I sat in my room downstairs working on some early morning work. My door was open so that I could get some fresh air. Then I heard that familiar chirping of baby helmeted guineafowl.
As I walked outside, with my camera ready for once, I saw the whole family of baby birds, mom and dad, and then also aunts and uncles! I lost count of how many there were... It was a beautiful sight to observe.
Some of them stopped and stared, perfect for the classic portrait photograph. They trusted me, as I knelt downwards and kept crawling closer and closer. I tried to mimic their sound, not succeeding in any sense of the word, but they somehow trusted me enough; allowing me to get close to their babies.
Getting close to their babies can be really dangerous, as the mom and dad can get very violent. My brother still has a mark on his face after battling with one of the mom or dads. He ventured too close for the parents' comfort and they kicked him in the face, leaving a nasty gash and scar.
But these baby birds for some reason really liked the clicking of my camera, and they put me in a strange position. See the photograph below where the baby birds almost ran towards my camera...
I luckily got very close, but as they wanted to run closer and closer to me, the parents began looking more closely. I tried to "shoo" them away, and this worked. I almost felt like these baby birds wanted to jump up onto me. Maybe there are people feeding them seeds, and these babies thought I wanted to give them seeds...
But they found my raised garden bed, where I planted some fresh and new seeds... I will gladly let them eat all of the seeds if it helps them grow strong and healthy!
I could not stay there for the whole time. But neither could they. They are always on the move. I followed them for a little while still, walking through my whole garden. It is amazing that these birds can survive with all of the domestic animals and all of the predatory birds that are always on the lookout for baby birds.
In the end, it was another beautiful visit from these beautiful birds. I really appreciate them, as they bring so much joy even if they scratch out my baby plants. As always, I will merely replant the baby plants, allowing these scavengers to find their bugs and seeds.
For now, happy birding, and keep well!
All of the musings and reflections are my own. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300 and Tamron 300mm zoom lens.