It was a
difficult situation yesterday. Our hummingbird feeders where our sunbirds feed
from were almost empty. The sunbird clan kept visiting their favourite feeder
out of the two. Finding no juice, they could reach with their beaks,
they would move to the second one.
The second
one was reaching its rock bottom too. The idea was that once they
finished the contents of both, I would lower the feeders and refill them. Birds kept coming at regular
intervals. Moment they saw me, what a ruckus they would create. I was also
toying with their thoughts knowing full well that they are raising an alarm and
complaining to me that the feeders are running dry.
Initially,
we had just one feeder. But when the sunbirds started visiting recurrently and
in quick succession, it became a hit. It also became a meeting ground
for many sunbird couples. Probably,
they sat on the sides of the extensions to come and land. They would then be
exchanging love notes and love bites.
The ‘purple
sunbirds’ would not let any other bird take their share away. Though the
competition was with one odd bulbul which would poke its beak in the flower from where they access the sweet
liquid inside. Bulbuls being bigger in size, sunbirds would watch them from the
fringes to let them have their share. Once the bulbuls were off, they would
rush in.
On an odd
occasion a yellow wasp would be seen enjoying the sweet which must have dropped
from the beak of a sunbird. Bees do love sweetness and nectar, as I have seen
when jaggery is kept in the open, bees love to take their share of gur to their
hive. Here we had a wasp claiming its share. A small poke by the sunbird would
disturb the wasp and it would wait for the bird to fly away and return to the
place where the liquid had spilled over.
Early
morning is the time the sunbirds visit the feeder at a higher frequency. The
whole night they would have been without food. It is said that once they are
awake, sunbirds need to feed every 10-15 minutes. They reduce their metabolism
at night to conserve energy. Once up, they hunt and forage for insects and
nectar, in this case abundantly available sugar-water syrup which we keep for
them.
The feeders
are hung in the open garage, a place where there is no direct sun in this
scorching heat of the desert. It is away from the direct gaze of
predatory birds. The sunbirds
feel safe in our company to zip-zap in and around the garden. Many have nested
here and brought their young ones to the feeder. A privilege for us to host
them.
While I
unhooked the feeders and took them for a wash and deep cleansing inside, I had
other chores to attend to in the garden. Sparrows made a lot of noise
demanding their daily dose of bajra and roti. You cannot delay it either. So, I went about
feeding them as also the fish in the tanks start circling on the surface as if
they know, I would feed them too.
Having done
all that, I moved in to make the sweet mixture of one part sugar and three
parts of water in the kitchen. My wife walked out into the garden for
her usual round. She called me
out to hurry up as the whole family of sunbirds were there on the hanging pots,
chirping at the top of their voices, complaining to her about a thief who took
away the feeders.
Sugar takes
time to dissolve. My wife had already helped by cleaning the feeders. Having
stirred for about ten minutes, all the sugar dissolved. It was time to refill
the feeders. Moment, you tilt the feeder a wee bit more, the liquid spills
over. To avoid any wastage, I had to be extra careful and screwed on the caps,
affixed the hooks and moved out immediately.
Boy, was
there excitement in the air. “Blackie” & “Brownie”, as I call them fondly,
announced it to the world that the feeders are back and within seconds all of
them came to test out the taste. The taste may have varied a little, but
their food was available once again. Their arrival and drinking from the feeder were confirmation of their
approval of the liquid.
In half an
hour of the absence of the feeder, there was so much sunbird activity in our
garage. One felt good and relieved that they all were back and probably thanked
me in their melodious chirps.
Next time I
shall refill the feeders after dark when they have gone to roost. Will that be
the ideal time? I wonder!!!!!
JAI HIND
© ® NOEL ELLIS
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