Lesser Cuckoo

I had asked a laborer to remove the weeds and undergrowth around the house

and was checking his work the next morning. It was the day before yesterday.

I saw this bird on the ground a few feet away from the steps of my clinic.

Since it remained in place even when I went closer, I thought that it was a very

young one or an injured bird. It looked like a pigeon or a cuckoo but slightly smaller.

I could not leave the bird there as it would soon be on the breakfast menu of the

cat which keeps roaming around the house. I tried to pick it up but when I touched it,

it attempted to get away. But it could not go far. I did not want to cause much

distress to the bird and I wasn’t sure what I would do with it after picking it up.

So, I covered it up with a big cardboard box and called the animal rescue

volunteer, Madhuraj, whose number was with me. 

I knew that the group of young volunteers who respond to the calls from people

like me are sincere and caring. I had sought their help before, once to handle a

Rufous treepie which was very keen on sharing our bedroom and before that, a

Sand Boa, which had liked our car park for an evening stroll. Madhuraj said that

he would arrange to pick the bird up through one of his friends. A volunteer called

me sometime later, got the details of the animal in need of help, and said that they

are attending to another call but would reach me after that. I spent two anxious

hours and then a young fellow, who identified himself as Vishwam, arrived. He

picked the bird up with ease, placed it in a smaller box, said that he would get

it checked by a veterinarian and then decide the future course.  I felt relieved

and returned to my other activities. 

I was curious about the fate of the bird and was considering calling Vishwam,

when I received the message, which I have  posted along with the pictures of

the bird. It was from my son and he had found it on FB. I felt bad to hear that the

bird did not survive. It is not a common species and it is a migratory bird. It is

unfortunate that it could not return back to its home.  Anyway I am happy that an

effort was made to see that the bird remained in this world longer and that I did

what I could. 

The reason for writing this is to express my appreciation of the efforts of the

Animal rescue volunteers. They are occupied otherwise but find time for these

rescue activities which is not an income generating one. They may even have

to spend from their pockets. In the present case they had to take the bird to an

expert twenty kilometers away. It would easily take two hours and the fuel cost

itself would be two hundred rupees ! They don't seek any financial assistance

but gratefully accept if some help is offered. In the stifling atmosphere of this

world where indifference and greed seems to be the ruling sentiments, these

people come along as a fresh breath of air and help people like me, retain the

hope in humanity. I have named only the two with whom I came in contact but

there are many like them working silently. My sincere thanks to all of them.

I wish them well.

Borim - off roading !

If you are a person who looks at the surroundings instead of the mobile phone,

while commuting between Ponda and Margao, you would notice that a foot path

leads into the surrounding fields, after you cross the Borim bridge.

The fields are next to the Zuari river, swampy in nature and a place to find many

water birds. The track goes through the fields for about 2-3 kilometers in a

semi circle and comes back to touch the highway a bit later. It has been my

intention - which hadn’t been put into action of course - to walk through the fields

sometime and I decided to do it this morning.

I parked my car on the highway and started walking just after sunrise at 6am.

It was fine in the beginning but after entering the fields I found that the path has

been covered by overgrowth of grass and weeds, making it difficult to walk

through. I was scared of stepping on or close to a snake or a similar creature,

enjoying it’s beautysleep, annoying it and facing the consequences.And the

path was wet because of the rains during the last two days. So, I tried another

path which went closer to the river but that was muddy and a bit slippery at

places. Still, I managed to walk through some distance and found about

fifteen different kinds of birds. My phone could only capture  the Cormorant

and Brahmini kite, which are considerably bigger in size and also stay put

in a place for sometime. They live in the trees next to the path. These are

the pictures taken during my walk, which was certainly enjoyable, in spite

of the quality of the path. The following are the pictures taken during the walk.

Brahmini Kite - they nest in the trees next to the river

The muddy path next to the river - water seen here is not the river. It is on the other side 

Plenty of cormorants - drying their wings

Sun rise - seen through the foliage

Cormorant on a look out !

Path that I wasn't keen on taking 

Borim bridge  - as seen through the morning mist

weaver birds habitat the trees in the area - Nests.