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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








Comments

  1. Anonymous11 April 2025 at 21:35

    Every pic tells a story. Nicely clicked.....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12 April 2025 at 11:22

    Marvelous clicks and wonderful descriptions of activities of birds & bees.
    Keep it up.
    God bless you Noel.

    ReplyDelete

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