on her roof and garden.
He first appeared in the year 1998 and last Spring came back
with a mate. They made a nest on her roof. She has been
feeding them with her back door with pieces of cheese and
meat.
A baby was born last Spring and has now grown to a fair
size. The baby has speckled brown and white feathers unlike
the pure white feathers of the older birds. My friend hoped
that when the baby had grown to full size they would all fly
away and return to getting their food from the sea, but this
has not happened.
I saw the adult male knocking his very long beak continually
against the French Windows in my friend's sitting-room. This
makes quite a disturbing noise and my friend often draws the
curtains so that she cannot be seen until the bird desists. I
had not seen these brilliant yellow beaks at such close
quarters before.
This bird had been fed five minutes ago but was not
satisfied. We were hoping he would go away and catch
something for himself.
Unlike small birds, it would be imprudent to feed these from
the hand, so my friend leaves their food on a brick wall
surrounding her garden. As the slates on the roof of the
house have been damaged, nests on the roof would not be
encouraged by most people, but my friend has become very fond
of them.
Joan Hughes 1999
