Birds of a Feather

One of our favorite winter pastimes in NJ - especially after a blizzard would leave us snowed in and housebound - was birdwatching. We had a huge honeysuckle grove at the entrance to our conservatory which was home to a variety of birds who stayed north for the winter. Cardinals, woodpeckers, finches.

The honeysuckle provided shelter and nesting places and we provided a smorgasbord of birdfeeders and a heated fountain for water. We left our camera set up full time on its tripod and we enjoyed the quiet show. So we were anxious to see what lay outside our windows in the gardens at Valley Lodge.

The first bird you notice is the Hadeda Ibis. They are everywhere. They have a distinctive call (HA deda ... HA deda ... HA deda) which they like to do first thing in the morning. They are ubiquitous like our Canadian geese in the US except people actually like them here. They aerate the soil digging for earthworms and they are very popular on golf courses where they rid the grass of grubby pests. And they don't leave those gross deposits everywhere.

Serge prancing in a dog show

They are very large. About the size of a mini-dachshund I'd say. I was a little nervous for the puppies when I first saw them. Up on the rooftop they remind me of hawks surveying their dinner menu.

Lou doing Beach Yoga in Bay Head NJ

But they are more afraid of Lou and Serge than vice versa and they do not seem at all interested in carrying them off.

I do like the style of this Northern Black Korhaan!

Then there is this yellow masked weaver who likes to perch on my car door and tap on the window. Cheeky little monkey!

But my favorite feathered neighbors at Valley Lodge are our resident rosy faced lovebirds. We have two of them of course and it always a joy to see them when I walk the puppies around the periphery. I must get a bird feeder for the garden to see if I can lure them in to visit my yard sometime. So pretty! 

The Bird Gardens at the nearby Montecasino entertainment complex house an aviary which I have read is the largest exhibit of its kind in all of Africa. I want to see it but I am waiting to go with my sister Cheryl when she visits - she is the true birder in the family. But in the meantime we have quite a collection just wandering around Valley Lodge to keep me entertained.