My love affair with little migratory bird!

Tarsem Singh Deogan

My passion for shooting birds with camera in their natural habitat has taken me to several places – including forests, bird sanctuaries to village ponds and even swamps, but I never expected that a rare species of a bird, which I never got an opportunity to click anywhere else before, will come calling on my rooftop.

It was after a spell of rains January mid when I went to the rooftop when a shuffle in Chrysanthemum plants grabbed my attention as I noticed a tiny bird hidden in the plant.

The small bird of size of a middle sized butterfly, hopped on the top of the plant shoving its small dark coloured beak from stems of the plant. My eyes remained wide open, as I had seen this kind of beautiful bird only in pictures. I soon identified the bird as Hume’s leaf warbler, a migratory bird. I rushed to the room to take my camera and clicked pictures of the bird hanging and hopping around the chrysanthemum plants. It remained there for atleast 10 minutes collecting food before flying away.

Next day at the same time, I was ready and equipped with my camera to welcome the unexpected guest to visit my home again and it did not disappoint me. The bird visited my terrace at exactly the same time. The affair between me and the bird continued for atleast three more days before it stopped visiting my rooftop. As I used to quietly position myself besides the plant, it gave me immense pleasure observing the bird daily. Soon, I developed a bond with the bird and could feel its emotions.

The next day, the bird did not come. With hope in my eyes, I waited for the bird for the next two weeks. I soon realized that with the weather getting warmer, the bird might have gone back to find a habitat in a colder place.

I have read about the unique and intense bond between humans and birds. While there is no scientific explanation for this, some birds have been known to develop an emotional bond.

I learnt that Hume’s leaf warbler is a migratory bird and spends winters mainly in India. It breeds in the mountains of inner Asia. Excited, shared its pictures with bird lovers and friends and gathered appreciation. Most people were amazed to find that I clicked such a beautiful bird on my rooftop. 

While summers are setting in now, I am eagerly waiting for the next winters and hoping that after a rainy day in the chilly weather, the same bird will flock its wings again, on my rooftop!