In Touch With Nature – African’s most unusual bird of prey – Ode to a Secretary Bird #southernafricanwildlife #birds #poetry

During our recent trip of Babanango Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, we had a good sighting of a secretary bird roosting in a tree. That sighting prompted the creation of this poem which tells you all about this fascinating bird.

Ode to a Secretary Bird

My mouth smiles, a grin spreading from ear to ear

When I spy the Secretary Bird perched in a tree

It looks around, hoping its favourite food will appear

A slithering snake its equivalent of scones and tea

An eagle type body perched atop legs like a crane

Giving it a height of up to 1.3 meters; tall for a bird

Crazy feather spikes surround its face – a bad hair day

Or does it think it’s a lion with a shaggy black mane

During a courting ritual, its frog-like call is heard

The rest of the year, a calm silence holds sway

Picture caption: Secretary bird with its black crest up. Picture by Robbie Cheadle

***

Breeding usually takes place once in a year

During spring and summer when food is plentiful

The male helps to incubate the eggs, he’s quite a dear

Mating with one female for life, he’s also faithful

Preferring to stay grounded, it will fly if it must

Legs sticking out behind it in a ridiculous way

Outside of mating or nesting, it does its thing alone

When it needs to run, you only see a cloud of dust

With a wingspan of two metres, it creates a great display

Living out its life within a fifty square kilometre zone

Picture caption: Secretary bird stretching in an acacia tree. Picture by Robbie Cheadle

***

Grey tailcoat and dark knee-length pants its claim

To male secretary status – it even has goose-quill pens

Carried behind its ears, the combined cause of its name

Also called ‘Devil’s horse’ by its traditional African friends

In honour of the great speed at which it hunts its prey

Including reptiles, amphibians, and mammals like rats

And venomous snakes which it beats to death on the ground

Popular due to their diet, people encourage them to stay

At keeping land free of vermin, they’re better than cats

Once they were numerous, but they no longer abound

Picture caption: Secretary bird in an acacia tree. Picture by Robbie Cheadle

***

This bird’s endangered classification mankind’s great shame

Along with its relatives, buzzards, vultures, and harriers

The fault of human greed and selfishness, nothing else to blame

I’m grateful some are protected behind fences and barriers

An important feature in the South African coat of arms

It’s chest a protea, also endangered or vulnerable to extinction

Powerful legs formed by a crossed knobkierie and long spear

Symbolism as the protector of the nation one of its many charms

You’d expect its status to afford it a measure of distinction

The loss of this messenger of the heavens not something people fear

A fascinating YT video featuring a secretary bird (not my video):

About Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Roberta Eaton Cheadle, is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.

Roberta has two published novels and a collection of short stories and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories included in several anthologies. She is also a contributor to the Ask the Authors 2022 (WordCrafter Writing Reference series).

Roberta is also the author and illustrator of sixteen children’s books, illustrator to a further three children’s books, and the author and illustrator of three poetry books published under the name of Robbie Cheadle, and has poems and short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

Roberta’s blog features discussions about classic books, book reviews, poetry, and photography. https://roberta-writes.com/.

Find Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Blog: https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/robbiecheadle.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Roberta-Eaton-Cheadle/e/B08RSNJQZ5

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This segment of “In Touch with Nature” is sponsored by the Midnight Anthology Series and  WordCrafter Press .

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