Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Songbird's Nest - Nature's Miracle ..!



The Songbird's nest would hang in one of those patio baskets ...........


Last week was official farewell to winters in this part of the world. Bright sunny days, sultry afternoons, but soft sunny mornings and cooler evenings mark temperature changes and hint at the setting in of hot summer days. It is also the breeding time for some of the common tropical birds like the passerines commonly known as Songbirds. Locally they are called Bulbuls (derived from the word Nightingale) because of their loud hooting sounds. Last year during this season I visited my sister in Bombay. Today, as I saw the Songbirds hovering over areca palms and bougainvillae in my little garden, I was reminded of the time my sister and I enjoyed the nature's miracles at our doorstep. We had noticed that a familiar looking Songbird would be seen everyday in the patio garden where my sister hung baskets of beautiful green creepers that swung half way down from the ceiling. One day the songbird arrived with a dried twig in her beak, and flew from branch to branch as if in search of some thing. She had a jet black furry head, with bright red spots under both her eyes. She was about 6 inches in size with an elegant slender longish body. Before long she had built a neat round nest inside one of the baskets. We had watched the progress of her little new home, and waited for her to return there each night.






........ in search of an ideal site for her nest.


My sister's excitement was rubbing on my brother-in-laws curiosity. He would often be seen with his digital camera trying to sneak in for a shot of the Songbird/nest. That day the songbird stayed in her nest all day and night. She flew away early morning (probably in search of some food) for a short time. When my sister climbed up on her ladder to peak into the nest, she screamed for the camera. The shot we got was rather blurred; so she brought the basket down on the ground all the time looking out for the one who layed those beautiful, soft, pink, spotted eggs.
.........This was the shot we got of 2 eggs before we hung it back and the Bulbul arrived soon after...!





Here she sits on her ivory tower hatching her eggs.... !!! (this picture was taken from a distance by zooming in) ..............


Each day, we waited with baited breath to see the little chicks coming out of those eggs.
During this period I learnt that songbirds or Bulbuls are commonly found in Asia, Middle East, Africa and some parts of Europe. Most species are known to be monogamous; they feed on nuts, seeds, and worms. They have also adapted to living in cities along with human race.
On the 11th day, early one morning two red blobs of flesh were delivered from the 2 egg shells.
They were a restless pair and very very noisy lot. The mother bulbul always shot anxious glances before she flew away in search of food for her new family. A few days later, the new-borns developed their feathers, and we knew that soon they would fly away. They grew beautiful feathers just like their mom. One day the mother bird arrived with her mate; - there was a lot of commotion, chirping, and fluttering of wings; and then the four were gone. They sat perched on the parapet wall for a few minutes, as we watched them and silently prayed for their safety. Then they were gone.
Next morning the patio bore a sombre and quiet look; but we knew that the Songbirds family was safe, happy and chirping away in some garden..!




21 comments:

Rune Eide said...

ice photos and a lovely story.

PS Thank you for the pleasant comment!

introspection said...

Hi RuneE,
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
I loved your post and will be back to read the rest.

budh.aaah said...

Look forward to reading more from you now that I am out of my hibernation :)

B SQUARED said...

I'm learning from reading hear.

Jo said...

What a beautiful post! It quite took my breath away. And what delightful pictures.

I think you must live in a gorgeous part of the world. I would like to see more pictures of it, and hear more of your stories.

Isabella said...

I loved this post and the pics! Here in Germany we are still in the heart of the winter, which should have gone astronomically...
I'd love to read more of your posts! Keep going!

Nessa said...

Love the baby birdies of spring.

Sucharita Sarkar said...

Hello,

What a sweet, lovely story and such nice photos. Heartwarming. And I loved the name of your blog very much.

Pauline said...

great story and photos!

Anonymous said...

Lovely birds. I have always adored birds and watching them nest. I very much enjoyed this post! Also, thank you for your kind words at my blog! I will be visiting again!

Unknown said...

Hi!

The following are my Inner Feelings

These Bulbul pictures are mine and which I posted to family and friends, and on to our housing complex Googlegroups page.

You have added words and posted a blog without giving credit to where you got the pictures from. The pictures even show my house and my property (for example, the basket containing the nest with the eggs / nestlings).

I would expect you to acknowledge that clearly, and please identify yourself to me.

IAS iasidd@gmail.com Mumbai, India

Unknown said...

IAS
Re my previous comment -the Blogger did identify her/himself.When the blog came to my notice I wasn't aware who the person is. I was info rmed a little later that this one was so close from family and friends that did not require my permission.
Had I known that I would not have written my previous comment.

The words have added value to the pictures. Thank you Blogger.

IAS iasidd@gmail.com

introspection said...

Hi IAS,
This is a genuine coincidence, really, Bro-in-law !!
I am glad now you know who the blogger is. And thanks for your comments. You might have read other comments that the photos are beautiful; so credit HAS been given.

Cheers..!

introspection said...

@ BSquared: Thanks for visiting.

Hi Jo: thanks for your comments. This is a gorgeous part of the world & you have standing invitation to visit here. I will be posting more pictures.

Isabella: thanks for passing by and your encouraging comments.

@ Nessa and Sucharita Sarkar: thanks for visiting your kind comments on my post.

Pauline: Many thanks for passing by.

The Things we carried: Birds are beautiful are'nt they..? Thanks for your visit. you are an amazing writer and a wonderful person. It gives me strength to know you.

Daryl said...

What lovely photos .. thanks for visiting and leaving such a nice comment!

Anuradha Shankar said...

Hi,
thanks for leaving a comment on my review of Divya on the Penguin blog. Since our ideas seemed to match, i checked out your profile and landed here. what a surprise that you too seemed to have noticed the beautiful birds!!! Check out my blog too.. and thanks again for the appreciative comment.
Anu

Sarah Laurence said...

It is nice to hear about songbirds when I’m still under snow. Beautiful photo of a gorgeous bird and how exciting to see the little ones hatch!

Paul said...

Nice description. It's great when that sort of thing happens close to home.

But I am trying to figure how the word Bulbuls derived from the word Nightingale...!

david mcmahon said...

I remember bulbuls so well. The house where I grew up in Calcutta had a huge garden with hundreds of birds.

Lilly said...

That was really interesting and I enjoyed your photos.

lime said...

what marvelous shots. i am always impressed by good pictures of birds as i have so little luck in capturing them.