NOEL ELLIS' GOOGLE BLOG

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   31/VII/2025   I have been fascinated by this bird called the ‘Wire Tailed Swallow’ since I first saw them about two years ago. They are small, a little bigger than a Bulbul but have a fine blend of colours. The chest is white, the wings from shades ranging from navy blue to black and the head in dark brown.   The unique part is the two wire like projections which protrude out from the side of their body going way beyond the tail to a little more than their own body length. Some have them straight and some have them curled. What are the wires used for, used to intrigue me?   Was it just a growth or an appendage? Was it to be used to hold something? How do they use and control it? Such questions kept churning in my mind.   It required a little study and this is what I found out. These filamentous wires which jut out from their rear are ‘tail streamers’ which are very prominent in males. To spot a male becom...

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   29/VII/2025   I was reminded of the old story of two cats fighting over a slice of bread and a monkey whom they requested to mediate over the dispute. I won’t reiterate that story. However, today I witnessed two situations exactly like that.   Little girls were playing “Ghar-Ghar” in the front lawn. Arrangements for a birthday party were in full swing. They were busy selecting dresses, arranging the venue, sorting out their guest list, finalising the menu, writing invitation cards etc. However, there was a dispute on the timing of the party.   Just then three boys, two of them on their bicycles and one without, wanted to join the girls in the party. The girls refused to allow them in. The eldest one with a cycle was the classmate of one of the girls and tried to persuade her on the ‘classmate net’. The girls didn’t budge.   All their conversations and discussions could be heard loud and clear. I was witnessing all this from my rooftop,...

 BLACKIE AND BROWNIE  CAME FOR A DRINK

  IMPROMPTU SITUATIONS   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   27/VII/2025   These days I am trying my hands to capture birds in flight. Somehow, the best photographs one has clicked are pure flukes. The camera takes on most of the responsibilities of adjusting everything under the earth from light, to aperture, to shutter speed and what have you. The cameraman’s skills do matter.   In the evening when the birds fly home, is the best time to click them. The setting sun plays a very important role. Like our children who do not want to come home even when it is sufficiently dark, the birds which fly low and close are the ones which come in late.   I have spent many evenings trying to understand their behaviour and flying pattern. Their direction of flight in relation to the sun matters a lot. My own position on the roof is a big consideration as many times a portion of the roof comes in between the bird and the camera.   Point and shoot cameras in the days of yore were go...

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   26/VII/2025   It has been a week plus and it has been cloudy, just cloudy. Where have the clouds hidden the rain within them is a mystery? Every morning, like the sun they come and dance, grow dense and thin, move in huge chunks, and then separate for the sun to mark its presence. The water they are supposed to shed is being withheld for the time being.   With low light but the mood bright, it was time to venture out and click some photos of the surroundings. The birds were at their best, singing, tweeting, chirping the best songs they could sing for all of us since dawn. Some of course make a ruckus too.   The recent unusual evening activity of the ‘Wire Tailed Swallows’ had to be investigated. They were seen very regularly on our neighbours roof and its thereabouts. Nesting was one reason for them to stick to one place. In between they do fly to our house to say hello, but return as quickly as they came, catchin...

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   24/VII/2025   It was time to say hello to the morning sun after almost a fortnight. The Rain God has blessed this parched desert land in abundance this year. Most of the dams are overflowing. Rivers which are generally dry have water flowing in them for real. It was time for a break or crops could get affected.   Having tended to the garden, it was time to see what was ‘unusual’. ‘Curry leaf sprout’ was spotted by my wife growing on its own. Not one but two. I asked her to check for its aroma and taste and she gave a thumbs up. From where and how it grew is a mystery. Nevertheless, now we won’t have to go asking for ‘kadi-patta’ also called “Murraya Koenigii” botanically.   She also pointed out to the buds sprouting in the ‘passion flower’ vine. I couldn’t help but break into a broad smile. These flowers are also called the ‘Rakhi Phool’. Having worked on them since they were six inch babies. Now they are six foot...

💖 DIL KHUSH 💖 https://youtu.be/8qfkvB2zRsQ 

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   23/VII/2025   At last, there is a rain free window. Though it has been cloudy and threatens to drizzle but the sun forces its way through to brighten up the damp and dusky day. Last ten days, the clouds have been dominating the scene playing hide and seek with the sun.   This has given me an opportunity to spend some time with my camera on the roof. The water plants just need an inspection, the rest of the time is available to scan the skies and say hello to my ‘avian’ friends, who after a hard days work are in a hurry to head home and roost.   The birds in the garden are already home as they stay within the colony. But the water birds like the Ibis’, pond herons, egrets and cormorants have a long way to go. Some of them fly in a flock, some fly individually. Home sweet home is on their mind.   Aeroplanes fly at a particular bearing and height as laid down in their flight path. Similarly, these birds too ...

 💚DIL KHUSH💜 https://youtu.be/5lUaxz0Enok

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   17/VII/2025   The atmosphere during the morning walk was exactly when you walk just after dusk. Dark clouds had surrounded the colony. Heavy rain was imminent. The weather was ideal to shake the laziness.   The smell of petrichor has long gone as the ground has been damped since ‘Sawan’ walked in. Trees and plants have their feet soaked in rain water and are loving it.   Yesterday, one of the ‘Passion Flower or Rakhi phool’ creepers showed the first bud. Our happiness knew no bounds as my wife pointed it out to me. Sometimes, one gets so engrossed in other things that a big bud which one has been waiting for gets missed out. The flower was due to bloom anytime.   As they say, there are many slips between the cup and the lip. We rejoiced a little too early on seeing the bud. A storm preceded the rains. When we took a dekho in the evening, that pot had toppled down. The pot and the plant were lying flat on the ground. I hoped and ...

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   14/VII/2025   It was long ago as a kid that one had fallen in love with a fruit as small as a pea, in the ‘royal gardens’ of HH The Maharaja of Kapurthala, Punjab. We had access to the palace, acres of farms and the royal orchards. We used to stay in the campus, courtesy our father who taught in the Sainik School.   Very close to our home there was a kutcha track which used to take us around the periphery of the school campus hugging the boundary wall. About a hundred meters from the corner hostel called Azad House was the Royal ‘vineyard’. Grape shrubs from as far as Afghanistan and Chaman in Pakistan were grown there. ‘Bedana’ or the seedless variety were the tastiest.   Adjacent to that ‘grape farm’ was a ‘bushy area’ which very few knew about. Some hundred unkempt bushes about six to ten feet high grew there. The leaves were as big as quarter plates. The thin whip like branches would sway in the air and were very dif...