A few days ago Mary called to me to come upstairs. She could see billowing clouds of smoke arising from somewhere in town to our south. We wondered if a house of some friend was burning as there seemed to be much more smoke than that we generally see when someone is burning off a pile of brush.
So, I hopped on my bike and went to see if anyone was in danger or needed help.
Even as I approached I could see that the smoke was dying down, so it was no surprise to see the fire-truck and Fremi and Willy (two of our town’s bomberos) were already on site. Bomberos are fire-fighters and I think the word actually means, “pump-men”.
Some men had been burning off a field preparatory to replanting. This is a common occurrence here in Manabí where the farmers machete old plants and weeds and pile them up in rows for burn-off to clear and prepare the fields.
One of the men was assuring Fremi that all was under control. And indeed it did seem that all was okay. After all there was a man in shorts with a stick on one side of the tinder-dry field and another man in similar attire with a stick on the east side to keep the fire from spreading into adjacent fields.
Just to be on the safe side, Fremi sprayed some water along the fence line near the roadway and I went to visit with some of the neighbors who had gathered to watch the fire.
The fields were still smoldering and actively burning in spots and I was surprised to see birds darting in and out of the smoke and roosting on the burning brush.
These birds are called Ani birds and generally travel around in groups of ten to twelve birds. They have a unique flattened beak and are voracious insect eaters. One day I was working with a workman at Jan’s house to clear some brush and these Ani birds were boldly hopping amongst the brush anxiously eating the insects our activity exposed.
The birds would hop along within two or three feet of us as we worked and were rewarded with a feast of bugs for breakfast. Even knowing how bold these birds are, I was surprised to see them get so close to the fires and smoke in search of insects.
I enjoyed watching these birds feast on desayuno de insectos asado (barbecued bugs breakfast!)
Breakfast was served, the Anis were fat and all was well here where…
Life is good in Ecuador!
oh, birds! I saw the title and wondered what kind of breakfast you are having these days 😀
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Ha, Ha! No, even the locals here do not eat insects (maybe indigenous tribes in the Amazon area). What made it weird is how close to the fire the birds were willing to go to grab up their prey! It was pretty amazing in real life.
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