LIVING IN HARMONY
LT COL NOEL ELLIS
19/IV/2022
Summers have set in Jodhpur and the heat is
terrible to bear. Most of my army life one has spent in the deserts but after
fifteen years next to the coast, returning and getting roasted is a little pinching.
Along the coast one used to ‘melt’ due to the high humidity. Soon we shall
finish our “Climate” , basically getting used to the weather here.
During the evening inspection of pots, one found
‘Mr TikTok’ the ‘Chameleon’ merrily occupying one of them. One is used to
chameleons in the garden. Today, he wasn’t hugging a branch. Generally, one
would find them well camouflaged, barely visible to the eye and scooting, but
today my friend was not afraid at all. He gave me a glance, shuffled a bit but then
settled down in his original stance.
Why wasn’t he scared or dashed away when one
approached close to it? The closest one could get was about a meter before it
darted. Today it looked composed and in no mood to run. Probably he considered
me to be his friend and I mean no harm or he was ready to take on the
challenge.
It didn’t take me much time to read TikTok’s mind.
It was the moist soil which was the attraction. Little that one realised that
it had its belly flat on the pot’s moist soil nicely spread to keep its belly
cool. These guys also need a ‘cooler’. If it is available naturally this guy
could chill out as if on a beach. The shade of the hibiscus leaves was his
garden umbrella.
In my exuberance to take its ‘pic’ it brought me
quite close. Sensing danger he reluctantly got on all fours and changed
directions but did not leave the pot. I also after taking a few clicks left him
alone to enjoy the salubrious settings he was enjoying.
As I moved to the other side of the garden one
realised it is nesting time. The doves, pigeons, sunbirds and bulbul’s etc are
preparing to nest. Most of them are chasing each other for the ‘obvious. All
those who have done the obvious are now collecting twigs to build their nests.
One by one, they select or reject them. Pick up one shoot and fly away to their
nesting place. Many twigs fall off, then they return to collect more.
The ‘Chidda’s and Chidiya’s’ were there in the
front garden. It was for the first time one came to know that it is the male
chidda which makes the nest while the female was frolicking around having a
little bath in the sand by submerging into it and shaking it all off. The males
were as usual at loggerheads trying to snatch that twig which one of them had
picked up. Rivalry started here.
As one turned back, one spotted wasps and bees
hovering. They too need water to quench their thirst and chill. The honey bees
were floating on a puddle. However, the hornet posed. He hovered & sat at a
place where the mud was wet.
Initially one thought that the Hornet was cooling
itself. The reason behind it sitting in wet mud was that it was gathering
‘clay’. The front jaws were being used to collect the moist sand & churn it
into a fine paste. It would then be carried to its nest. It spits out saliva into
the soil, makes it into mortar & flies to its nest. This clay structure
then solidifies and becomes as hard as stone within which the hornet lays its
eggs to hatch. There were places on walls where one found their muddy nests.
The heat is also taking its toll. It is fun to
watch these birds & enjoy the shower when one waters the pots in the
morning. They are not afraid of human presence. Birds hop and skip from pot to
pot as the shower moves along. It is fun to see them drenching themselves and
then sit on a branch and dry up. Then they proceed for a feed, as at many
places the colony residents have bird feeders placed along with water
containers.
It is interesting to watch these birds and reptiles
make the best use of the available resources. They are definitely intelligent
creatures. One may call it a bird brain, but that tiny brain works like a
computer. They speak too and can convey good, bad, happiness, sadness and
danger. Even their love chirps are a different sound.
May they flourish and stay safe this summer. Our
colony is green and with lots of shady bushes to provide them enough shelter
from the sweltering heat and to nest. Why can’t we humans too use common sense
and live in harmony? I wonder!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© NOEL ELLIS
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