Growing up in Africa, I was exposed to a first-hand view of some of God's most creative masterpieces... both in landscape, in people, and in wildlife. We visited various game reserves countless times, and always enjoyed the variety of wildlife in its natural habitat. As a teenager however, I remember feeling... how shall I say?? Hmmm... perhaps 'slightly condescending' would be best - towards my parents as they took up the hobby of bird-watching. After 20 years in Kenya, my parents had seen it all - wildlife wise. But there were countless species of birds that they hadn't even begun to discover. My siblings and I were bored, on the other hand, when we would go 'on safari' and sit for 20 minutes in the car attempting to identify an illusive new bird. We wanted to see the 'big game'. I never thought I would get to the point where I enjoyed bird watching. But I'm there! You grow more and more like your parents with age :) Living here in Bolivia, we may not have the extreme variety of wildlife that Africa flaunts - but floral and fauna there are in abundance - as well as birds. I have enjoyed getting to know the birds that live around our house - they have become friends - I have learned their calls. I don't have a bird book - so I have no idea what their scientific names are, but I sure enjoy watching and listening to them. Here are some very amature pictures of some of them - it's very hard to get good pictures of birds!
This pretty yellow bird is one of my favorites.
This pair of hawks made their home near our house a couple months ago.
These rather nondescript rusty orange birds spent 2 weeks constructing this mud nest. They also have a very loud obnoxious call (sounds something like a kookabura - did I spell that right? ).
And I tried to no avail to get a picture of the loud green parrots that live in the olive trees behind our house. Oh, well.
3 comments:
Julie this blog warmed my heart. We love you.
Dad/Babu
That first picture looks like a kingfisher or a kookaburra. I also enjoy the many birds here in Australia. Ella does too...she often gets really still when she hears the birds singing. They make some incredible sounds. Glad you can enjoy this part of God's creation. And isn't it funny how we meet our parents at certain parts/areas of our life! :) - Nicole
Oh, Julie, I loved your blog. Glad you're finding a little time to enjoy the beautiful birds around your house:)
By the way, the first picture is of a Kiskadee. I think it looks like a large bee eater from Kenya and the bee eaters were some of our favorites. Maybe the next time we come to Bolivia we can actually go on a bird watching safari. Love you, Mom
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