SPRING HAS SPRUNG !

​​Over the weekend, did you take time to enjoy what’s around you? Perhaps you shared a story with someone who may not be able to see the distance that you could, but you can give the description to add to their own perception. Perhaps the child or adult you know may have low vision so a photo of what you saw could be brought a lot closer for more detail.

​Over the last couple of weeks, I have listened and watched the highlights of Spring. There were a nest of eggs in the smallest tree on our block that finally hatched and I think 2 out of 3 babies survived and have now flown the coop.

​​We also have Plover birds. Those birds continue to amaze me with the entire breeding process. All day and night for what seems months, they guard the nest, sitting most of the time and then swapping shifts with the other plover. At any time they will make a rather loud squawking type noise if an animal gets too close or a person walks nearby. It would return immediately to the nest on the grass if they were not sitting but had taken a moment’s break. 

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Picture on right - small tree with bird nest in view with 2 eggs and one newly hatched chick
​Picture below - small tree with large trees in background

Once the seasonal family of plovers are complete, it doesn’t appear too long before the chicks lose their ‘fine fluffy’ look and look like miniatures of their parents. Only 1 of the 3 plover chicks is still out there with the parents continuing to be extremely protective. Sometimes I catch the odd moment when I spot the chick through the window already looking twice the size of when it was born, thinking it has finally been allowed to wander alone but it only takes a few more seconds and the parent plovers are spotted on two different sides of the chick, just a couple of feet away, close enough to land on top of the chick if need be.

A bird we sometimes need to protect ourselves from is the good ol’ Australian magpie. There’s a magpie that hangs around our place ready to pounce on Jessi (our Border Collie/Kelpie) almost every moment she runs to grassy freedom. I would swear sometimes there must be a string attached from the bird to Jessi as it hovers like a drone just above her body and wherever she moves. At times, the magpie will almost dive bomb our dog and the clicky sound of the wings coming closer to Jessie can be heard from a distance. This may go on most of the day. 
SPRING HAS SPRUNG...

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