Thursday, May 6, 2021
Black Kite and the chicks Part 2
Starting off with a comment I got from Mr K Parthasarathi in Part One of the Black Kite.
Nature abounds with beauty, if only we observe keenly to the minute details. One need not go to forests or sanctuaries for watching the birds as they reside around our houses also. It just calls for an abiding interest. Looking for the second video soon.
I know this second part got delayed. The main reason was that I was busy with some other assignments. So here goes:
The young ones were growing up pretty fast and the parents were getting more and more protective about them.
I could have got better shots of the nest from the terrace, but stopped venturing there as the parents were getting the wrong idea that I was a threat to the young ones.
The male and the female made regular sorties to feed the young ones.
While observing the kite I couldn't help notice some of the other birds that visited the tree. Like this Indian Golden Oriole.
The bee eater turns up early morning and they are my favourite
This female Koel was looking menacing
The coppersmith was always up there on the wire reciting her tuk tuk at regular intervals.
I have seen the common mynah but this one looked different and after looking it up in the Bird book, I realized that this is the Brahminy Mynah.
These fan tail birds keep flitting from branch to branch and are very fast, making it difficult to click them. What I like about them is their sweet long bird call (20:57)
The sunbird as usual was good with her acrobatic tricks.
I was lucky enough to spot a sparrow. Yes, the common sparrow is not so common nowadays.
The crow kept looking at me as if to say "why don't you click me?"
When you have time just observe the crows and see how smart they are. (R K Laxman's favorite past time was to sketch the crows)
The parrot was not far from the nest and observed the activity
He finally decided to savour the seeds from the pods of the same tree
While filming all this, the sound of the birds chirping filled up my sound track.
Reminded me of what I read somewhere....... if you want to hear the sound of the bird, don't buy a cage, plant a tree.
Meanwhile the feeding went on and you can see that one of them is waiting for his turn to be fed
There was some unseasonal rains and that caught the parents off guard. I mean the nesting season is well before the monsoon so that the young ones fly off before the monsoon. But this storm was really lashing out threatening to dislodge the nest. The mother bird tried her best to protect the young ones under her wings. After the storm was over this is what I captured. (12:00)
The next day was bright and sunny. While observing the young ones I was wondering about some of the traits that the young ones pick up. Like house keeping. When the chicks want to relieve themselves, they will slowly walk backwards to the end of the nest, aim and shoot out of the nest, thereby keeping the nest clean. I don't think they were potty trained by the parents, so I presume it is an inherited behaviour. (9:46 and 17:22)
The young ones liked to explore the surroundings when the parents were not around.
Meanwhile there was romance brewing on the adjacent tree between two Coucals (Bharadwaj) The nest on that tree is an old crow’s nest.
Coming back to the Black Kite, I found that they were more anxious about the young ones
I even found one of them dozing off during the day time. (26:10)
There was a squirrel who liked the thrill of jumping from one tree to the next one.
As the days progressed I found that only one chick was active or rather only one head was popping up.
After waiting for one more day I took a risk and went and peeped from the terrace. My fears were confirmed as I found the chick lying listless in the nest. It was probably dead. The mother kite did not give up hope and kept nudging and goading the listless one.
By evening she must have realised what has happened and she picked up the carcass from the nest and threw it in a thicket not far away from the tree. The action was partially caught by my camera (36:52)
Notice how we call them a chick or “young one” but the moment they are dead we refer to them as carcass.
The part where I mentioned earlier that the chick was caught dozing off, maybe he was not well and couldn’t hold his head straight.
The sad part was that the next day the same thing happened with the second chick.
I was wondering, what must have gone wrong that both the chicks died within twenty four hours of each other. Was it food poisoning? Or was it due to the unseasonal rains which made them fall sick.
I was hoping to capture the whole life cycle and present it as a cheerful event to the already gloomy world, but it was not to be.
Life does not go as planned.
This was one of the reasons I was putting off writing the second part.
I am leaving these last two pics here without any comments.
The video was shot a little at a time on a daily basis and put together without much editing.
So it may be a little lengthy, more like a documentary of the nest.
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39 comments:
So sad, all the chicks died, they are the toughest in their category, still unable to survive, nothing but food poisoning, so much anti covid sprays are every where, very difficult to survive in such urban atmosphere. - K R Addal
Very interesting
Thanks for sharing - Dinesh Dani
Absolutely beautiful ❤️ - Jennifer D'Souza
लै भारी - Ravindra Darne
Those tiny little ones are so fluffy on their heads! I can see why the bee keeper is a favorite -- very handsome indeed!
The picture with the romance between two Cougars is my favorite.
Beautiful shots!
If you want to hear the sound of the bird, don't buy a cage, plant a tree...if only people would hear these words of wisdom.
Sad the chicks did not make it. I would suspect it ws something bad the fed on. Will the adults try again or not until next season.
Your birds make our seem so boring!
Very interesting. That must be some tree you have there which attracts so many different birds! - Anand Rao
A walking Field Guide. And an inspiration to many 👍😊
Hi Joe
Thanks for the refreshing blog !!
Regards,
Vikrant
Nice coverage but a heart touching end!
They all have such lovely colours, especially the green ones.
I've learnt from you and another blog in India that bird life there is just amazing. It was sad ending but thank your for showing the life of birds.
Beautiful pictures and a reminder of the circle of life. We have a bluebird house behind our house that has only successfully raised one brood of bluebirds in two years no-thanks to some raccoons. We hopefully have the raccoon problem solved and are just waiting on some brooding bluebirds.
Thank you Joe for the article. You sure have the patience and time to observe nature. Unfortunately my case is different. Weather was bad and we were home bound.
Thanks for sharing the article and can read and imagine the scene and enjoy. Take care and be safe - Padmini
I didn't know that there was such a variety of mynah.
Too good Joe. Patience makes the job perfect.
Regards
Madanlal Sharma
You've got quite the collection of birds nearby. Sad about the chicks. Fascinating to watch, I'm sure.
Kudos to you. You created it as a well knit story with a tragic end. Excellent observation - George Joseph
Fascinating. I live in a village in Kerala yet i don't see such a variety of birds.
Your photos of the baby birds are magical. The absent parent birds would be so upset, if they knew that their babies were exploring alone.
Needs a lot of interest and dedication to closely watch for so many days... Sad part is that the chicks died early and you lost the opportunity to capture till they fly off - Jose George (Bangalore)
Dear Joe,
This is such a tender post. Your keen observation of Nature is truly outstanding. So much patience is required and dedication to obtaining the final image.
Life is so fragile, a message that seems to sum up the age we are in.
Such a delightful post!
Hi Joe sir lovely shots, in this COVID situation going through your bog is really refreshing ,otherwise also nowadays no one goes out to enjoy the nature,thanks for posting this wonderful article, stay safe.
Nature is awesome in its wonder but there are life and death struggles going on in places we don’t always see. Sometimes this is due to the activities of humankind and sometimes it’s in the wild where only the fittest survive.
Sad to know about the chicks. The tragedy at the end overshadows everything
Regards,
Amar Bakare
Great pictures! Great narrative! Well done.
What a great blog, although the sad demise of the chicks is very disheartening!! Nature has a way ...... - AnnMary (Long Island)
Very sad, this is survival of the fittest. Very well covered Joe with all the different species of birds. - Vilas Bhalerao
What a beautiful blog with all these different types of birds.
I enjoyed it.
Greetings Irma
What an amazing feast of birds in their various colours, moods and activities that you have captured for days waiting patiently and silently. I have heard someone say that in order to see birds, it is necessary to become part of them and their silence. Kudos to you for the great collection though it ended on a sad note a tad bit. Thank you very much.
I am astounded by the birds of India, and by your photography! I hope you are well and my prayers are with the people of India as the COVID pandemic rages on. I hope you stay well.
Precious!
So sweet babybirds and best parents!
Interesting story and made it much more by nature and YOU Joe...
Such beautiful shots!
Especially the fluffy babies!
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