Nature notes 2022 (2)

[anna_wing]

There are three crows' nests in the jackfruit tree in my garden, and several in the mango trees at the office. They have hatchlings now (no way to tell how many are actually koels, which parasitise crows). They are Very Noisy At All Times Of Day Or Night.

The yellow-vented bulbuls have as usual built their nest fully visible and within touching distance for humans, but at least this time out of leaping distance for the Beastie Boys. They have three hatchlings, which remain totally vulnerable to crows and Greater Coucals.

The red-whiskered bulbuls, having slightly more nous and savoir-faire, have nested in a different, leafier tree, a rather more secure location.

The sparrows are fledging. We found one on the ground, and put it on a convenient ledge. Its parents have found it and will hopefully continue to feed it until it can fly properly.

I had the useless kaffir lime uprooted and moved to the office garden. It has been replaced with another citron tree, making three. Tree Number Two started fruiting in December last year. The three dragonfruit plants are growing nicely, and might fruit this year.

During the last two years of lockdown and general other upheaval, the staff were inspired to put in planter boxes for vegetables and herbs basically everywhere that there was space. Our office building has a lot of unused terraces and walkways, which are slowly being colonised for horticultural purposes. So far there are eggplants, tomatoes, choi sum, lettuce, onion sprouts, several basils, rosemary, sunflowers, chillies, black pepper, wild betel, mint, Indian pennywort, galangal, lemongrass and a couple of local vegetables without English names. We may not get mangoes this year, because the tree fruited nicely last year, and they like to rest in alternate years (that's the tree with spirits in, so no-one is going to try to make it do anything it doesn't want to do...). The gardeners find it much more interesting than just mowing grass, and they get a share, so it's all good.

It is as hot as blazes, and there is an electricity shortage, so I am trying to minimise the strain on my generators by not running the aircon. At least so far (cross fingers) we have dodged any cyclones, though we still have May to get through until the monsoon proper sets in. The Beastie Boys are feeling their age, and spending their mornings lounging around the pool, or sitting hopefully at the foot of the various trees in which there are nests.

Comments

[shirebound]

Its parents have found it and will hopefully continue to feed it until it can fly properly.

How wonderful. :)

Thank you for sharing these lovely snippets with us.

[asakiyume]

Reading this makes me so happy--such life!

I found a way to order kaffir lime leaves via, of all things, ebay. They come wrapped in a damp paper towel! And then I stick them in the freezer so I can keep using them for a long time :-)

Good for the mango, taking a rest after a productive year. And I don't remember the story about the spirits--or maybe I vaguely remember your mentioning something? But maybe I'm fabricating a memory. What's the story?

[anna_wing]

Oh it's quite straightforward. We were advised by a local export that the mango tree has three spirits living in it. Harmless and not ill-disposed. So we put a fence around it, with a 'Do Not Disturb' sign, and I instructed the gardeners to make sure that it gets regular attention with extra compost and fertiliser, and the fence is kept in good order. The fruit is good, and I get most of it, since the staff don't want to touch it. I make sure to say 'thank you'.

[asakiyume]

Now I'm recalling that you did mention it before. I can't tell you how happy this makes me!

[sartorias]

That is really cool about the mini-gardens.

And thank you for the bird report! (Now to go look most of them up)