After a gap of several weeks, I find our garden getting restored for the flight path of birds. As the day temperature shoots up, birds seek out for cooler place for their times of rest and respite.
What is striking is the fixed stations and times they they use for their flight path.
The British Post about seventy five years ago had used pigeons to carry letters to remote areas in the mountains and valleys, which were not connected by roads at that time.
The intelligent birds surprise us by their behaviour. Even parrots can greet and reciprocate when trained.
A parent told me her experience with her daughter who was struggling with language skills. Being a Zoologist who knew about bird behaviour, had a parrot trained to call her daughter's name and ask questions like 'How are you'. The parrot had about twelve questions which the parrot would ask her daughter which became fascinating to her. He mother was able to make her daughter respond to the parrot when those questions were asked. That was the beginning of helping this girl to overcome her social inhibition to express her language skills. Although, this girl still has some social inhibitions, her mother felt that the breakthrough from being stagnant to being expressive by using words and phrases is emerging.
I still would not be able to be assertive of its universal application for other children who have language blocks. But in language development, the relational dimension with people around is critical for a pre-school child to feel comfortable to communicate. Those children who had stormy periods following premature birth would have been in special care, moved away from human contact for several weeks. The Kangaroo care that is practiced is to create intimate body contact with both parents for the infant to have a social environment rather than only the machine environment during the special care. I do come across children who rather watch a video in the TV or mobile phone than be playing with other children. Some of them are those predisposed to language inhibitions and social interactions.
Anna and I feel delighted that we have the feathered friends who visit us, sing for us, share the fruits in the garden, find their pair and some even becoming residents in our garden.
We have a pair of Bulbuls who would come to the dining room for fruits if we had forgotten to leave banana in the verandah!
Welcome Avian friends. The garden is yours as much as it is ours!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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