Watching The Waterhens

Hello everyone

If you see the thick and dense undergrowth, shrubs and bushes right opposite my house you would wonder why were we so stupid to have bought  this property, our house, which is just next to it. Me too was feeling the same at one time. There was a sense of regret and that we have made a great mistake . The adjacent area which we thought would be developed was not to be.

There are a few kampung houses there. The plot nearest to our home where once stood a house is overtaken by lush wild creepers and plants. The house was "stolen" and what is left behind is just the cement flooring. In fact the house disintegrated little by little, missing doors, missing windows, missing wooden walls and later vanished totally even the beams and poles/pillars.

Behind the said house there is another deserted house. And this house now is nearly covered by the shrubs and undergrowth. And the roof top sometimes becomes a resting place for the monkeys.

To create a buffer I planted crab claws and birds of paradise alongside my fencing facing the area hoping to mask off the not so nice sight. And on the other side of the dead end road bordering the vacant plot I planted hibiscus, bananas, mulberry, sour sop and even a coconut tree.

However now that plot of vacant land is not a bother to me anymore. The undergrowth at the vacant plot has become so thick and dense and so green and has covered the ugly remains of the the construction. It has a jungle look landscape with tall trees in the background. I like the sight and the freshness of the atmosphere especially in the morning after the night rain.

There must be many animal lives hiding underneath . I know. I hear them. Their croaking and cooing in the morning and sometimes at dusk would make me abandoned whatever I was doing, to go and have a look.

And last night it was raining birds and squirrels, snakes and frogs cats and dogs causing the vegetation to look so rich fresh and alive in the morning when the sun came out. Of course there were many kinds of sound as everyone was busy flying and calling out at one another but the most outstanding sound was the croaking and cooing from that rich undergrowth.

Hi there . . .   unexpectedly they were there on a coconut frond and not hiding as usual.  The two were happily preening and drying themselves. Ever so meticulous picking and probing at one another. They moved vigorously shaking their bodies and flapping their wings under the sun to "wipe" away wetness. They took quite a long time to do what they were doing.

Well . . . they don't have towels . . .

They were there preening as I watched them for nearly fifteen minutes before one of them moved away and the other soon followed and disappeared under the bushes.

These water hens, I like their clean look, white face, gleaming eyes, nice cinnamon brown feathers. They are beautiful and they sure take great efforts to maintain their good look.

The water hen 

I hope no one will come to know about their presence there . . .b e c a u s e . . .these birds, their flesh is . . . a great delicacy. . .

Happy birding !

Bye . . .