As most of you know, I’m not a birder. What I know about birds rivals what I know about plants. Here’s what I know about plants. There are four kinds; trees, bushes, grass and flowers. Some are pretty, some aren’t. They are usually green but not always. The way I can tell a weed from a flower is that the one I pull up, trying to be helpful, is a flower.

Likewise with birds, there are big birds, small birds, and medium sized birds. Most of them fly, and most of them are pretty. Like people, the size and shape of their beaks vary. Most importantly, when you are in the ninth grade holding a milk shake in the school lunch area a seagull will fly over and poop in the cup. And that is pretty much it.

However, here in Kenya we are constantly surrounded by a huge variety of different birds. They vary in size, color, beaks, and shapes. So perhaps I should re-evaluate my opinion.

I’m posting a bunch of photos of birds that Anne and I have taken. I’ve included comments that I think the birds in the photos might be making and their name, either their actual name (in a few cases) or what I call them for lack of knowledge of their actual name.

Enjoy, and if you want to give me the correct name, feel free.

“Is it 6:30 am yet? Let’s go over and pound our beaks on John and Anne’s window.” — Quit Pecking on My Damn Window Bird

Saturday morning we got up to a steady rain. It had been raining all night long and looked to continue. ”John! It’s 7:30, let’s get ready. We’re going to visit Bush Adventures in Laparua this morning.” We began to scurry about when three things happened simultaneously; Rehema walked in, the computer dinged that we had an e-mail, and the phone rang.

All carried the message, “Don’t go anywhere.” The roads were saturated. We were likely to get stuck and even if we didn’t, driving would ruin the roads, creating deep ruts and potholes. We figured that if Adrian, the Lewa logistics manager, cared enough to e-mail, phone, and relay a message through the grounds keeper and Rehema, he was serious.

It’s raining.