Welcomed a very special guest into the garden today. This is a native wood pigeon, kereru, feeding on the holly berries on my tree. I have never, ever seen one in my suburb before, although there are about twenty living in the Botanic Gardens in the middle of town. I thought I heard him the other day, they have a very distinctive wing-sound, a soft whooshing noise, but couldn't see him (or her) anywhere. Today I went out in the garden, and there he was, on top of the telegraph pole outside. I went in to get my camera, knowing the bird would have flown by the time I got back, and yes, it had, but much to my surprise and delight he had gone around the back of the house to feast on the holly berries. Thomas was as awestruck as I; I don't think he's ever seen such a large bird before. Usually these birds are not seen here at all, preferring areas forested in native trees. They play an important role in dispersing the seeds; some seeds of native species will not germinate unless they've been passed through the gut of a kereru first.
Reading Joy Larckom's book of memoirs and newspaper articles 'Just vegetating' at the moment. Joy was one of the people who changed our way of vegetable growing. In 1976-77, she went on a round-Europe tour in a caravan with her husband and two small children, visiting vegetable growers who were still saving the traditional seeds and gardening in a traditional manner. She was responsible for widening the 'seed vocabulary' of the English vegetable garden, introducing all kinds of new vegetables and varieties that hadn't been used in English gardens before, and advocating an organic approach and the adoption of closer cultivation methods, intercropping and companion planting. She has a very engaging writing style, and you share with her the sense of excitement at discovering new plants and techniques. It's one of those books you can dip into, reading just one article or several that take your interest as you please. Inspirational and recommended for re-energising winter gardening reading.
Ooh on both counts. That is a beautiful bird. Pigeons (whatever the variety) are, I think, sadly underrated birds. The irridescence on their feathers is so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAnd the book sounds most excellent too. Thank you.