Today I was walking down Route 6A when I heard what I thought were some loud birds. Getting closer to the sound I started to imagine that it was actually heavy machinery – this time of year there is a lot of repair work done on people’s summer homes in Barnstable. It turned out the mysterious sound was indeed being made by birds.Â
Looking at them I had no idea what they were. They were big enough to be turkeys, but shaped more like very large fat doves with beautiful coloration. I tried to get a photo on my cell phone but the minute I got closer their boisterous cries turned into scared peeps. As they crouched behind some flowers hoping I wouldn’t notice them, I decided to leave them alone. They were quite unusual looking, and they seemed very much out of place running around the manicured lawn of a historic old home.
I researched them online just now – and it turns out I that what I saw was two Guineafowl. I would not have even known about that species if a friend hadn’t told me he was raising them. He uses them to control ticks on the private island he maintains off Cape Cod. These birds are native to Africa, but increasingly bred here. It’s possible the two I came across were at one time owned by someone but became feral. They were unexpectedly beautiful, and their loud squawking made me feel like I was in a much wilder place.
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