Skip to main content

AS SPRING APPROACHES

 


AS SPRING APPROACHES

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

21/II/2023

 

As the weather is getting warmer, there is fresh activity on the ‘birdie’ front. New broods with fresh energy have suddenly appeared from hibernation. One can hear the ‘zip zap zoom’ of their wings when one opens the front door. Birds scoot, only to return after a while, knowing this man can do no harm.

 

It feels so good that they have returned and mind you they still remember the ‘birdbath’ which has been reactivated besides the bird seed container. A quick bite, a drink and dip has become their routine. Then they hop along the pots singing, dancing, chasing, fighting, biting, pecking and soon forgetting their rivalry to return to their perches again.

 

Roof tops are their favourite haunts for romancing. A peck and a smooch, some whispers of promises in the ears of each other. A word about their future and family, a house to nest and the regular gossip is a beautiful pastime for them. They look at you and don’t bother, as they have their priorities right.

 

Then there are fights too. The other day, doves got after crows and chased them away. Nasty ‘crow-boys’ must have teased one of the ‘lovey-dovey’ beauties. On one call the Sunbirds, Sparrows and Pigeons joined in the mele. Crows didn’t wait to get their feathers plucked out from their heads and fled the scene. They haven’t returned since. The coast was clear for more feathery romance.

 

However, before one woos a partner, grooming needs to be done. For that one has to have a ‘feather bath’. Instead of the stale water in the birdbath they make use of the lawn instead. The grass in the lawn now has a lot of overnight ‘dew’. Nature's freshest mineral water with added nutrients give their fluff the extra shine. A quick ruffle of feathers is done to absorb the dew. Off they zip to the nearest tree to dry their plumages in the mild morning sun.

 

Sparrows join the Sunbirds on the lawns. Rather, I observed that they were curious to know that dew can be used for a quick shower too. Some sit on the sides trying to fathom how cold the morning dew would be and avoid getting wet. A typical ‘human’ tendency to avoid bathing at all costs.

 

Though the lawn is quite big, the place where one bird has just dipped her feathers is where the other birds also want to frolic. Why take a chance they say! A few dives to dislodge the bird, busy shaking her feathers and taking her place. Some just refuse to descend from their perches.

 

Bulbuls are attacking fellow bulbuls. They find their own reflection on the car windshield as a rival. They slide and try and hover to shoo the opponent away only to find a new rival in her own reflection.

 

A new bird is also in town called the ‘Rufous Treepie’ or the ‘Taka Chor’ the ‘Coin Stealer’. She steals eggs & chicks thus the environment got agitated with its typical call which alerted me too. A new friend was in town. Welcome my dear but don’t trouble my other friends.

 

Then suddenly a huge shadow covered us like a cloud passing by. It was a blue and white ‘metallic bird’ flying slowly overhead. We waved to her too.

 

As spring approaches there is an abundance of activity. What all new friends shall we see this season? I wonder!!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

© ® NOEL ELLIS













Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FINGER ON YOUR LIPS

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   29/IV/2025   What has happened to Pakistan? While India is doing Fauji Exercises, Pakistan has mobilised for what! I agree that the people of India want revenge. But, from whom? Our PM has only said that “we will not leave the terrorists and their supporters till the end of the Earth”. He has never said he will sort out Pakistan, or has he?   It has been hilarious watching discussions on Paki social media channels. They seem to have already given up. Our RM meets the PM and Pakistan starts shitting bricks. They talk about jazba and gazwa, and start telling us about their nuclear arsenal. 160 I suppose. By the way we will send across one equivalent to your 160 if need be.   There is a saying, ‘Chor ki Dari main tinka” literal meaning is, a straw in a thief’s beard. However, the deep meaning is that a guilty person reveals his guilt through his behaviour, even unintentionally. Clearly, “a guilty conscious needs no accuser”...
14 comments
Read more

IF THERE IS A WAR…...

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   28/IV/2025   I remember the 1971 war as a small child. We were in Kapurthala Punjab, very close to the Pakistan border. It was an evening in December, I do not remember the exact date. While returning from a friends house, the declaration of war was done as I skipped along the ‘Thandi Sarak’ of Kapurthala.   The gist was that a vehicle with loud speakers was telling people to head home as an "emergency" had been declared and war had started. I ran as fast as I could, shivering with fear and my heart beating unusually fast. Though I was a lap baby when the 1965 war had taken place, it appeared serious business now.   Overnight, Dad and other Uncles started digging trenches infront of our homes. Carbon paper was no dearth in a teachers house, so mom got into an overdrive to stick them to the glass windows. Though the glass had been painted during the 1965 war, some broken panes had been replaced. Mom told ...
4 comments
Read more

SCENE AT ELLIS’ RESTAURANT

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   04/XI/2024   Every morning the scene in the Ellis’ restaurant is so refreshing. The notes birds sing sounds like ‘reveille’ being sounded by the buglers. The ‘scenario’ keeps varying with arrival of different birds at different timings.   It is like being a restaurant owner, working solo with minimum help. Yours truly is the waiter, housekeeper, cook, receptionist, barman, purchase manager, accountant, and storekeeper of this shack. Imagine!   Foremost thing in the morning is housekeeping of the garden area, followed by watering the pots. This gives the plants a nice bath, like kids being readied for school.   The first set of ‘clients’ called the ‘Tailor Birds’ appear. They love to hunt for insects which get disturbed by the watering ritual. They sing and dance, hop and skip and carry on chasing moths and worms, without bothering about my presence.   By then the Bulbuls and the Sparrows start lini...
18 comments
Read more