Bird watching of the Feathered and Unfeathered Varieties

satchitananda · Jan 3, 2012

sushmavja said: ↑

satchi,
nice snippet..birds are a rare phenomenon now..it has been years that i have seen a sparrow literally and people say this is because of the cell-phone transmissions all over..when i was small(my KG times) there used to be a pomegranate tree beside our bedroom..early morning by 5.30,different types of birds used to come and start chirping there...my dad says i used to get up because of the sound and enjoy seeing these birds..and i sat there so much time on the bed watching the birds tht i would be often late to school..your post brought back my childhood memories..
Click to expand...

True Sushma, much though sparrows could irritate one by their non stop chirping and droppings, I really miss them very much these days and would give anything to see them once again.

Arunarc · Jan 3, 2012

Dear Satchi
I was wondering which unfeathered bird you are talking about, never dreamt that it will be aeroplanes.
Oooh house beside the airport, I can understand you wake up in the middle of the night by that big noise. You are blessed it has gone away now far.
Yes Satchi you make the noise like those birds it will surely come to your balcony. Don't forget to click a few snaps of that.
I enjoyed bird watching in Australia wow it would be so beautiful. early morning that was my 1st duty. I would put some bread and bird food for them and if I would be a bit late you will see all the birds on the fence waiting for you. The varity of birds was a real feast to the eyes. cuckatoos(black and white), sparrows, parrots, sea gulls etc.
Once i had a kingfisher too, It was hurt and was a baby, we cannot keep these birds at home, so had to call those bird catchers and ask them to take it as it needed treatment. My son and myself we just applied some medicine and tied a banded to it on it's leg.
Do keep something to eat and some water in a dish in the balcony, today or tomorrow they will surely come to eat. That is the way I use to attract birds.

satchitananda · Jan 3, 2012

Hey Aruna,

Thanks for the wonderful idea. Will certainly give it a try. Keep my fingers crossed and hope for some luck.

kottravai · Jan 3, 2012

Wow, trust Satchi to come up with interesting titles (and content to match )!

Well, my sister's place in Bangalore near the old Airport and they used to tell the time based on which flight was landing or taking off. The house being parallel to the runway gave us ample opppotunities to bird-watch the unfeathered varieties. When my niece started talking, most of her baby-talk (mazhalai) consisted of names of airlines.

While I was in London, I stayed in a suburb that was close to Heathrow Airport. On my way to work, I used to see planes land and take off, cross each other mid-way and all that. Even after seeing them everyday, my fasciation for aeroplanes has not gone down. Whenever I see a new logo on the tail, I crack my head (of course, with Google) to find out which country's airline it is, if I am not able to view the name on the body. Even now, every time I hear the 'whirr' sounds, I invariably look up.

So, you are on your birdie quest now. Good.... Just keep your camera handy just in case Bluey decides to drop in for another visit. I'd very much like to see one, given my longing for these small birds (as in Birdie, Birdie! where art thou?). Listening to the melodies that these birds sing calms and refreshes one, doesn't it?

satchitananda · Jan 3, 2012

Hi Kottravai,

Although the airport moved out we do get these fighter jets 5-6 of them at a time taking off sometimes and then one tends to feel all the commercial flights and jets are better off than these. :-D

The difference I think between living next to the airport in other countries and in India is that there flights do not take off or land in the middle of the night. They have some laws concerning that I think, whereas in India most international flights take off and land at the most unearthly hours. :-(

mansimahi · Jan 5, 2012

Nice one satchi - although from the title i was thinking on the same lines of sabitha I envy that you can see / hear birds...

I live close to one of the airport terminals here and i get to see only the birds of the unfeathered variety in all colours and sizes day and night. (i dont know if it is correct, but there does seem to be more flights in the night), but they all make the same jarring noise unlike the feathered kind with different sounds. My kids compete with each other to name the airline from the colours in the tail ...the speed at which they identify the bird (unfeathered) will put an ornithologist to shame. It is hard to see the feathered variety flying in this concrete jungle. I remember when my younger daughter saw a crow for the first time in india, she was so thrilled - she had just heard the story of "the thirsty crow" and to see a live crow in india made her day - sad that even a common crow was a strange thing for her.

Balajee · Jan 5, 2012

Satchi, when I saw the title I thought you had also written about the featherless abirds that Kamalji feasts his eyes on during his morning walk, the ones in track suits. But you have limited yourself to our feathered friiends. Great blog but a couple of pphotos would have been even more welcome (of the feathered kind only, of course).

satchitananda · Jan 5, 2012

Hi Balajee,

Happy New Year. I wish I had the necessary skills and a camera of the required caliber to catch these birds when they dash across from one tree to the other. Besides I am not even sure I have seen these birds. Can only localize their calls as coming from a certain tree. Will certainly post if I am lucky.

kelly1966 · Jan 5, 2012

hi Satchi...
you sure are lucky to see exotic birds.. the one in the pic looks so cute.. we get to have dozens of pigeons who simply **** all over the balcony and most of the time if we are not looking Harley.. my doggie.. laps it up..UGH!!!.. but we do get to see loads of kites soaring or resting on the monstrous mobile signal towers which are there at all roof tops... crows are definitely getting rare.. sparrows well non existent...
my mom's place in Mumbai.. we wake up to chirping of a family of parrots who swing on the cable tv cables. they have adapted to the city life I guess..
Kerman

pranatim · Jan 5, 2012

Nice piece of writing. You spoke about HAL airport I know I can understand your plight. My cousin stayed near by and with lost of sleep and too much noise she reduced so many kgs. Nice piece of writing and i have seen this bird earlier. Its so lovely one is it whistling bird? Do they sound like whistles??