healingwords: poetry for the soul

I took this photograph in February at the Marjal near Pego. The rice paddies were flooded and birds dotted the waters in a feeding frenzy. I imagine the rice growing will go ahead as it as an essential food resource however the walkers, dog walkers, bird watchers and nature lovers will not be there to see  the weekly change in the habitat as the wild flowers cover the canal banks and the rice plants start to green the paddies.                                                      © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

I love watching the birds at the Marjal marshes near Pego. The rice paddies and the rivers and canals that feed them are home to many water birds, including egrets, herons and more recently ibis. I rarely catch the herons and egrets feeding, more often than not they are standing still, perched on one leg, like statues in the marsh, flapping into the sky when disturbed. Today they were wading the flooded fields, pecking in the mud with spiked beaks.  © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.