“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous”
Aristotle
Beautiful Morning Sights
Have you heard the phrase “Early bird catches the worm”? Its true! I see it everyday. Literally. The park where I go for my morning walks is home to several species of birds. The best part about my early morning walks is undoubtedly the bird sighting. At that hour they roam around abashed. The park is generally empty and its their hour of dominance so to say. I have seen so far sparrows, pigeons, mynah, wood pecker, storks, parakeets, wagtail…and there are so many out there which I cant even name. By far the shot below was the most difficult as this particular species flies away if it spots u even at a far distance.
Nature’s Lessons
Nature can teach us a lot of lessons if only we keep our eyes and mind open to it. Nature follows the law of hierarchy quiet well. Its very evident in the park. The largest bird the storks are undoubtedly ruling. You don’t see smaller birds coming near them. I often find them pecking into the grass looking for worms. When one finds a worm the rest fight to pull it off him. The juicy fat worm becomes the point of contention. Someday I will get a shot of it up close. The problem is with my mobile long distance shots are not great.
Then there are pigeons, whom you will find nearby in group but they never cross their territory. You will not find a mixed group of cranes and pigeons. Each one finds its safety and solace in number of their own kind. Pigeons are easy to snap as they don’t get scared easily with human presence.
Camouflage test
Now the mynah are different they are seldom seen in groups. The quick flyers can be often heard from the trees. They have a very distinct sound which I have now come to recognize. One often gets the feeling of the tree singing as they are difficult to sight. They really do camouflage well, their yellow beak giving them away.
My blue Bird
By far my favourite is the wagtail (thats what i think it is..correct me if i am wrong)… My blue bird as I call it. There is one which perches on the Victorian night lamp always. I guess it’s the favourite spot for the bird, for shall we say birds eyeview. And oh ! when it flies with its beautiful blue wings open,I always hold my breath.They are loners, difficult to spot I wonder what beauty god has bestowed on its creatures. Each more prettier than the other. Now that’s another shot that I want; those blue flying wings against the green grass.
I know it sounds like I am on a bird watching episode of national geographic. But, trust me to an inquisitive eye that’s how it looks. I told you, early morning walks are my connection to the nature. I go into a world so different from mine. Just for those few minutes all the stress and worries of my mundane life stands obliterated.
Trespassing animal territory
I think may be, just may be these moments of utter tranquility will add few minutes to my life In my previous article, https://musingsmorningwalker.com/top-5-reasons-to-start-morning-walk/ I had mentioned about the healing aspect of nature on our mind and body. Animal world is fascinating and full of surprises. There are other animals too at the park especially the cats. Always feeding on left overs of human food having picknicked the previous evening at the park. But more about them some other time.
For those of you who have noticed that the bird population in our modern cities is very slim and how children squeal in delight at the bird sanctuaries, don’t you think we are missing something. We humans are increasingly getting isolated. There is a small way to circumvent the problem. Please place a bird feeder in your balcony. At home we made one for a school project and now it’s a permanent fixture in our window sil. My daughter loves to watch them up close feeding on the grains.
So may be it’s a good alternative to those stress breaker squeezy ball that you have in your desk or those adult drawing books that I find everywhere in the store now to fight stress. Oh! And by the way we made our bird feeder from a Heinz ketchup bottle.
Nothing too fancy. I dont think the birds care for fancy packaging as long as they are getting the grain. Right ?
Three cheers to mother nature and her boundless creativity. So can you put that mobile to some good use and take some quiet natural shots and share with me.
Adios !