Birds take up home in postbox
Infrequent delivery provides opportunity
A ROUTINE postbox check gave Durban resident Edwin McKnight an unexpected surprise when he found a bird’s nest and three blue eggs inside.
Depending on the species and material used, it usually takes a few days to two weeks to build a nest.
McKnight, 66, said he made the discovery a week and a half ago.
“I don’t want to disturb the eggs, but what do you do? Do you chuck them out? Some bird is trying to raise children,” McKnight said.
He had seen the birds go through the letter opening to get to the eggs.
“I had to see it to believe it. That’s how it gets in; through the front,” he said.
Now, McKnight guards the eggs. He prevented the postman from disturbing the eggs on Thursday, the day the Daily News spoke to him.
He said finding eggs in his postbox highlighted the Post Office’s inconsistency in distributing post.
“I got post today, but it is not regular,” McKnight said. “I also received two municipal bills, instead of one. I got a whole lot of post at once.”
McKnight has family abroad and usually gets Christmas greetings after Easter.
Johan Kruger, of the communications division at the SA Post Office, said delivery of mail was normal in most KwaZulu-Natal depots since the Post Office had received more vehicles.
“The backlog in the interior of the country is almost completely delivered, and we are confident that we will be able to handle the Christmas volumes,” he said.