Why the bulbul built a nest at our doorstep

Why did the bulbul choose a tree at the entrance to our house to build a nest?  Well, here is the story.

Our garden has feral cats, shikras and tree pies visiting regularly.  Needless to say all three are predators of birds.  The bulbul perceived less threat from the occupants of the house.
I Watched the parent birds and chick through the camera sitting in my house comfortably. Visitors to our house never noticed the nest, so the chick hatched successfully and grew into a handsome bulbul. 

An organic garden which is not manicured, but left to grow naturally.  That is the secret of attracting birds and butterflies into your garden. For me the pleasure of gardening is complete when I see it come alive with bird chirpings.

Please share the video if you like it.  Please also tell  what you think about the video.  Here is the link to the video.

https://youtu.be/csI7uur4mt8

Plants around us are havens for wildlife!

Correction: What is written as "Nest of a warbler" is actually the nest of a sun bird. Sorry for the error.

Viewpoint of a green barbet

We, barbets are great at home building. Apart from finding something to eat, pecking a hole on the tree keeps us occupied for the best part of our life. (After all we are related to the famous woodpeckers!)



When this neat hole on a wild neem tree was complete, we had reason to be proud of our handy work. We managed raising two broods inside during the summer months and our chicks are now grown up and flying about on their own.

During winter, we normally fly away to warmer climes, what are wings for anyway.
It seemed appropriate to rent out our premises to other needy folks. But look at what the ants have made of it. They are really dirty housekeepers.



When the squirrels came and cleaned up the mess, we were happy. The squirrel kids were snug and warm for the winter. Not one but two families lived inside.





The parakeets need a spacious bungalow and are now checking out the squirrel home. We barbets are sitting on the fence and watching the fight between the parakeet and the squirrel.






Hey, but why is the tree looking shrivelled up? The squirrels have been extending the house illegally from inside, eating away the sap inside.




Looking at the withering tree, we know that it will not be able to weather the next winter storm. May be it is time for us to move on to another tree!

Gardening for wildlife

Flaming glory is a creeper common in the North of India, attractive with red bunches of flowers. I believe it is an exotic creeper but it is a popular one seen in many houses in Gurgaon. Here is a slide show on the wildlife it harbours!

http://www.wildbytes.in/backyard-wildlife/index.html#2.0

Urban wildlife- survival instincts of lapwings

The red wattled lapwing is a regular visitor to our neighbourhood park. So I was thrilled to see three spotted eggs on the ground on 5th June. The eggs were laid in the centre of the Park which sees morning walkers doing their rounds every day (who would not notice the eggs anyway) and young children playing football and cricket in the evenings. To protect the eggs the bird had laid the eggs underneath a tree-guard.

Today morning (9th June), I went to check on the eggs. There was no one in the Park. But I was delighted to see two small chicks with their mother. The mother noticed me as I was still at the gate and started alarm calls. The pitch went higher and higher as I tried to go close. The chicks scampered in one direction while the mother went in another. Soon the father lapwing appeared on the scene and started shrieking. Then, an amazing thing happened. The chicks suddenly disappeared in the grass and made themselves invisible. Almost simultaneously, sparrows and Indian robins started flying around the area even as the parent lapwings held on to their spots. I was mesmerised by this amazing act of community feeling!

Needless to say I had to return without a photo. I could not help but feel moved enough to write this blog!