The lawn in front of our cottage, with the setting sun casting its light and shadow offered an enchanting sight to watch today. With most evenings in the recent two weeks were either cloudy or raining. That blocked the sight of the setting sun in the horizon.
As I stood watching the lawn, after it was mowed, I remembered the different birds that frolicked in the lawn during the day. A Barbet family and Bulbul family of birds came to the lawn for flight training of the juvenile birds. The juvenile birds liked the space because they could fly between the small trees and the lawn during their flight initiation.
I had noticed a juvenile Greater Coucal finding its feed from the lawn in the morning, when the grass was mildly overgrown.
Now that the grass was mowed, insects and larvae that birds feed on would have been harmed or displaced.
This is the delicate balance in the eco-system. The gains from mowing the lawn are many, but there are some losses especially for avians who feed on what they can find from the grass.
I remember an elderly couple telling me once, that after about a week following the mowing of the lawn, they would scatter seeds and nuts on the lawn to feed the birds. Once the grass grows, the birds would find insects to feed on in the grass.
Every time we disturb the eco-system, there is a cycle of events about which we do not often think about!
I was reminded that a lawn is a public place and not just a private space in front of our cottage!
We share a collective living!
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
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