HOW NATURE WORKS

HOW NATURE WORKS

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

31/VII/2023

A fresh start to a week couldn’t have been better. A walk in the park and then towards the river side was all in a day’s work. Fresh and pure air, dark clouds, tiny droplets of rain, fresh flowers and birds singing for you was enough to make my day.

People walked past, almost colliding with you because many were glued to their cells and said ‘sorry-sorry’. I am not sure they even looked at me. Within a blink they are glued back to the phones again. Would they be appreciating nature, I doubt. What are they watching or listening to, with their ‘Kaan Khajuras’ in their ears, I am not sure. Good that instead of my phone, I carry my camera.

What caught my attention was a fluffy bundle lying on a hedge. I crossed my heart and prayed it should not be a nest. It was. A tiny one with a tiny dotted yellow egg. I have seen Finch, Bulbul, and Sparrow eggs, but this colour was novel. Could it be of a yellow Oriole? I am not sure.

Birds toil to make their nests. One shake of a branch, one whiff of wind, one attack by a predator and down comes the nest with eggs or chicks depending on what stage the nest is. Quite unfortunate but that is how nature works.

A little ahead I found another nest. This had not fallen from a tree, as there was none in the vicinity. This must have been kept by a passer by I thought. It looked quite familiar to the one I saw a couple of minutes back. However, there were no eggs. I presumed the chicks would have flown away or this could be an abandoned nest. All these are my conjectures.

My day was made as I walked to the riverfront. Peafowl were calling. There is a huge family of about twenty which hang around. Moment, they spot human presence, they go hiding into the bushes. Once they are sure that humans have left, do they venture out again. The lead is taken by their Alpha male. On his call, the rest of the flock appear again.

Today, their calls were in the distance. I was late. They came, enjoyed the grains, and walked off to their next destination across the river. Suddenly, I sensed some movement in the thick bushes. A peahen was taking her two chicks for a walk. Those brown and fluffy birds were too cute. She couldn’t have followed the main flock as these darlings were too small to fly.

These birds nest on the ground. Once they lay their eggs, they protect them fiercely. Now that the chicks have hatched, Mama was teaching them to feed and fend for themselves.

I tiptoed to the ledge and tried to focus. The lady was very alert. A short call and the chicks would run a couple of steps and halt at her heels. She would walk a little further and call again, these chicks would then rush to her obediently.

Mama Peahen spotted me. The tone and tenor of her call changed. Chicks had been cautioned that danger lurks. They froze and settled on the ground. For a moment, I lost them because they were absolutely still. Then Mama went behind a bush and called. They just zipped to their mother’s legs. Then I lost them again in the wild grass. I was lucky to capture that fleeting moment.

It was time to head home on a positive note. Those chicks would give me another appearance for sure. My day was made.

Nature has its own ups and downs. Somewhere a nest had fallen with eggs in it, somewhere eggs had hatched and chicks were learning to survive. How nature works? I wonder!!!!!!!!!

JAI HIND