“THAR THEY FLY!”
With Ibuki (息吹) out practicing her fighter-jet moves, we have to keep our eyes peeled if we’re going to catch the next stages in her life.
Ah, “There they fly! They’re… coming in!”
And parents and child always rendezvous at or near the nesting site.
“MOM’S GOT A FISH!”
Ibuki’s mum (or dad, it’s hard to tell which!) was carrying a fish!
“OVER HERE MUM!”
Like no other chick before her, Ibuki 息吹 has decided her birth tree, a kukui-nut tree, is a sub-standard tree. She prefers the larger, leafier tree over the lower playground’s big sandbox.
And that’s where she wanted mum to feed her.
But mum couldn’t find a spot to feed Ibuki.
(Ibuki 息吹 hasn’t learned yet that… yes… parents do know how to choose good trees.)
“HOW ‘BOUT HERE MUM?”
Ibuki 息吹 next chose the top of one of the play structures.
Mum did try to feed baby where baby wanted to be fed.
But… ‘twas a windy day, and mum just couldn’t maintain her foothold.
(White tern parents do know a thing about choosing good trees for their offspring.)
Mum got blown off.
“OVER HERE DARLING IBUKI”
Mum then landed in Ibuki’s birth tree, about 10 meters away.
Mum then waited… called to Ibuki 息吹… waited some more…
Meanwhile, Ibuki 息吹 didn’t budge. Not— one— centimeter—
Even dad couldn’t get stubborn Ibuki 息吹 to flutter over to the kukui-nut tree.
“CHILDREN!”
After a time, mum decided the stubborn, picky child needed to eat. (That, or she was getting tired of carrying a dead fish around.)
Mum may another attempt at a landing atop the play structure.
Success!
And— Ibuki was left with a big fish swallow!
“IBUKI’S GOING TO EAT THE GECKO!”
1G was on hand to witness the feeding. (COVID restrictions necessitated 2G stay at snack break in the St. Francis Garden.)
No sooner had 1G arrived than they spotted a juvenile Gold Dust Day Gecko below Ibuki 息吹. They were convince the gecko was a goner!
I think Ibuki 息吹 was a little snooty about the gecko. A bubble coming out of her feathery head seemed to say, “I only eat fresh-caught sashimi. In fact, I am 100% made of fish.”
TIME FOR A SUNBATH
Then Ibuk 息吹i, belly full and mum and dad off fishing for her again, settled down for a nice sun bath.
