Unexpected Guests in My Balcony Garden

 

One of the joys of having a little garden on my balcony is that it attracts all sorts of visitors. Over time, it has become a small haven for various creatures, especially birds. From cheerful sparrows to curious mynas and lively bulbuls, there is always something fluttering about among the plants.

So, when I woke up this morning and found a nest lying on the floor, I wasn’t entirely surprised.

It had fallen from its rather strategic location on top of the wall-mounted fan in the balcony. Since I barely ever use that fan—and truth be told, hardly ever think to look up at it—it had once again become the perfect hidden real estate for a feathered resident.

This isn’t even the first time a bird has decided that the top of the fan makes an ideal nesting spot, and I’m quite certain it won’t be the last. Somehow, despite all the available corners and plants in the balcony, that fan remains prime property in the eyes of my winged visitors.

Moments like these are a gentle reminder that when you create even a small green space, nature finds its way in. My balcony may be mine, but clearly, it is shared with a few regular tenants as well.

Birds from my Balcony

Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis) Adult

I was in my Balcony as usual sipping a cuppa tea, mid morning when a sudden burst of activity on the tree in front got me all excited. I had my camera in my hand in no time and started tracking the Birds. It seemed like an entire colony of them had come out with the Juniors on a their first outing into the Big Bad World. There must have been a dozen or more of these Magpie Robins and you could distinctly see the Parent pair and their off spring in various routines on the tree.

Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis) Baby

Birds from my Balcony

Blue-throated Barbet (Megalaima asiatica)

I was up the terrace supervising some Painting and repair work when I heard a Bird call in the air. I looked around and on the South-East Corner just adjacent to our Building I spotted the bird. I immediately ran down the stairs to my apartment and grabbed my Camera and came back up. After various attempts and angles, once I got closer I managed to get a clear shot of the Bird before it flew off.

I'm keeping this as part of my stories of "Birds from my Balcony"

Bawali Revisited

So we decided to take another trip down to this amazing getaway in the nestled in the midst of rural Bengal just on the outskirts of Kolkata's city limits. Bawali Farmhouse is truly amazing for Bird Watching.

And this time around, for the first time, our Maruti Suzuki Ertiga ZXi was tested for what it was built for a people carrier. So six of us got into the car and it ferried us like a breeze to and from this lovely place.

Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus)

Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger)

Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)

Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans)

Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans)

Indian Pond-Heron (Ardeola grayii)

Asian Koel - male (Eudynamys scolopacea)

Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or common Indian monitor

Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or common Indian monitor

White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)

Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)

Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis)

And that was all the Bird & Nature Watching for the first day.

The next morning I got up early to see if I could spot some more birds and capture some of them on my camera as I walked around.

No idea what Bird this is. Will find out and post.

Oriental garden lizard (Calotes versicolor)

Dragonfly

Oriental garden lizard (Calotes versicolor)

Oriental garden lizard (Calotes versicolor)

Mongoose

Dragonfly

Asian Koel - female (Eudynamys scolopacea)

Asian Koel - female (Eudynamys scolopacea)

Asian Koel - male (Eudynamys scolopacea)

After our breakfast at Bawali Farmhouse, we decided to take a drive down to the Riverside (River Hooghly) at Raypur and all the way down river along the banks to Burul.

And that's a wrap from the Riverside at Burul.

Off we go back home to Kolkata.

Sightseeing Around Garpanchkot

Garh Panchkot is a ruined fort located in the eastern part of India at the foot hills of Panchet Hill in the district of Purulia, West Bengal, the ruins of the Panchkot Palace are a silent testimony to the Bargi attack during the 18th century.

The great poet Michael Madhusudan Dutta visited the place during 1872 for a short period as an estate manager of Singh Deo dynasty. He wrote three poems on Panchkot namely, ‘Panchkot giri’, ‘Panchkotoshyo Rajosree’ & ‘Panchkot Giri Biday Sangeet’.

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga ZXi

Panchet Dam on Damodar River

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga ZXi