Bird Notes

Bird Notes

One of the things that I missed most during my brief stint in the UAE years ago was sightings of the common House crow.  It made me feel more homesick not seeing this bird which is so omnipresent here in India. The only bird I ever saw there in three years was the Rock pigeon.

Now with Covid 19 restricting us to our homes and 'work from homes' becoming the new norm, birdwatching is catching on as the new 'to do' hobby of many. I had my initiation  into it a year ago and I must say that it has been a very fulfilling and enriching entertainment till date for both my senses and soul.

I had always prided myself on being a lover of nature, but had only actually seen birds like sparrows, kites and eagles.  Had only read about cuckoos, woodpeckers and kingfishers, but I hardly realised there was still an encyclopedia out there waiting for my eyes and ears to enjoy and explore .. The cuckoos that we generally speak about are in fact Asian Koels and the woodpeckers are actually called flame backs. 

I did not know the names of the  birds I was seeing for the first time.  Luckily I have a friend who is a keen birdwatcher and so i sought his help initially. I described in detail what I saw.  Long neck, flock of eight, perched up on a huge tree, pink and black in color, long legs..i would say..He would  give me a name and I would google it up immediately and Voila, I had found my bird- the 'Painted Stork'.. The next bird I described was sand- colored and white with a black face, medium -sized with two different calls, one screechy and another more melodic..perching at eye levels and higher..he would again give me a name and i googled to confirm It matched my sightings.  It was the 'Rufous Treepie'. This routine went on for some time.. I must have had some ten birds in my list, when the same friend suggested I make a log of my sightings on the online bird site.  Soon another local friend shared with me an app for birds commonly found in Kerala.  Now I needed no googling as I could just look into that app and this started my journey into the world of birds.

A couple of years back we were enjoying a holiday in Coorg.  It was just the beginning of monsoon and on the first morning, it was not daylight yet when I was awaken by a very sweet melodious call.. I immediately recorded it on my phone.. Our cottage was glass walled with covering curtains and I pulled aside the curtain to momentarily glimpse a slender black bird, which frightened by the sudden movement, flew away.. The next morning at almost the same time, I heard the same sweet melody. I slowly tiptoed in the direction of the bird call and made a small peephole with the curtain and lo! It was right in front of me on a electric line, singing to glory.. I noticed it's rounded head, glossy jet black body, a two spoked long tail and black dewdrop shapes at the end of the spokes... I had sighted the 'Racket-tailed drongo'.. I later learnt.  Every bird in my list has a similar fascinating story.

Some birds are regular visitors and I know exactly where they can be spotted in my home.. like the common mynas, Indian pond herons, white- breasted water hens and cattle egrets. Some others come in specific seasons or in specific situations.  Some come in flocks, some are solitary.  When I have ripe papayas on my tree, I can expect the white-cheeked barbets and black-rumped flame backs.. When it is raining, I can expect white throated kingfishers, Asian koels as a courting couple, drum beat sounding Greater coucals and the Rufous Treepies with more than one kind of call. The whistling- like quacking lesser whistling ducks.. On a perfectly sunny day, I shall definitely see little Purple- rumped sunbirds, oriental magpie robins, a pale billed flower pecker, a little spider hunter, a couple or more rose -ringed parakeets and jungle babblers and rarely tailor birds. I am able to now distinguish atleast some 25 different bird calls..

Some birds are rare visitors like the Golden oriole which is strikingly attractive with its dark yellow and black body. I long to see it again.  The jungle owlet 🦉is by far one of my favorite birds. It's tuwit tuwit sound seems to beckon me each time..It is almost like a soft woollen doll, can fit in one's palm, brown and furry with two cute round staring eyes.. It allows one to click as many pictures and sits perfectly still as if in a trance or in deep meditation.

 I  am very fond of the musical oriental magpie robins and sweet sounding bulbuls which are mostly seen in summer. Perhaps the loudest one I've sighted till date is the Plain Prinia.  I literally dropped off what I had in my hand hearing it's harshly loud continuous call  like a big rifle gun firing off in a war zone. I spotted the red-whiskered  bulbul and white- browed bulbul only once during my stay in a relatives' home in Trichur. I have never seen it here.

Woolly- necked storks have a neck like white wool and cormorants are large black birds with long necks.. These and a few duck species - I sighted a year ago on a house boating trip to Munroe island.  

But these apart, most of the birds I have seen are from my terrace or right here from my kitchen window.. The latest I saw a couple of days back is a small black bird which makes a tit tit tit sound as it flew and aptly named the 'Cinerous Tit'.

My kitchen window is for me like the beanstalk which Jack climbed up  to go into his magical world.  Only I have come back from my magical world many a time having to deal with burnt lunches and charred milk pans... !!!