This week, sick in bed, I worked on my finca bird list. Starting with the banana birds the ones that come to the bananas. Our birds usually eat about 300 bananas a week, with a little help from fruit bats at night.
Here in Panama if you are alive; You eat bananas. Hikers, workers, dogs, horses, squirrels, our rabbit and so the list goes on, all eat bananas. If in doubt offer a banana. If you are a fancy sort of person you eat special varieties like the sweet lady finger or the cinnamon flavored apple banana. If you are a regular person or mammal, any type of sweet banana will do. If you are a bird or insect you will gobble plantain bananas and the sweetness seems to make no difference. This entire country is fueled by banana and must be made mostly of banana. Food for thought. I move on before I get myself into trouble........
Newcomers are slow to accept this universal truth, after all, it is not the same where we come from. My personal trainer here in the mountains told me when she first came she tried feeding the birds breadcrumbs, total failure. I have tried to feed a horse a carrot to no avail. Nothing here, except humans who shop at Pricemart, will eat an apple.
So, here is my list of birds eating bananas on the finca this week. I also include other birds that I could see from my bedroom window like the humming birds on the mysore vine, doves and sparrows scratching about in the grass, even a couple of nocturnal fly catchers that hunt bugs attracted to my night lights.
Highlights included a rare white lined tananger and his mate and three bird moms/mums bringing their babies to feast on the banana. The red-legged honey creeper with her two babies; The buff throated salator with hers and a poor thrush that is raising an imposter cow bird that is already bigger than she is. The male red legged honey creepers have lost their breeding plumage in the last two weeks. I wonder if it is as traumatic for these birds as it is for men to go bald and they do it every year.
Yes, there is drama out there on the bananas. If only we understood what they are saying.
Here in Panama if you are alive; You eat bananas. Hikers, workers, dogs, horses, squirrels, our rabbit and so the list goes on, all eat bananas. If in doubt offer a banana. If you are a fancy sort of person you eat special varieties like the sweet lady finger or the cinnamon flavored apple banana. If you are a regular person or mammal, any type of sweet banana will do. If you are a bird or insect you will gobble plantain bananas and the sweetness seems to make no difference. This entire country is fueled by banana and must be made mostly of banana. Food for thought. I move on before I get myself into trouble........
Newcomers are slow to accept this universal truth, after all, it is not the same where we come from. My personal trainer here in the mountains told me when she first came she tried feeding the birds breadcrumbs, total failure. I have tried to feed a horse a carrot to no avail. Nothing here, except humans who shop at Pricemart, will eat an apple.
So, here is my list of birds eating bananas on the finca this week. I also include other birds that I could see from my bedroom window like the humming birds on the mysore vine, doves and sparrows scratching about in the grass, even a couple of nocturnal fly catchers that hunt bugs attracted to my night lights.
Highlights included a rare white lined tananger and his mate and three bird moms/mums bringing their babies to feast on the banana. The red-legged honey creeper with her two babies; The buff throated salator with hers and a poor thrush that is raising an imposter cow bird that is already bigger than she is. The male red legged honey creepers have lost their breeding plumage in the last two weeks. I wonder if it is as traumatic for these birds as it is for men to go bald and they do it every year.
Yes, there is drama out there on the bananas. If only we understood what they are saying.
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