Houses and homes!

The morning view of the garden below us at sunrise is often captivating with the blue sky in the background. It is a home for birds and we get the benefit of birds visiting us from their night shelter, although the movements of the birds in our garden are less than what is usual due to birds  moving to cooler places. The day temperature touching 39 degree celsius. which is uncommon for April in our area, is not  hospitable for birds.

After a few days, I moved about in our garden yesterday. I noticed the red ants crawling on the tender cashew nuts. Now the cashew tree is full of blossoms and tender nuts, the red ants have even made their nest on the same tree. I got bitten by a few of them while plucking the ripe fruits of cashews. 

What surprised me as I walked further, was the bee hive in a nutmeg tree, which according to the gardener has appeared in a week's time. That was surprising. Usually the bees gather in places where they have flowers in plenty. With the onset of summer the flowers in our garden are only few. I have often noticed the honey bees hovering around the butter cups in our courtyard. They are found on the lantana flowers and the purple orchids. But those flowers are only few now.

I watched the honey bees in action for a while. It is a young colony of bees as the hive is yet to be fully covered by them. Th nutmeg tree offers a safe place as there is shade and protection from strong wind. 

While I was at that site, I noticed a Myna with nesting materials between its beaks on another nutmeg tree. That aroused my curiosity about a nest being made in the garden.

I heard the bird call of another Myna in the adjacent tree and soon the Myna with the nesting materials in its beaks joined the calling Myna.

What followed was an interesting sight of the romantic behaviour of birds during the nesting season. One Myna was in continuous chirp and chants louder than its usual bird calls, looking in all directions. The bird calls resonated in the air and following a special chirp,  both of them flew away beyond my visibility.  

I walked around in the nutmeg grove hoping to find the Myna pair. I shall keep looking, as the nest of Myna birds are usually on a height in a safe place of a tall tree. 

The red ants, Bees and Myna birds have their home in our garden. The garden is a place of new life for the avians. We have had Bulbuls, parrots, Magpie robins and Barbets building their nests in our garden. 

A day in our garden often brings surprises. 

When I returned after my walk, I was greeted by the desert rose bush with its blossoms!

How refreshing it is to be blessed by the variety of experiences in a garden!

Thanks to our gardener and domestic helper, who tend the garden!

The above photos are not just physical events, but carry symbolic meaning in more than one way. 

We live in our houses. The birds live in the garden around our houses. How important it is to have avian friendly environment around our houses!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)