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SWALLOWS ARE NESTING


 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

31/III/2025

 

We are in the season of nesting. All birds have either laid their eggs and are in the process of hatching them. Some ‘Late Lateef’s’ are still constructing them. Many are making second nests because the partner rejected it or a tragedy happened. But the gist remains that love is in the air ‘full on’.

 

Last year, I saw these shy birds called the “Wire Tailed Swallows” sitting in one of the windowsills on our roof. There had to be a reason for their visit. Now I know.

 

These girls come down to the lawn right infront of our house, especially when the sprinkler is on. It is so absorbing to watch them collect mud and dry grass which they mix with their saliva to make a mixture which is stronger than cement to build their nest. The birds are super specialised ‘masons’.

 

I had seen these birds in hundreds sitting on a high-tension wire which passes behind our colony touching our boundary wall. With that in mind, I decided to visit the riverfront where I saw them nesting last year inside a huge cement sewerage pipe.

 

Alas, when I walked towards that path the other day, I found it had been barricaded and blocked with thorny kikar branches. This was to keep cows at bay which have been left ‘free’ by the villagers. These animals destroy the plantation in that area which our colony residents and maintain.

 

Some Swallow’s were flying in the sky and some were skimming over the Jojri river collecting mud and insects for ‘nest and breakfast’, like we have ‘bed and breakfast’. I was unable to reach anywhere near where they nested due to the obstacle. The alternative was to wade through the river, but getting into the smelly sludge was avoided.

 

Since the last couple of days, I have been watching some wire tailed swallows circling around our homes. Knowing their agenda, it was time to spot their nest.

 

A little patience and observation revealed the location of one nest. There could be more and that I would have a dekho soon. I followed one bird which suddenly went invisible under the curve of the roof. There was no hole, unless they had a ledge to hang on to. I zeroed on that spot with my camera.

 

Within no time I could confirm that the pair were busy going in and out of that roof overhang. They were carrying mud in their beaks, pasting it, and flying out for the next round. My camera could not focus very well because of the distance from our rooftop to the rooftop across the lane.

 

I decided to get a better view and was conscious not to disturb them. The camera zoom helped me. Moment, I focused, I saw not one bird but the pair engrossed in constructing their home. They were dabbing mud to increase the size of the nest. Their muddy concoction dries very fast too. My instinct told me that the nest was near completion and they should be laying their eggs anytime now.

 

The second give away was that the birds would land on the roof for a short while before they dived under the ledge to their nest. It must be a vantage point or a guard point. One of them always keeps a watch out for predators.

 

I would like to capture their chicks take their first flight. Mind you, no Kite or Buzzard can dash directly and get in that nook they have chosen to nest in. Neither the sun nor rain would be a bother as there is shade all day long and the nest is well shielded from rainwater. Such intelligent birds they are!

 

When will the chicks take their first flight? I wonder!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

©® NOEL ELLIS








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