Nature notes 2023 (3) - Avian drama
Mar. 6th, 2023 09:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anna_wing- The unfortunate crows whose nest was parasitised by the resident koel (aka Asian Cuckoo) finally realised that the fully-fledged nestling wasn't theirs, and drove it out of the nest. Too late for their own offspring, alas. Housekeeper saw the young koel flapping off. It's early in the season, and I've seen other crows still nest-building, so there's still time for the crows to try again.
- in cheerier news, Air BnB (the regular sparrows' nesting spot behind the air-conditioning unit outside the kitchen, which obviously is no longer in use for its intended purpose) has its first hatchling of the season! We heard it cheeping the other day, and Bus-stop cap and Lap-cat have been lurking. We keep a close eye on those, ever since the day a fledgling took its first flight, landed safely, and was promptly killed and eaten by Lap-cat...
- the mango trees are flowering this year, so there might be fruit later! These are home/office trees, not commercial ones, so they tend to rest every other year. We give them compost and fertiliser, but otherwise leave them be. The one inhabited by local spirits also has a fence and a "Do Not Disturb Without Permission of the Building Manager" notice on it. It's a particularly good variety, so I have high hopes this year.
- I've commissioned a painting by a local artist to include all the birds I see in my garden against a stylised background of leaves and fruiting gourds and cucumbers.
- in cheerier news, Air BnB (the regular sparrows' nesting spot behind the air-conditioning unit outside the kitchen, which obviously is no longer in use for its intended purpose) has its first hatchling of the season! We heard it cheeping the other day, and Bus-stop cap and Lap-cat have been lurking. We keep a close eye on those, ever since the day a fledgling took its first flight, landed safely, and was promptly killed and eaten by Lap-cat...
- the mango trees are flowering this year, so there might be fruit later! These are home/office trees, not commercial ones, so they tend to rest every other year. We give them compost and fertiliser, but otherwise leave them be. The one inhabited by local spirits also has a fence and a "Do Not Disturb Without Permission of the Building Manager" notice on it. It's a particularly good variety, so I have high hopes this year.
- I've commissioned a painting by a local artist to include all the birds I see in my garden against a stylised background of leaves and fruiting gourds and cucumbers.
