Nature's Best Architect and Teacher

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A Bird’s Nest

My husband coming in from work said,  “Look what I have found—
A perfect little bird’s nest!  It was lying on the ground.”
I held it in my hand and said, with serious contemplation,
“Just think—the birds have been building nests ever since Creation.”

Somehow they knew the place to live was high up in a tree.
Instinctively they realized that’s where their home should be.
They’d look for where some branches came together in conjunction,
And there their future nest would wedge for daily life to function.

Material for their home must be light-weight, so why not straws?
Not heavy, carried in the beak, they’d serve a worthy cause.
To find them they would have to search, but work is part of living.
They’d trust their Maker every day for strength He would be giving.

When straws were found, the bird would choose and clamp one in his bill
Then fly it to the tree-notch.  He would make these trips until
At last he had a little home with perfect insulation,
And perfect for his own dimensions—marvelous creation!

In time birds start their family–what ingenuity,
For God intended birdlife to have continuity.
The parents bring the little ones their daily food supply,
And when their wings are stronger, then they too begin to fly.

The marvel of a bird nest!  In my hand was the construction—
Circular and perfect.  Where do birds get their instructions?
Their precious God-given instincts have preserved generations,
And in our hearts is praise for all God’s wonderful creations.

The Scriptures tell us Christ was the Creator of all things,
And that includes the birds—yes, the little ones with wings.
This contemplation blessed my heart–how much, I cannot tell.
We know that God who cares for birds will care for us as well.

~ Claire Hess ~

When i arrived at my sister's place to baby sit for her younger daughter i was in for a big surprise. Her beautiful well kept and artistically done up with personal effects home also has a beautiful lawn and a garden of sorts which is a motley of house plants , fragrant trees and fruit trees. And three of such trees had something that delighted me and promised me quiet hours of entertainment while my little niece was away at school.

On my arrival the smart Forest Officer husband of my sister proudly declared while showing me around that there were not three but seven of such delights all around the house. And that these were not only restricted  to the garden and exteriors but also in the toilet and in the garage.

So what is it about nests that delights even an oldie like me? Kids are known for their intense fascination  for nests but then how come when i am no longer a kid i am still amazed and more rapturous about birds building their nests much to the chagrin of the domestic cleaners who have to clean what they call as mess created by the birds? i guess then because it is their job to grumble for they have to work TO DO and it is my job to admire and dwell in the amazing artistry of birds or rather at their perseverance through which the birds build their homes. Maybe if i was an ignoramus i would be the same because i feel ignorance also makes one less sensitive to nature’s marvels or else how could a worker in the fields not be amazed by the weaver bird’s hanging nests, an artistry par excellence, hanging and swaying on the acacia bush nearby? Or is it the plenitude of it?

Is it that they are bored with their work and the sights to be admiring nature’s architecture? It could be any of these or none. As of me i become my ten or else year old self at the sight of nests.

It has always made me happy to find a sparrow or a  bulbul building a nest  around any place in the house. It gives me something exciting to look forward to. It not only fascinates me but also entertains me to see the bird flitting about very near to me. Alert and suspicious of  humans yet complacent at times but on guard of eventualities nevertheless.

That arduous job of bringing each single twig/hay/dry grass in it’s tiny beak and going about in it’s construction to make a soft cup like depression where her tiny body should fit snuggly as she incubates her eggs.

All that enormous patience amidst all that chatter as they go about their home building which in every way makes me want to know their language in a way that i can converse with them and add to some more innovative ideas. But human innovation is fruitless in front of birds who deal with their basic needs and that's all. Surely they are not as greedy and as desirous of comforts as we humans are. And human wants and desires are insatiable. Whereas birds and animals are so self satisfied and they take only what is needed and nothing more.And though i don't know much i know one thing for sure. They are not plunderers and exploitative like us humans. This concept of reduce,reuse and recycle can best be seen in these creatures of the universe, when  what a shame we have just woken up to it.

Sometimes i get this strong urge to help them out by picking up the twigs myself and carrying it over but  then  i control my urges lest i scare them away completely.

Thus i was promised of much entertainment by these birds as i started from the garage where amongst the roller shutters i found the first nest made with hay and that of house sparrows.
Nesting is practically all the year round and about the nests from Salim Ali The Birdman the nest is, " A collection of straw, rubbish and feathers in a hole in the ceiling, niche in a wall, inverted lamp shade, and every conceivable site within or without an occupied building."

i was joyous to know that i shall be having my fill of house sparrows here because in Chennai where i live they are kind of extinct. Noise, pollution and destruction of their habitat has not only driven the sparrow away from Chennai but most cities of our country. Thankfully

they still exist chirping in their chwee chwee here.

The next one was simply superb and complete in it most delicate cup like structure with three mottled eggs and this was cleverly hidden amongst the tiny leaves of the popscical shaped  hedge forming an entrance to the lawn. This beautiful round nest was made of smooth twigs and i saw the mother too as beautiful as her nest perched close by on the electrical pole wires outside the campus eyeing her nest and in between preening her feathers. The Red Vented tiny Bulbul is indeed a very stylish bird and i found her as sophisticated as her nest . Nesting season is chiefly between February and May, varying with local conditions.The nest is." A cup of rootlets plastered outside with cobwebs, in a bush or a tree,1 to 10 m (3 to30ft) up. Eggs-2-3 pinkish white, profusely blotched with purplish brown or claret."  These eggs i could see as Salim Ali has explained in his book and though i could not gather the plastered cobwebs because of my poor vision from where i tried to peer, i knew now that the smooth cup was not dried twigs but rootlets. Wow! what diversity in choice of home building materials!.

But what kept me fully occupied the entire day when i was alone either doing nothing or perhaps reading my latest by Yann Martel was the busy nest building by this twosome known as the White Throated Munia.

 On one look and you might pass it for a humming bird kind because it is just too tiny and as balancing in it’s flight although not entirely as the humming bird. Only a close perusal with the help of  binoculars revealed the small sparrow like silver beak which told me of it’s true identity. i guess then  that it is not surprising that it is known as the Silver bill. The male and female Silver bill make one feel romantic with their togetherness and their concern for each other. i know what love birds are but till i was watching them from my balcony i was unable to address them as Munia or Silver bill and called them my love birds instead. Strange but watching them made me think of my husband whom i have left home alone and wondered if after all these years my absence from our nest is making him any bit lonesome.
For these love birds too the nesting season is throughout the year, varying locally and the nest is,"A large globular structure of coarse grasses, lined with softer flowering grass". In cotton growing districts, cotton wool flinched from neighbouring fields is largely employed. Old Baya nests are also habitually utilised for laying eggs in. Eggs- 4-6 ,pure white. Both sexes share domestic duties. Disused nests serve as family dormitories."
Unutilised Baya ( weaver bird) nests mind you.There is no encroachment or trespassing here.
Oh ! is that an avian trait ! i didn't know that. And we call ourselves the most advanced of the species when we are so mean and self centered about this human concept called SHARING and REUSING.

The wide breezy balcony provided me the appropriate distance and view to watch these made for each other couple as they got busy building their nest in the forked branch of the Aracaria tree. The cook of the house, Ashu informed me that since my stay is short i will not be able to view the fully made nest as the round structure of the nest will be all covered with just a tiny hole to allow the passage of these birds. And unlike the bulbul’s eggs i will not be able to view their litter of a dozen or less eggs even with the help of the binoculars as the eggs will be safely tucked deep inside. But as he went on to make comparison and quell my inquisitiveness he explained that the passage is made slanting in such a way that even when it rains the nest and the eggs will not get drenched and will remain safe and dry. He then educated me that though the nest is not intricately woven like a weaver bird’s nest and not hanging from the branches yet in many respects it is no less than that of a weaver bird’s safe haven. All this information from the cook not only deepened my affection for the cook but also proved my earstwhile thoughts about daily workers wrong.

i realised that even those who see all this on regular basis may actually have a lot more interest in these beauties and their constructive activities than unfortunate souls like me who have just woken up to this new education and now ravenous about this enthusiastic trail to such an extent that i want to get hold of good set of binoculars and just set out birdwatching as much as i can.

Thus the forest officer was saved of my torrent of never ending questions about my love birds or the Spotted Dove who had the nest all ready for laying eggs in the wonderfully topiared Shami tree (Prosopis spicigera) which for known religious reasons was planted on the right side of the building gate when the house was still under construction.

The Shami tree which is a sacred tree and worshipped by Hindus is planted in most houses here in this part of North India towards the right side of the entrance of any house as it is considered auspicious to view the tree before leaving the house and equally as auspicious to have a sight of it when entering the house.

And from this tree emanated the familiar Kruk kruk koo of the spotted dove.Before i could strain to look up into the bushy boughs with tiny but not pin like leaves i saw the pretty bird nodding it’s head and walking on the cemented ledge of the gate. It’s partner whose tail and head part was only visible, sat snugly kruk kruk kooing on her nest. Perhaps calling on to her male and asking him to stop playing truant in his domestic duties.
i found the kruk kruk koo quite entertaining although some feel that the call of this bird sounds mournful sometimes. But i guess it all depends on our moods. If we are in the best of spirits then even a dirge may not be able to make us gloomy. Maybe i could be wrong on this part but i guess when i am sad or gloomy i find the entire nature so and i feel it must be the same for everybody.
Now the nesting of this bird is undefined and it can be practically all the year round. But the nest is, "The customary flimsy dove structure of ' two crossed sticks' low down in a tree or bush; also under eaves and on cornices and beams, etc., in verandas of inhabited bungalows. Eggs-2, white.Both sexes share in all the domestic duties."
The nest of this spotted dove was hard for me to shoot with my cyber shot because of it's placement and the height so i let it be but when i peered i found hay strips and twines hanging from it too.In fact the entire nest looked like it was made with fine twine or fibres of some kind, greyish in colour.

On the fragrant well blossomed Champak tree which had the white buds and blossoms of the exotic and perfumed flowers i happened to see the common crows nest too which was undoubtedly a  round structure made entirely of twigs.

Above the toilet geyser as my forest officer had said i found another house sparrow's nest complete with family as the fledgelings chirped constantly asking to be fed and the mother flitted about sitting on the window grills with food in her tiny beak. i could not tell how many babies there were inside and once again Ashu provided the needful, telling me with disappointment that there were 4 babies of which two tumbled down the nest and while one drowned in the bucket of water the other baby was pounced upon by their pet Pomeranian, Buddy. i was sad the whole day to know this but once again the nature loving cook told me to brush my sadness away.
He said,''Mausi (Aunty)  they are so used to all this and they breed constantly so don't you feel sad. God has made them this way that they get over the loss just too quickly to mourn over it like us humans.''
Well he said that but i still could not control my melancholy as i was thinking of my empty nest.When my baby has flown away and is studying abroad so that one day when he is sufficiently strong financially and mentally he can build his own nest too. That is our life cycle which in every way is similar to the avians excepting that we sometimes slow down in our day to day goings because we miss our fledgelings just too much. And worse still we are so stubborn about letting go.Maybe my stay here had another purpose too.
Watching these birds i must stop missing my son so much and stop worrying about his well being. And that i should only think in terms of his flight and wish well that his flies well and builds his cosy snuggly nest with chirpy fleglings to provide him with a well deserved symphony after a hard day's work.

The Empty Nest

There in a high branch of a proud old tree, 
Lay a nest of babies which no one could see.
Beside the nest, stood Mother, with loving heart,
And Father looking on, guarding as from the start.

The babies were young and filled with delight, 
The ways of the world were beyond their sight. 
They were wanting to try their wings of gold, 
And enter the new world, ever so bold.

Their parents were hesitant, all so knowing, 
Their babies had not finished growing. 
But knowing they needed that freedom, 
Were willing to let the babies leave them.

The first little bird, so eager his wings, 
Thoughts of the new world, losing his strings, 
He jumped on the side of the nest so fast, 
And flew into the air, was free at last.

The next little bird, so timid, so shy, 
He wanted to go but not a goodbye, 
He timidly went to the side of the nest, 
And flew to the next branch, then passed his test.

The last little bird, the last of the three, 
Looked round at her parents, then forward to see, 
The new world was opened for her to reach, 
By trying her wings, trying what they did teach.

The wind got under the wings of the last, 
And she flew through the air, into the world so vast, 
Leaving the only home that she had known, 
To go into world, the breaking of dawn.

The parents looked on as all of the three, 
Found love and happiness and family. 
They were proud of the choices that were made, 
But their love for their babies never did fade.

The empty nest will always be there,
But visited with love and care,
The empty nest will be a guiding light, 
A home for hope and stars so bright.


~Donna O'Braint~ 
 
My sister's beautiful home gave me all... love, affection, good food and plenty of entertainment as i could watch the natural beauties from all corners of her house including the toilet or the kitchen.And when i failed in my lack of knowledge there was Ashu and the so many nature books in a well stacked library of my smart Forest Officer.Could i have any better vacation than this? Although my sister calls it babysitting.


Image courtesy: Niece's cyber shot pics of Red Vented Bulbul's eggs and nest, House Sparrow's nest , White Throated Munia's ( Silver bill) nest in the Aracaria tree.
                     : Rest from the internet on Flickr and elsewhere.