November - nesting & laying

Female OBPs continue to prepare the nests

By the end of November, some females are laying. Eggs are laid every second day and the clutch size is usually 4 to 5 although as many as 6 can be laid.

Only the female incubates the eggs while the male continues to feed her every 2-4 hours, bringing food held in his crop from up to 5 km away back to the nest.

Paper Daisy, Branching Scale-rush and Flat Cord-rush are important food plants early in the breeding season.

Gathering data

Volunteers gather data about other species of birds coming to the feed tables, OBP health and predators in the area. They also report on birds that may compete with OBPs for nestboxes.

Each evening, they complete a daily summary sheet of their observations.

Volunteers are required each day to make a scheduled safety contact with program staff to confirm that they are safe and well, to ask questions and to discuss any concerns about OBPs.