As January ends, imagine 31 days of the new year have just flown past.
The weather has started changing. Spring is in the air and plants are showing
hints of it.
Here in the Sun City, the transition from feeling cold to feeling hot is
quite sudden. The morning breeze has a bite and the afternoon sun can bake you.
Birds are also showing changes in their behaviour. They are foraging
more and sticking together in pairs. New partners are being solicited and the
old ones are being wooed. The change in season is bringing changes in their
activities and manners.
Keeping the birds in mind, I have got used to a pair of ‘Dhoban Chiriya’
the ‘White Wagtail’ roaming around and catching insects in the front lawn every
day. They don’t miss shikar even on Sundays.
Morning walkers, passing vehicles and other birds do not bother them.
The only thing which bothers them is cats. Cats are always on the lookout for
birds especially those which come to pick up grains in our feeders. They hide
behind pots and under the cars to spring an ambush.
This morning, the White Wagtail pair reported on duty in the lawn.
Scanning between the blades of grass minutely, they kept catching worms, moths,
and grasshoppers to eat. In between they take a break to rush to the fountain
where there is always some water available for a dip and a sip and then they
return.
Sometimes, they stand and pose or maybe they are curious or cautious. I
let them pass without a photograph. Whatever be the case, they have a routine.
They comb the lawns from one side till they reach the other end and then do a
“peechay mur”.
What caught me by surprise today was a “Wire Tailed Swallow” which dived
down to the lawn. Generally, at this time they like to bask in our window sill.
Today, their behaviour had changed. It was time to fetch my camera.
By the time I got back, she had flown away. I knew that this girl would
definitely return. This was purely my gut feeling. Return, she did. I quickly
focussed on her activity and it was not surprising to me. Initially, I thought
she had come hunting but it was not the case.
She had come to pick up a mixture of mud and grass for her nest. Though
I couldn’t make it out clearly but followed her flight which led me to her nest
under the roof extension in the house opposite our lane. This has been their
nest for the last three years that I have been watching them. Where have their
offspring gone? I am not sure.
They say that they live in their nests for the winter as a pair. As the
season warms up, that is the time they come out to eat and pick up wet mud to
repair their nest for raising a new family again. Throughout winter, they were
cocooned themselves in their nest, saving themselves from the bitter cold
desert winds and vagaries of the weather.
With the warming up of the weather, it was time for them to shake out of
their hibernation and get on to work for their next generation. For the next
few days, they would be busy repairing their nest.
Then there was a lull. The Wagtails and the Wire Tailed Swallows did not
return to the lawn. I thought I was the culprit as I wanted to shoot them at
eye level and had tiptoed too close to the lawn. Though, I had made my profile
as small as I could by sitting on my knees to get a clear view of the birds.
They just would not return.
It was then that I realised the culprit was someone else. It was a brown
‘puddy tat’ hiding in the bushes. It was when she moved that she disclosed her
location or else she sat there awaiting the arrival of birds which she thought
she could catch for breakfast.
Birds are not bird brains. They are sharp and intelligent. They scan the
area for dangers, after all it is a matter of survival for them. They are
always on the look out for cats on the prowl. Moment the cat moved on, both the
birds returned for their rituals.
It is fun to observe birds. It is amazing to see them adapt to humans in
their surroundings. Just then a White Throated Kingfisher came and perched on a
tree at our home in a lookout for fish. The pose was perfect.
The Wire Tailed Swallows revealed their nest last year. When will the
White Wag Tail take me to her nest? I wonder!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© ® NOEL ELLIS
Comments
Post a Comment