Crop:
In the intense brightness of mid-morning a hundred openbill storks floating the skies can easily go unnoticed. People outside keep their eyes down and angle towards the shade. But it is always a pleasure to see dozens of storks spiralling up a thermal so I squint upwards to look for them as they save energy by catching the updraft of the same air flow that builds the clouds.
Before I got to know these thermalling storks I assumed they just went upwards but the thermal actually traverses the land along with the greater mass of air so the spiralling storks often drift directly over our house as they are gaining height. If I notice them I stop whatever I am doing and watch in appreciation. Perhaps yearning a little for their kind of airy freedom. Such large birds soaring along graceful arcs and doing so effortlessly without a wingbeat. It would be like walking without having to step. I particularly love the way they are helping me visualise the air currents.
Full image:
Yesterday I mentioned that the inspiration for most of my artworks does not come from the wildlife around me but more from television and long-held memories but this one is an exception. The storks rarely actually visit our garden but in sharing the airspace above us they are definitely a part of our home. And they were even a welcome regular sight over Bangkok when I lived there with an enormous breeding colony at a temple just one hour's bicycle ride away from home. Unfortunately, the colony disappeared during the first bird flu outbreak, presumably encouraged to leave by the people living very close to them.
The openbill stork has an interesting story in Thailand. They used to migrate to Thailand's central plains area annually from India but the explosion of the enormous non-native apple snails throughout Thailand's paddy-fields has meant that the storks have now spread to all parts of the country. They are also much more common and stay all year. Their mandibles, which do not meet in the middle (hence the name 'openbill'), are perfectly designed for catching and holding on to these snails.
The background photo from the same old corrugated metal fence that I have photographed a lot recently is not the most inspiring piece of weathering but still holds a lot of the fascinating little detail that I love. The curling of the large paint-flakes is particularly appealing.
If your viewing screen is large enough you can probably see which part of the fence this photograph comes from.
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