Watching The Birds

[Nungali]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1343/1271457665_bed0ece37b.jpg

 

Here is me .... the Australian Raven (well one type of them )

 

note the blue eyes

[xor]

 

Here is me .... the Australian Raven (well one type of them )

 

Wish we had ravens here, but I'm more than fine with crows.

[Nungali]

Corvids are cousins

[Nungali]

Whoa ! something weird happened when posting ???

 

Anyway, try again;

 

All corvids are cousins

 

Being south on the globe I get a good view of the constellation Corvus and its associates; Crater {cup or chalice} and Hydra { multiple headed water creature} and all 3 come together in a fascinating mythological story

 

I find it interesting to look at and examine the story behind the 'constellational birds'.

[xor]

Once in my teens I was walking by the lake and a really fat crow(well prepared for winter!) was sitting on a branch near to me. I imitated a crow sound to him and he got startled. It was like he was looking at me and thinking "Did that human really talk or am I imagining things!", he kept a close watch on me as far as we could see each other.

Edited November 2, 2013 by xor

[Nungali]

 

They will be keeping a close watch on you any way (part of their job ).

 

A young magpie was at the front door of my forest cabin once ... I was sitting there watching him. Then ...

 

Magpie; "Kook cook a luk, kuk kuk a coo."

 

Me: "Kook cook a luk, kuk kuk a coo."

 

Magpie ( stares at me incredulously ... did that really just happen?) ; "Kook cook a luk, kuk kuk a coo. Kook a lukka coo."

 

Me (hmmm ... okay then); " Kook cook a luk, kuk kuk a coo. Kook a lukka coo."

 

Magpie ( incredulous); " Kook cook a luk, kuk kuk a coo. Kook a lukka coo. Lukkaclu cluclula lauka coooo ?"

 

Me: ( phew! ... thinks ... concentrates; " Kook cook a luk, kuk kuk a coo. Kook a lukka coo. Lukkaclu cluclula lauka coooo ?"

 

Magpie (excited ... bobs up and down) " Kukalukk akkukcooooalukkasoolukcaw a sawslooaluk .... "

 

Me; ( Oh shit! ... laugh) : "Okay Okay ... I was bluffing."

[Marblehead]

Magpie (excited ... bobs up and down) " Kukalukk akkukcooooalukkasoolukcaw a sawslooaluk .... "

 

Me; ( Oh shit! ... laugh) : "Okay Okay ... I was bluffing."

He was getting ready to do his thing on your head. Good thing you stopped.

[Stosh]

I think the two of you are married now .

Gooodluktodatooufyuu.

[Nungali]

Ha ! A bit like that, it reminds me of years back when I was reading some Pidgin English and started a new job and a guy from New Guinea (Toby) was getting in trouble at work unfairly off our dickhead boss (who kept doing things wrong and trying to blame staff - Toby walks away from the boss and past me fuming so I say;

 

Toby imi goodpellah - Boss imi cranki, imi fuckimarse !

 

Toby stops and beams at me and goes something like "OH ! Imicrankifukimarse dispellaimikaikaluckkakuk , wegonnakaiaputamukka sippaalukai .... " (WTF? ... now I've done it! )

 

Me: " No no ... dispella imi liklik talkboi ... (hold my hand up and squeeze finger and thumb together) LIK LIK talkboi !"

 

He goes, "Oh ... okay, I meant let's go and have lunch together?"

 

"Sure."

 

[ A great Language! In this case a form of English developed in New Guinea by native people trying to comprehend the Aussies language 'English/slang' e.g. they still refer to ; me, I , I am, = boi {from white Australian saying "Hey Boy, do this ... hey boy do that } or; you him they = pella ( fellah , fellow, person ) So the above goes (seriously);

 

.

Toby imi good pellah - Boss imi cranki, imi fuck im arse !

 

Toby, imi (he is ) good fellow, the Boss imi (him / he is ) cranky imi (him / he does) fuck im (it) arse!

 

Hey Toby, don't worry, I know that you are okay, the Boss gets cranky because not only does he stuff things up (Imi buggerimup - he buggers things up) he constantly makes blunders and does things the wrong way all the time (imi fuckimarse ) . ( I suppose; the difference between 'you f***ed that up' and 'you are a f**k up'.)

 

Dispella imi savvy liklik talkboi

 

This fellow (me) imi ( I do ) savvy (understand) lik lik ( very small {amount of} ) talk boi ( the language of you boys ; Pidgin )

 

I remember prince Charles making a speech once so some ex-British Empire island could understand him ... it seemed so funny with those words coming out his mouth ; "Long time whitepella imi buggerimup Vanauattu ... "

 

Even better was when they gave the Queen beautiful native flower arrangement, which she gracefully accepted and gave Prince Phillip a GIANT penis gourd (a long gourd one wears over the penis) Phill's was giant as they assumed ; "Well ... he is married to the Queen ... it must be massive! ... Prince Phillip didn't accept it ... an aid came forward and quickly removed it to the rear of the entourage .... I mean out of site of the cameras ]

 

I am sooo curious as to what those magpies are saying when they elocute those long liquid mathematical formula songs they do ... that's COMPLEX ... that isn't just a cry or call or an imitation .... what ARE they saying ?

 

 

.

[Marblehead]

The sparrows had a good time this afternoon. The temps warmed up into the low 80s and the sun was shining. At one time I counted 8 sparrows at the bird bath all at the same time. It looked like a pool party going on. They would jump in the water and then shake all over. Water flying everywhere.

 

There was even one butterfly fluttering around at the flowers that still remain that they feed off of.

[zerostao]

yesterday i watched the kingfisher awhile. today it was all bluejay and crow working together.

 

chilly, wet, gray

[Marblehead]

It's been a while since I talked about the birds.

 

This morning, for whatever the reason, I had a number of different species visit the feeding grounds. The sparrows are always around but this moring in addition I had Doves, a Bluejay, a Greyjay, and Cardinals.

 

It's always enjoyable watching them.

[silent thunder]

Just looked up the grey jay, not familiar with that one.

Nice looking jacket.

[Marblehead]

Just looked up the grey jay, not familiar with that one.

I actually may have the name wrong but will continue to call it that because it looks very much like a Bluejay except just a little smaller with grey feathers instead of blue. It is a very protective bird during its breeding season through when the young have begun flying.

[Nungali]

At the moment I have drongos feeding of the silky oak flowers ... they have the funniest crazy language ... sometimes they come out with a long unusual call ... even from them ... makes me laugh and I look up in the tree and ask "WHAT?" .

[Marblehead]

Yeah, I talk with my birds occasionally too. I don't think it is considered communicating though.

 

 

I must say, I think the Sparrows had the best breeding season ever here last year. There are more Sparrows around than I have ever seen. They are still very active now and come over about an your after sunrise and about two hours before sunset to chow down, drink and take baths.

 

And their numbers, as far as I can tell, don't keep other birds from coming over to get a bite to eat.

 

It's always a pleasure seeing life out in my front yard/gardens.

 

My Pansies are doing great and the Snapdragons are doing their thing. (One area of Snapdragons were already in full bloom and I had to cut them back and the ones I planted from seed are looking strong and healthy and will likely start flowering in about two to three weeks.)

 

Yesterday a Cardinal came by to eat but I have seen anything but Sparrows this morning so far.

[Nungali]

Well, they are doing it again ... black parrots ... they are VERY big! They get in the pine tree and chew the cones and drop them on the toilet roof .... what a racket! Then when I go out there for my morning visit I am getting severely bombed from above ... some so loud it sounds like rocks dropping on the tin outhouse roof. Then one has to make a dash back to the cabin avoiding the bombardment without the protection of the roof

 

Edited January 21, 2014 by Nungali

[Marblehead]

Hehehe. Gotta' love those birds.

 

And parrots, in general, are pretty brave birds. You try to chase them off and they will chase you off.

[Nungali]

Actually these ones are scaredy ' cats ' .... they fly off when you near them ... unless they are high up. many a time I have been startled by not noticing one (and visa versa) until they pannicky fly off from a low branch ... right near my head ... then one can see how big they are! And they screech like a banshee!

[Marblehead]

Hehehe. Yes, I can imagine the surprise of being surprised. Your parrots must have some people or other animals that wish to do them harm if they scare off that easily.

 

My Sparrows are getting so domesticated that when they are in the area and I go out the front door they most of the time just glance up to see which direction I move to and just continue doing their thing.

 

(There are three cats that come into my gardens so the birds have to be aware of their presence.)

[Nungali]

No ... I have no idea why these parrots are so flighty. A wild grey thrush will come inside, while I am home, pick some crumbs and fly out. A bower bird wont come in unless it thinks I am not there, then it will panick and not be able to figure out how to exist the way it just came in. Ravens here bolt instantly on seeing me, yet up the mountain at my other place, I started to tame them. Magpies and currawongs will sit around the door and wait to be fed. Yesterday when I was filling the bird bath a honey -eater swooped me so close its little wings fluttered on my arm ... they love the bird bath ; them and log hoppers will swoop through the spray misters while they are on right next to me. Brush turkey follows me around the garden, yet mudlarks screech at me like I am a stranger ... even though I have lived with them for 20 years ????

[Marblehead]

Hehehe. Yeah, explain all that. I understand what you are saying though. What can I say? Different strokes for different folks. But it is still neat to realize that other animals besides humans have their own individual personalities as well as having their own group personalities.

 

I did see a Cardinal and a Greyjay yesterday as well as the many Sparrows. They are all year-round residents though.

[zerostao]

watching the birds first attempt at flight,,,,,,,

[Stosh]

Did you finally succeed in throwing any of them into the hole? or did they all bounce off..

Edited February 27, 2014 by Stosh

[Nungali]

 

My first chuckle of the morning.

 

I've seen the whole process .. amazing they can fall so far onto hard ground and be okay.

 

I had a tarot reading thing going at the markets and little wood ducks started jumping out of a hollow tree and landing next to me in the middle of a reading. It was a busy market and it drew a crowd ... who unforunatly circled them and made a big fuss and put momma duck into a panick and started doind all sorts of stupid things like trying to catch them and pick them up. I had to excuse my self from the reading make the crowwd stand back and leave a corridor to the creek where they all went off to in a line with mum at the front.

 

Then back to the reading ; "Now, where we we ?"

 

It would have been interesting if the first one landed on the table during the reading .