Letter: Imagine yourself as a bird

Piet Steenkamp of Ballito writes:

Imagine you receive the following email from a bird:

“The Association of Disadvantaged Birds of Ballito wish to appeal to the community to imagine what it is to be a bird in Ballito.

We have been here long before the settlers moved in. We had indigenous forests that provided food for those of us who are fruit eaters as well as those who are insect eaters. We had grasslands that provided food for the seed eaters.

Then the settlers moved in and all these made way for sugar cane lands, shopping malls, housing estates and more.

In some estates, indigenous plants and insects are still around, but in other places, exotic plants that do not provide fruit or nesting places, have taken over.

Humans use insecticides to poison our food without giving it a second thought. They kill mice and insects so the owls are dying out.

Some of us, like redwing starlings, try to build nests in buildings, but humans break them down and chase us away because they say we mess.

Maybe they could put up some boxes which can be a great help.ac

Humans created an organization to manage feral cats and some even have their own fat cats. These predators murder us whenever they can ambush us.

A lot of us withdrew to eco estates, but here, as well as everywhere in town, monkeys raid and destroy our nests. They devour our babies as well as our unborn children.

Some thoughtful humans put up bird feeders, but the seeds meant for us are often stolen by monkeys. Humans also created an organization to protect these marauding bullies.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find food and shelter? Just look around and see if you can spot something that will fill a hungry bird’s tummy (crop)?

See if there are any nesting places for a homeless bird?

Most of you will admire a pretty bird and make a tick in your bird book, but do you care about us enough to lend a helping hand?

If you do, please put out some seeds on a monkey proof platform for the seed eaters and some fresh bone meal for the insect eaters.

Thank you for caring.
Bird regards,
Chairbird”

I attach a photograph of two methods to feed birds.

The one is a plastic grid, nailed to a stump in my garden.

If you spread wild bird seed over it, monkeys cannot lick or pick it out, while birds easily peck the seeds.

The second is a saucer containing small pieces of bone meal.

Monkeys do not eat bone meal.

You are welcome to quote my cell phone number if some of your readers would like to have a chat about birds (082 689 9746).

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