“Our tree and the oasis”

the saga continues

By Peter A. Morris

It was quite early in the morning, the weather still trying to make up its mind what to do. All was quiet and peaceful the robin already into his daily song which was filling the air and would continue to do so until darkness sent him off to his nest to keep the family safe.

Suddenly, the peace was shattered by the raucous sound of Crow! He was in great distress and calling upon his friends and neighbors for help.

I was unable to see what was wrong, the light was still creating lots of shade in some of the tree so I grabbed my binoculars and started to search the branches, in the meantime Crows calls were being answered by other crow families and friends flying in from all around!

It was while I was watching the birds I noticed a movement on the trunk of 'our tree' and with the aid of the glasses saw a series of black and grey stripes, the cause of the problem, a raccoon was after the eggs in Crow's nest!

It did not take long for the birds to make the 'coon change his mind. Trying to hang on the trunk of a tree while a gang with large sharp beaks were jabbing him he decided, was not a good idea and took off quickly down the tree and away!

The birds exchanged greetings with each other and flew off to their own places.

Meanwhile, in the Oasis, a rabbit was calmly munching on the grass and quite unconcerned with the excitement going on above. I wonder where he came from, a couple of times we have seen him then he is gone for a few days before spending more time in the Oasis. Much like the tortoiseshell pussy cat that wanders in every so often with an eye on the many tiny birds that flutter in and around the bushes and takes a swipe at one every so often but just is not quick enough! The cat then wanders off through the long wet grass shaking his paws almost every step to get them dried off.

The Herons are busy. They fly over the Oasis almost non-stop from dawn to dusk to the beach to fish for gunnels, small fish and just about anything that will fit into their long beaks then they head back to their nest in Beacon Hill Park to feed their mates and their young. To see them battle the heavy winds is quite a sight as they are thrown all over the place, their great wings catch the gusts and they are often tossed on their sides as they make their way.

They make a brave sight and their rewards show as their gawky youngsters poking their heads over the side of the nests looking down at the many people trying to get a glimpse of them.

The occasional Bald Eagles uses the same flight path, but they are very few and far between, let's hope they have found a good feeding ground nearby.

As for the birdhouse, the one that the Northern Flicker had kindly cleaned out of years of old nesting material, a pair of sparrows have moved in and are very busy re-fitting it with new nesting material, no doubt before long we will be listening to the twittering of new born babe's!

Perhaps the Flicker was unsuccessful with finding a mate!