There’s nothing as terrifying as the chunky flapping of wings of a hadeda ibis and the horrible cry it makes when it is caught off guard in the backyard.
If there’s one bird that can make you feel like an intruder in your own home it is this huge, hideous, noisy and clumsy bird with a long beak.
And unlike other birds whose visits I cannot control, the hadeda and the mess it leaves behind is the least of my favourite.
Then there are some mynas that I have come to call Tom and Jerry for their mischievousness. So naughty are these birds they are the first to eat whenever I feed my aging beagle. I got so tired of picking up pellets of dog food that I’ve started to close the bowl with another and whenever my doggy is ready, she just pushes the bowl and eat.
But I’ve started to hear the metal dish clink even when my beagle is breathing loudly far away from her feeding bowl. I’ve come to realise that it is Tom and Jerry. They have devised a plan to slide off the dish to raid as much food as their small bodies can carry away. It is a coordinated effort that employs timing and effective strength to slide off the top just enough to expose the food.
I’ve also noticed that my beagle also leaves a few pellets for her buddies should she find the bowl unmoved.
But there’s another bird that I’m yet to identify that makes its nest on the frame of the awning just above the light outside my bedroom door. I first noticed the nest on a windy night last year, as an awry shadow reflected on the glass. It was so creepy, even dimming the brightness of the light.
I made a note to check during the comforting safety of daylight, but I forgot until one night. It was after a scorcher of a day as I sat outside enjoying the coolness of the evening that I remembered the awry shadows that disturbed my peace a while ago.
And there it was – a collection of twigs, grass, weeds, and other debris, nestled comfortably above the warm light. I couldn’t wait for daylight to remove the nest. Then I remembered how aggressive some birds are in protecting their territory, so I poked the nest with a broom. Thank goodness it was empty. I could smell the scent of the “Hot Lips” sage from my own garden, which was also used to build the nest. But that was not the end of the matter …
A few months later, the nest was back. If I knew which species of birds, perhaps I would live and let live. So, I did what I had to do to sleep peacefully.
The nest was under construction again last week. Could it be Tom and Jerry? The myna, also called the common myna or Indian myna, is declared an invasive species. “The Indian mynas greatly affect the biodiversity of an area, especially with regard to bird life. The birds breed extremely rapidly and compete with others for food resources and nesting space.”
Clearly, they are not only competing with bird life, but also human life and man’s best friends.
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