We take a break from infrequent travel posts to tell you we’re home — and so are the Nankeen Kestrels.

After two flights, ten hours in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, four hours in a bus, and a surreal drive to Braidwood (all without sleep), I set out early yesterday morning (thanks, jetlag!) to fetch Archie from his ‘country retreat for dogs’. On the way, I took a cruise past the Block of Flats, and, what do you know, I spotted this fella.

This is a male — note the grey feathers on top of his head — so definitely not last year’s surviving chick. It was my hope that he might therefore be a mate for last year’s surviving chick. And so it seemed — although it’s not really possible to know for sure — a female also appeared.

This was very encouraging, and my head was filled with memories of last year’s pair and their chicks, when another character from that drama appeared.

Yes — a Currawong. This was part of a gang of three who seemed determined to disrupt the courting couple’s inspection of their new home. There was some very dramatic dogfighting (why is aerial combat called that, when dogs can’t fly?) and it was clear that domestic harmony would not commence that day.

Later, I went up Gillamatong for a run with Archie, and there, high up in a tree, was a kestrel couple, undisturbed by Currawongs, conducting a loud and frequent mating session. Was this the same couple from the morning? If so, they’d travelled perhaps three kilometres to find somewhere peaceful to begin procreating; if not, we face the exciting prospect of two mating couples within a short distance of each other — good news for the local population!

Now, I get it — it feels a little pervy to be photographing this most intimate of acts. But this isn’t some kind of birdie porn: it’s what could be the consummation of these beautiful animals’ destiny — their absolute dedication to creating new life and taking their kind into the future. It couldn’t be more different from what porn does to the human consummation of love.

Anyway, it’s exciting to see all these promising signs of another Kestrel summer. After last year, though, it’s with some caution that I predict these birds’ success in rearing a brood: many risks lie ahead. I’ll pop up the hill when I can to see how things are tracking, and report them here — positive or not.