Durban - When an eManzimtoti couple found a tiger-stripe bra and a lacy G-string in their garden, they thought a very sexy vagrant had been living on their property while they were away for the long weekend.
Hot and bothered, Yvonne and Marius Janssen asked their house sitter where the underwear, strewn across their yard, had come from.
“We suspected the high winds blew the underwear into our yard from our neighbours’ washing lines,” Yvonne said.
However, venturing closer, they noticed more underwear – among twigs and leaves – in an area which had recently been cleaned up by gardener Albert Dube.
“I couldn’t understand why this area was so dirty. We were sure someone had been living there,” Yvonne said.
Their suspicions were correct: there was a couple living on their property with a penchant for beautiful underwear. “I looked up and saw a nest complete with a sock in it,” laughed Yvonne.
The nest belonged to two hamerkops, and they were making a home using an alluring range of building material. The couple had never seen these two birds in their garden before.
Some time later, the couple spotted the master builders, flying in with more conventional material – twigs – to add to their high rise abode, on a tree on the Janssen’s property.
“Since then we have found more panties, men’s underwear and other small items of clothing,” Yvonne said.
The couple work from home in their study, which has a view of the nest, perched several metres up a tree.
They voyeuristically keep watch, anxiously waiting to see what sexy little number the birds will have in their beaks each day.
“We have also been researching these birds online to try to understand why they are attracted to underwear,” Marius said.
The couple have collected, washed and kept some of the items of clothing, and posted messages on social networks hoping to find their owners.
“We are worried someone will get in trouble with their partner or a domestic worker will be accused of stealing, so we are trying to find the owners and assure them the items are going towards building a cosy home for a nice couple,” Yvonne said.
“At least they have taste,” said Marius in jest, noting the fetching undergarments.
Daily News