Feed the Birds.

Remember that song from Mary Poppins....

"Feed the birds,

Tuppence a bag,

Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag,

Feed the birds, thats what she cries,

While overhead the birds fill the skies". 

Well, that's me.  I have a whole backyard of birds.  My community consists of about a dozen pigeons, lots of sparrows and chickadee types, and four bothersome Egyptian minors with their long yellow legs who stalk the others and peck imperiously at my seedlings.  Meg has a couple of parrots that fly over her roof patio - would love to get a glimpse of them.  (Most birds are not native, particularly the parrots, but apparently they escaped custody somewhere long ago and there are now flocks of parrots thriving out here...surprisingly).


The birds like their food early in the morning and have taken to pecking at the sliding door when there is none to be had.  Often, I will get birds that sit on the windowsill in the kitchen and also the study on the second floor.  They chirp away, doing a little dance bobbing to and fro, and then cock their heads to the side, look inquiringly at me, as if to say:  "Come on now, where is it today??"


At a lecture from QAWS (Qatar Animal Welfare Society) we were told not to feed wild animals (cats, dogs and birds) every day unless we know it is going to be regular, as they begin to rely on you and then when the food dries up they have a hard time adjusting.  I think this is more a problem with feral cats and dogs - a huuuge!! problem here and not to be discussed by me - I could just sob at the injustice of it all.  Very sad state of affairs. 


In the meantime, I am doing my little bit for the wildlife of Qatar.

'Araak/See you.