Occasionally we have seen a muntjac deer in the garden, however for the last two weeks we have been privileged to have been visited by a pair.
They are timid, sensitive creatures. The female is lighter in colour than the male. Their ears are surprisingly large and are white-rimmed when seen from the back, although on this female they are white-rimmed from the front also. On the sides of the female there are lighter areas appearing almost, but not quite, dappled.
The male is a richer, deeper brown, and between his ears, just by them, are his horns: tiny, short, fur-covered and unbranched.
It has been a pleasure to watch them contentedly graze on the lawn or browse on the plants or shrubs – yes, they do eat both new shoots and flowers, but the pleasure of having them in the garden more than outweighs this disadvantage.
On two separate days, the female has stayed all day resting under the plum tree and occasionally sauntering out to munch leaves before going back to nestle down and ruminate.
I had hoped to report the first sighting of the cuckoo, but so far no sight or sound. I was saddened to read the Maltese are now fond of hunting them to either kill or cage as pets, which has resulted in a steep decline in their numbers. Malta’s government has moved to stop the illegal hunting, but has not yet been successful.
I’m watching “No Tail” the pigeon with her purple neck fluorescing green in the sun as she sashays along the path – walking without a tail causes a more side to side movement. She is here directly I open the window to feed the birds each morning, leaping on other pigeons to drive them away, but ignoring other birds. Soon though No Tail herself will be chased away by another pigeon or a squirrel.
The mistle thrush have eggs in their nest and are daily being harried by a pair of magpies. They are big birds, larger than their smaller cousins the song thrush, but the magpie is a clever bird and may well succeed in emptying the nest.
The sparrowhawks have been busy. In the last week they have taken a song thrush, a female blackbird and a pigeon. It is very sad when this happens, but we have to remember their behavior is natural and self-preservational.
