It was half past six in the morning. The sky was swathed in an orange hue, almost as if an artist had carelessly dragged his orange-tipped paint brush across the vast canvas. Elsewhere, a group of inquisitive youngsters stood around a tall, leafy tree, pointing, staring and chattering excitedly, much like the tree’s winged denizens.
“Calm down, guys, or you’ll scare the bird away,” floated a man’s voice above all the chaos. “Have patience. How would you like it if some strangers hovered around your door in the early hours of morning, talking loudly and incessantly?”
“But Arun sir,” said little Arpan, “we’re here to watch the birds, and there’s not a bird in sight, rare or otherwise. Except for crows. But we see them every day. Maybe if we did create some ruckus and wake up the birds…,” he trailed off, before he started jumping in excitement and pointing up the tree. A green face with a tiny red beak was at last visible through the verdant branches, followed by a bigger bird’s face.
“Doesn’t the young one look adorable?” the girls oohed and aahed, while one of the boys said, “Now that we have seen parrots, we may be able to get on with seeing the others.”
“Won’t we?” he added expectantly, looking at the instructor.
“We will, but you’ve got to stop making noise as you will scare the birds away,” warned the instructor.
Visitors
“When’s the best time to bird watch?” asked Aparna, from the group.
“Any time is a great time for bird watching, but summer is the best,” said the instructor.
Indeed, not only will you catch a glimpse of birds taking a dip in puddles to ward off the heat, you’ll also see many migratory birds making a beeline for the homes they had left in winter. If you have banyan or banana trees in and around your city, look closely and you might see a yellow-and-black beauty with its red beak peeking out from behind the branches. It’s the Golden Oriole you’ve spotted, and it flies all the way from Eurasia to escape the biting cold.
If you happen to walk near a marshy area, take care to not step on seemingly haphazard piles of twigs, reeds or sticks. If you do, you might run the risk of encountering an angry black crowned night heron. Stocky and looking as if it is hunched over with its head tucked into its shoulders, it has a grey and white plumage with a pair of white plumes. Unlike egrets and day herons, the black crowned night heron is nocturnal and is up and about at night feeding on fish and frogs. Other migratory birds include the blue cheeked bee eater, comb duck, blue tailed bee eater and the Asian Koel among others.
Other birds you could spot include Blue Jays and sparrows, if you look hard enough as they are fast dwindling in number. Then there are mynahs, kingfishers, the Indian Robin, and in marshy areas, you will find ducks and flamingos too.
Find an instructor to help you on your quest for birds, grab your binoculars, arm yourself with some bird seed, or fruits and nuts, a note book and a pen, and you’re good to go.
Happy birding!
