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A native fruit pigeon or Kereru is frequenting the lower garden at the moment. It is an enormous bird, at least half a metre long, although it was chilling in a small kowhai tree the other day just a metre or so above R who was busy weeding and we didn't notice until it shat voluminously and went to sit in the adjoining paper birch.
From there it lumbered into the rowan next door and commenced stripping all the new leaves, consigning them to its capacious gullet. I thought it would prefer the flowers, but apparently not.
| The bird seems to spend much of the day here. Watching it 'land' in the rowan is particularly gratifying. The manoeuvre is hampered by the pigeon's patent inability to hold two thoughts at once; all of its actions are governed by simple chains of single and sometimes conflicting impulses, resulting flight cessation before perch decided because leaves are yummy which equals crashing through three tiers of inadequate branches before a foothold is found. When a wood pigeon is concerned about your presence it will often come closer to you, just to satisfy itself that you really do pose some sort of danger. Since humans are its main predator (yes, despite supermarkets overflowing with prepared chicken, there are plenty of dimwatt arseclowns who insist on eating endangered native birds) the Kereru is fortunate indeed that most of its soi-disant enemies share its limited intellectual capacity. |  |
When it has crammed as much of the rowan as it can fit into its crop, the pigeon retires to the shelter of the alder to sleep for the rest of the afternoon, where it would snore like a fat drunk after a lunch bender, if birds could snore.
Trees are reward in themselves, but when you can stand in your own garden and photograph beleaguered native species enjoying the amenities, you know you've gone a small way towards making amends for your presence on this overcrowded planet. If you don't have a yard to plant, consider joining a local conservation org. The rewards go far beyond personal gratification.
Trees are reward in themselves, but when you can stand in your own garden and photograph beleaguered native species enjoying the amenities, you know you've gone a small way towards making amends for your presence on this overcrowded planet. If you don't have a yard to plant, consider joining a local conservation org. The rewards go far beyond personal gratification.
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