Hi and thanks for stopping by my blog, and welcome to the Quiet Side of the Great Lake downunder in Oz!

The Bible tells us to:

“dedicate our children to God, and point them in the way that they should go, and the values they’ve learned from you will be with them for life.”
Proverbs 22:6 The Passion Translation.

Sometimes I think the birds do a better job than some people in raising their children. Of all bird families on the Quiet Side, Magpies appear to make the most diligent parents. They are methodical, consistent and act as role models to their young. Then they give their little ones some independence to experiment with what they have been taught.

There are lots of little fledglings on the Quiet Side at this present time. These are young birds who have recently acquired their flight feathers, and so are not long out of the nest.

I was fascinated a day or so ago when I watched two adult magpies training their little ones. Initially they were teaching them to find food in the ground. Then they used another strategy that is particularly fascinating. I have heard it described as a submissive display, however nothing I have read to date seems able to explain exactly why it is done. Maybe it’s like the naughty corner!

Mum stands over the little one while he lies down on his back. He looks like he is dead, motionless with his feet up in the air. He stays there for as long as she tells him to. That may last for five minutes or more. Imagine trying to keep a toddler still for that period of time!

Or it could be mistaken as the other magpies beating up on a baby, which it isn’t.
You will note one of the adults demonstrating the pose to the junior as he imitates it.

After his lesson she sends him off on his own. That was when he arrived in our garden.

First of all he jumped up on the little statue we have placed where all the old faithful dogs we’ve owned have been laid to rest.

I’ve also seen him sitting on the head of the garden owl next door. So it obviously didn’t frighten him away from the vegetable garden where it was placed.

Then he decided he would try out our bird bath. He obviously hadn’t been flying all that long. He knew he had to fly up onto the bird bath, but obviously wasn’t able to pace himself as to when he needed to use his wings. So he ran along with them out so they would be ready when the time came.

He made the bird bath, but instead of landing on the rim as the adult birds do, he landed in the middle of the water.

So what do you do on a hot day when you find yourself standing in a puddle of water? You have a swim. I don’t think any of our local adult magpies have ever taken a dip in our bird bath, but this one did.

Then Presto! he actually made the rim to take a wobbly stance.

I’m sure his Mum and Dad would be proud, Junior has learned his lessons well!

Whether babies are human toddlers, puppies, kittens,  juvenile birds or native animals they are all unique innovative and individual. We are all originals!

Enjoy the rest of your week! Stay safe.

Marilyn

Hi, and thanks for stopping by my blog.

My fourth book in the “Tales from a Lake” series is now on sale in the Amazon Kindle Store.

I’ll let my promo for the story on Amazon Kindle tell you what it’s all about.

“Greed and selfishness rear their ugly heads on the Quiet Side of the Great Lake. Suddenly this beautiful place of peace and healing is threatened. Neville the little Noisy Miner bird becomes very possessive when a brand new bird bath appears right next to his tree and he decides it should become his, exclusively.

He also loves the juicy red buds that bloom each year on the umbrella tree next door to him and decides that they too should be his. Within a short time his greed gets out of hand when he decides he should have the exclusive ownership of everything in the garden around his tree.

The fun begins when he meets Larry the rainbow lorikeet who has similar ideas.

Like all ‘Tales from a Lake’ stories ‘Showdown in the Umbrella Tree’ is educational, inspired by real life events and reflects real nature. All birds and four legged creatures are featured in their natural environment. Illustrations are beautiful in vivid color . Virtues emphasized in the story are love, looking out for each other, sharing and forgiveness. This is a fun story for parents to read to their children whilst at the same time teaching them about love and respect. These stories whilst crafted for children for the Christian market, are suitable for readers of all ages who enjoy stories about nature.”

Enjoy the rest of your week,

Marilyn

Hi, and thanks for stopping by my blog.

It seems almost unbelievable, but I can be sure that there will always be subject matter available when I am ready to post another blog. Something is always happening in the animal world along the Quiet Side of the Great Lake.

For those who are reading my blog for the first time, the Quiet Side of the Great Lake is the locality where my stories in the Tales from a Lake series take place.

Some eight years ago my husband glassed-in a section of our second story balcony. Up until that time we had a hard time using any of our balcony (it runs the length of our house), as it is subject to stiff sea breezes and strong southerly winds. The outcome  of his endeavour has resulted in a wonderful observation room. I can sit there as I write, and watch life on the lake evolve right in front of me.  I call it my ‘sunroom’. It is where I hang out. It is where I write my blogs and books. It also gets the morning sun so it’s cozy in the winter.

Yesterday, I was sitting reading in my favourite chair in my sunroom. I wasn’t there long when a juvenile Little Corella plonked himself on a branch in one of our palm trees right outside the open window. It was as though his mum had said, I’ll meet you back in the palm tree. Stay there until I find you. Because he stayed – for ages.

After a while he became impatient. He decided to squawk for his mum with the loudest squawks you have ever heard. We had a bit of a conversation as he looked down at me and I looked up at him. I think he liked having an audience.

Probably an hour or so later after lots of squawks,  Mum and the flock arrived and decided they would have some fun. My husband remarked only the other day that these birds always seemed to be happy. He wondered if they really were, or if it just seemed that way. To answer his question (after a little research) I found it is well documented that these birds are known for their sense of fun and their love to play. Actually they are entertainers. Life’s real little comedians.

They found a broken palm frond which had a long piece of  fibre hanging from it. It looked like string and they decided to have some fun with it, and some other leafy twigs. A breeze had sprung up and they were enjoying holding on and swinging in the breeze. They each seemed to have their own personal trick to perform. I shot a number of photos. Then I got to have fun adding some light effects from a software program  called DreamLight Photo Editor. I thought these little guys needed some effects to spotlight their tricks  .

Swinging while hanging on with beak and toes

This pose is wing assisted with beak and one toe – I dare you to try it!

Flying without a net – hanging on with feet only

Trapeze artist pose

Wind assisted layout

There were too many antics to fill up this blog post, but you get the idea. They entertained us for some time. Isn’t it amazing that the purest and simplest of God’s creatures can bring such pleasure.

Yes, our God truly loves the Creation He made. As His children we receive His blessings with joy.

The Psalmist reminds us:

“You make springs pour water into the ravines,
so streams gush down from the mountains.
11 They provide water for all the animals,
and the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds nest beside the streams
and sing among the branches of the trees.
13 You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home,
and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.
14 You cause grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for people to use.” Psalm 104:10-14 NLT

Joy is a choice. Regardless of feelings and emotions let’s choose joy. The Little Corella’s do. We can learn from them.

“Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.” Job 12:7 NLT

“DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY!”

Have a blessed day

Marilyn

Hi, and thanks for stopping by my blog.

This week I was delighted to be summoned by a neighbor to grab some shots of a visiting family of Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos which were picnicking in her pine tree. Although native to Australia, we don’t see very many of them on the Quiet Side of the Great Lake.

There was just the three of them. Mum, Dad and a juvenile. The juvenile was concealed in the tree for safety purposes, but Mum and Dad were well and truly on display.

You will notice, Dad has pink around his eye.

Mum just has dark skin around her eyes. I have to ask why male birds are the most colorful and the most beautiful? It seems funny when in the human species females go to such great effort to make themselves beautiful. A subject for another time perhaps.

Anyway, there they were the cockatoo family busy munching on pine cones whilst at the same time desiccating the tree. You can see how Mum has broken the branch to free up the pine cone she is holding with her foot (above). Do think that’s a smile of absolute bliss on her face? (close-up below)

By the time they left the remains of their picnic lay at the foot of the pine tree.   Stripped pine cones, many broken leafy twigs. The twigs had been bitten through with their sharp beaks to remove the pine cones .

Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos are large, powerful birds compared to the corellas and galahs who visit us regularly. They are impressive in size growing to 55cm-65cm or 22-26 inches in length and weigh 750 -900 grams in weight. Their cries also reflect their size. They are noisy!

Usually only one egg survives at breeding time and the baby remains in the nest for about six months. (That’s a hard slog to feed a baby of that size for so long! The parents must be exhausted.)  But then looking at all these feathers they have to grow to be able to fly I guess it takes that time.

In the book of Matthew  in the Bible says: ” Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them.” Matthew 6:26. For these feathered friends it means giving them a needle-sharp bill to chomp into Banksia flower spikes, Pine cones and other food sources that contain wood-boring larvae and seeds.God provides for them as He does for us.

Be encouraged that scripture concludes with these words: “And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?”

Be blessed, enjoy your day,

Marilyn