Monthly Archives: July 2022

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Why Did God Create Birds? SO Many Reasons

“There’s always something to see.”

Diedrick’s Cuckoo. One of the masters in distraction.

July 19, 2022
Drongos really are amazing birds. I recently learned that these savvy vocalists are masters of imitation. Their strategy is to ingratiate themselves to the other bird species they like to shadow so that they can steal their food or hunt them while they aren’t looking. They can copy bird calls by the hundreds, and they aren’t the only species that do it. White eyes are exceptionally talented in this discipline.

Distraction 101: Cuckoo vs. Weaver

This spring, I watched a pair of Diedricks cuckoos harassing a flock of weavers. The weavers were trying to build their nests, carefully feeding grass through knots and creating the most intricate shapes. Did you know that you can tell the type of weaver by the shape of its nest?

As the weavers tried to sort out their hierarchy for mating and laying, the sun shimmered off the emerald and white cuckoos with red eyes as they played a game. The one cuckoo called relentlessly and dive-bombed and flitted in and out of the nest area to draw the weavers’ attention. It had them really worked up. The other one waited.

At the opportune moment, it would enter a nest unseen, lay a sneaky egg, and then fly out quickly before the mother returned. Mother weavers raise baby cuckoos, and it is a ridiculous sight. The giant baby cuckoo demands endless food from a mother that is smaller and not at all similar in colour or shape. The cuckoo’s eggs even change colour according to which species they choose to trick into raising their young. It’s truly fascinating.

Want Inspiration? Just Watch the Birds

There is so much to learn from watching nature. Unlike the cuckoo parents who are lazy (or efficient?), the tiny mannikins work tirelessly in a community. They build together and sit on eggs in one big nest. They forage together in twittering bunches that fly here and there, ever vigilant of cunning drongos. My grandmother used to call them frets, and that seems apt as the mannikins jump at their own shadows.

If you want inspiration, a birding day in places like Oribi Gorge is a great choice. But, you may only have to walk a few steps out of your front door to see something awe-inspiring. Haven’t you noticed the extraordinary focus with which swallows build their mud nests in your eaves? Don’t you see the phenomenal agility and stealth of the African harrier hawk? It raids nests in the middle of town, with spindly yellow legs and light grey feathers a sparrow’s nightmare.

Look around. There’s always something to see.

Published here.

Oribi Mom, Travelinds

Oribi Mom: Clicking My Heels Because There’s No Place Like Home

“What a blessing to be right here.”

July 9, 2022

So, we had our first parent’s meeting the other day. It was just before school. My one-year-old came with us and played on the mat. We sat down and listened to how our sweet four-year-old is navigating RR. But all that my brain managed to process in those first few minutes was, “How did I get here?”

From the Classroom to an Exotic Beach

I had this flashback to lying on a slightly scratchy bamboo lounger reading a faded old novel I’d found at the reception desk that morning. The cobalt and turquoise sea was just ten metres in front of us. It was gorgeous in the sunlight, despite a few clouds left over from a recent cyclone that had passed through the central Philippines. We had endured a few days of rain with more sleep, more reading, and a cheap massage or two. Now, we were back in the sun and waiting for the tide to come in a bit so we could get to the reef.

It was quite sharp and rocky near the shore, but once you got deeper, the reef stretched for several kilometres in either direction. If you were lucky, one or two lazy hours with a snorkel and a rash vest brought endless colours; parrot fish, octopus, banded sea kraits, zebra fish, peacock shrimps and so much more. If you were really lucky, there would be a few green turtles or leatherbacks swimming by, close enough to follow but never slow enough to touch. Amazing!

But, here I was sitting on a yellow plastic chair as my son’s teacher spoke about our little boy. I’m almost a mom of three! We have lived in one place for almost five years, a record for us both. We undertook a quest in the Bornean jungle to find some of the last wild Pygmy elephants – and found them after five days! Now, I was watching my toddler happily dumping out every toy container he could find in his brother’s classroom, right before school.

There’s no place like home

How did we get here indeed. Life doesn’t stop for soaked-to-the-bone speedboat rides from Malaysia into Thailand. It only lets you remember all the fantastic things you’ve seen along the way. Maybe it was the sun rays on the wall that suddenly drew me back to our adventures.

As I listened to how much my boy has grown and learned, I had another thought. “What a blessing to be right here!” This is home now, with two tiny boys starting their own adventures alongside us. I could never have imagined how things would turn out while I searched the tree tops for that one wild orangutan we found, but I’m so glad that we kept going. It’s a new day, and I’m happy to be living in it.

Published here.