crashing about. really had the sh--ts when i left the aviary as i know two lots of parents are feeding young in other nests.
to get out of this mess i usually throw in about a good hundred white feathers. it seems to settle them down pretty quick and they soon forget about the stir up and start carting the feathers to the nest. might be good info for some-one there.
sometimes you can get away with a lot. over in the fawn pied aviary i'd decided i might move some pairs to new quarters. so i went through the nest. pulled 2 young out of one - 3 from the other and the other nest had young that had just hatched.
thought after that.........they will be dead tomorrow for sure. 3 days later.... today while taking a few of these photos through the wire - heard two lots of young being fed. whats harder to believe the loudest lot of young squarking today - their mother a fawn/pied - i'd caught her in the entrance tunnel pulled her out -turned her back around and she went back in then flew straight out to the flight - so another bunch of feathers went on the floor.
as for the red rumps - started off with a pair dropping in -now at 5
