Bird watching!

Black Kite

Bird watching is one of my favorite hobbies. About a couple of years ago what started as timepass activity, is now an activity which I pursue with great interest. The best part of this hobby is, I can watch the birds by just looking out of our flat window and observe the sparrows hop, skip & jump on the bougainvillea creeper or a common Myna preen at leisure on the lamp post just across the road or a huge flock of parakeets fly by from here till there or even vice versa (There is this adorable flock of parakeets in our residential complex)!!

Well, in short, I don’t have to venture out or plan an outing especially for this purpose.  Recently, during my trip to Bangalore, I had this rare opportunity to watch a very common raptor ‘Black Kite’ perching on a police patrol van just beside the window at my mom’s house.  A godsend opportunity to watch this handsome bird, that too just beside our window!! The bird could be very common but getting to see it at such close quarters is not very common, I must say.  

The first look - Black Kite
Black Kite, is a medium sized 'bird of prey'.
They generally are found hovering high up in the sky identifying their prey on the ground.

A boring evening immediately transformed into an interesting as well as exciting evening! I picked up my camera and ventured out of the house. I wondered if I could get some closeup pictures.  I was totally excited but was also worried that the bird would take to it’s wings if it saw me approach it with the camera in my hands. To my surprise, the bird did not even try to move from it's place of perch. Within seconds I had this feeling that the bird was hurt or was not keeping well. Of course the bystanders already had many theories –

• The bird’s leg is hurt.
• It’s very weak, hence it has come down so low, else it would never come so close to human beings.
• It’s still a juvenile, may be it doesn’t know how to fly.
• The bird’s wings are not developed…etc etc!

Birds joining the police force? An amused police!

Well, even I was worried. Such a majestic bird, what would happen to it if it was really hurt? Who would care for it? Whom shall I contact and ask for some help? I immediately posted my doubts on a bird forum on FB too, but within minutes, when the police patrol van moved, the bird took to it’s wings and comfortably flew away and perched on a tree branch, along the road.

Isn't he handsome?

Almost everybody standing around jumped with joy and cheered the bird! But I still wonder why the bird could have come so close to the ground especially if it was not feeding! It sat and obliged me with many a photographs and never tried to fly away until the vehicle moved from the place it was parked. Whatever the reasons, it was an enjoyable experience overall!