Our garden's not much of a bird haven. Too many cats. We get a few blue jays, which are unremarkable; they look sort of like fat blue tits. Flocks of macaws fly overhead now and again. Sometimes, they all settle in a tree and do some screeching. Same in my last house, where this one was taken.
The macaws and the jays are quite common here. The other two species that you see regularly are ibises and turkey vultures. The ibises strut around everywhere. The mascot of the University of Miami is an ibis.
The vultures are normally way up in the thermals. You sometimes see them on the ground squabbling over roadkill, and you realise that they're very big birds indeed. The first football league I played in here was held on some pitches in the middle of a golf course, so there was lots of open space, and the vultures flew lower, circling above the playing area. There's something disconcerting about running yourself into the ground in 30 degree heat, feeling like you might die quite soon, with scavengers floating about above you ready to descend when you drop.In other wildlife news, manatees have been spotted on campus. I'm on the lookout for them, and also for a good alligator photo; I never have a camera when I see one. Watch this space.
