The bird watchers {Revathi Raj Iyer}

 

It was one of those days when nothing went my way, including the light banter with a friend that ended up in an argument over a non-issue after which we both simultaneously hung up. It was midday; my husband was at work and daughter at school. I kept dwelling upon the silly argument with my close friend. It was otherwise a bright sunny day after a wet spell. I made myself some hot tea and settled down in my favourite spot by the porch. The streets were deserted and very few cars went past. Midday was siesta time and the Fijians loved it.

That is when I noticed two tiny birds, almost the size of my palm, fluttering in and out of the dense vine skirting the porch. They perched on the custard apple tree and pecked at the fruit. Then flew out and came back with slim twigs and disappeared amidst the vine. In no time they were out and pecked at the fruit and disappeared. I went closer and saw a nest being built in a precarious edge of the vine that rested on the wall.

This reminded me of the white cheeked bulbul back home in India, which had similar tendencies and apparently their nests are placed in such a position, need not be high up on a tree, but anywhere it considers safe. These were some other species of birds that were endemic to Fiji Isles. I decided to research that part later.

The chirping of the birds was always like a background score but I had never consciously bird watched. Butterflies and bees were part of my daily watch but an occasional mindless glance at the birds was all I cared about. All this changed, thanks to my friend for having me wanting to switch off from the human species and concentrate on nature’s other creations.

I sat quietly and kept watching them. I never knew bird watching could get this exciting. In no time the nest was ready. It was so tiny that it made me wonder if it could hold the eggs and the momma bird when it hatched. "Nature has its own ways," I thought and by evening they flew off. I shared my new passion and discovery with my husband and daughter.

My daughter was very thrilled and wanted to miss school the next day, to bird watch with me. I hadn’t quite expected that. "A day off from school should not hurt all that much," I said to myself and wrote a note to her form teacher..........(to be continued)