Bird Sanctuary

Do birds of a feather flock together? In most cases, yes they do! That is, birds of the same species tend to group together.

Cormorants fly over the lagoon.

This week I visited the West Coast National Park here in South Africa, and saw many different birds, the largest being wild ostriches. Wow! Are they big! Check out this video. It looks like their knees are on backwards!

 

 

When I got home, I immediately googled “ostrich” to find out more about these fascinating birds. I found out some really interesting facts. Did you know that they are the largest living bird? It’s not surprising then that they lay the largest eggs. They mostly eat plants, but sometimes bugs. They usually travel together in flocks. When two males fight, they kick with their powerful legs and also head-bash each other, sometimes killing the other bird!

A lagoon is an inlet from the ocean.

There’s a large lagoon in the national park. It’s a large area of salt water surrounded by sand dunes on three sides. The fourth side leads out to the ocean. It’s the perfect place for a bird hide. View the video below to see the inside of the bird hide, and the surprise waiting for me!

Sorry. Technical difficulties. Check back later for video.

 

The Angulate tortoises were the trouble makers. These bad boys kept playing chicken with the cars, always seeming to cross the road just as our car was approaching! Since we had no desire for tortoise soup that night, we drove slowly and kept swerving around them. They can move surprisingly quickly for an animal known to be slow!

If you ever get a chance to visit a national park or a bird sanctuary, you’ll find that if you keep a sharp look-out, and a quiet voice, you’ll find fascinating and surprising sights!

 

 

 

Shhhh. Rock Pigeon nesting.

 

 

What’s a robin doing in Africa???

 

 

What caption belongs here?! YOU make a suggestion!

 

 

10 thoughts on “Bird Sanctuary

  1. When two male ostich’s fight they head-bash each other and sometimes it can kill one of the other ostrich!

  2. I didn’t know that ostriches were the largest birds, and had the largest eggs. Those tortoises sure sound mischievous! For my caption suggestion, I’d say: Chirpy! You’re supposed to be hiding, I can see you. It’s not hide-and-seek if you don’t hide!

  3. I learned that ostriches are the largest living bird and they lay the largest eggs too! I can not believe that they hit each other with their heads so hard they kill each other. It is crazy what they will do.

  4. I can’t believe that sometimes ostriches head-bash each other and sometimes kill each other. I didn’t know that ostriches could be so dangerous.

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