Tuesday, December 14, 2010

My Pastime



Tweet…Chirp…Trill…Twiddle…I realize it is time lend an ear to my feathered friends. The backyard of my house opens towards lush greenery teeming with birds. And what chatterboxes these winged beauties are! Right from our neighbour’s parrots to tiny nameless birds, all fill the atmosphere with musical chirps. Everyday my world becomes lonely for some time after my hubby and kids leave for their respective duties. This was when I started noticing the birds and many amusing serendipities were awaiting me.

The niche of my kitchen fan was earlier occupied by a pigeon for hatching and we stopped using it in order not to disturb the nest. My habit of feeding birds started with those pigeons. My sons, who love to have breakfast by the window scatter enough crumbs on the sill for the birds to feed. Later I started scattering rice all over the sill for my ‘guests’. How they resemble human in their behaviour when they are tamed. The timid pigeons turned snooty once they felt ‘at home’. They hooted loudly in protest if I put boiled rice and would not eat it, a way of showing that they didn’t like it.

Later these pigeons were driven away by tiny but aggressive bulbuls who started visiting me regularly for their food. They come, have their stomach filled and leave without creating much commotion. One day I noticed those silent eaters chirping and took it for some silly fisticuffs with another of their kind. When this happened the next day also I rushed to the place to find out what went wrong. The bulbuls gave me a look and flew away. I realized to my surprise that I forgot to put rice on the sill and they were calling me with their chirp. This happened once or twice and now we make sure that the ‘supply’ is never broken. It was surprising to find how these birds interact with us when they find that we are hands on for them. The fact that we are detached from nature has taken away lots of amusement from our life, which is full of worries and cares. 

3 comments:

  1. Very nice blog...you expressed the behavior of birds...very well...and your observation is nice...
    Yes when we are alone..and the thoughts and observation on nature will be great..and it will be a great relaxation to observe nature....
    Balaji-Sydney

    ReplyDelete
  2. After reading this everyone will feel very close to those 'winged beauties.'
    Soon your house is going to be converted into an aviary, I believe.
    Waiting for more such posts from you.

    ReplyDelete