UKARUMPA, PNG — Shortly before 7 a.m., the fog had cleared enough that I could see pretty well. I decided to spend a few minutes on the back deck before heading for work. I could see my breath condensing in the cool, humid air, but I was comfortable enough in a T-shirt and jeans.

It was the lorikeets who’d awakened me, actually, screeching in the schoolyard’s clump of flowering gum trees.

They were still there; I could hear both Rainbow and Pygmy lorikeets. I caught occasional glimpses of the brightly colored larger birds, but the only pygmies I saw were those that left the tree in pairs, looking more like oversized insects than tiny birds.

Only once did the screeching subside, and that was when a goshawk cruised through the sky. Even then, the lorikeets couldn’t control themselves altogether, and occasional squawks broke the silence.

I see goshawks with some regularity, but I haven’t yet been able to identify one. This morning was no exception; all I saw of the bird was its silhouette, and of course its inimitable Accipiter flight.

Ornate Melidectes were much more active than the creeping, sluggish lorikeets, and I saw plenty of them chasing each other through the trees. Two came to hunt in our banana patch. They landed on the tips of the huge leaves and peered underneath, looking for arthropods I suppose.

They really are extravagant in every respect — from their wild and incongruous markings to their loud, varied vocalizations and their frantic, aggressive behavior.

Walking to the office, I saw the flock of Rock Pigeons flush out of the empty market, and their flight drew my attention to a small dove’s silhouette on a powerline. A loud, familiar call answered my question — it was a Peaceful Dove. A second bird joined it briefly; then, both flew away.

A short time later, it began to rain, as it has done every day since Saturday.

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