I was heading out the door, off to work, just like any other day. Just a normal Wednesday…but nature had other ideas. An unexpected surprise was waiting in my garden.
I took the last few sips of my morning coffee, brushed my teeth, ran a brush through my hair, and headed out the door. As I walked into the humid morning air, I was greeted by a chorus of birds in a tree alongside the house. Well, a chorus is probably not the best way to describe what I heard. They were not musical, and their sounds were aggressive. They sounded more like a thrown-together Euro-vision heavy metal band, where the singers were in the midst of a feud with each other.
Angry birds…
I looked at the tree where the birds were screeching angrily. I couldn’t believe the size of the flock which had gathered. There were probably at least 100 birds scattered throughout two trees alongside each other. Along a dry branch on the one tree, a large flock of White-eared Barbets stood side by side. Around them, other species dotted the tree – Crested Barbet, Black-collared Barbet, House Sparrow, Southern Grey-headed Sparrow, Bronze-backed Mannikins, and a lot more. In a thicker, more lush tree, Olive Sunbirds and more Mannikins had gathered. They sat throughout the tree, propped like cheap leftover Christmas decorations. A Purple-crested Turaco sat still in the tree, oblivious to my presence.
As excited as I was to see such a large flock of birds in my garden, I was also wondering why they were so angry.
I collected my binoculars to look through the flock of birds and to identify which species were there. I scanned through the flock and identified the birds one at a time.
As I got to the thicker tree to identify the birds, I got a glimpse of a beautiful, yet potentially deadly sight. Slithering through the top of the tree was a reptile species whose bright green coloration was something to behold. I was both excited and scared. My heart was beating just a little bit faster. The reptile that was causing the disturbance was a Green Mamba.
The Green Mamba is classed as a highly venomous snake. The African Snakebite Institute notes the following about the species; 'A bright green snake that in South Africa inhabits coastal KZN and is usually only found within a few kilometers of the sea...The Green Mamba spends most of its life in dense coastal vegetation and moist woodlands where it hunts for tree-living mammals as well as birds during the day. Its venom is potentially neurotoxic but may also cause swelling. Antivenom is effective but bites are quite rare.'
Now that I had seen this special garden sighting, I ran inside to get my camera, while at the same time phoning the other people on the property to make them aware of the mamba’s presence.
Once I had my camera, I moved closer to the tree in which the snake was to get a better view of the action. All around the snake, the birds noisily formed an angry circle – jumping around and telling the slithering serpent just how much they hated him.
At first, I couldn’t see the snake, but then its head showed. In its venomous fangs, it was gripping a dead White-eared Barbet. What was amazing was how big the bird was in comparison to the size of the snake's head. It seemed like it would be a good breakfast for the snake.
It's always exciting to see how nature coexists alongside us. If we take the time to listen and observe in our day-to-day lives, we may just be surprised at what we get to see. This interaction I had with the snake lasted no longer than 10 minutes – I sadly had to rush off to work. But the time with nature in my garden had made the day just a little more interesting. We can wait for those ‘big travel adventures’ that we all love to do. Or while we wait, we can invite nature into our day-to-day lives, turning them into little adventures that we won’t forget easily.
Who would have thought that one of the most interesting birding moments for 2024 so far would have happened not more than a few meters from my front door in Amanzimtoti?
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