Evening walks in another land

I'm now in the USA and Spring is everywhere. I have been enjoying my evening walks and even the brisk, cold breeze, coupled quite often with the drip, drip, drip of Spring drizzles, hasn't killed my yearning to be outside when dusk falls :-)
I have been enjoying watching Spring burgeon. This is the very first time that I have the chance to watch this season. I have never been in Northern climes at this time and I am thoroughly enjoying what I see. Outside where my son lives there are wild ducks nesting: Canadian geese nest in the reeds at the nearby lake and fly overhead with their haunting cries. I have seen robins--looking, to me, a lot like our mynahs, but with redbreasts. There are other birds I cannot yet identify. We got to see some wild rabbits and my grandson and I saw a dead skunk.
I love how the trees are budding with new life. There are trees with only flowers on them, bushes with bright yellow leaves, daffodils dancing in the breeze, in two colours. There are pink flowers, which I was told were jonquils, and little blue flowers and, what I presume, are tulips in shades of red. The weeping willows look magnificent to me, swaying elegantly to and fro, dressed in lime green. Everywhere the signs of new life are there. I love it all.

The mahogany trees are in bloom and the tiny flowers are everywhere, a carpet spread wide.  At the slightest touch of a breeze, they fall, sounding like water dripping from the leaves.  Their scent is heady and the day and night are filled with the perfume.

Baby time

It's obviously nesting time.  Yesterday, before I left the school I work at, I saw a number of children, with a teacher, taking turns clambering on  a stool, to peep into a box around the electricity meter.  I asked what was the excitement and I was told that it was the nest of a magpie robin with 3 lil ones in it!  So I went to have a look too.  I'm glad I did, because neither the young teacher, nor any of the 4th grade children there, knew that one should never touch the babies.
Anyway, while everyone was having a look, the poor parents flew around frantically, making little chirping noises.  Then one of the kids noticed that there was feed for the babies in the parents' beak.  So we all quickly cleared out from there, to leave them in peace.  Completely slipped my mind that I could have taken photographs with my camera!!

Narrow escape

This morning, Lab and I were out in our front yard.  I usually sit out with her while I have coffee. I'd finished my coffee and thought I'd take a walk around her.  I saw her suddenly go into 'watch' freeze and then saw her running towards something.  Without my glasses I couldn't see what it was.  But I ran up to where she was real fast.  I was sure it would be a squirrel.  But what did I see, but our pal here in the picture, a baby woodpecker who'd obviously landed down there and now couldn't take off!  You can see that his eyes are hardly open and his tail is sort of damp!

I

Luckily our Lab is curious first.  So she'd just got round to smelling the little thing when I reached her.  I somehow grabbed hold of her collar and had to wrestle with her to get her into the house and away from this little one.  After putting her out back with some treats, I ran back with my camera.  I was in time to see Mama sitting there too and urging baby to fly--maybe.  But the minute I tried to open the window screen to take a picture, Mama flew off.  I waited quietly inside to see if Mama would return, but she didn't.  So then I went outside.  I waited around and then felt I just couldn't leave baby there, because it was only a matter of time before either a stray cat or a mongoose caught hold of it.
I went up to him/her talking all the while.  That's when I got to take the picture.   After that I thought I'd gently lift him up using a leaf, so that my scent wouldn't be left on him.  But he tried to peck me!  Finally I got a thin twig, onto which he was able to climb.  As I lifted the twig up, thinking I'd place him on the nearest tree, he flew off.  He landed further off somewhere, where I'm sure Mama would have come and taken him off.
You should have seen him though crying out for his Mama.  He would let out his shrill cry and then look skyward.  I sure hope he and Mama are fine.

Growing

Baby mongoose seems to have grown.  I've been hearing mongooses in the undergrowth outside my window.  Today I was able to catch mamma & baby--who has become a lanky youngster now.  How many different types of cries I heard!  At times it seemed like Mama was screaming at her baby, probably for taking risks.!  I also watched as she turned around and murmured at baby--who was loitering around behind her.  I see all this from my windows.  But I have to be very quiet.  Any loud sound and they're off.

Sunday morning I saw a mongoose family--presumably it was a family.  There were two adult mongooses and a baby, just about running around.  It must have been all of about 10 inches long.  They were sunning themselves under the pruned gulmohur tree after which father mongoose moved on in front, baby in the middle and mom bringing up the rear.  The baby was just having fun.  I saw it dragging itself through the warm earth, then running on ahead a bit, and even jumping over mama.  As always, the camera was not anywhere near.  I did try to use my phone camera, but couldn't a good shot.  Was a lovely show!

Two koels

I had been meaning to write about the 2 male koels for quite a while, but just didn't get the time!
One evening, I heard this big screaming battle right outside my kitchen window--very loud koel cries. [Koels are our local cuckoos]. I took a look out and I saw these two male koels on the guava tree outside having a face-off. I ran outside with my camera and tried to come up as close to them as possible. The only sign they gave of being aware of my presence was by keeping quiet. But neither was willing to relinquish his place.  Here is a shot of them and a movie clip too.

If you click here it gives you the koel's cries--what I was able to get.