All my life I have been enchanted by birds. I would love to think of myself as a "bird watcher" but I'm not nearly knowledgeable nor committed enough to be called that, except at a very incidental level. It doesn't stop my fascination nor love of watching and occasionally identifying one of God's winged creations, however.
Here at Rising Star we are blessed to have very near us a wonderful bird sanctuary. It does not seem to be very well known (I have a hard time remembering it's name--Vedantangal), nor is it very well kept--I'm afraid that's India--but it's wonderful. The birds have returned, including thousands of painted storks, pelicans, ducks, egrets, herons, ibises, cormorants, and dozens of other species. They all live together on mangrove bushes that grow out of putrid-looking water; they nest on the bushes, and we have been privileged to watch the cycle of nest-building, egg-laying, and chick hatching. Then they leave (about April) and don't return until November. At the height of the breeding season there are up to 30,000 birds nesting.
You walk along a tree lined path, looking one way toward the birds, and the other at beautiful rice fields, with women planting and cleaning the fields, then heading home after a long day's work. We watched both--the sun going down over the fields and the moon coming up behind the birds. These are pictures taken last week. In addition to missing Rising Star and all the people when we leave, I will truly miss the birds.
