I
moved to Toledo district 7 years ago. I had always loved birds
like most people, but was not a real birdwatcher. Now I am. There
are so many birds here that take the eye, it becomes impossible
not to want to know what they are. The next thing you know I bought
bird books and binoculars and got busy. Fortunately for me I did
not have to tromp through the bush in the early mornings, all
I have to do is step out on my veranda and take a look around.
There is a tree in the front yard locally called a Madra Cacow.
It's spindly and plain and is usually full of birds. Once a year
it becomes covered with purple and white blossoms that look like
tiny orchids. The birds come from everywhere. Many kinds of parrots
pass through regularly. Mostly of the green type, and little parrolets
which are small like parakeets. We rescued a Red Lored parrot
from the village and it flies free at our place and eats daily
from her perch on the porch. No flock will take her in as she
was separated from her flock at birth but she's as free as we
can let her be and is a great joy to have around.
There are many types of hummingbirds here and the best story I
have about birds here is about a little green iridescent hummingbird
that built her nest right on a branch that was in reaching distance
from my veranda. It was better then television (which we do not
have) as I observed her for hours building her nest then laying
the eggs and then hatching them. Being a hummingbird she left
the nest a lot more than most birds would but the two eggs hatched
and it was so fulfilling to watch the little ones grow and then
fly. The first one flew right to me, by accident of course, but
it felt great to me. One always leaves the nest about 4 days before
the second smaller one flies. I also learned that hummingbirds
are very noisy and now I recognise their sound. There are nests
all over the Lodge grounds of many kinds of birds. So when you
come to Toledo district bring your bird books and Binoculars and
feast your eyes on the endless variety of bird life we have to
offer. I have only mentioned a couple, we have 3 kinds of toucans
that visit, hawks, and whole variety of tiny little finch like
birds, as well as all the migrating birds and the water birds.
An official bird count was done here and at last check over 200
kinds of birds were sited on my 20-acre jungle spot. I am not
a real birdwatcher and so I have not written this little bit for
people who are and want to know all the names, I am writing to
all of you who will become birdwatchers when you visit Toledo
and the real birders will go crazy with all there is to see.
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