On a recent swim, the most notable sighting was this duck, bobbing serenely in the water. It took a while to realize that its calm demeanor owed nothing to its personality, but all to its construction. The duck was a decoy, and a well made one, I thought. A dip under the water revealed no legs, but a good amount of marine growth, indicating it had been bobbing along for some time.
A young Saffron Finch, not shy about voicing its demands!
I saw this Red-billed Leiothrix in a tangle of branches. It looked grumpy in the top photo, more so when it realized I was watching.
These two bulls reside in a field beside the road to Upolu Aiport. I’ve never seen them more than six feet apart from each other! The cattle egret was just taking a break on a blustery day and took off soon after I took the photo.
The Common Peafowl (Pavo Christatus) is better known as a peacock. The adult males are wildly colorful, and would look right at home in a Las Vegas chorus line.
These birds weren’t seen in Vegas, but at Manuka State Wayside Park, when I was down that way earlier this year. It was only when I saw them that I remembered I’d seen them there before, when I first moved to the island and lived just down the road for a while.
There are a few wild populations on the islands, but supposedly, most are quite shy. These weren’t, wandering around the parking and picnic areas, and entirely indifferent to those of us taking photos.
Hello good looking!
Thanks for ruining that!
A few days ago, a group of five wild turkeys wandered through the yard. It’s the first time I’ve seen them here. They came up from the abandoned house and were headed towards the highway.
This path took them through the neighbor’s yard, which is the territory of a local rooster. When he saw these strange creatures moving into his domain, he strolled across to investigate. The turkeys seemed mystified by the rooster, though it’s hard to believe they hadn’t seen one before.
They peered down on it, stooped to its level, flapped their wings at it, displayed their feathers. The rooster was unmoved. For his part, he seemed even more baffled than the turkeys, though he also appeared to have decided they were no threat to his territory. He just stared as the turkeys went through their repertoire.
Eventually, they went about their business of pecking for food. From time to time, the turkeys would go through their routine, but the rooster remained unimpressed. Eventually, the six of them wandered off toward the small macadamia nut orchard nearby, the turkeys still displaying, the rooster still off in his own world. The turkeys came back the next day, but haven’t been seen since.
And the headline? Those turkeys just look like aliens, peering down on the strange life form below them, just the way real aliens would probably look at us!
I saw these two Rosy-faced Lovebirds in a tree at work and wondered, is this why they’re called lovebirds?
Graham's Island 