Saturday 4^th June (Around the World Birding in Eight Hours)

Mr. Kite looked out of The Joint window and watched a Night Heron fly past. Another good start to a warm and sunny day.

Mr. Kite had a plan for the day. Mr. Kite and His Lady were taking shank’s pony for a world tour stopping at every continent to watch birds.

Just before eleven o’clock Mr. Kite stopped to watch Magpies, Jackdaws and Wood Pigeon before entering Parc des Oiseaux at Villars-les-Doombes for the ‘world tour’. Now Mr. Kite and His Lady and shank’s pony paid twenty-two euros for the tour.

Heading towards North America Mr. Kite had time to spot a few Caribbean Flamingos before the Vultures from North America. Heading south to South America there were Argentine Blue-billed Duck, Humboldt Penguins and Condor.

Reaching Australia Mr. Kite and His Lady took shank’s pony into a cage where Wallabies bounced nearby and Pied Cormorants fished and Budgies flew along with doves, pigeons and House Sparrows.

From Australia shank’s pony soon took Mr. Kite and His Lady to Asia to watch Cranes, Java Sparrows and other exotica. The tour was in full flight with Toucans, Pelicans and Macaws making an appearance.

With time rushing by it was now Africa where Mr. Kite and His Lady saw many species of Hornbill, monstrous Ostrich and more ducks. By this time other people could be seen on the world birding tour wearing blue hats with birds embroided onto them. At six euros Mr. Kite was to mean to buy one. Whilst other ‘birders’ on this world tour sat in the cafes to eat and drink Mr. Kite treated His Lady to egg sandwiches and a flask of coffee that he had prepared earlier.

Soon Mr. Kite was leaving Africa to return to the birds of Villars-les-Doombes; the herons, storks and egret. In this smelly cage Mr. Kite and His Lady had close views of the heronry.

Besides the ‘bird-spotting’ Mr. Kite was pleased to see that The Parc had recognized the brilliant distorted paintings of birds by John James Audubon made to fit onto a standard sized piece of canvas and Jan Brueghels paintings of common birds.

Mr. Kite also noted that the Lesser Rhea was also called Nandovde Darwin. Is that of interest? Yes, as Darwin also resided in Shropshire.

Anyway after ‘the world tour’ where Mr. Kite spotted more than ‘two hundered lifers’ and bringing his year list now to well over five hundred, including the stuffed museum species it was now time to return to The Joint for a celebratory drink.

Mr. Kite had a tipple of one of his favourite Belgian Beers. Leffe Ruby. Cheers from Mr Kite as he writes up his birding list for the year.