It’s
the end of another long, busy week and you’re more than ready for a little bit
of peace and quiet. You wander down a secluded path in your local park. The
blazing sun is tempered by the shade of the towering trees and the cool of the
thick forest on either side. All is quiet except for the soft sounds of the
woodland wildlife.
You
breathe a deep sigh and feel yourself relaxing. Solitude with Mother Nature is,
indeed, deeply healing.
Suddenly
the corner of your eye catches the most magnificent flit of color. There are
deep, rich unfathomable blues, luxuriously lush greens and sizzling oranges.
There are sharp, clear orange eyes, and a vivid, sharp beak that seems to be
cracked almost in a mischievous little grin. It’s hard to believe that all
these rich and dazzling hues belong to a living creature. Until you look a
little closer.
You
are in Australia, home of the beautiful Rainbow Lorikeet.
·
This beautiful bird is a member
of the parrot family, and is unique among its kind as it has more subspecies than
any other parrot. There are about 21 different kinds.
·
It can live for up to 28 years.
·
They roost in groups of
sometimes up to 50,000 individuals. That’s a lot of birds!
·
Rather than nests, they lay
their eggs in tree hollows.
·
They are monogamous creatures.
They pick a partner and remain together sometimes for years.
·
There are some parks that have
“Rainbow Lorikeet Forests”. These are reserves where visitors buy a cup of the
birds’ favorite nectar, and then wander into the woods to have the Lorikeets
land on their heads and arms hoping for a shot at the treat!
But
all is not paradise for this amazing creature. Believe it or not, some people
have declared these beautiful birds as “pests” and a great deal of time, money
and effort has gone into managing their population. Although there is a reason
for this thinking, whether it’s a good one is anyone’s opinion. Some years ago,
some perhaps well-meaning but ill-thinking person (or people?) decided to
release some of these birds into areas to which they were not native. Since
then the birds have managed to create quite a population for themselves in
these forests away from home. Now they’re eating the food out from under the
native species, leaving them with inadequate supplies. They also eat lots of
fruits, ruining farmers’ crops. There’s also some talk that the Lorikeets can
carry diseases to animals that would otherwise not be exposed to them.
You
see, there’s a reason the experts warn us not to introduce foreign species into
non-native territories. But what it boils down to is this: the Lorikeets
themselves did absolutely nothing wrong, and yet they’re being punished
sometimes with the loss of their lives. One article describes how they killed 7000 of them near an airport not long ago. They also killed another 33,000 of them in other areas.
Yet they can’t be allowed to starve out other birds or ruin farmers’ livelihoods. Where’s the easy solution to the problem we’ve caused?
Yet they can’t be allowed to starve out other birds or ruin farmers’ livelihoods. Where’s the easy solution to the problem we’ve caused?
Mother
Nature has a great love of beauty in its purest form. She shows that in so many
spectacular ways in her great many gifts.
Now,
if only we could figure out how to treat those gifts with some decency….
Photo By: Dick Daniels (http://carolinabirds.org/)
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