MYSTERY OF THE MISSING BIRDS
LT COL NOEL ELLIS
15/IX/2022
One observed that birds found around our garden are not visiting as frequently
as they used to earlier. This got me thinking.
Sunbirds have gone totally elusive. Could they be nesting? All of them cannot
nest at the same time. Their sweet songs can be heard in the distance but the
way they used to hop from pot to pot and pose for me, I was missing.
Bulbuls are there too. They know I keep a bowl of water for them. Birds use it
more as a bird-bath. Birds used to claim that container to be theirs and even
fight over it. The ‘Yellow Bottom’ ones won’t let the ‘Red Bottom ones come
close. On the first opportunity, one pair would stake its claim and chase the
others away.
Taylor Birds suffered a tragedy. My heart sank when I saw their nest which had
been woven into a Champa thicket crashed to the ground. I could do nothing
about it. There were seven eggs in it, probably half hatched. Parents kept
hovering around the nest but gave up. They have flown away too.
How did that branch break, unless it snapped under its own weight? Champa
branches are very fragile. Could a cat climb that precarious overhang? I doubt,
unless she was super hungry and ready to risk falling from that height.
One day I saw a ‘Shikra’. Probably it could have chased these birds, as his
sharp eyes would have observed them coming in and out of the nest. It would
have landed with full force to catch them. Its weight must have bent the branch
to breaking point and could have been the reason for the nest falling. I miss
the Taylor birds and their sweet songs. Hope they visit to nest with us again.
Doves that come, come to fight now. They wrestle, shed a few feathers, then sit
on the lamp post and coo. Once I saw three doves fighting each other. They too
are avoiding the grain spread.
Sparrows can be heard chirping but are hardly seen now. The way they used to
flock in dozens onto the grains is no longer observed. They would wait for me
to sprinkle grains and descend from their perches immediately. The ruckus they
created is what I miss. Sparrows would chirp in a different tone to call all
their ‘sakhi-saheli’s’ to join the feast. Now they visit in ones and twos.
It led me to question myself. I hope grains being fed to them are up to their
liking? We had picked the best Bajra, Jowar and Wheat kernels from the market
especially for birds. Rice we fed them was what we ate at home. If still there
were no takers, which was visible with left-over grains, there was something
amiss. Earlier not a grain used to be left.
Have we scared them or made them unhappy? Is there a predator always lurking
around? Has traffic increased on our road? The answer was no. The only
possibility could be a new source of food they could have found.
We had gone to visit a village nearby. Due to good rains, the area is lush
green and crops are flourishing. Jowar & Bajra being the staple. We also
saw lots of pods on the Til (Sesame) bushes.
What caught my attention was a ‘Scarecrow’, right in the centre of a field. A
modern one at that. A Black polythene was its head instead of a traditional
‘earthen pitcher’ and was wearing a shirt and track pants. Changing times, I
suppose. What caught my attention was his luminous ‘Safety Jacket’.
The road had been freshly re-laid, so finding a discarded safety jacket was not
difficult. Probably this farmer must have worked as a labourer on the road site
and this was issued to him. Why were they using a safety jacket on a scarecrow,
intrigued me?
Bright orange colour stood out and appeared to be a real watchman standing on
guard. The fingers were ‘Jhalars’, leftovers from Diwali decorations. They were
swaying with the breeze as if the devil was waving at you. Sash of the drill
sergeant was prominent too.
This luminous jacket, sash and
fingers glowed at night with the ‘ambient light’ and also with the headlights
of passing vehicles. In the day it worked for birds and at night the luminescence
worked to keep away Neel Gai’s or Rojra as they are called. Two birds with one
stone, innovative, I must say.
The fields were where the birds
had gone. Grain pods are ripe and almost ready for harvest. Swarms of birds
were sitting on the pods eating grains straight from the source.
Did I solve the mystery of the
missing birds? I wonder!!!!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© NOEL ELLIS
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