Born to be wild..

So I’m a nature lover – I’m not talking botany and rain forest resorts, though I can be a bit of a tree-hugger, but more my love for animals. Whether they’re my own pets Dexter & Muffin, a bird that’s fallen out of its nest, an itsy bitsy frog, a turtle displaced from the river after the rains or even a baby lizard that makes my mother run shrieking to a safer spot... they make my heart melt. Just observing them and their ways makes me ooh and aah. They’re so... natural. Their actions and reactions are something I can relate to. Almost human. I’m not sure any of this makes any sense to ya’ll...

Where is this coming from? Oh well, there’s a pair of these long-legged birds, I’m not quite sure what they are – I’m going to have to google that – but they’ve got these three little chicks right outside my office. One of the parents, I’m guessing it’s the mom, stays down with the little ones, while the other, probably dad, stays up on a higher surface looking out for enemies. Sometimes when I’m bored I like to observe them. It’s like National Geographic right outside my window! The mom stands there in the centre watching the three chicklets running around, pecking at the grass, wandering, turning regularly to make sure each one is still there, still safe. At the very sight of a human both parents raise the alarm and the babies disappear, camouflaging themselves amongst the rubble.

[caption id="attachment_281" align="aligncenter" width="390"] Aha! Found it! It's a Red Wattled Lapwing![/caption]

Curious – and unfortunately, rather illiterate – colleagues of sorts were intrigued by this miracle of nature and went poking around. I saw through the glass as both adult birds got agitated, wreaking havoc with their loud wails. This, in turn, angered me. What was wrong with these people? They could clearly see that their actions were disconcerting the birds. How would they feel if predators threatened their young? Luckily though, they only wanted to see, and I guess they did have a conscience, for they didn’t harm the fluffy little birds, only looked at them in awe, smiling and chattering away like they’d never before seen anything of the sort.

[caption id="attachment_282" align="aligncenter" width="384"] how cute are these fuzzy little creatures? :)[/caption]

The birds have become a permanent fixture it seems now. They’ve been here just over a week and are not as bothered by us as they were initially. I hope we’ll be seeing them even after the little ones learn to fly. I love watching them :) I love being so at one with these creatures – they offer so much to learn – if we go into it with our hearts and minds open we can live in utmost harmony with each other, in the separate worlds that overlap.