My little friends

This post will be just a silly one--but I have to talk about my little 'buddies'. For about 18 months now I have consciously been feeding the wildbirds from my front deck--very early mornng is usually a good time, but they also prefer somewhere between 2:00 - 4:00pm in the afternoon-(probably topping up for a good night's sleep.)

I vary their diet, and often provide treats, but over this time I have met some really great characters. My first character was Big Boy--he was a very large magpie, and as soon as I opened the deck door, he was on the railing waiting for me. He would then warble out to the others, and literally about 15 birds of various species would come flying in to feed. I would throw and spread these offerings onto the ground below my deck, spreading them so the area could be diverse, and not over-crowd the 'guests'.

Well, Big Boy loved his job, and I could always rely upon him to notify the others. My 'guests'usually included other magpies, some honey eaters, a couple of top-knot pigeons, some lorrikeets, and occasionally some cockatoos---what always fascinated me was they all shared, and chattered away, like at a large dining table.

Then one day Big Boy just went away. I really did miss him and his mannerisms. We were almost on very friendly terms--I could leave a treat on the deck railing, and he would brave the walk towards me to grab it--at times he almost let me touch him.

Then about 1 month ago I found Big Boy II- not sure if they are related, but sure do hold a strong family resemblance. However, BBII has an attitude problem. He thinks I am feeding just him. If other birds fly in for a treat he literally chases them away! He runs at them with his head down, and his wings spread a bit. I have tried talking to him (My family has become accustomed to the fact that I talk to animals and birds), and I have tried to explain that his life would be much happier if he learned to share. We're working on that issue. Meanwhile, I have resorted at times to feeding the others from our side deck---BBII hasn't realised this yet.

It is so much fun to watch these guys!!