A new visitor

This evening my dogs were going beserk.  Then my nephew came in and said there was a monkey on our roof and I looked out and there he was sitting on the roof jutting into our kitchen backyard, quite unconcerned by 2 dogs barking dementedly.  In between, he would bend over and look at them and that would bring on fresh paroxysms.  Finally, I got my dogs inside the house, hoping that would encourage the monkey to come down and go off among the trees.  But no, after the dogs were inside he climbed up to the top of the roof and there he sat for quite a long while and then onto the divi-divi tree I have near my front verandah.  I stood outside looking at him. 
After some contemplation, he decided to come down from the roof, but not down that tree. He then looked at me and finding me unthreatening, he walked across--upright to the other side of the front yard and sat on the low wall there for a bit to decide his further actions and then he disappeared.  I don't know whether he is still around or went off down the road.  I must say he was very bold and didn't seem very scared of the dogs or humans.  The poor guy had lost his left arm, as in from the wrist down.  But he seemed to be managing ok.  I do hope he won't come near my house again to torment my dogs and just stays in the trees around; after all there is enough fruit for him to eat, without coming near the house.

The tale of a mynah family.

A mynah couple had a nest in the hollow of a tree behind my room.  I had seen them flying around.  I know they can be very aggressive if any other bird flies into their territory, because I have seen them chase a woodpecker.
So, the other day, my sister was here and we were trying to record some music.  But there was this huge racket going on outside, which went on for quite a while.  The mynah pair were screeching, and going on at a loud decibel level.   We looked out of the window wondering whether there was a snake outside or if it was a crow pheasant, which steals eggs of other birds, but could see nothing.  As my sister and I stood watching, after a bit we saw a cat (we have many feral cats around here).  We saw the mynah pair were trying to dive bomb the cat.  The cat was moving away from their nest and I thought they had been succesful in chasing the cat.  Then we noticed the cat looking into the undergrowth and there we saw hiding a little mynah chick.  Obviously it had started to fly but could not yet get up.  It had tried hiding while dad and mum were trying to chase the predator away.  But alas, the cat saw a slight movement and that was it.  The parents still tried screeching and dive bombing the cat.  But they couldn't get it to release their baby.  When the cat killed the chick and went off with it, they quietened down and flew off.
This was a little over a week ago.  This evening, an hour ago, I was sitting outside and along came dad and mum mynah with one little chick in tow.  The chick was like a gawky teenager, long yellow legs with a small body.  But anyhow the chick has learned to fly.  Here is a picture of the family that I managed to click with my phone.  You can barely see the chick among all the jackfruit leaves that fell this evening before a summer shower.

 This is just the mamma bird and chick.  The chick was learning to eat the insects off the ground.

Small happennings in bird world on the hill

A couple of funny/cute incidents occured recently. 
On an afternoon recently (hot and dry), I heard a strange tapping outside the house in the front.  Wondering if it was a cat or a crow, I peeped through the window to find a Rufus treepie pecking at the side mirror of my car!  I went out as quietly as I could to take a picture, but it flew away.  This happenned again a couple of days later, but on my husband's car mirror.  This time too I was not quiet enought to get a shot.
The other day, while our plants were being watered I notice that there was small leak in the hosepipe and the water was coming out in a tiny shower.  Since someone else was watering the plants, I got the opportunity to see a really cute sight.  I watched a sparrow come and alight near where the water was spouting out of the leak.  I thought she was drinking water.  Then she shook herself and I realised there was a smaller leak near where she was and she had been having a pleasant shower.  It was so sweet. 

Pictures

The best of what I could get

 A chickadee at the bird feeder after those spikes were added to keep the squirrels away--it did not!

A chaffinch looking at me through a cloudy window.

The usual gull around Illinois lakes.

The spotted gull that I saw on the Michigan Lake beach, which google says is a younger bird.

The naughty squirrel lying on the outside cushion box after her depradations on the bird feeder.

Backyard birds in Chicagoland

I was in the Chicago burbs almost 2 months.  As my son has a bird feeder in the backyard and that too quite close to the house, I got to see a number of native birds.  I did a little googling to identify the birds I might see.
I was so happy to be able to spot and identify many birds.  The most common birds to visit the the bird feeder, were the sparrows.  Of course there were many robins around.  But one site I looked at said that robins don't come to the feeders.  Then there were a pair of house finches.  I loved the splash of red on them.  Mourning doves came fairly often.  A cardinal pair visited almost every day.  I saw a couple of gold finches.  I noticed a black-capped chickadee and I was lucky enough to spot a woodpecker on my last day.  The only thing was it was a bit too far for me to identify the specifc one it was, though it might have been a downy woodpecker as it was quite small.  I did spy in their backyard a really tiny bird, a sort of humming bird I think.  There were the occasional grackles and a european starling.  In the park and at the lake near where they live, I saw a band of American crows and the red-winged blackbirds.  They are such beautiful birds.  The mandatory geese and ducks were there.  But those I have seen and noticed over the 7 times we have visited.
There were gulls near the lake and they all seemed to be grey and white. So I was surprised to see, at the beach near Lake Michigan, in downtown Chicago, the grey and white gulls and some who were spotted.  When I googled it, it said that the spotted ones were the younger gulls, which seemed amazing as some of the spotted gulls were as big, as the grey and white ones.  I must say the gulls there were really raucous and so used to people feeding them, they were almost aggressively begging for scraps.
I just loved the show the birds put on for me every day. 
But also fun were the antics of the squirrels at the bird feeder.  One particular squirrel was very bold and so very hungry.  Then one day I noticed her teats and decided she must be pregnant or feeding and stopped chasing her off the feeder.  I used to occasionally feed her the kids' leftover cereal.  She got quite used to me and usually stayed in the vicinity, even if I was sitting outside.
I really wish I had had a really good camera to take blog worthy pictures of the birds I saw.  What I did get was not too good.  I'll post the pictures of the birds and the squirrel in my next post.

Gulmohur tree

This tree of mine is like a Phoenix.  the branches have been lopped off at least 3 times.  As the branches used to grow too near the house, and the tiny leaves blocked the roof tiles, I have had to cut the branches often.  After the last cut, the tree again began sprouting and now it is full of flowers.  It was a favourite of my eldest son, who passed away.  He used to be upset every time I chopped the branches.  He would have been happy to see it now.

My furry friends.

These furry friends kept me company on walking up, up, up the hills, and just sitting quietly by me whenever I sat on the verandah.  But of course the little pup never sat quietly.  But she loved with her whole self.