It was quite sunny, bright in the morning, but the sun set in a wide, red glow. Late at night, the sky turns a muddy red and unexpected drops of rain fall on the screen of my phone. Looking up, the deodar trees stand motionless, rigid while a single sagwan tree across the road swishes drunkenly from a singularly wayward gust of wind. And even as I take it in, streaks of lightning singe the brooding sky.
Another morning, another day visits us. Today has been worthwhile for I have been able to identify one bird that has been visiting us lately :
At first I thought it was a sparrow. Sparrows, those house friendly birds that were once so abundant, have drastically reduced in numbers and that is a telling commentary on the degraded environment in which we abide these days. Thankfully, there are still a few sparrows around, such as this proud male -
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| Sparrow in the pomegranate bush, Faridabad |
Finally, I thought that since the bill resembles that of a finch, I should look for finches and in course of that search, I came upon the Indian Silverbill, also known as the white throated munia, aila!
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| Indian Silverbill, Faridabad |
That is the lemon tree, of the fragrant variety. The whole tree has sprouted white flowers, which attracts not only the sparrows and the silverbill, but also the red vented bulbul, the robins, wrens and the common babblers.
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| The Red vented Bulbul under the lemon tree |
Got myself another budding rosebush, should hope this one keeps up to the standards!
Finally, the sky opens up and lets down in torrents. A time to listen to some music again, this time Chris Botti performing the Steps of Positano on his trumpet -
Oh such a beautiful quote, and I adore the photos of the lovely little birds. I am feeling very tired of waiting at the moment, my patient friend. BUT the universe appears to be making an effort to make my Tofino dream come true...some possibilities have been offered, so far none that my dog Jasmine can fit into.......but I am encouraged that the offers are coming. Stay tuned. I may make that leap yet! I am ready and it is Time.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, Sherry and much before you thought it would, your dreams are going to come true!
DeleteThank you for your kind words :)
The Indian Silverbill is a beautiful little bird. I love the fact that birds like this continue to survive, amid all the human-caused degradation of wild habitat.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love your photographs too—amazing how you were able to focus on the bird with all the vegetation (in bloom!) in the foreground.
You are right, Rita about the pollution. Delhi is almost as polluted as Beijing these days and drastic steps are needed to reverse the trend. You are also right about the difficulty in capturing birds on camera, for they are so fickle and sprightly that the moment you manage a focus, the bird skips out of view!
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting, Rita (Falling Water) Wechter :)