Backyard Bird Watching

According to the Law of Attraction, life is meant to be fun, filled with enjoyment; a pleasure and for me, and backyard bird watching is all of that. I have built a garden in Cairns that is attractive to birds and butterflies so I get to indulge in backyard bird watching all of the time.

Normally, in my own garden I am watching our sunbird pair, a variety of finches, orioles, doves and honey-eaters as well as an endless array of passing birds. Right now, though I am visiting family in western Queensland, the dry country and enjoying very different species to those at home.  But there is one thing that has not changed.  Each of our families has been adopted by a pair of birds who have taken over a part of our homes to nest and raise their chicks.

In Cairns,  our sunbird pair own our back veranda and come to us for assistance just as they need it.  They have nested twice there and raised countless chicks in our garden before seeing them off to start a life of their own. We watch with avid interest as each new pair of eggs is laid and the chicks hatch, fledge and become independent.  Along the way the parent birds entertain us with their scolding, cajoling and finally their meanness as they send the new young birds off to other territory, they achieve success,  before commencing the whole process again.

Here on the farm, it is a willy wagtail pair who have taken over a part of the downstairs laundry, building their nest on the water pipes there in a very protected area where they are raising their first family of three. Not only do they provide sustenance for the chicks they also contend with a malevolent magpie with a family of his own to feed.  The magpie clearly has his eye on the chicks and even went so far as to go in under the house for a look see.

The willy wagtail parents had other ideas though and through persistence and their combined efforts have seen the magpie off each time that he has arrived. The two small birds swoop and dive the magpie, putting their lives on the line until the magpie is unsettled enough to go away.  This business of raising their chicks is extremely hard work for the parents who are up early, to bed late and on the go all day.

Apart from being entertaining and relaxing, there are life lessons here for anyone who wants to find them. Without trying I have found the following:-

• Keep your eyes peeled for every opportunity – the world around you  abounds with them
• Put a lot of effort into growing and nurturing your young and then give them independence to go their own way
• Be persistent in your efforts to get what you want
• Be prepared to work hard for the time that it takes
• Show no fear for the predator, even if they are bigger than you
• One plus one equals more than two – you need a team to make some things work
• Live like there’s no tomorrow, fly like you know how and enjoy everything that comes your way