At the Bali Bird Park, there’s a designated area for visitors to interact with the resident birds on a more personal level. The routine goes something like this: the park handler puts a bird on the visitor’s arm. A photo is snapped. Everyone moves on. Please drive thru. But, it’s amazing how far a five dollar tip goes at this park…
They allowed me to hold several varieties of birds, and at one point, six large birds were perched on me. Thankfully, none of them had any business to take care of. Especially the parrot seated on top of my head.
They also provided me the opportunity to feed a few birds. One particular bird felt especially friendly and decided to take a peanut right from between my front teeth! That was a first for me.
Gimme that peanut, chump
That's a big beak
Finally, outside the confines of the visitor experiential area, something interesting happened. As I walked down one of the walking paths a mischievous, white bird just above me caught my eye. We had a quick ‘moment’ and he looked at me as if saying “put your hand out… I’ll hop on it. Let’s be friends”. Given the size of his beak coupled with the location in the park, I felt somewhat apprehensive. But I stretched my arm out anyway.
A few minutes later we were best of friends. But he almost seemed more interested in my shiny watch and glasses. I was used!
Tug of war
