A drop for the Sun

Tiny drops of water mighty bath-tubs make!

It's the peak of Summer here in Mumbai and the brain-broiling Sun has been merciless on just about every living creature (not counting the flowering trees , they seem to be loving it!).
I have my natural rock bird-bath filled up as usual and it has been seeing rush hour from sun-up to sunset. All the birds from tiny spice-birds to the Pariah Kites come here for a quick sip-and-dip to cool off.
Then, yesterday I saw the strangest sight.

On hot summer days I make sure that I water the orchids early in the day. I had stopped to hose down a nearby banana plant too and was getting on with my work when a slight movement caught my eye. I turned slowly (I've found out the hard way that quick movements usually result in lost photo-ops) to see that the 'rain' I had created had just turned into someone's water-park ... in the nicest possible way !

There was this tiny little sunbird slipping and sliding, whirring her wings and wiggling her belly among the tiny little drops of water clinging to the banana leaves.

If you've seen water on banana leaves you'll know that it doesn't drain off in a wet patch like it does from other leaves. It clings to it like tiny little silvery drops , defying all laws of gravity. And every once in a while a couple of tiny drops roll together to make a big fat blob.
And the Sunbird (I think it was a Purple Sunbird but it's not easy differentiating the female Sunbirds) had found this readymade waterslide created just for her enjoyment.

You should've seen how much fun she was having! She would slide around, soaking in all the drops of water, and every once in a while she would stop to look around nervously.
I was worried I would frighten her off so I didn't move in too close. Plus, the chain-link fence separating us was a major barrier that didn't make for easy photography. Still, I did manage to click a few snaps and these are the better ones of the lot.

Her splashing about did advertise the presence of cool water to other birds too. A curious Paradise Flycatcher showed up to check out the action but fled when she saw me.

A male Purple Sunbird wandered by too but by the time I had got my camera ready he was already in a neighbouring property and was busy gorging on nectar from an Ixora. (I added this photo to give an idea of how pretty these birds are. You can see just a glimpse of the metallic gleam of his feathers. But do check out more photos here and here. )

The female Sunbird though was still splashing in her bath and I could almost imagine her glee. It was almost as if that water, just a few drops though they might've been, was like a magnet gluing her to that spot until caution prevailed and she flew off refreshed.

Which got me thinking that maybe I should do this more often. Those few drops on a leaf might just make a world of difference to a parched bird in Summer when the temperatures leap fierier than ever. And will, hopefully, make those flying jewels stick around more in my garden.

Maybe you could do the same? It doesn't take much, as Indian Homemaker can tell you ... a shallow bowl of water is perfect for the smaller birds. If you place it among a few shrubs or potted plants, that will make them feel safer and more confident that they can linger. And I'm sure the Sunbirds would love to slip-slide on some wet leaves. Not much to ask for, is it?

The birds and the bees.... and butterflies too!

My garden is a very busy place now. The monsoons have taken a break (to draw in a deep breath, I think) and all the insects in the world seem to be holding a convention in my garden. Everywhere I look, there are swarming, flying, buzzing creatures, eager to get on with their busy, busy lives.




This big carpenter bee seems to be determined to mine all the precious pollen from this Sky Flower (Thunbergia grandiflora). I had planted them to climb over my wire fence and to hopefully soften its harsh looks. What I had not anticipated was that it would become the happy hunting-ground not only for a whole bevy of very serious carpenter-bees but also for some gorgeous Purple Sunbirds.

The sunbirds are some of the most exquisite birds I've ever seen. "Tiny little darts of sunshine" is the closest I can get to describe them. The male is a dark purply-chocolate brown, capped with shiny emerald and amethyst on top, with a bright yellow stomach. With every movement of its perky head, the irridiscent green and jewel-purple feathers shimmer and sparkle in the light.

You can get a rough idea of what I mean from this photo of one perched on the root of my Vanda orchid. I'm sorry, it's such an atrocious photo but I was too excited on seeing him pose for me. They normally dart away faster than thought.



His girl-friend is a bird of a totally different colour. As drably dressed as any bird can get but still very watchable because she darts from one flower to the other, dipping her curving beak deep in to sip the nectar.

Can you see her wheeling away from the hibiscus flower she had just been feasting on? In this photo, though, she looks as if she were part of the flower, doesnt she? Go on, click on the photo and you can see a larger, clearer picture of milady Purple Sunbird (though there is nothing purple in her .... her boyfriend flaunts the royal colour !)



The start of the rainy season always sees the Zephyranthes in full bloom. These Rain lilies or Thunder lilies, as some call them, were a favourite in my childhood home. So much so that I made sure I planted a few bulbs in a corner of my garden here. Now the few bulbs are more like a dense carpet of flowers every monsoon.

I was too late to take photos of the Zephyranthes field this year (and I still havent got over that yet). But guess what I did get to record for posterity ...


(Yes, I do know there are weeds in there. Its the monsoon season ... what do you expect? Every year the rains wash off the lovely, rich top-soil, leaves behind the stones, and bring out all the weeds. Aaargh! )


Ma Nature's ingenious recycling project !

These white and orange spotted, chocolate-brown caterpillars were already fat and sleek from all those Zephyranthes leaves they had tucked into. I wonder what the grown-ups would look like. Could it possibly be a Common Mormon?



I cant see anything remotely common about them, though!


In another corner, some wild morning-glories had conveniently grown over my baby anthuriums and lent their dense foliage to shade them from our cruel summer sun . But a couple of days ago, I nearly leapt in fright to see a mob of orange, bristly, violent-looking caterpillars methodically stripping it of all the leaves.





Now just multiply that by about a 100 and you'll begin to get an idea of what is going on there. You think that is scary? Picture one of these bull-dozing its way straight you, letting nothing stop it, and shaking its bristles at you with every undulation.



I didnt see a single bird or animal even beginning to look as if it were interested in tasting it. In fact, my normally crowded garden was looking decidedly deserted when Bristly came out for his cross-country marathon. I'm simply not surprised !

So what stopped me from squishing him out of existence? The dream that some day he would look like this !

( click on photos to enlarge)