A Second Visit From the African Grey Hornbill

I wonder sometimes if one's thoughts do not control life. What I mean by this is that when you sometimes think about something it happens. I know that this is highly unlikely to be tied, there is no causal link between the two. But it sometimes feels like it.

I have been staying in Gauteng South Africa on and off for a while now and I have never seen the African Grey Hornbill in the two years that I visited. Less than three days apart, I saw this beautiful bird twice. And it was as if my thoughts commanded life in such a way that it willed this bird back to where I stay.

I wondered what it thought as it sat up high in the tree seeing me down under and running around after it. I wondered if it saw me the same as I saw it. Such a weird thought to be honest. Because I know that I am merely imposing my thoughts onto it, it probably did not even see me unless I posed a threat of some sort.

It tried to eat something or maybe it want to clean its beak?

Do you know how these birds nest? It is the strangest phenomenon, something that most people will never see. I am not sure where these birds nest in the area, but I am sure few will really know.

What they apparently do is build a nest in hollow trees. As the chicks emerge from the eggs, the mother and the chicks are covered in the nest by a cement-like substance made from mud and clay. The opening of the nest is big enough for the male's beak to slide food through to the mother and chicks. As they grow older, they break the nest and either make it bigger or they break it open and move along (when they are big enough).

It is stuff like this that reminds me of how precious and delicate life is. How many people might knock down a dead tree trunk without realizing that there might be chicks and a mother in it, breeding and populating the next generation? Knock down enough of these and these precious birds might die out.

Nature is strong and resilient. But sometimes her fragility shines through and one is reminded of how delicate she is and how we play an integral part in not messing it up. Many times (if not most) nature flourishes without our input. But in being part of it all now, we cannot be naive about the role we are currently playing in the destruction of nature. Sad but true.

He flew away, sitting on the wire stretching across the yard. It flew away from me, I think the camera's shutter was too loud. Or it was done with whatever it was doing in the tree. But I looked at it as it flew away and I could not help but think about the beauty of this bird. I hope I might see it again. It is a wonderful and big bird for the suburbs. Something you do not see every day.

For now, happy birding, and stay well!

All of the photographs are my own, taken with my Nikon D300 and Tamron 300mm lens. The writings and musings are also my own unless hyperlinked.