Skip to main content

BEES & BEE EATERS

 

BEES & BEE EATERS

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

13/VI/2026

 

Last evening while on my routine visit to the rooftop garden, I noticed a very unusual activity near one of our waterlily tubs. Something came like a flash and disappeared the same way. Bulbuls, Doves and Sunbirds are regular visitors. An odd Drongo, Kingfisher or a Wire Tailed Swallow do the honours sometimes. This was different.

 

As I was topping up the tubs with water, I couldn’t take a break. This flight of such a swift and fast bird definitely called for a dekho. If she had come once, she definitely would return. Then I would know who this beauty was.

 

Having done my chores, I moved to take a bird’s eye view of the common garden. There she was with her complete family. Three of them. I assume it was mama eater, papa eater and baby eater, who had come to feed.

 

As soon as I went downstairs, I told my wife that I saw a ‘Bee Eaters’. We both smiled and welcomed this bird after a long gap to our garden.

 

As the name suggests they eat bees. They not only eat bees; they devour any insect which they come across. It could be a wasp, bee, moth, cricket or a grasshopper. I am not sure if they eat ants too, because there are plenty of big black army of ants which keep parading up and down the garden.

 

It was not a surprise that a few of our tubs attract lots of bees and wasps. This bird would have seen one and dived. Generally, I have seen them make a kill mid-air. Then they find a lone leafless branch where they sit and enjoy their shikar. Sometimes, they remember where their baby is perched. Both the parents keep bringing a nice juicy bee for it.

 

Catching a bee in flight must be an arduous task. The bee is so small that humans cannot see it with the naked eye. But these birds have their survival at stake. Imagine, spotting one, calculating the time, distance, angle and speed of the bee and adjusting their own to catch it would involve some mathematics, calculus and trigonometry in real time. Thank God it is past tense for me.

 

I remember my childhood again. Jets used to fly from Adampur in Punjab. The same place which Pakistan falsely claimed to have hit during Op Sindoor. Their dog fights and maneuvers would bring them high above Kapurthala where we used to stay, about 50kms as the crow flies. Squinting our eyes we would try and catch a glimpse of the jet, keeping its supersonic speed in mind. It used to be a competition amongst us kids to spot an aircraft. Sometimes, their vapour trails were a giveaway.

 

This morning, as I walked out to the garden, the weather was surprisingly pleasant and cloudy. Just then I saw a pair of Bee Eaters on the drumstick tree right infront of our house.

 

Earlier, we used to have a lot of bee hives both of the normal bees and Choti Makhi close to our home. They would make a bee line for flowers and water containers for a drink. With trimming and uprooting of trees in various storms, the bees have relocated themselves. Still, many come to have a drink in various water containers. Wasps too used to have their nests in trees around. But this year, their numbers have dwindled considerably. Probably, it is the anti-bee treatment meted around as they had started making beehives and wasp nests in residential quarters.

 

It was time to catch these Bee Eaters in action. Though the light was low and these birds halted for a little time on a branch, it was difficult to catch them. Plus, the winds were rocking those branches to get a clear shot. The only time they were sitting a little longer was when they had caught a bee. A few knocks on the branch to kill it and then eat it head first or feed it to their baby was when they could be caught in the camera.

 

In between, while capturing these bee eaters, one came across a green pigeon and a Drongo. The closeup of the Drongo revealed that it was carrying a thread in its mouth. I assumed that it would be for weaving it in its nest.

 

It was time for me to enjoy my breakfast sans the bees. What a natural way to keep the bee and wasp population under check. Thank you Bee Eaters. What do you guys say? I wonder!!!!!!

 

https://youtu.be/n31GgrvzwTM

 

JAI HIND


© ® NOEL ELLIS

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TAKE A PAUSE

  One thing I have realized that spending time with nature brings so much of mental peace. A small bird can just cheer you up. Her tweet can lift your mood. The sheer joy one derives from watching then come and play in your garden, feed, and bathe is just elevating. All those who do it know what I say and a request to those who haven’t must try it.   Morning time is the most hectic for the birds. They all know that their feed will be there. Their tweets and chirps are indicators of the happiness they enjoy. I am sure in between their tweets they chirp to thank us too.   Evenings are another kind of high. These days their feeders go empty by evening. The water bowls too are nearly at bottom levels, not because of their thirst but now they bathe in the bowl more often. The water sprinkled while they shake their bodies flies off emptying the bowl.   In the evening, when I go to the rooftop there is a different kind of hustle. A few sparrows, a pair of dove...
20 comments
Read more

A PERFECT GARDENER

    Most of us are parents and grandparents now. All of us have brought up our children and now are looking after Gen Z. We gave our children and their children the best of best.   With that as an opening remark, let me shift focus to gardening. I am no expert on parenting or gardening. We went with the tide of highs and lows. The churns and turmoil. Even if we consider ourselves as perfect parents, can we be perfect gardeners?   The answer in both cases would be a big NO. When you look back, there is something more which could have been done. Things could have been done differently. There is no perfect template which can fit all.   One saw the kid take baby steps, then their growth stage and then they matured and ready to bear their own children. What is in store in the future? No one knows.   Having said that, let me return to the topic of Gardening. This would interest gardening enthusiasts. Are you a perfect gardener?   My p...
4 comments
Read more

TALE OF A CERTIFICATE

It was way back in 1979 that I became a ‘matriculate’ with a ‘first division’. One required 60% marks for it and I got 60.14%, one mark over the threshold. This I came to realize only yesterday when I had to produce that certificate after almost 46 years.   Those days, first division meant you were the cream. No one talked about percentages or marks. All that mattered was I, II or III Div.   The first time I realised that how important this certificate was when as a young Captain in the Indian Army with three years service, I got a notice from the Army Headquarters to “show cause” why my services should not be terminated as they did not find my matric certificate attached with the mandatory documents required to be submitted to UPSC.   Earth moved under my feet. I was from a Sainik School where all documentation was sent by the school administration. How could they have missed out? Why me, was the question?   Panic and fear struck together as I had ...
6 comments
Read more

A BREAK FROM BLOGGING

    Christmas week is a busy week and spills over to the New Year. Friends and family get together, rejoice, make merry and strengthen bonds. It is cold and wintry, the reason to indulge in relishing plum and rum cakes and pakwans, dry fruits and puddings and be at peace.   However, too much rest to my ‘finger tips’ was catching with me both with the laptop keys and the ‘click button’ of the camera. Sometimes, it is good to take a break or if one can call it a ‘fast’ of a different sort. It is a good time to sit down, chill, run down and reflect on things which are now memories in the year coming to an end. How time flies!   We had a dinner planned for my chaddi-buddies and their families last evening. We were looking forward to having fun and lots of laughter. However, in all this milieu, some little things had to be done like feeding the fish on the roof, lest I miss out.   As I opened the roof door, my eyes lit up when I saw a white breasted k...
8 comments
Read more

A WAKE UP CALL

  There were two incidents that shook Pakistan last week. One was the attack by the Baluchi people; I am on purpose not calling them militants or terrorists which the Pak army spokesperson has declared them. The second was the bomb blast in a mosque in Islamabad, their capital, under the very nose of all kinds of security agencies.   The Paki Army claims that more than 200 Baluchis, 25 Armed forces personnel and about 36 civilians were killed in the first incident spreading across the length and breadth of the district of Baluchistan at 14 locations ( figures would be much higher). 60 killed and 176 seriously wounded in the bomb blast. This means more than five to six hundred people were wiped off the face of the earth.   Massacre, butchering, killing, murdering, extermination, slaughtering, slaying, like terms can be used for this mass scale elimination of one's own people to heaven or hell depending on which side of the fence you were. Innocent souls got caugh...
8 comments
Read more

MYSTERY OF THE MISSING FISH

  Stray cats are on the prowl in our lane. Residents feed them a variety of food. From Roti to bread and milk is their diet. The way they are bloating is an indicator of their health.   They have been also feeding on the roti we spread for the birds. They eat roti only in case of an emergency. It is birds the cats are after. We haven’t seen them catching one but knowing cat behaviour, they would not miss a chance.   What I do not appreciate is that they jump into the grain bowl. It is a shallow earthen pot hung with wires on a protrusion of a dried branch. Even if there are ten birds feeding on the feeder, it doesn’t shake. Imagine, when a big chubby cat jumps onto it. They have dropped that pot several times and broken it.   We do not mind cats basking on our veranda chairs, but how does one tell the cats not to leave the birds alone. Like the birds are looking for a meal, so are the cats. Nothing like a juicy sparrow or a bulbul or a fat dove.   These cats wer...
6 comments
Read more

SIMPLE MANTRA

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   01/XI/2025   As we step into the month of November. It amazes me how the rest of the year just went by in a flash. The weather went through its phases. The earth spun on its axis and revolved around the sun. One has been lucky to watch the sun and moon rise and set almost everyday. A blessing which many of us miss out on.   Flowers and plants went through the grind. Some flowered profusely and some refused to flower. Some showed buds but couldn’t reach maturity due to so many reasons. The ones which bloomed brought so much pleasure that they made our ‘Dil Khush’.   The happiness which I experience is because of a cumulative effect of so many things. Health has been fine, family has been good, gadgets in the house have not been giving problems. Friends have been so kind and loving that if we don’t meet, it creates a vacuum.   The most important thing that has added to this happiness is to detach myself fro...
16 comments
Read more

ARMY CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR

ARMY CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   16/I/2026   I was watching the excerpts of the ‘Army Day Parade’ held in Jaipur. The show put up by the Army was exemplary. It reminded me of the Chinese Military parade, ours was far better. I wish I could have witnessed it in person.   What impressed me was the showcasing of the ‘Bhairav troops’ in their ‘combat regalia’. Especially the Sikh troops. Camo painted faces, Khaki pagris and the call of Bole-so-Nihal could shake up the enemy in his grave.   What caught my attention was their boots. Keeping their tasks and deployment in mind in various sectors, those boots would be wind proof, water proof, light weight, comfortable, flexible, durable with enhanced grip and ankle support.   The contingent was not in ‘Tez chal’ but ‘daur ke kadam taal mode’. Which implies, they do not walk but are always on the run to annihilate the enemy. Their boots had to support their operational requirem...
4 comments
Read more

AN UNPLANNED TRIP

  There is a place called “Sardar Samand” about forty kilometers from Jodhpur which was on my bucket list. There is a property of HH Jodhpur which has been converted into a hotel overlooking a dam.   The water reservoir was an attraction, hoping to find ‘migratory birds’ which congregate in winters at various lakes in large numbers at water bodies around.   A friend of mine gave a hint that he wanted to go there and I latched on. We decided to go this morning. Luckily, the batteries of the camera were charged and ready for a shoot. It was a maiden trip so the two of us would be good company. He is a birding enthusiast too.   With CNG topped up, we were all set to steer the course for the lake. How to reach it was the issue. We had to branch off the main road onto a village road with ‘revars’ (herds) of cattle, goats and sheep claiming the right of way.   Google Aunty was with us but then she was showing a different route. We knocked at the Maharajas entrance gat...
9 comments
Read more

OPERATION NEET STORM

    For decades, India has been fighting an enemy far more elusive than cross-border infiltrators and terrorists. This particular adversary doesn’t assault with tanks or launch missiles. Instead, its weapons are WhatsApp groups, telegram, shady coaching centres, and sealed envelopes exchanged in dark alleys simply known as the "Paper Leak Syndicate."   After one scandal too many pushed the public to its breaking point, New Delhi finally made a radical call: Hand the examinations over to the Armed Forces. The entire country gasped. The coaching industry fainted. As for the students? They knew that their future was in safe hands now.   Phase 1: Designing the Blueprint   The toughest task of drafting exam papers fell to a top-secret committee comprising of the Vice Chiefs and training heads of the Army, Navy, and the Air Force. To guarantee absolute secrecy, the questions were formulated inside an underground bunker so classified that even the Prim...
8 comments
Read more