I popped in to Serendip Sanctuary the other day. I was the only visitor, which was great. Unfortunately, I couldn't spend much time there so I did a quick tour of the bird hides.Serendip has several lakes that don't dry out. The permanent water—and a supply of nest boxes—encourages water birds. At this spot, the birds were packed in beak by jowl. I saw a little black cormorant, an Australian pelican, yellow-billed spoonbills, straw-necked and white ibis, magpie geese, Pacific black ducks, chestnut teal, dusky moorhens, Eurasian coots and a masked lapwing ...
But that wasn't all. A gang of whistling kites were dining on a dead bird (probably an ibis) and were having disputes with a raven, who wanted its share. They kites were well-mannered enough to take turns. (But not terns.)
The spoonbill was completely unperturbed by the ruckus.
