Hornbills in Our Backyard

Trien and I were relaxing on the futon when we heard a strange sort of "laughing" sound coming from behind our apartment. It sounded like some sort of bird. So I got up and opened the louvered window, and there was a pair of hornbills sitting in one of the trees. She yelled,"Quick, Honey, get the camera! Hurry! You run, run run!"

It wasn't hard to grab the camera out of the wardrobe. I tried taking a picture of the pair through the louvers, but it came out all dark and fuzzy.

So I decided the best thing to do was to try to take some shots from the balcony. The only problem was that I wasn't wearing any pants, just a pair of briefs. But Trien kept yelling to run out there before they flew away, and not to worry about wearing pants.

Well, I didn't want our new neighbors to wonder why this strange American guy was running around the balcony all excited, with a camera and no pants on. So I fumbled around trying to put on my pants, with Trien excitedly urging me on. Putting my pants on wasn't as easy as it would seem, because one, I am very clumsy, and two, my back is still hurting me. I did the best I could, but by the time I made it to the balcony, the first hornbill had flown away.

I did manage to get this picture of the remaining one. If you click on the picture, it will enlarge and you can see it in the tree. I managed to get another shot off as it was flying away, probably because my wife was yelling so much.

It flew towards the Lake Gardens, where a few days before I saw a hornbill crashing through the trees. I took a picture then, but had to delete it because the camera was on automatic, and it screwed up the focus and the lighting, showing a dark blurry object in the middle of some medium dark leaves.

They must have a nest close by. That's where I will keep my camera, so hopefully I can get some better shots soon.