DDS232

DDS232 had quite a day today. When I went to buy crickets in the morning, I took him for his first trip outside my home. At the cricket farm, I hung his cage for a few minutes close to another shama. He was surprisingly stable and not at all stressed by the car ride considering that it was his first trip outside my home.

DDS's stability encouraged me to want to test his couragein strange surroundings. In the afternoon, I took him to Michael's home. He sang and displayed well amongst Michael's other shamas and I was pleased with him.

At home in the evening, I was getting ready to take individual photos of Apache's 3 chicks when my new helper came running to inform that DDS232 had escaped while she was placing his cage next to his bath cage. Here he is singing up in the mango tree:



Shamas that escape from their cages in my home always remain in the vicinity of my garden if they are not frightened. The only thing that caused me some concern today, were a pair of Magpie Robbins who visit my garden throughout the day to catch mealworms and crickets that may have escaped from the aviaries. They individually chased DDS232 for a short distance before giving up.

I placed 2 cages with molted mealworms close to the aviaries housing the females knowing that he would descend to the floor when he became hungry. Eventually, he descended to the floor.



DDS232 was free in my garden for about an hour but he was no worse for wear. By the time he re-entered his cage, it was getting late and I only managed 1 photo of Apache's chicks. Here is DDS239: