Monsoon Nesting

Who hasn't seen the house sparrows building their nests in the ledges and the cups of ceiling fans. It is fascinating to watch them build their homes from scratch! From selecting a site to collecting the nesting material to making a cozy nest- the birds do it so amazingly. Yes, house sparrows may not be seen in concrete jungles. But in Ghumakkad's neighbourhood, sparrows still thrive! More on the sparrows later.

Come monsoon and the magic unfolds year after year. Loud chirping of birds, plenty of short flights across trees and frenetic activity to build nests can't be missed. This year a pair of Ashy Prinias have made a nest in our front yard using three leaves of Gudmar plant.

Ashy Prinia is a tiny bird with an upright tail. It is a resident of Indian subcontinent and neighbouring region upto Myanmar. It can be found in urban and home gardens like our front yard in Secunderabad. It is insectivorous. It's song is a repetitive tchup, tchup, tchup or zeet-zeet-zeet. Another call is a nasal tee-tee-tee. It's call gives away its presence! 

The way they stitched the leaves together to create a cozy interior, is seen to be believed. Ashy Prinias build their next close to the ground. We bring you a picture and video each to appreciate this tiny bird's talent.

After another day's waiting, Neeta could capture the bird in its nest in our yard. View the pictures in full screen.

Another bird nesting in our neighbourhood in the cable junction box is Brahminy Starling or Brahminy Mynah. The pair have selected an abandoned junction box of cable TV wires. It is mounted at a height on an electric pole. Therefore, safe from predators like stray cats. Brahminy Starlings are generally seen in pairs. See the pictures below:

Here is a two-minute video showing the Brahminy Starlings approaching the nest in a cable junction box. In case the YouTube link does not open, click here.

Earlier, we had shared the nesting pictures of other birds in the following stories (Just click the link):

Wooly-necked Storks - Nesting in colonies on road side trees in Assam - how many nests do you see in the picture below. Answer in the link above.

House Sparrow - Nesting in our house in Secunderabad. See the picture and video below.

A short 40-seconds video shows the dominance of the sparrows for a bird house! Real estate in demand! In case the YouTube video below doesn't play, click here to view the video.

Sparrows in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka

Spot-billed Pelicans - Nesting in man-made baskets in Kolleru Lake in AP

Eurasian Spoon Bill - Nesting on trees along Cauvery river, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, Karnataka

Birds and bats nest together on the same tree. No conflict. See the picture below:

As Aasheesh Pittie, a noted ornithologist and author tells the urban citizens who ask- 'Where should we go to watch birds?' - to not go anywhere. You can watch the birds in the city and its surroundings itself. But he questions them, 'But do we have the time to stand and stare?' Our above story took weeks of observation and patience. A point which Aasheesh makes in his recent book 'The Living Air'.

Special thanks to Yella Prakash Rao for sharing the portraits of Ashy Prinia and Brahminy Starling.

Thanks for browsing.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ Secunderabad/ 13th July 2023

Postscript:

14th July: Another reader Brig Rajeev Singh sent a picture of the Prinia's nest in a potted plant in his house in Secunderabad. Whereas in our yard, the Prinia had made the nest in a free standing plant in a flower bed.

Postscript 22nd July 

Our fears came true! Sadly. As pointed out by many readers, the nest was in grave danger of stray cats. And this morning, we found the nest missing. The supporting thread was still hanging. See the picture.

The birds and the nest was nowhere to be seen. Closer scrutiny of the ground beneath revealed the remains of the nest. The chicks were all gone. So sad! See the picture below.

We felt so sorry for the Prinias. After a while, Neeta sighted both the birds near the nest. One of them had a worm in its beak to feed the chicks. Poor thing. The other bird then found the nest on the ground. Kind of circled it. Waited and then flew away!

Nature's food chain I guess!

#birds #nesting #monsoon #brahminystarling #ashyprinia #EurasianSpoonbill #woolyneckedstork #housesparrow #spotbilledpelican #homegardens #secunderabad #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Giving Birds A Life

The heat wave in India doesn't seem to be abating.
Last week, we brought to you the story of the Death of a Bumble Bee due to heat stroke . Our feathered friends also are threatened by the intense heat. So, how can we help them?
Just keep some water in an earthen pitcher or flat pan in your garden or balcony for the birds to drink whenever they are thirsty. This way we may be able to save them from exhaustion and give them another life.

We did precisely that in our garden in Yapral, Secunderabad. And within no time, it became a 'water amusement park' for different birds.
The first to visit was Purple Rumped Sunbird. See the picture below. It is a female as compared to bright purple male Sunbird. This bird wanted to cool itself in the water pan by taking a dip.

Next came the drying up phase. Notice the wet part of the pot around the bird's feet. It then perched on the Tulsi तुलसी pot nearby to dry its feathers.

It was ready for another 'shower' in the bird-bathtub!

It then had a dip and cooled itself in the afternoon heat. See the water splash!

The bird was cautious like all of us before taking a dip. As if asking itself 'Hope nobody is watching' कोई देख तोे नहीं रहा है ?

 Here while taking a dip, she looked straight into the camera as if posing for us.

 The cycle was repeated many times till other birds came in the queue.

Next, it was a female sparrow, which wanted to quench its thirst.

Bulbuls can't be left behind. See the video shot by another keen bird watcher Prabjoth, our daughter-in-law who was visiting us from Chennai. She positioned herself near the kitchen window for a clear view. Thanks Prabs for this candid video.

Last fortnight, while at Tadoba Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, we observed a pair of Open-billed Storks which had kept their bills open to neutralise the heat. Even though the Storks were on a lake shore having enough water, yet the heat appeared to be intense. Hence open bills. Something like the dogs do when they keep their tougue out when thirsty or out of breath.
The picture was taken from 100 meters away. Observe closely please.

So, those folks facing the heat wave, take adequate precautions. Drink plenty of water. And share some water with birds around you. You may save a bird's life.

Thanks for browsing.
Do send your comments/observations to make our blog better.

     - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 27th May 2015