Isis and Osiris

[Karl-G]

I am not really a birder, but when I moved into this condo on a golf course, I couldn't help but notice the ibises, wood storks, Muscovy Ducks, great and small herons, blue and white herons, and egrets, in addition to all the iguanas. Some months after I moved in, I looked out one day and saw two beautiful ducks/geese, which I had not seen before. They were medium in size, with light tan bodies, wings with dark brown, white, and black feathers, a ring of chestnut color around the eyes, and long slender necks. They walked with a fine upright carriage. They were very handsome birds.

 

After I checked, I learned they were Egyptian Geese, originally from the Nile Valley. I named them Osiris and Isis and would see them now and then.

 

In early July of this summer, Isis and Osiris appeared on the golf course outside my window one Sunday morning with two fuzzy round little chicks! When I looked them up, it said they mate for life and raise the young together. And sure enough, from then on, every few days I would see Isis and Osiris and the two kids walking on the golf course or swimming in a pool. They were always together as a family. They are essentially land birds and don't do a lot of flying.

 

Two weeks ago I was out walking, and the family of geese was right next to the walking path and not at all afraid. The parents are identical in size and color, although often the male is slightly larger than the female. You can only tell them apart by their vocalizations - he hisses (although I have never heard Osiris hiss), and she cackles very loudly. Isis cackles a great deal if you get too close to the youngsters. I think people are feeding them, because the young ones came very close to me and looked up expectantly.

 

So I named the kids Ramses and Nefertiti. They are the same size and color, but different in personality. Ramses always leads and seems quite the extrovert and ready for adventure. Nefertiti follows and walks very gracefully and demurely. This morning when I met them down by the river, Ramses and Nefertiti have taken on the coloration of adults now; their bodies are light tan and their beautiful wings have dark brown, white, and black feathers. Their heads and necks look like they need to grow some more. The parents' necks are long and slender; the kids have much shorter necks and (thus far) smaller heads. The family is a delight to watch.

 

Meanwhile, The Squawker is growing up. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the ibises around here are white. But about a month ago, starting at 3:00 a.m. there was the most awful crying out by the river for over two hours. At first it sounded like a lost baby, but eventually you could tell it was a bird. This went on for three mornings and was a real nuisance. Then when I was out for my walk, I came upon The Squawker. There he was, by the river, squawking his head off. I decided to wait and see if anything happened. He looked like an ibis, but he had speckled brown and white and grey feathers. That usually means they are young, and the adult feathers have not come in yet. In about five minutes, another ibis, dark brown and very beautiful, swooped down along the river and landed near The Squawker. He ran over and immediately shut up. They took off, she flying gacefully and with little effort, and he flapping his wings like crazy to stay up. Then he had great trouble landing on a tree branch.

 

For another week or two, the squawking continued although gradually decreasing. It was apparently an adolescent being told to leave home and get a job. And he didn't like it. But his mother insisted, and he gradually made friends with some white ibises. His feathers gradually changed until he also was a dark, glossy brown. I saw him yesterday for the first time in several weeks. He doesn't squawk anymore; he flies very well; and he seems to have found several other brown ibises, two of them with the speckled youthful feathers. I hope he finds a group of dark brown ibises he can join; he really sticks out in a flock of white ibises. They are "Glossy Ibises," with dark brown and black feathers.

[Guest zipperzone]

Karl: You write very well - it was a delight to read your thoughtful post.

[edjames]

I have the same experiences at my condo! Everytime I go down there it's like a trip into the National Geographic magazine. At night, it's like a jungle with all the frogs and other creatures making a racket outside the front door. Once we had a rather large alligator in the pond during mating season and he roared each and every night for about a week! We get a lot of eagles, osprey, red tailed hawks, and turkey vultures flying around overhead, too. It's all well and good for a few days and then I desperately miss NYC and can't wait to get back!

 

Ed

[Guest zipperzone]

You have alligators in the pond and you go down there at night? Why? Wanting to me a midnight snack, no doubt:)

[+ purplekow]

>You have alligators in the pond and you go down there at

>night? Why? He's into leather

I have never seen a purplekow;

I never hope to see one;

I can tell you anyhow;

I'd rather see than be one

 

Help there is a purplekow in my mirror

[eeyore]

As always Karl, it's a pleasure to read your posts.