Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Visitors Return



The Visitors have returned...




When I came in from my afternoon walk
I found that the recent visitors
had once again
taken up their positions
doing the tree pose
on my deck....






I took their photo
through the glass
so as not to disturb
their composure
and equanimity


and then went outdoors.
I saw the Brahminy kite
and I want to snap him too,
and at my intrusion
and the visitors made to leave...






I sat on the edge of the deck
photographing the Brahminy kite,
unsuccessfully,
and along came a pelican...






Hello Mr Pelican, I called
and he came right up to the water's edge
below where I was sitting...
I was thinking that I may be
developing the Attenborough touch...






when he elongated his immense bill,
and as I looked down
he snapped up a dead fish
from the sand






clenched it in his bill





and turned to swim away
from the shore...






from where he dropped the fish
down into his pouch







and with a toss of his head
he swallowed it...






the ducks on the deck above,
meanwhile,
were oblivious to the whole show
and went back to sleep...






resuming their favourite yoga pose






after a few minutes
the pelican returned
to look for dessert...







and look
can you see
that the fish
is still lodged at the bottom
of his long neck...





*

35 comments:

  1. Hello Brenda,

    you're up late. I am just about to get into bed with my book. Early start at the farmers' markets tomorrow...

    I think it was the pelican that had the amazing eye or more probably sense of smell...

    Happy Days

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  2. hi delwyn, i'd love to know how birds - all kinds of birds - know how to spot food from a distance. i watch hawks over my home as they hover, watching for field mice. how do they do all of that? it amazes me. happy finds at the farmer's market. have a peaceful day! steven

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  3. Roll over National Geographic, Delwyn is here and the birds are on her side!

    Amazing! I love the "yoga pose"!

    nighty night/good morning

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  4. Those are two enlightened ducks who take their Yoga seriously, don't ya know...they never lost their poses even when the Pelican came by! Hey, that's our state bird here in Louisiana, the Pelican. I loved the peacefulness and tranquility of this entire post. Lovely!!!!

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  5. Delwin, these photos are stunning, beautiful studies of animal behavior. Are you on the river? Do pelicans live on rivers?

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  6. There must always be something to watch...living near the water as you do...

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  7. Reminds me of the drawings in The Little Prince, where the snake swallows the elephant. Your nature photography is stunning, my friend. You have such a gift.

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  8. That's interesting! I've never observed a pelican up close like that. and yes, he does have that little fish lodged in his neck. and the ducks live in a world of their own--unless they're looking down into the water for their own fish... You should frame the first photo of the mirrored parallel ducks in shades of black ans white. Water fowl today!

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  9. You will get the kites next time. I love the pelican and your ducky visitors! So nice to have that right by your house.

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  10. Pelicans are so amazing. We never see them in our parts. Nice pics.

    ("Paper Moon" is playing in my head)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hello Willow

    I'm glad I can bring the pelicans to you then

    Patsy Cline must have an ethereal hyperlink to my blog, do you think!

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lorac

    The kites will come -

    Just like the saying from Field of Dreams: 'build it and they'll come'

    my mantra is: 'have camera and they'll come'...

    There is always something happening on the river...

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hello Margaret this rainy morning...

    I will try and B&W version of the first photo - thanks for the idea...I'll let you know how it looks

    Ducks are like cats in that regard...very self contained...

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  14. Meri

    thank you sweet Meri - coming from someone that is so good with the camera I appreciate your comments.

    I wonder now how I might be with a real camera!!

    I wanted to have successive shots of the pelican but by the time I thought about it it was too late to find the setting...

    Happy days

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  15. Wanda - hello there,

    you are right, besides the usual boat traffic with fishermen and holiday makers in their hire boats which increases in weekends and school holidays, we have flocks of cormorants that roost in the gums opposite, the 3 pairs of Brahminy kites, blue faced cranes ibis, small herons, flocks of Rainbow Lorikeets, and now the pelican has returned after breeding season.

    and then there are the jumping fish...


    The ducks are relative newcomers - only in the last few years, which I think is odd and the river is tidal and therefore salty.

    Happy Days

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Rosaria

    thank you for the comments. Yes we live right on the Weyba River. A canal system was built through the mangrove islands back in the 1970s but fortunately our block is on the original river and faces into a reserve -i.e. it cannot be built on.
    We are only a 10 min walk to the beach, 2 mins by car...and going in the other direction we have the Noosa River a 10 mins walk away where I used to walk the dog.

    The two rivers converge in a huge river mouth pan, 5 mins on the board from here ...which I showed in my paddling post earlier in the year...

    Happy days

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  17. Hello Marion

    Do the pelicans breed near you?

    fancy it being your state bird...do they look the same?

    Happy Days

    ReplyDelete
  18. Rosaria

    I forgot to say they live here most of the year before going inland to breed,

    did you see this post of mine?


    http://ahazymoon.blogspot.com/2009/04/blue-skies.html

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Tulsa

    These ducks put me to shame...such proficient balancers...

    Happy Days

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hello Steven

    well we awoke to rain but managed to purchase all of our goodies, have the obligatory cup of soy coffee, have a chat with a good friend and return home before another downpour...

    Hawks and eagles have that incredible sideways vision - it's almost like they have a heat sensor system to detect tiny animals on the ground...

    the pelican must be able to smell - I have another post coming that illustrates that ability...

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wonderful post! I do think you have the Attenborough touch. (I could almost hear you narrating the post in a hushed, yet urgent, voice.)

    It was a delight to join you in watching the pelican enjoy his fishy meal. Pelicans have always been one of my favorite birds, though they are very rarely seen in Wisconsin.

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  22. Hi Delwyn,

    Pelicans are amongst my very favourite birds!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Angela

    my hushed yet urgent voice... I like that ...and that serious look of concentration...

    I saw David A on a return to the gorillas program on TV - he found the same animals on the reserve in Africa. It was great.

    Happy Days

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  24. Hi Sarah,

    I'll drop you a note...

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  25. I wish I had less of the duck's waddle and more of their balance.

    What a treat with the pelican!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Delwyn

    I enjoyed this post as if I was seeing a movie. As Angela has said, I could almost hear your vivid narration! So fascinating!!

    Birds are amazing! Are some of them migratory ones?

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  27. Violet

    I love your sense of humour - funny girl...

    Happy Days

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi Sapphire

    I'm glad you like the Davis Attenborough touch....

    These pelicans are just returning from the inland waterways in SW Qld where they have been breeding. Did you see the other post ?

    Happy Days

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  29. those are amazing photos of the pelican,

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thanks Juliet

    I just kept pushing the shutter!

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hi you!
    Many Thanks for yours' blog with Haiku! Nice post!
    Many thanks for such a good and thorough post!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hi Hoa Cúc Xanh

    and welcome to my pages

    It is nice to meet you. I am glad that you enjoy the haiku and post.

    I came to visit you but unfortunately can't read Vietnamese!

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  33. I love the first photo and last 4th photos very much Delwyn.

    The first:
    The reflection and the twosome ducks in pair are such harmony and balance!

    The last 4th photo:
    The ducks are imitating each others' pose and movement so well!
    Love it, just can't miss this:)
    Thanks Delwyn:)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hi Yoon see

    Margaret suggested I try B&W on some of these so I did so on #1 and #4, which are your two choices, and they look great. Then I cropped the left bird only from the #1 shot and that too makes a nice B&W.

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete

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