I’ve
been birdwatching lately. The Bougainvillea in front of the house had tangled
itself wildly in the overhead cables causing power disruptions and had to be
trimmed down last week. The gardener had left a dried up branch still stuck in
the cables and a pair of tiny purple-rumped sunbirds promptly
decided to build their home on it—a very unwise choice for a number of reasons
entailing security but hey, they were offering me a ringside view of their
life's construction!
Armed
with a camera, I stalk them from my balcony. Mr. Sunbird is the prettier one
with flashy maroon, purple and blue-green trim on his yellow jacket while the
Missus wears a somber yellow and ash grey coat with olive tints. I note that he
only makes fleeting supervisory visits, chirruping instructions as he
hovers at the fringes while she toils unstintingly in building their
home. She makes at least a million trips for supplies and without any fanfare.
I snarkily wonder whether this is the only nest Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky Sunbird is
supervising but then remember reading somewhere that his particular species is
supposed to be monogamous!
The
nest is beginning to look like a raggedy pouch now—wispy feathers, straw and
fiber, some paper and dried leaves—all protrude in an untidy mess. My
rapidly growing picture album tracks the various stages of its progress. I
shoot the other inquisitive visitors who flit by to inspect the nest-building
as well. A pair of fat LBDs (little brown doves), some
noisy bulbuls, a couple of perky oriental
white-eyes and an ashy prinia that bounces around
annoyingly.
There
are the crows and parrots that throw quite a boisterous
party in the neighboring trees and I’d love to train the camera on them
someday soon. In the meantime, there's this cat that has caught my lens!
