Thursday, May 25, 2006, 10:51 pm
Opportunity knocks; preparation slumbers
UKARUMPA, PNG — Only much later did I think to take the hawks’ perspective on the whole affair.
The sky was blue, and the sun was bright, warming their feathers. The air was calm and mild, a perfect morning to soar. If the second bird even observed the passerine trailing behind, hollering unfamiliar words, it must have been with some amusement.
Whether they saw the biped below them I do not know.
He was standing still, head back, jaw probably slack. In a moment, they had passed over him and gone. If they had seen him, they probably forgot him just as quickly.
But he — or I, as the savvy among you have guessed — did not forget about them.
Just moments before, I’d checked the backpack I wore, wondering if I carried my binoculars. They weren’t in their usual spot. Mildly puzzled, I decided I must have left them in my room. Well, I’d get them another time.
Then I saw two hawks, and a small bird trailing behind. I stared as they sailed overhead, but without binoculars, they just looked brown. Nothing I saw could tell me what they were.
Two hours later, I found the binocs. Inexplicably, they resided in another pocket of my eight-zippered bag.
There all the time.
While the hawks soared away.
All I could do was groan.
David J. Ringer
on 25 May 2006 at 6:51 pm 1.Chardyspal said …
I am visiting from I and the Bird (amazing carnival great pictures!). Do you observe Eclectus parrots? I am very interested in Eclectus particularly, but also in other parrots and their raptor (and other) predators in PNG and the Solomon Islands. - including their wild foods and any other information about them.
I am enjoying your blog! Thanks!
on 27 May 2006 at 9:02 pm 2.djr said …
I’m living up in a mid-montane grassland right now, and Eclectus Parrots are more common in the forested lowlands. I’ve heard they can be found in remnants of forest up here, but I haven’t seen them. The parrots I see every day are nectar-eating lorikeets. I don’t know much about their predators, but I did recently observe a treeful of Rainbow Lorikeets quiet down when a goshawk flew by. I expect to encounter a variety of other species (including Eclectus) as I travel to other parts of the country. Stay tuned!