The Spring & Summer Camp

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No wonder winter has gone, and spring is here. All over the layout is flourishing with greenery. Many flowers bloom and fruits like Mangos are developing on the trees. As spring approaches, there is a lot of excitement and increased activities of our feathered visitors, including our tiny furry visitor-Squirrel. Due to these increased activities, our backyard has now turned into a Spring/Summer camp for them.


Indian Silverbills



Red-vented Bulbul and Indian Robin

Rose Ringed Parakeets, Indian Palm Squirrel, and Laughing Doves

 

Compared to other seasons, I now observe manifold species of birds visiting our backyard more frequently than in any other season. They not only visit our backyard to feed but also spend some quality time in the backyard performing various activities.

 The regular visitors are Sunbirds, Mynas, Rose-ringed Parakeets, Doves, Robins, Bulbuls, Babblers, and Squirrels. This season we have some additions to the regular species.  Peafowls, Oriental magpie robin, Common Hoopie, White-throated Kingfisher, Cinereous Tits, Rock Bush Quails, Tickell’s Blue flycatcher and White-browed Bulbul.

Oriental Magpie Robin chirping on the tree

Common Mynas, Yellow Billed Babblers, and Rock Bush Quail.


Purple Sunbird rolling over the on the dampness of Plantain Leaves.

   

I closely observed their routine activities which start early mornings and end in the late evenings when the sun is not too hot. The sunbirds indulge in rolling over on the dampness(due drops) on plantain leaves in order to cool themselves off. During the feed time, Peafowls who were once shy, often visit our backyard to feed on the grains and now are the regular visitors. Rock Bush Quails, whom I mistook as Rain Quails now visit twice a day. They have a gala time feeding on the grains and also spend some time chasing a Laughing Dove or a Squirrel away from the grains tray. The squirrel going bossy suddenly bounces on the tray where Parakeets are feeding in a harmonious manner. Parakeets are startled and squeal in irritation. Sometimes, the tiny mammal is seen playfully chasing the quails.


Cinereous Tit and White Browed BulBul

Indian Palm Squirrel, Rock Bush Quails, and Spotted Doves.

Mostly,  insectivorous birds like Indian Robin, Oriental Magpie Robin, Red-whiskered, and Red-vented bulbul often gather up in the bathtub to cool themselves off. This summer, we have newcomers like White-browed Bulbul, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, White-throated Kingfisher, Indian Silverbills, and Cinereous Tits. They too queue up near the water bowl and take turns plunging in the water. Later, drying of the feathers and preening activity follow.





Parakeet displaying her Acrobatic skills


  

The noisiest among the species are the Ring Rose Parakeets and Yellow-billed Babblers. Before the feed, during the wait time, some of the Parakeets break into sportive poses on the column pillars near the feed area and show off their acrobatic skills.

 I often observed the parakeets gathered around the feeding tray, making soft calls and cries as if they found a good topic for their gossip. Yellow-billed Babblers and Common Mynas come to feed on the grains as well as indulge in the bathing activity. They almost empty the water bowl due to their larger size and continuous splashing in the water. The water bowls need to be refilled at least twice daily. 

Peacock displaying his dancing skills.


The Peafowls brave themselves into our garden by mounting over our compound fence. After their feeding time, they often relax on the fence and preen their feathers. Now and Then, they spread out the train and break into a dance on the fence ignoring the loud calls and squawks made by the Parakeets. 

 




Parakeets in gossip mood





Meenakshi Thopse is a Blogger/writer, working presently in the field of Digital marketing. She started the "Best Courses In Digital World" FB page & Blog to promote Data Science & Digital Marketing online courses to budding job seekers to build the required skills for their careers. Also, she launched Sri Raksha Online shopping Blog to Guide people to buy appropriate products (Daily Essentials) She had worked as an Accountant and as a Manager for more than 10 years.

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