Brownie Adopts The Neighborhood (Part 1 of 3)

By any stretch of imagination, Brownie was neither cute, nor handsome nor cuddly. 

He did not fit into any of the typical descriptions of a love-able dog. Yet, with his unique personality he walked right into the hearts of many people. He also had his share of sworn enemies; but I will tell you about them later.

    My first memory of Brownie is of this young, probably two-year-old dog, running on the street on a winter afternoon in 2007. It was a cold and sunny day. Our area, being newly developed, did not have a lot of traffic. And here comes Brownie, leading a pack of four dogs and growling ferociously at the one trying to overtake him. He looked quite menacing, with his two canine teeth protruding out. 

   

Neighborhood watch - Dog duties

    Brownie was named so because he had brown spots on his white coat. His identity were two conjoined brown spots on his lower back, giving an impression of the figure 8 when seen from the front, and the symbol of infinity (∞) when seen from the sides. There were also some black dots, which could give an impression that he was dirty, even if he was quite clean. He was not a dog that you would want to mess with! This is how we saw him over the next few years, fighting for territory and food. He had soon established himself as the alpha male.

    Our locality, Dwarka in Delhi, was still developing and used to be quite desolate at night. Petty crimes and robberies were commonplace as many areas were uninhabited and under-construction. The first human friends who befriended Brownie were the night-time security guards. They valued him for his alertness and ferocity; and fed him regularly so that he would accompany them on the night-duty. Brownie was sharp. He could detect an approaching far-off stranger in pitch dark and would immediately alert the guards by growling.

    On these guard duties, he made another canine friend. Whitey was a light-buff colored dog with black shining eyes. While Brownie with his two teeth sticking out looked ferocious, Whitey was furry and handsome, by standards of street dogs. Always full of joy, he quickly befriended all the humans around. He would put up his front paws on your knees and demand your attention. I remember being surprised, on seeing my sister Pallavi, patting this street dog affectionately. I was ambivalent towards dogs, neither afraid nor friendly. Touching a street-dog was a big no-no for me, since they could carry infections and ticks.

     Soon, Brownie and Whitey formed a team and became best friends. They announced this friendship to the world spectacularly with chest thumps. This was a dangerous duo, and no dog dared to enter their territory. Their princely estate was a road stretching across entrances to no less than four apartments and an entire public park. Moreover, they had unquestioned, visiting rights to the areas of neighboring dogs, right up to the main road 260 meters away. Whitey's affectionate ways rubbed in on Brownie, and he decided to befriend humans in his own unique way.

 

Team Alpha - Brownie & Whitey

  My sister was walking down to the bus-stop on the main road. There were very few other people on the road. Suddenly, something wet and cool touched her hands. Shocked, she turned around to see Brownie, his two canine teeth sticking out in a grin. It was difficult to interpret if it was a growl or a smile; until you saw the smile in his eyes that literally said, "Wasn't that a fun prank?". A passerby commented in Hindi, "Ghabrao mat, woh shaitaan hai."; literally, translated to, "Don't be scared, he is a naughty dog". These surprise attacks became a trademark of Brownie; he would approach stealthily from behind and surprise you by touching your fingers with his cold and wet nose. The people who shouted, fled in fear or scolded him were not befriended; the ones who smiled at his prank were. Although, they were the best friends, Brownie would compete for affection of humans and food, with Whitey. We fed them sometimes with leftover bones from a meal. But that was not often. The dogs were well-fed, and all they wanted was affection and human company.

    They found this company in many people. The vegetable vendor who stood outside our society premises in evenings, the guards, and many of our neighbors; most significantly, an elderly gentleman whom they accompanied on morning walks, and a lady with two kids. This lady soon became their favorite. She fed them regularly and gave them medicines if they fell sick. Soon, they were duty-bound to drop the kids to the school-bus with her.
    Together the duo ruled the roost. If they were not chasing away intruders, they were chasing cars or playing in the park, happily rubbing their backs on the grass to groom themselves. Going by the number of white-furred and brown spotted dogs in our area, they must have "dated" a lot of females in their hay days. They guarded the street at night and entrusted themselves with further responsibilities in human affairs. This included escorting people to and from the bus-stop. Many a times, they would drop my sister till the bus-stop in morning. Whitey was a bit more adventurous. He would cross the main road after her, running like crazy to avoid the moving cars. In the evenings, at least one of them would be waiting for her near the bus stop, to escort her back. This company was welcomed, as the road used to be lonely at that hour.
    It was after this, that I truly warmed up to the pair. Brownie tested me with his "wet-nose" prank, and we soon became friends.

Part 2 (Brownie sees the City Lights)

Woodpecker Fest

A jackfruit tree canopy frames the kitchen window of my Miramar apartment. Loaded with fruit during the summer months; it attracts squirrels and different birds through the daytime.

Lesser flameback woodpecker

The lesser flameback woodpecker, a shy visitor frequents the canopy; eating ripe fruit, as well as flies and maggots that infest it. These visits are concluded with a loud cackle. The bird apparently announcing that it has eaten it's fill and will return to the feast on another occasion.

Raiding the food store

Waiting for more species to join this feast.

#birdwatching #indianbirds #woodpeckers #birdingwindow #birding #birdingathome #naturelovers #nature #woodpecker

Vigor's Sunbird

It is rare to find a Sunbird perched peacefully for a photograph. This Vigor's Sunbird was preening it feathers to impress its mates on a late winter afternoon. The bright colours vibrant in the warm winter sun.

#birdwatching #indianbirds #woodpeckers #birdingwindow #birding #birdingathome #naturelovers #nature #sunbird

Birding in Hampi, capital of Vijayanagar empire

Hampi, once capital of Vijaynagar empire, is now a world heritage site. The extent and magnificence of the Vijaynagar empire can be experienced here, while exploring remnants of the city that are spread over few hundred square kilometers.

Pigeons in temple courtyards

The ruins, surrounding paddy fields, banana plantations and rocky surroundings provide diverse ecosystems for our avian friends. Here are some of the common ones which can be found while exploring Hampi & its surroundings.

Green Bee Eater

Cormorant at Pushkarni stepwells

Skylark at Royal Palace enclosure

Scaly breasted Munias amidst banana plantation

Spotted owlet

#birdwatching #indianbirds #woodpeckers #birdingwindow #birding #birdingathome #naturelovers #nature

Friendship beyond Barriers

"God loved the birds and invented trees.  Man loved the birds and invented cages."  ~Jacques Deval

A neighbour has two bird cages - one for budgerigars and one for rose ringed parakeet. The cages are placed in their balcony, around early morning and evening hours. These caged birds or rather their feed attracts pigeons, mynas and sparrows to the neighbor's balcony.

In a way, the caged birds enjoy the  company of others from Avian world during their stay in the balcony. All birds are at their chirpiest behaviour at these times, probably enjoying the refreshing open air and view of the blue sky, which is near yet so far.  
One November morning a pair of wild rose ringed parakeets visited the balcony. They were perhaps summoned by the plaintive cries of the caged parakeet, who longed to be free like its wild friends. What followed was a surreptitious interaction between caged and free birds; they exchanged food and probably news updates.  

The budgerigars were the perfect conspirators who kept a watch on the human activities inside the house and gave alarm calls to parakeets if anyone approached the balcony door. The wild parakeets would leave at the slightest hint of human presence, to return later when all was clear. 
The caged parakeet would become restless after its friend left, shunning the food it's jailers offered, pacing within cage frantically. These interactions between the wild & caged world continued for few days till the winter chill forced our neighbour to keep the birds inside house for over a month.

Caged Juvenile Plum-headed Parakeet
rescued and set free from a project site

The peak winter chill is over and caged birds are back in balcony to enjoy the warm winter sunlight . The caged rose ringed parakeet however is missing in action, and so are its visitors. Perhaps the bird was sent away, or perhaps it died of a broken heart; unable to join its friends in the free world.

#birdwatching #indianbirds #woodpeckers #birdingwindow #birding #birdingathome #naturelovers #nature

Big Bird Day 2012

" Kya aap birthday party ke liye aye hain?", asked a young guard posted at the campus gates, as we asked for directions. Another car joined the queue, with similar query, and the guard was puzzled by the  group gathering for some crazy early morning birthday party. The time was 7 am, on Sunday 5th February morning and a group of 10-15 people had collected at JNU gates for the event.

White Wagtails

"Arre birthday nahin, Big Bird day ke liye aye hain saab", quipped another senior and experienced guard. The occasion was Big Bird Day, an annual event of active bird watching community in the country. At least 10 or more teams start birding at different places around Delhi. Jointly, by the end of the day, the teams try to watch as many species as possible, tabulate the list of each team and arrive at the total number of bird species collectively seen during the day. My sister and me were part of JNU team headed by Dr. SP, a veteran birder.

Indian Silverbill / Munia

Soon a security jeep escorted all visitors to the location where Dr. SP was waiting. After quick introductions interspersed with occasional spotting of a bird species, we headed of to explore the campus and ridge area around JNU. Within few minutes common birds like parakeets, mynas and pigeons were sighted  and ticked away in the official bird count list. A spotted owlet took keen interest in our group, puzzled by early morning human activity in its surroundings.

Yellow wattled lapwing

 To locate more birds, we moved away from human civilization towards ridge forests around JNU campus. By 10 am, the bird count had reached fifty five however many common ridge area birds like larks and pipits had not been seen. I had learned to differentiate between warblers, bushchats and stone chats and learned that all small brown birds are not sparrows.

Black winged Stilt

Breakfast in the campus guest house created opportunity for casual chats and we got to know a bit more about our fellow team-mates. It was a mixed group of amateur and seasoned birders from different professional backgrounds. Few had taken up this as hobby after retirement, the senior most being a 77 year old gentleman. The youngest in the group, aged 7 -12 years were also enthusiastic birders who had memorized the Grimmett guide to Birds of Indian Subcontinent.

Long Billed pipit

Shankar Vihar, was the second location to be visited by our team. It is a huge stretch of wasteland between Mahipalpur and Vasant Kunj, where sewage water from a nearby treatment plant has accumulated. Delhi birders discovered that the spot has been functioning as a wetland for the last few years. Black winged stilts, gadwalls, northern shoveler and lapwings were spotted there in huge numbers. The urban wasteland has been embraced by migratory birds as a winter home.

Brown headed Barbet

Bhatti mines was the third and last birding location for the Big Bird Day. We hoped to find ridge area birds like vultures and eagles. The afternoon half however did not yield expected results, as only a long billed pipit, a long tailed shrike and 4-5 more birds were added to the bird count list. It was sunset by the time we headed home. In Delhi NCR, 155 species of birds had participated in the day long bird birthday celebration. Hoping the next year will see increase in the number of participants.

Common Kestrel hovering midair

Let each day be a "Bird Day" celebration.

Birding in Himachal hills

Oriental White-eye

A wedding invitation brought me to a small village near Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh.  Hamirpur gets it's name from Raja Hamir Chand of Katoch dynasty, who ruled over this region from 1700 to 1740 AD.

Lesser Flameback Woodepecker

Away from the dust and grime of the cities, the birds were brighter, easier to spot and photograph. Many were attracted by the wedding feast and food scraps thrown out from the community kitchen. Among these were varieties of woodpeckers, magpies, bulbuls and mynas. The lesser flameback and brown fronted woodpecker were bold enough to pose for the camera.

Brown-fronted Woodpecker

Great Titmouse

Red Billed Blue Magpie

Birds as well as humans enjoyed the wedding feast; everyone sharing the joy of auspicious occasion, showering their blessings and good wishes on the married couple and their families.

#birdwatching #indianbirds #woodpeckers #birdingwindow #birding #himachalbirds #naturelovers #nature