Bird Life

After living in a city for 5 years, I have almost forgotten about bird life.  Yes, we do have birds in the city – 100’s and 1000’s of pidgeons, doves and of course the little sparrows, but I’m talking about some more colourful and exotic bird life.  On our recent visit to the property in Uruguay we saw so many different varieties.   Here are just a few that are on the property.

In this post I’m going to share a bit of info about the   Rufous Hornero

The Rufous Hornero (Furnarius rufus) is a medium-sized ovenbird in the family furnariidae.  It occurs in eastern South America, and is the national bird in Argentina and Uruguay. Also known as the Red Ovenbird, it is common in savannas, second-growth scrub, pastures and agricultural land.

The Rufous Hornero is medium-sized with a square tail and very slightly decurved bill. Its plumage is not very exciting, it is overall reddish brown with a dull brown crown and a whitish throat. Sexes are alike and juvenile birds are slightly paler below (probably because they are cleaner). Rufous Horneros feed on  insects and other  arthropods obtained by foraging on the ground while walking. They sometimes feed on scraps such as bread crumbs. Songs in the Rufous Hornero are sexually distinct. The rapid trill that is usually heard as part of the duet is faster in the male, slower in the female, and both beat their wings at their sides while singing and the wings beat at the same rate as their trill. Thus, while watching an observer may identify the sex by how fast their wings beat while singing.

Predators of adult and young Rufous Horneros include birds of prey such as the Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle small mammals, domestic cats, and a number of species of snakes and possibly lizards. However, its covered nest probably reduces predation risk.

The nest of the Rufous Hornero is a common sight in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay

The Rufous Hornero breeds in the summer, laying eggs between August and December, raising nestlings soon after, and the young may stay in their natal territory until the following breeding season. The species is monogamous and the pair bond is long term, sometimes for life. The nest of the species is typical for the genus, a large thick clay “oven” placed on a tree, or man- made structures such as fence posts, telephone poles or buildings.

Oven bird nest on top of a sign post.

Pairs remain together throughout the year and will work on the nest during that time; nests can be constructed in as little as 5 days but usually take longer, occasionally months, to complete. A clutch generally contains two to four eggs. The eggs are laid every second day and incubated for 14–18 days. Chicks are fed for 23–26 days before fledging; young birds remain in the parental territory for around 6 months after fledging and sometimes until the following breeding season. Both parents incubate eggs and feed the young. Horneros may or may not reuse nests, therefore it is quite common to see several nests close to each other (or even atop older nests) at the same nesting site. However, a formerly unused nest may be repaired for a new breeding season.

Why Eco Building?

The concept of using what is available to build shelters is as old as mankind itself. With the current shortage of affordable housing worldwide and the increase in non biodegradable garbage, the only sensible action is to build using plastic and other garbage that is drowning our planet.

It starts with an empty plastic bottle and ends with a house. The eco brick concept was started by Andreas Froose when he realized how many plastic bottles were being used and then dumped every day. Plastic bottles are filled with clean plastic garbage and other waste until  full and strong enough to stand on. If plastic waste is not available sand can be used. The eco bricks are then used instead of conventional bricks but using normal building techniques with cement or adobe. They are low cost, non brittle, bio climatic and easy to use.

 Houses, water tanks, schools and community centers are being built.

Green houses are built using plastic bottles and at a fraction of the cost of glass or green house sheets.

Glass bottles, aluminum cans and old car tires are also used in construction.

Our idea is to build a community centre using only garbage or re cycled materials, using adobe instead of cement and a having a living roof  instead of using sheet metal.

We will use solar power and wind power to pump water and provide electricity. Our water tank will be made from eco bricks but we will need to buy a solar powered pump to pump the water from the borehole/well on the property to the tank. All toilets will be water free eco toilets that cost so much less than conventional toilets.

Please have a look at the highlighted  links  for more information and join us by following this blog, sending information and sharing your ideas about eco building, work on the project as a volunteer or donating as little as US$ 5.

 

Making Jam

One of the things that I’m really looking forward to when living in Uruguay and growing our own produce is making jam. I’m not sure why making jam makes me feel so creative????  Perhaps it’s the process of making a whole new product from a few simple ingredients.  Yesterday, when I went down to our local veggie store, I noticed that they were selling jam tomatoes for a really good price and I bought a kilo.   This jam is so easy to make and really delicious served with cheese or meat.  It has a wonderful sweet hot flavour.

To make 4 bottles of jam, you will need:

1 kg jam tomatoes (sometimes they are also called pear or roma tomatoes)

1kg white granulated sugar

2 granny smith apples.

juice of 1 lemon

a piece of ginger the size of your thumb

chillis (I usually make a medium strength jam and add 4-5 serranos)

• wash the tomatoes and then cut them into quarters.
• peel and grate the apples.
• peel and then slice the ginger into matchstick thin slices.
• juice the lemon.
• chop up chillis.
• add all these ingredients into a large pot.
• add the sugar, and give it all a good stir to mix it up.
• leave to stand for 30 minutes.
• stir it all again, and then put your pot on the stove  at a medium – high heat.
• keep stirring, you don’t want it to stick to the bottom of the pot.
• the mix will need to come to the boil.
• stirring occasionally.
• the mix will thicken up and when it starts to look like jam you can remove it from the stove. (usually 45 minutes)
• to sterilize the jars fill them with boiling water.  Empty the water.
• they are now ready to be filled.
• spoon in the jam.  Be careful as the mixture is really hot.
• clean the tops of the jars with a wet cloth before putting on the lids.
• once the lids are on, stand the jars upside down until they are cold.
• jam is now ready to serve…

Enjoy!