Plump Wood Pigeons take the fruit

Lorraine and David stood by one of their black currant bushes and pondered “What broke all these branches – maybe a hare or possum pulling them down to eat the currants – how can we tell?

No answers seemed to come in David’s morning contemplation, but as so often happens in contemplation Spirit delivers the answers in more appropriate manner.  So David got up from his contemplations it was Lorraine who said “I know what has been breaking the currant branches – I’ve seen it!”

Lorraine had seen a kereru, our native wood pigeon in the orchard and quietly investigating she saw the wood pigeon taking off from low down just by the currants.

Until then neither of them had seen a wood pigeon browsing branches less than a metre high, let alone on the ground. As Harmony Forest doesn’t have any bushes with such big, and tasty fruits so low down. Now that introduced bushes are bearing fruit, the “Woodies” as they call them, have seen them and come down to have a look, and then to eat.

They might have thought to get away with it, because in talking to the birds, David had focused mostly on the introduced birds, including the blackbirds and thrushes, not thinking the natives were interested.

He had been sending instructions to “All Birds” and now when he does so he make sure that “All” in his mind, includes “natives”; just as he had made sure that “All” included the little birds after seeing one inside the bird-netting he had just put up – thinking mostly at that time to keep out the blackbirds and thrushes.

David says “The animals are just like children. In setting boundaries with children, he has found that he has to be very specific, in his instructions, and to hold love, trust, and respect in mind and heart, as he does so.”

If he speaks with anger in his heart he says “they get out of the way, but then come back as soon, as I’m out of the way”.