Tuesday, September 20, 2011

sparrow nest & pigeon shelter

Nov 2nd 2011.

As the young pigeons grown and started flying independently, got a sense of relief, as there is an end to the nuisance of pigeons droppings.

But the worst thing you may not aware, pigeons are worst infringers!!! There was terrific fight for the nest, to occupy the nesting place for new pigeons, in the commotion the whole place around the nest becomes even dirty because of spillage of the twigs, tweets and the feathers.

Atlast, I thought to putting an end to this non-sense. I dismantled the whole pigeon nest and cleared the entire area. It took more than two hours for me to clean the mess. The pigeons for quite some time came back and forth, and now it realised it must look for some other place for shelter.

On Oct 30th, Sunday... refurnished the Sparrow nest box by adding one more new sparrow shelter made of card board. Also cleaned and refilled the sparrow food, brought 500 gms of half cut rice and 500gms of bajira ( millet). A pic.. but as on date the new sparrow shelter was not occupied by any sparrows... waiting..





The baby pigeons started moving here and there, and it appears they are impatient and wants to take it wings. Yesterday 20th Oct 2011, one of the pigeon took a dangerous manoeuver for its first flight and in the process stumbled upon the shoe rack in the balcony and it settled itself for the whole night as it could not flight upto the nest and the next day early morning, with the support of its parents could get back to its nest. ( I also not tried to put-it back in the nest as I heard that if humans touches the young birds, then its parents and the bird community will not accept the contaminated bird ( may be identified by the smell???)  and the little one would be perished till its end or needs to be survived by its own strength ( if, my memory is correct, in Malayalam, this kind of outcast is called " BRIST"). A happy reunion picture...





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Today is 17th Oct 2011, after one month of my previous photo. The pigeon had two little baby bird, which are now sturdy and ready to take its wings.
I could observe the sacrifice of the mother bird. The mother bird during hatching period did not moved anywhere, I wounder when it is moving out for eating? I don't know, whether it is having any food during the hatching period.. After around 15 days, I could hear the chirping sound of young ones. Then a cycle of tireless feeding. Oh.. after a gap of one month, both the eggs hatched and two healthy baby birds are out to start their life. But, giving pigeons in the balcony is not advisable, as unlike sparrows, makes the surrounds ugly by its droppings...I had to bear the brunt of housemaid and my family members for allowing the pigeon nest to continue...because of its droppings.

The Sparrow is ready for its next cycle.. it is still bringing fine feathers to the old nest inside the sparrow box.. but I don't think the next cycle of hatching started... a pic taken today.ie 17th Oct 2011.




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The second cycle of the sparrow nesting started last week ie on 17th Sep 2011 in my home. Both the mother and father sparrow cleaning the nest and start remodelling the house. One more funny thing is that in the upper floor, a pigeon also started nesting. The inbetween Bata box sparrow house is already booked!!! by some sparrow and start visiting. I don't know whether nesting takes places, as the entry point for that Bata box sparrow nest is by the right side entry. This shows the birds, sparrows and pigeons are compatible and would love to live by live and lets live!!!! a pic
I need to refill the bird feeder, as the food got fungal growth due to wet and damp monsoon weather. Anyhow the Sparrow box and bird feeder gives a sense of satisfaction and good time pass, and it is pleasant to hear the chirpings of sparrows in the morning and all the day long activities by the parent sparrows is a treat to watch.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

to ponder... achieving peace of mind




PEACE OF MIND

Once when Buddha was walking from one town to another with a few of his followers, they happened to pass a lake.They stopped there and Buddha said to one of his disciples, I am thirsty. Go and get me some water from that lake there.

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water,and right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy,very turbid. The disciple thought, How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink! So he came back and said to Buddha, The water in the lake is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink.

After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be, and the mud settled down on its own and then you got clear water.

Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don't have to put in any effort to calm it down.

IT WILL HAPPEN. IT IS EFFORTLESS