Lockdown diaries: The view from my window

Amazing views outside my window which I had never noticed until I was forced to be quarantined at home after a neighbour was deemed Covid positive.

On the third day of the quarantine at home as I sat by my window in the morning sipping tea I saw a cluster of red berries on a tree below.

And from there I could hear a wonderful sound. Sounds of some bird, but I couldn’t really see the bird till I looked closely.

Photographs: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com

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A red-headed bird hid itself so well in the tree with the red berries, that it was very hard to see it.
Fast and quick to move, this bird is called the Coppersmith Barbet and is found all over Asia.

This bird emits sounds that resembles a hammer hitting a copper sheet. Hence the name.
I did hear these sounds every morning. But it took the lockdown for me to see them!

On the same tree, on a rainy morning, I spotted this bird fluttering through the branches.
Fanning its longish tail, jumping from one branch to another, it was hard to get a picture of it.
I guess no one taught it to pose :))
Or maybe s/he just didn’t want to fall prey to the bullies around, which are majorly the crows.
This bird — the White-spotted Fantail — is always moving from one place to another in search of tiny insects.
And it announces its presence by making sounds like whistling notes.
Hopefully, the next time I will have more patience and get a better picture.

Talking about birds, we have predators too…
Here is the eagle towering over everything else on this palm tree far away.
He does look like a Spotted Eagle, but I can’t be too sure until I get a closer look.

A baby crow who was born on my 8th floor window two weeks ago. S/he still has a couple of weeks to go before s/he can fly away and hunt for food.

Mama crow keeps staring at me through the window hoping that I’ll give her some food.
This one has been with me since she was born. Along with her siblings here on this window.

This is one of her siblings. Completely drenched in the rain.
Comes to the window all the time.
They do caw a lot. But they keep the pigeons away and also keep the area clean. Compared to the messy pigeons.

My window has also been visited by this huuuge Raven!
He does manage to drive away everyone else…
And also sits peacefully without any racket for more than a few minutes.

Sometimes when there is food he will eat some of it and then go away.
There are times when the crows come in a group and try to attack him which makes him leave and come back the next day.

There are quite a few coconut trees in my neighbourhood.
I am blessed that there is so much greenery around me in a place like Mumbai.
And that too just five minutes from the Western Express Highway.
This sight of them swaying against the gushing wind in the rain was quite amazing.

And beyond the palms.. In the rain, for the first time I saw this house.
Not a building.
But a proper house with a cement sheeted roof.
This one is right in the middle of this concrete jungle of tall towers in Borivali, northwest Mumbai.

To the right of my window is an open basketball court. The court, which would always be occupied by children in the day, has been deserted for 5 months now.

There are some others who I see near the basket.
These pigeons waiting to play :)) Don’t miss the solo white one.
Hello LeBron!

A sight Indians shudder from today.
An ambulance waits just under my window… for a COVID-19 positive patient.
Someone I know.
I know he will recover soon and I will see him after these 14 days of quarantine.

Here through my window is my own twin towers view disappearing in the torrential rain.

Getting back to the birds. Here are four friends who no one can miss.
Soaked in the morning rain. But still so very majestic.
I wish I had a better Zoom lens!

And here is the window where every one of the pictures above were taken from :)…
Good morning and have a wonderful day!

 

 



Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com

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