I wish you could come here to see the birds we live with on our property in Southern Mindanao. They are really wild, not used to human habitation, so it is hard to closely observe them. A lot different than birds that are fed in the back yard that are so used to people.

Maybe our birds will get used to us, and come closer so we can get a good look at them. Every morning before sunrise, and every evening before sunset I am on the balcony overlooking our property. It is quiet, except for the waves on the beach. I hear the birds waking up, starting to chatter and make their calls. I watch the movement of them, too. There is a morning and evening rush hour. Some birds spend the day away from their nesting areas, returning at the end of the day. These are the big white herons that fly to the flooded rice fields to our east every day, and return each evening before sunset to roost. The parakeets spend their day time hours in the eastern areas, too. Other birds do just the opposite.

We have Kingfishers that don't go far. They have a prominent pointed beak and iridescent blue markings. They nest in the mangrove trees standing in the water down on the beach. Their diet is mainly small marine animals gleaned from the reef top.

The Philippine oriole that nests in the very tall mahogany trees has a distinctive call. They are brightly colored, with yellow breasts, and under the wings. A fairly large bird, it is very impressive in flight. I have not found a nest of this bird. Orioles in the U.S. weave a hanging nest of grasses.

We have fly catchers, a swallow-like bird that likes to hang around buildings. I think these birds nest in cliffs and such places. They seem to be everywhere in large number, swooping, darting erratically in pursuit of flying insects. Thank God for these birds that consume large numbers of flying insects!

We have doves that can be heard early in the morning. The Maya bird, the National bird of the Philippines, is here too. They are very small creatures, flapping around like butterflies, wings beating furiously. They like to graze in the freshly mown lawn, in flocks of a couple dozen individuals, hopping around looking for seeds and small insects.

There are sun birds that are almost like hummingbirds. Small, colorful - mainly yellow - they hover around large flowers, drinking the nectar.

And there is the common sparrow. They were not here in the beginning. I believe that sparrows like to spend their time in areas of human habitation, preferring to pick through the detritus of the urban human. They are a recent arrival, attracted by the growth of population in our area (a regrettable fact).

We've tried to feed these birds, but they don't need us at least for the moment. I hope that they never do need us - they were doing quite alright before we or anyone else got here.

-=<()>=-