For six months of the year, confined successful my NCR level similar a Trappist monk, the lone birds I get to spot are pigeons, which person present go the ubiquitous awesome of municipality avian life. But for the different six months, erstwhile I discontinue to my cottage successful Puranikoti colony adjacent Shimla, it’s a wholly antithetic world.
The dozens of trees planted arsenic a post-retirement penance implicit the years to atone for my ample sarkari c footprint — weeping willows, equine chestnuts, oak, deodar, robinia, chinars, apple, plum, cherry, pears, kainth — person present travel of property and are repaying our efforts successful ample measure. They supply dense vegetation and fruits, seeds, flowers, which pull galore varieties and taxon of birds. This is each the institution 1 needs astatine this signifier of one’s WhatsApp-dominated life. Their societal media benignant chattering, the vertebrate songs astatine dawn and successful the evenings, has been precise good expressed by a poet:
I beryllium successful my garden, gazing upon a quality that cannot regard upon itself. And I find
sufficient intent for my day.
My avian friends are of 2 types: the archetypal are the imperishable residents (‘bona fide Himachalis’ successful authorities parlance!), who enactment connected my onshore passim the twelvemonth — sparrows, bulbuls, tits, blackbirds, whistling thrush. Because of their tenancy status, they presume a familiarity bordering connected contempt, virtually taking the nutrient disconnected my plate.
The seasonal visitors are much cautious, not definite of their invited oregon of what they tin expect. Among them are the swallow, swift, barbet, silver-winged blackbird, songbird, and the graceful, long-tailed Himalayan magpie.
Each taxon has its temporal slot and arrives erstwhile its effect of prime is ripe for eating. They are not selfish and bash not overstay their invited — a sojourn of a fewer weeks and they depart, vacating the slot for the adjacent species, having stripped the trees of immoderate effect was connected the chef’s special. I don’t caput astatine each — what they springiness america successful the abbreviated clip they dwell with america is much, overmuch much than what those fruits would person fetched successful the section mandi.
Last year, however, was a landmark year, for a brace of Himalayan magpies decided that they had had capable of globe-trotting and that it was clip to commencement a household earlier the EMIs started piling up: they settled down and started nesting successful a dense grove of trees connected 1 country of my land! This overt look of spot successful america was a quiescent vindication of each our efforts to make a harmless and unafraid situation for our feathered friends. In owed people of time, they laid 2 eggs, conscionable earlier we departed for the NCR for our six-month exile.
We returned this April, to the show of 4 magpies — 2 adults and 2 offspring, their tenure successful the grove present converted into adverse possession, if not deemed ownership similar a retired person successful Lutyens’ Delhi, but without the consciousness of entitlement! It was a delight to spot them flying astir the full day, similar trundling helicopters — the Himalayan magpie is not a bully flyer — picking up insects, earthworms and the cherries and apples from our trees. I provender them each morning: the smaller birds are blessed with breadcrumbs and atom grains, but the magpies person a penchant for Haldiram’s namkeens, which is what they get! In owed people of time, unbeknownst to us, the pistillate laid 3 much eggs connected an oak histrion successful the grove.
We came to cognize of this lone when, 1 day, a chick fell from the nest and was grabbed by a feral cat. Brutus, our indie dog, pounced connected the cat, forcing it to driblet the chick. We picked up the small bird, examined it for immoderate injuries (there were none, but the mediocre happening was traumatised nary end). We kept it successful a lukewarm country for 2 days, fed it atom and milk; each the portion its parents staged a 24x7 dharna extracurricular the country successful the mode of Arvind Kejriwal, demanding the merchandise of their small one.
Finally, connected the 3rd day, assured that the chick had recovered afloat from its ordeal, we enactment it backmost successful the nest, wherever the different 2 chicks were nary excessively welcoming astatine the thought of having to stock their snacks! The 2 adults were overjoyed, but rapidly chased america away.
Tragedy struck the precise adjacent day. Taking our evening stroll, we recovered the half-eaten assemblage of a magpie chick astir 100 metres from the grove. A speedy cheque of the nest confirmed what we feared — it was empty. It was wide what had happened: the feline which had discovered the nest had not forgotten it adjacent though it had been thwarted by our canine the archetypal time. The 3 chicks — inactive incapable to alert — ne'er stood a chance. Cats are ruthless predators of tiny animals, particularly birds. A 2022 survey estimated that cats termination 55 cardinal birds successful the UK each year!
Our magpie household was desolate. They repeatedly circled the grove without alighting connected it, making plaintive cries. That night, they disappeared. It is wide they person abandoned our place; our hearts spell retired to them, rearing a household successful the chaotic is simply a Herculean task, and to suffer it each successful a infinitesimal is truthful unfair.
But I americium present haunted by a much disturbing question: were we astatine fault, somehow? Should we person enactment that 3rd chick backmost successful the nest oregon reared it ourselves? There are counter-questions too: however acold tin 1 spell successful meddling successful the lives of fundamentally chaotic creatures? Should we intervene oregon fto quality instrumentality its course? I americium acrophobic determination are nary casual answers.
The question that haunts maine most, however, is this: person the magpies near retired of a consciousness of betrayal? Will they forgive america and return? Will they springiness america a 2nd chance?
— The writer is simply a retired IAS officer
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