For the Birds

So we have been inundated with just about every bird in the universe. Wow. Look around there goes a ..a..well I don't know the name but it's cute. There are the little yellow and gray ones that are like the all gray ones but, well with yellow. Since we are lucky enough to live in the NJ turnpike for birds we get all kinds here but with less tolls. The Syrian-African rift valley is the land route from Africa to Europe. Birds that require a stop-over on their way north stop along this land mass. The price of hotels may be high but the buffet is primo.

I do know some names. The yellow one that looks like  a gray one is a Wagetail and even if I don't remember the names so much...but they are still cute. I did learn what a Hoopoe (Israel's national bird...as well as Lebanon's national bird) is and how a Plover will practically pluck your eyes out if you go too near their nest which is camoflogued better than anything in the Hunger Games.

In fact I saw a Hoopoe hit pay dirt this morning as it plucked a huge juicy dung beetle larvae from the ground. Now that is one five star breakfast. The bee eaters and sun birds are swarming around our Bougainvillea and the Warblers (the winged kind) have a nest at the top of our Marula tree.

Scores of Babblers (or so it seems) crowd into our Neem tree in the morning to sing at the top of their feathery guts. They love the Neem because (I think):

1. It keeps insects away
2. It is well camouflaged
3. Its thick branches provide cover from other birds
4. It is closest to our window thereby maximizing their waking power at 5 am.

So basically we are one giant pit stop for birds who can afford to winter in Africa, stop by to annoy us, and then fly back, first class, to enjoy summer in Europe and take in the EURO 2012 games from a birds eye view. Local hawks, buzzards, eagles and such take advantage of the unwary travelers and find their fill of tourists that will not be bringing home souvenirs.

Storks, pelicans and cranes often dot our skies with tremendous aerial shows but rarely touch down near here. Once there was a lovely gray heron that made its way between what once were outdoor fish ponds and turned them into empty pools of algae.

OMG, I turn my back for one minute and a young Great Bittern sneaks under the mulberry. I empty the house of family members, trying to coral the young chick for a picture but the Great B is very elusive and escapes under our storage shed and into the wilds of our backyard. Wow, now that is an exciting visit.

So basically we are a snack bar. Why should the birds have the pick of the platter? If you are hungry, why don't you stop by and tuck in. There are some nice grubs here. You can have your fill, except for that big dung beetle larvae guarded by the Hoopoe and don't get too close the the Plover!

Shabbat Shalom

Join me on Saturday for a little poetry (very little)
and
on Sunday for some more Memory Tripping