Kookaburra's Visit

I am linking a video in an attempt to make this blog slightly more interesting as I am guilty of partially neglecting it. It is of a young kookaburra that was perching on some bamboo on the back deck/balcony of my home. Some common birds in my backyard got very territorial and tried to ward it off. They succeeded eventually. (Sorry for the poor pic quality, as this was shot in low resolution. )

I am hooked on Aussie...

.. birds. Not Aussie blokes. Birds. You heard it right. I just bought this bird calls cd and it sounds awesome, Subhanallah. There are like 50+ bird calls on the cd and when I turned it on during the weekend, dh asked what is that sound as it sounds like the jungle. I told him it is a new cd I bought. He said I should get one for my dad who is also a nature buff. How come they don't have bird calls or nature cds made and sold in Malaysia? I mean it beats all the new artistes with regrettably no looks , no personality and no talent cds on sale.

Documenting Native Birds

While I was googling the net the other day, dh thought I was doing something on my blog again and gave a passing remark that "no one would read your blog coz people are only interested at looking at photos". So I had an assignment for him to do when we went to the Botanical Gardens. He was to photograph "native birds" with his digicam so that I could put it up on my blog. Maybe a pic of the colourful rainbow lorikeets , a white ibis or even a kookaburra if we're lucky enough to spot one.
We arrived there half an hour before closing time. Dh had to drive up the hill to get something at the cafe for kiddies so I went in first with dd and baby. We walked to our favourite spot near the lake and did some bird spotting. I was equipped with a pair of compact binoculars to look at birds up on the trees. There were also many mandarin ducks on the lake , maybe 50 or more. When dh arrived , it was 5 minutes to closing and the caretaker was on his way to close the sidegate. He suggested that we could take a walk in the gardens but would have to exit the main entrance later so we followed his recommendation. I insisted dh take photos of the ducks near the pond. Unfortunately, the ducks were calling it a day too, some of them curling their necks and nestling their heads on their bodies to keep warm against the evening breeze. They are not in any mood to have their pic snapped! Wait a minute! Mandarin ducks are not native birds to Australia alone as they are found all over the world. I guess we would have to call it a day too and find another time to take pics for a photo blog.

The Birds Glorify their Creator

Do you not see that everyone in the heavens and earth glorifies Allah, as do the birds with their outspread wings? Each one knows its prayer and glorification. Allah knows what they do. (Qur'an, 24:41)

I recently noticed this phenomenon of the birds glorifying their Creator . From living in the city centre next to a busy road in KL for many years where all I could hear was the noisy traffic going pass by each morning, to a quiet metropolitan suburb in Oz, I suddenly became aware of the dawn chorus where the many types of birds start singing to glorify their Creator, in some sort of unison each daybreak. In other words, it suddenly dawn on me, pun intended.

Their glorification of Allah was magnified further in Ramadan as we were required to wake up before fajar, earlier than usual for our sahur. Subhanallah (Glory be to God). There were all kinds of birds singing in all sorts of fashion. I couldn't tell you their names in correlation to their voice, being no bird expert, however, I could tell you the chorus was sweet and surreal . If in Kuala Lumpur, one could hear the muezzin call to fajar prayers echoing into the new day, Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar, Ashadul anla ilaha illallah, also signifying that the time of fasting has begun for the day when no food and water should be consumed until sunset; then in Oz, it is the birds who start the day with their melodious tasbih and tahmid, glorifying and praising Allah at dawn that could only symbolise this. They continue to do their salah (prayer) for perhaps an hour or so until the sun rises completely out in the sky, Subhanallah! My own ablution and fajar prayer pales in comparison to them lasting only 5-10 minutes every morning, if only I could do more when I say Inna salati wanusuki mahyaya wamamati lillahi rabbi alamin. They do not seem to tire in glorifying their Creator each morning Subhanallah. If birds can remember their prayers and glorification to their Creator, then why is it that man lacks remembrance? .

Link to Dawn Chorus