When I visit Braeside Park I always look in a few key spots for one of my favourite birds – the Tawny Frogmouth. Around the carpark there is open area and plenty of medium sized trees that the frogmouths like to roost in during the day. They can be hard to find due to the habit of staying very still and elongating their body to look like a dead branch stump. I have been seeing a pair in the carpark for the last 5 years so knew they were here somewhere. It was hot and I was standing in small grove of Wattles in the shade while I was trying to figure out where the pair could be when I looked straight into the eyes of a frogmouth. I found 2 roosting at head height in front of me and when I turned around to move away so I wouldnt be so close I found another. These were the grown chicks from the pair that I usually see in this area. ( I photographed a parent sitting on the nest last year. )
Tawny Frogmouth
Tawny Frogmouths
In the action no-action pose
Blending right in
The 3rd frogmouth and I would guess a parent as it just ignored me as I almost stumbled into it at head height while moving away from the other two – the breeding pair in this area of the Park are used to people and their cars.
The Gap Year and Beyond 
Oh Matt how I wish there were only one car park in the world! Which one do you mean?
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The Boundary Rd side. The other side has even more pairs but the area is so large that it would take a pretty good survey to find them. My record for one day (with a little help from Steve Maca) was 14.
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Oh I get the reference now Mike, I bit of over-eager editing deleted the location…
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Fantastic photos. Frogmouths can be tricky to spot. I really like that first photo, the eyes are amazing.
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Thanks Sue, I think the eyes are what makes this one of my favourites…there is such a look of intelligence in them (that and the fact that this species like to stay still so are much easier to photograph than thornbills)
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