There are now three healthy babies, with their eyes open and feathers growing out well, in the pot.
The eldest one looks as if he was dipped in ink, so he became Inky. So, of course, the others are Pinky and Ponky (Do you remember the old nursery rhyme? Inky, pinky, ponky Father had a donkey Donkey died Father cried Inky, pinky, ponky!)
Videos by AM:
24th April
28th April:
Both parents often enter the pot to feed and care for the babies
30 April:
13 May: Here’s Pattu, somersaulting in her eagerness to get to the coriander! Inky can also be seen.
Many of the living beings that I see on my walks, I find, have interesting mythological stories and spiritual allusions attached to them. Here are a few samplers!
Let’s start with a pretty flower that used to be part of almost every garden, whether urban or rural.
Parijata, Coral Jasmine
In Hindu mythology, the celestial Parijata tree was the tree of the universe which was owned by Indrani and planted in “Svarga”, located between Heaven and Earth. It was supposed to grant every desire. Krishna’s wife, Sathyabhama, wanted the tree; his other consort, Rukmini, wanted him to get Parijata flowers for her.
Krishna stole the tree and brought it to Dwaraka, and granted the wishes both his consorts in His usual crafty way. He planted the tree in Sathyabhama’s garden, in such a way that the flowers fell into Rukmini’s garden!
There is another poignant tale associated with this flower. According to this myth, Princess Parijataka was in love with the Sun. Her love remained unrequited. Heartbroken, she committed suicide and from her ashes rose the Parijat tree. Since she is unable to bear the sight of her love during the day, she blooms only at night, and sheds the flowers as tears, before the sun rises. Some legends also go on to say that the tree sheds its flowers upon the touch of the first rays of the sun. These flowers spread their fragrance during the day, as a sign of Parijataka’s undying love for her lover, the Sun.
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Here’s a flower that stands in the lakes, and spreads its beauty across the waters.
Waterlily
I found this lovely Ojibwe (Native American) legend about a beautiful woman, who loved the beautiful lakes and bounty of the Ojibwe people and their land. She appeared in the dreams of the chief of the tribe, asking the people to choose in what form she should reside among them. Worried about choosing wrongly and losing her, they asked her to choose her form herself. Her response:
“I know where I will live…..I shall live where the canoes of the people travel. Dear children, I will kiss your cheeks as you sleep by the lakes and there I will make my home….I will be the water lily!”
The next day, the lake near which the tribe lived was filled with thousands of waterlilies.
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The Passion Flower has stories related to more than one religion.
Passion Flower (wild)
Passion Flower white variety (wild)
Passion Flower red variety (cultivated)
Passion Flower purple/blue variety (cultivated)
Passion fruit
The “Passion” in “passion flower” refers to the passion of Jesus in Christian theology.[29] In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries adopted the unique physical structures of this plant, particularly the numbers of its various flower parts, as symbols of the last days of Jesus and especially his crucifixion, as follows:
The blue passion flower (P. caerulea) shows most elements of the Christian symbolism The pointed tips of the leaves were taken to represent the Holy Lance. The tendrils represent the whips used in the flagellation of Christ. The ten petals and sepals represent the ten faithful apostles (excluding St. Peter the denier and Judas Iscariot the betrayer). The flower’s radial filaments, which can number more than a hundred and vary from flower to flower, represent the crown of thorns. The chalice-shaped ovary with its receptacle represents the Holy Grail. The 3 stigmas represent 3 nails and the 5 anthers below them 5 hammers or 5 wounds (four by the nails and one by the lance). The blue and white colors of many species’ flowers represent Heaven and Purity. In addition, the flower keeps open three days, symbolising the three years’ ministry.
In India, blue passion flowers are called Krishna kamala (कृष्णकमळ) in Karnataka and Maharashtra, while in Uttar Pradesh, it is colloquially called “Panch Pandav” (referring to the five Pandavas in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata). The five anthers are interpreted as the five Pandavas, the divine Krishna is at the centre, and the radial filaments are the opposing hundred Kauravas. The colour blue is moreover associated with Krishna as the colour of his aura.
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The Squirrel (the Three-striped Palm Squirrel, to give it its full name) is a little mammal that can be found in all our cities and villages.
According to Ramayana, the squirrel earned its stripes for assisting the monkey army in building the bridge to Lanka. The squirrel worked tirelessly, the story goes, gathering pebbles and small stones for the bridge’s construction, never worrying that its contribution was minimal. Rama was so impressed with its dedication to Sita’s rescue mission, that he caressed the little creature’s back with three fingers, leaving behind three prominent white stripes.
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Even nocturnal creatures have stories and mythology pertaining to them. Here is the Owl, which keeps our rodent population in check by preying on them at night.
Spotted Owlet
Mottled Wood Owl
Indian Eagle Owl (Rock Eagle Owl)
In Hindu mythology the owl has been treated at times reverently and given some place of prestige. Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of money and wealth, rides an owl. Some people believe that if a white owl enters a home it is treated as a good omen by relating it to the possible flow of wealth or money into that home. It is also believed that the owls have magical properties which can ward off bad luck. However, because of their nocturnal activity and screeching call, they have also been associated with bad luck and death, and are believed to be Alakshmi’s (Lakshmi’s twin, the goddess of strife and misfortune) savari or vehicle. I have also heard a myth that owls have jewels in their foreheads, which probably explains why some of them are killed.
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The Peepal Tree is much revered in mythology, and perhaps history, too.
Fresh leaves of the Peepal Tree
Peepal tree shading a small temple
Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher who became known as the Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment circa 500 BCE under this tree, which is called the Bodhi (Giver of Knowledge). Ashvattha, as the tree is also called, is a name of Shiva and Vishnu; according to Sankara, this name is derived from the terms shva (tomorrow) and stha (that which remains)
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Small vignettes surround other birds too.
Long-tailed Shrike
Many people that Shrikes are called “butcher birds” as some of them impale their prey on throns before eating them. But they are also called “Gandhari”, after the wife of Dhritarashtra, the Kuru king who was the father of the Kauravas in the Mahabharata, because of the “masks” over their eyes. Gandhari, to be like her husband, blindfolded herself permanently when she married him.
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A bird that stands in shallow waters to feed, is also associated with spirituality.
Greater Flamingos
In general, flamingos are considered to be very positive spiritual symbols. When the lovely flamingo spirit animal calls, we are being reminded to celebrate the beauty, romance, and fun in life. They are called “agni pankh”, that is, with “wings of flame”…the name can be understood from the photograph.
Fascinating, isn’t it, to get to know the stories that surround our fellow-beings!
My morning walk from my daughter’s home to mine, in terms of birdsong:
The Koel, of course, starts its call well before dawn.
Male Koel
Female Koel
As the light increases, I hear the little voice of the Purple-rumped Sunbird
Male Purple-rumped Sunbird
Female Purple-rumped Sunbird
And the bolder call of the Tailorbird.
Common Mynas screech as they look for food.
Jungle Mynas add their call too.
Rose-ringed Parakeets are audible as they sail past overhead.
Male (with rose ring around the neck) and female Rose-ringed Parakeets
House and Jungle Crows add their cawing to my ears.
House Crow
Jungle (or Long-billed) Crow
I hear, above me, the whinnying of the Black Kites.
Black Kite
A White-cheeked Barbet winds itself up to begin its “guttr-guttr” call. Red-whiskered Bulbuls pour their liquid, burbling song into the morning air.
White-cheeked Barbet
When I reach my front door, the pigeons living in the ventilator shaft coo at each other, and I know I am home.
Quite a delightful medley, early in the morning! I think of those who live near forests of lakes, and who must be hearing so many more birds…..what bird calls do you hear, first thing in the morning?
Probably one of the last few messages on the yahoo group, which has served us so well for so long!
Turning my back on the Eurasian Hobby frenzy at Hoskote, I took my Go to Nature group (we are 5 ladies who just enjoy the outing, no matter what the size and shape of the living beings we see!) to Turahalli Tree Park.
I was rather saddened by the fact that today, the word “tree” has to prefix the word “park”, or else it might be mistaken for an industrial or tech “park”! I belong to a generation where a park was only full of trees.
Wondering if this would be a very manicured and tamed patch of the Turahalli forest, I found that many of the residents of Sobha Forest View seemed to be posting quite interesting creatures, and we decided to visit.
Getting wind of my visit, some of the residents of Sobha Forest View, who have attended my walks at the forest patch for Bngbirds, came along too, and it was heartwarming to meet them all after a long gap (and at a fair distance..no hand shakes!) Here we are, at the gate:
Vaijnath, Subbu, Cavery, Jayashree, Vrushali, Biju, Uma, Vijetha, Sushma, Archana, Shreya (I took the pic!)
We had a really enjoyable time. The park is, of course, maintained by the Karnataka Forest Department, and there is planting of several trees going on,but it’s been left sufficiently wild to keep it very interesting. At the same time, with its grid of paths, children and elders will find it a friendly space;the KFD have provided granite seats here and there to sit and rest. Most important, there is also a toilet facility, though one stall is in poor condition; the other had water. I do wish we could maintain our public toilets well! There was no provision for drinking water, a small pot near the entrance was empty and not covered. Perhaps, in these Covid times, everyone has to bring their own drinking water.
As we started, a flight of Bee-eaters, swooping up and down as they “hawked”(that is the term) for insect breakfasts. A patch of high reeds had Silverbills and a few Red Avadavats too.(Couldn’t see a male in the bright red plumage but got a few ladies with their lipstick beaks!) Drongos made their insect sorties overhead, and Rose-ringed Parakeets settled down on bare tree branches to give us parrot-green delight. It was surprising to see a couple of Jerdon’s Bushlarks sitting quite near us, and one of them displayed the typical lark behaviour of rising up in the air, singing, and then dropping down. White-eyes,
a few Warblers, and several other birds (see my checklist!) added to our sightings. Here’s a juvenile Long-tailed Shrike:
Nor were we lacking for other forms of life. The butterflies seemed to be out in such variety, and we seemed to be walking through a paradise of flying jewels! We did find some not-so-usual as well as the usual ones.Here’s a Common Lime butterfly:
And one we call “Virat Kohli”, because it is the Indian (Grizzled) Skipper!
Insects, too, claimed our attention, from a fluorescent Katydid, to Spittlebugs, Two mating moths which looked like two T’s joined together to make an “H”,
jewel bugs flaunting their gleaming metallic colours, an inchworm, stink bugs and Tussock Moth caterpillars, tent and jumping spiders, a shiny Carpenter Bee
…and so the list went. Uma and Vaijnath had excellent spotting skills for these tiny creatures!
What about the wildflowers and trees? Well, we saw a lot of Jamun, Peepul and other tree saplings coming up; rather close to each other, we thought, but I suppose the KFD know about it better than we do! We found several Palash (Butea monosperma) trees, and non-native (I wouldn’t call them that after they have been around for about 300 years now!) trees like Gulmohar too. Wildflowers like the Puncture Vine (Tribulus terristris), Devil’s Coach Whip or Blue Snakeweed(Stachytarpheta sp.), Passionflower (Passiflora sp.) and Coat Button (Tridax procumbens) dotted the paths, along with grass which looked very beautiful with their feathery seed cases waving in the breeze. I explained how many of these plants are used in traditional medicine.
After those who lived nearby returned, the five of us who do our weekly nature walk, sat on the granite seats under the cooling shade of the trees, and shared our usual (delicious!) snacks,
enjoyed the peace of the park, and left, hoping to return again soon.
Awl, Common Banded Baron, Common Baronet Blue, Pale Grass Blue, Dark Grass Blue, Zebra Bob, Chestnut Brown, Bush Brown, Common Evening Castor, Angled Castor, Common Cerulean, Common Coster, Tawny Emigrant, Common Flash, Red Jezebel, Common Leopard, Common Lime, Common Mormon, Common Pansy, Chocolate Pansy, Lemon Rose, Common Rose, Crimson Sailer, Common Skipper, Indian Grizzled Swift, un id Tiger, Blue Tiger, Plain Tiger, Striped Yellow,Common Grass Yellow, Spotless Grass Yellow, Three-spot Grass
Participants:
Our Go to Nature group: Biju Cavery Jayashree Vrushali and I.
Looking forward already to whatever is in store for me this coming weekend!
As far as my outings go, I follow Covid protocols and so far, I have tested myself four times, negative each time!…so I seem to be doing something right..and I suppose I am also lucky. These outings, and regular (moderate…no Olympic training for me!) walks keep my immune sytem also up, I believe. Since I am at high risk myself, and have a family with two young grandchildren to think of, I am certainly as careful as I can be, without sitting indoors in fear! The Covid tiger is not going away any time soon, and I am happy to live as nornal a life as I can, with some restrictions. A time when being negative is something positive!
Brazilian Nightshade, Solanum seaforthanium, Muthanallur Lake, 110720
This morning’s walk…
A scooter with two people managing a newly-bought carrom board.
Two crows pecking at the innards of a dead rat.
Walkers with masks on, masks off, masks absent.
Picking up the fragrant Akasha Mallige (Indian Cork Tree) so that it will spread its heady scent around the home when I return.
A woman collecting cowdung (I didn’t know this was still done in urban areas.)
A young girl looking up at the sky to determine whether she should make the rangOli or not. (She did, and it hasn’t rained.)
The spectacular, crimson flowers of the Sausage Tree, and the “sausages” themselves hanging in profusion.
Parakeets screeching as they fly past.
A milk delivery guy looking in disgust at the milk leaking out of his bag on his moped.
Several masked maids on their way to work.
The quickly brightening light sends me back home to start my morning chores.
The fifth Sunday of the month, when it occurs, is an occasion when the “bngbirds” umbrella birding group of Bangalore does not have an organized bird walk; it’s time for most of us to earn back some brownie points, or at least get out of the doghouse, by attending to home,families, and other social commitments.
But alas, alas, several of us don’t heed the call to redemption. When Sangita S Mani, who works for Kanha Taj Safaris, told me that she’s in town, and that though she’s been working in Madhya Pradesh for about 12 years now, she’s not birded in Bangalore…it was too good a chance to pass up! Aravind, Padma, Ramaswamy, Srini and I bore her off to the Valley School area.
I never go to any destination with any particular bird or other sighting in mind. In general, I am content to see what comes my way. However, Sangita particularly wanted to see the Blue-faced Malkoha, and we hoped that this would not be the one day when the bird decided to skulk successfully in the foliage!
We started out with loud calls from the peafowl (though we never saw one of these birds throughout the morning), and carried on along the path,
sighting White-cheeked and Coppersmith Barbets, and a beautiful Black-shouldered Kite perched on a bare tree. Several birds like the Ashy Prinia, a quick-fleeing Spotted Owlet, Small Minivets
and White-eyes
brought us just past the last banyan tree before the abandoned building. Though our names had been the first on the school register, by this time, several others had preceded us with their cameras and binoculars, and two of them were looking into an Acacia tree just beyond the stone seat in the field. “Sirkeer Malkoha,” said one of them, and yes, there the bird was…I was seeing it at the Valley after a long gap, and for some of my friends, it was a lifer, too.
Just a little later, as we walked along looking up at the swifts and swallows swooping above us, the Blue-faced Malkoha also granted Sangita’s wish.
Meanwhile, we’d also sighted three flycatchers: a Tickell’s Blue singing its heart out,
a dancing White-browed Fantail, and a Paradise Flycatcher with an almost-full tail, swishing itself rufously about, to our cries of “There it is…no, it’s moved…it went there…there it is now…oh, it’s gone!”
A White-naped Woodpecker was an uncommon sighting, as it worked its way along the bark of a bare tree.
My friends had a great experience of a mixed hunting party, quite large, all foraging in the area near the wall, and were very happy with their observation of how the different birds fed together. In many Hindu cultures, we have the concept of the “samaaraadhana” where people belonging to all castes and communities have a meal together, and this was the birding equivalent!
The plants and six-footers caught our attention too.
Crimson Rose
Common Gull
Psyche….it wanders about like the spirit (in Greek) it’s named after.
Dark Blue Tiger
White Orange-tip
Shield Bug
Gram Blue on Grewia sp.
Golden Eggs of Coreidae bug:
Bagworm Moth pupa on spiderweb
Moth caterpillars with egg:
Beautiful berries
? tiny flower
Bauhinia purpurea
Allmania nodiflora
We walked into the bamboo thicket and heard another Tickell’s Blue singing; several babblers gave voice in the bushes on the way there. Raptors never fail to arrive when they can be seen for the shortest time, and a Short-toed Snake Eagle shot past the small gap between the bamboo leaves.
We decide to take a calorie break, and ate some pongal with roasted appalam. Some of us were scheduled to attend formal lunches, and I hoped to avoid the usual “brefus stop” on the way home.
(But of course, I wanted a bit of caffeine on the way home and when we stopped at Vidyarthi Grand, the coffee somehow developed into a proper breakfast! I am certainly not fast…on either expertise with the natural world, or with avoiding food!)
We were very like the seamen of old being led on by the Lorelei, as we walked towards where we felt the call of the White-rumped Shama was coming from. As we did so, Srini sighted an owl sitting high up on a tree; it flew away almost immediately, but we feel it was not the Brown Wood Owl, but rather, a Mottled Wood Owl (I’ve seen one often in the area behind the abandoned house, which is now walled off.)
The Shama treated us to a couple of sightings in the misty morning,
and full of its beautiful song,
we turned back towards the main gate, and so off towards what the Sunday held for each of us. Our hearts, binoculars, memory cards were all filled with images of the morning.
When the ground is covered with snow,
Where do the birds go?
When the earth is soaked with rain,
Where do the birds go for grain?
When the sun bakes the fields with its heat,
When the cracked earth burns our feet..
When the very air is hot and dry,
Where do the birds go…and why?
When the dusk deepens into twilight,
When the darkness rules the night…
When no chink of light can show,
Where do the birds go?
We treat many people like the birds:
When they’re with us, we have kind words.
But when with us, they are not,
We do not give them a thought.
Where do the people go?
Where do the birds go?
It’s been really hectic, but I have finally found the time…it’s going to be a long post,compressing two days at the Serengeti, with lots of photos (there will be one lot more with pics from Lake Manyara, with the TREE-CLIMBING LIONS)
Here’s a sunrise over the Serengeti plains…
anushsh has made this his screensaver….so this is dedicated to him!
Our safari started on a high note, with this sighting of a CHEETAH, which had just killed a gazelle and was dragging it to a good place for the feast….
(Remember, I said that none of my cheetah shots are close-up or good!)
Another “typical” shot that I got was the Masai, walking for miles in the vast landscape, amongst the eternal grasses of the Serengeti…
Deponti to the world 