LT COL NOEL ELLIS
11/IV/2025
It was a beautiful evening spent
with the Birds and the Bees. They need to drink water, which we have aplenty on
the roof and I need a photograph. It is mutual, you take some and give some,
isn’t it? The birds obliged like never before. However, there was a twist in
the story. So here goes……
After my daily ritual of feeding
the fish and topping up the waterlily tubs, I retreated to a corner, a little
away from where the birds come for a drink. I faced East as the sun was setting
behind my back. Till the time it doesn’t go down, it gives ample light, that
too the correct luminescence for photos of the visitors visiting our terrace
garden.
The temperatures have soared to
almost 43 degrees plus, a terribly hot day for April. Honey bees that were
visiting to collect water were few and far between till yesterday. It seemed
half the hive was there today. They were hovering over all the tubs and
collecting water for their hives. Water is a necessity. One could hear their
buzz loud and clear.
It was a strange behaviour that
caught my attention. A random bee landed on the side of the earthen bowl to
enjoy a drink. Moment, it landed, another bee dashed after it, unbalanced it
and almost pushed it into the water. The bee held on to the side but had to
abandon drinking for the time being.
In a while, this bee or could be another
similar one returned to land at the same place. There was commotion again.
Another bee attacked it. This one got upstuck and had to forgo its water
collecting activity. Now, I got thinking.
Was it some kind of rivalry of
sorts? Bees are generally cooperative in such kinds of activities. Generally,
it is free for all. Why was this bee not allowing the other one to take a sip?
Was there some kind of reservation of a place, like we used to put a
handkerchief in a local bus to say that this seat was already taken in the good
old days?
One more thought passed my mind
that they could be from different hives, thus this kind of animosity. This bee
could have been detailed as a sentry not to allow any other bee to drink water
from that trough. I didn’t get close to check the size and shape of the bees
due to safety reasons.
The sun was setting fast and the
light was still enough when Ms Chulbul, the Yellow Bottomed Bulbul landed there
for a drink. As anticipated, this bee got into action again. Compare the size
of a Bee with a Bulbul. This small insect attacked it. Chulbul took a sip and
hopped around the berm to take another sip. This bee was adamant and buzzed
into her head. Ultimately, the bird had to fly away, lest it got stung before a
good night's sleep.
Just as this scene got over, Mr
Blackie the Hummingbird landed for his ritualistic drink. Poor guy had just
dipped his beak into the bowl and down came the busy bee and hovered over its
head. His tweets were a call for ‘May Day’ as the tone and the tenor sounded
quite panicky. What I was looking for the precise moment when this bird dips
her beak into water. I was lucky to capture both the Bulbul and the Humming
bird enjoying their drink. The bee being too small did not come into focus.
This bee did not leave it at
that. A sparrow too landed to join the festivities. Ms Bee almost caught hold
of her foot. The Sparrow gave it a jerk and the poor bee landed in the water.
Instead of sipping water, now it was going glug-glug-glug and almost drowned.
With great difficulty it swam ashore and climbed the side berm of the bowl. Her
wings were flapping like the rotor blades of a helicopter as she dried herself.
As she walked along the ledge of
the bowl, due to her vibrations she got disbalanced and fell in the bowl once
again and nearly drowned for the second time. I had a mind to pull her out, but
then left nature to do its job. She again swam like a motor boat with its
engine running full throttle and climbed over the side of the bowl. This time
she fell on the parapet wall. She sat there in stupor for sometime after almost
getting drowned and then flew away.
This was some action-packed filmy
sequence for the day. It was time to get downstairs, before I went for a swim
myself. Have you come across such bee behaviour? I wonder!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
©® NOEL ELLIS
Every pic tells a story. Nicely clicked.....
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteMarvelous clicks and wonderful descriptions of activities of birds & bees.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up.
God bless you Noel.
Thank you
Delete