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In March 2006, a House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) pair seemed to love the blinds outside my room window in Jaipur and came there repeatedly as if looking for nesting space. I put a hard shoe box into the blinds (with a 2×2 inch hole at one end), rolled the blinds and secured the box inside them well at a height of about 5 feet. The birds loved it and flew to the box as soon as I left it! For two days it was inspected throughly from all angles; even tested for toughness by hard pecking and before I knew, the birds had started building a nest in the box! The first Sparrow fledgling came out of the box a few weeks later and since then, I have lost count of the number of times Hose Sparrows have nested in the box. It did have its share of problems though: I remember once there was a fierce fight between two male House Sparrows for the nest box, once a pair of Squirrels tried to hijack the nest box, once some Brahminy Starlings (Sturnus pagodarum) liked it for a home and once a Monkey (Rhesus macaw) attacked it! However, I am pleased to inform you that the box is still going strong and as of October 2009, I regularly see House Sparrows on it!
The photo above of a pair of House Sparrows inspecting the box, was taken just a few minutes after it had been installed!
As posted on Delhibird Yahoo! mailing list on March 14, 2003:
For the past couple of days I’ve been working at home till wee hours of morning. Owing to pleasant March weather windows have to be kept open but fans are not yet running, so it’s relatively quiet at night. While working, I’ve also been listening to bird calls coming in from nearby Deer Park (Hauz Khas area, New Delhi).
Last morning at about 4 am a Common Hawk Cuckoo started calling, she kept on calling for about half an hour. Often at night I hear the unmistakable “pick-wick, pick-wick” calls of Eurasian Thick Knees, heard it once last night. Spotted Owlets call from the tree right outside my window (at two three different times) almost every night.
At about 3 am last night, the park came alive when dozens and dozens of Peacocks called from different parts of the park, it seemed to me that they were alarmed at something and communicating with each other..
A typically alarmed Redwattled Lapwing can be heard anytime of the night. In December, twice I heard a Magpie Robin sing beautifully at about midnight, I wonder why…
Well.. I hope this e-mail would silence those critics who claim Delhi does not have much of a nightlife!
One of my first birding reports, as posted on Delhibird Yahoo! mailing list on November 15, 2001:
After tolerating a pollution laden festival day, me and my friend Devendra decided to neutralise the experience by visiting the Yamunah and admiring our feathered friends. We reached the temple at Okhla Bird Park, New Delhi, at 7 am.
It was a bit foggy when we reached the river. We were greeted by many Pied Mynas, Purple Moorhens, House Crows, Ashy Prinias, Redwattled Lapwings, low flying Pond Herons, a Crow Phesant or Coucal and in the river: Common Coots. However, just then, a thick fog started rising from the river, enveloped us before we knew and soon after the visibility fell to just 3 meters. It was an awesome experience and for the next one hour, we enjoyed wandering in the middle of ‘nowhere’! In that amazing loneliness, Striated Babblers gave us company and repeatedly broke the silence.
Hoping to beat the fog, we decided to take the road leading to Okhla Barrage. As the river appeared on our right, we were soon rewarded. The fog started lifting and the dry bushes started booming with Ashy Prinias. A Small Green Bee Eater came and perched very close to us as he patiently ate his breakfast, a Black Drongo flew swiftly past us and a Long Tailed Shrike later joined the Prinia on the tall grass.
The first birds we spotted on the water were Little Grebes or Dabchicks, carrying out their underwater explorations. Soon after, we spotted a Darter drying its wings while resting on a mini island in the river. A small pond in between the Hyacinth was hosting about 4 Spotbills. Far away in another large pond were many (about 35) Spotted Redshanks (The low visibility did not allow us to have clear views, but their long red bill made us conclude that these were Spotted and not Common Redshanks). As we were looking at them, they got alarmed by some noise (perhaps a cracker explosion) and flew in a formation that would put to shame aerobatics performed by the most sophisticated fighter air planes.
We then headed back to the temple area. Once there, we saw a White Throated Kingfisher, a lone female Pied Kingfisher, two Black Headed Ibis, three Little Cormorants, a Darter, a Little Egret and amongst them – many Purple Moorhens (about 6-8). A lot of Terns (about 20) made low recce flights over the area (unfortunately, I am still learning to identify Terns..)
A Ringed (Eurasian Collared) Dove’s presence on our way back seemed to signify the return of peace after an explosive night. And as it turned out, not the noise and smoke of Diwali, but a visit to my feathered friends was the spiritual experience I was seeking!
