Rodrick Writes: Some Unique Birds Photographed in School

Saturday 21 December 2019

Some Unique Birds Photographed in School

I was a bit surprised to see some suspicious movement in the trees outside the staircase while climbing the stairs to the fourth flood (Thank goodness I didn't take the lift!). On looking closely, I was surprised to notice a Green Pigeon, of all things swallowing a bright red fruit. I thought it would get stuck in its throat, but then lo and behold, it swallowed the shole fruit in three or four steps! It was after quite a long time that I was seeing a Green Pigeon, apart from seeing a few at the Sultanpur National park. According to folk wisdom, Green Pigeons or Hariyals (Also the state bird of Maharashtra) never squat on the ground. They stay on the branches of trees and enjoy eating fruits. Early foggy mornings are apparently a great time to photograph these birds.

And just as I was frantically taking potshots at the Haryal, a Barbet glided across catching my attention! I was fast enough to take a shot at it before it flew away (after having a good look at me first). The Green Barbet is a pretty colourful bird and not often found in the city. This was certainly a great moment, something to be cherished, especially because it was in the school itself! This is important learning for me as I am sure that we can do wildlife photography right in school in the photography club, without of course having to go out on a field trip.

I was lost in my thoughts when I saw a disturbance in the branches. When I looked carefully, out popped an Oriental White Eye! It was busy gorging itself on the red fruit. Unlike the Green Pigeons, however, the Oriental White Eye had to scoop out bits of the flesh of the fruit prior to gulping them. The Oriental White Eye is a rather twitchy bird, it simply cannot stay still. I was lucky enough to be able to capture quite a few shots though!

A Purple Sunbird

Just as I was turning to go back to my faculty with my prize catch[es], I was surprised to see a Purple Sunbird alighting on the branch in front of me. It was not entirely purple, but then a Sunbird it certainly was! Again, it was a joy to stay a bit and simply drink in the sight of having so many exotic birds visiting the school.

Last but not least was the surprise sighting of an Asian Koel as it moved silently amongst the leaves of the tree. It looked rather curiously at me before going around its duty (whatever it might be). After some time it entered into a fight with a Green Barbet.

Sometimes, the most exotic and best things one wants can be there for the choosing, they are just there before you, the only thing you really need is to look for them. The best things in life are indeed free, but then you need to put in the effort to grab hold on them before they're gone! We spend so much time and money to visit faraway National Parks and Game Reserves, but then what joy it is to be able to have them right where you live and where you work. Somehow, Gurgaon is changing and in the process, we are losing a lot. The development of a city comes at a cost, and we need to understand what is more important for us, these beautiful birds, or the dust and pollution of development.