Our New Pet!

Okay, so it's not officially a pet, per se, but we are having regular visits from the neighborhood Kookaburra. He flew right up to our back patio recently, and after trying crackers, cookies and some other odds and ends flew off without eating a thing.  The following day I caught up with some of my Aussie girlfriends and asked them if it was common for them to pop in for a snack.  They said no, but they thought the birds ate mince (ground beef) and other raw meats.  Say no more, we stopped by the store on the way home from the park and, sure enough, later that day Mr. Kookaburra was back. He gobbled up the raw mince and some raw chicken, but passed on the hot dogs and cooked hamburger patty.  Here are a few pictures of our new friend. Since then he's made numerous, sometimes daily visits to the Heitzmann patio, and we are glad for it.  How cool is it to have a semi-tame bird eating out of your hand?