King Parrots Swinging

There are floor-to-ceiling windows on the north side of our house on both the first and second floors. The windows give a fabulous view of the trees, but in summer the sun streaming in turns the inside of our home into a sauna. Three years ago, we installed outdoor matchstick blinds along the balcony and first floor deck - and we let them down on hot days. The blinds do a fantastic job of keeping the sun off the windows and decking. They also provide amusement for the wild birds.

Here's the first-floor deck with the blinds down. Remarkably, the wild birds love flying through this "cool tunnel". You'd think they'd avoid it, but they don't.

Y'day I was out on the deck for quite a while, assembling a new BBQ. Stephen came out to help me and while we were working, the birds were assembled to see what we were up to (and, of course, to see if we had any food). The King Parrots in particular were having a ball. They were zooming through the space and at one point smacked us both in the back of the head with their wings when we suddenly stood up.

They are also intrigued with the blinds when they are rolled up. The Rainbow Lorikeets and King Parrots love to climb up and down the cords.



The two birds in the photo above and the one below are quite young (their beaks are dark, which indicates they are youngsters). The one on the right called to me from my office window, clearly wanting me to come outside. I stepped out onto the balcony to find her friend (the bird on the left) hanging on the white rope suspending the planter. The bird had the planter spinning and was having a ball.

I ran inside to get my camera. When I returned, they both flew up to the blinds cord and the bird on the left put on quite a show of swinging on the horizontal cord, flipping upside down, hanging from one foot and so on.



Unfortunately, right after the above photo was taken, the bird on the right leaned down and started gnawing on the cord in earnest. Not wanting the cord severed, I had to shoo these two off. I may have to devise some deterrent to save the blinds (not to mention the plant in the hanging basket, whose leaves show signs of having been "trimmed" sometime today).

WASSUP?

---

• What I’m listening to: "The Thrill is Gone" by BB King
  
• What’s for tea: Chicken Paprikash (baked potato topped with a mild chicken curry and sautee'd mushrooms)
  
• What I’m reading: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
• Wine recommendation: a rose - nicely chilled
  
• What's the season?: summer in Oz, winter in the U.S.