Spring is THE Season...

It is so amazing how the same place looks so different when you visit it at different times of the year.Taljai tekdi is no exception. It looks so dry & barren during the winter. The trees shed their leaves. Dry, yellowish brown leaves are scattered all over the place. The dry, leafless branches of the trees, bushes & shrubs appear like big thorns stacked up by somebody. Even the birds lie low & silent. The winter, though not so chilling, casts its spell nevertheless.
Late in the month of February & early March, the scenes change slowly, but distinctly. Suddenly out of nowhere small, green leaves start appearing on these dry shrubs. Their colour is very peculiar- just as you can make out even from a far distance,  a building getting a fresh & new coat of paint, you can see this fresh green colour. At times the contrast of  fresh green as compared to the dark green or yellow colour of the leaves of  older trees is striking. The entire road that is lined on both sides with these trees, gets a new look. It is as if somebody has changed the sets in a play or in the film. There is a nice & cool breeze blowing. The rains on previous day add another distinct flavour to the fragrance. A typical smell of wet leaves adds to the beauty of the experience that you can have through all your senses.
On one fine day you notice these beautiful Palaash or Palas (botanical name- Butea monosperma, also called Flame of the forest ) flowers. Here too the contrast in the background of the dry, brown coloured shrubs is remarkable. 

Palas

  

And then you realize that there are patches in the area which have this tree in predominance. What a view it would be if someone could take aerial photos of these flamboyant trees! 

Pangara

Palaash, Katesavar (or Bombax malabaricum or Silk cotton tree) & Pangara (or Erythrina indica or Indian coral tree) are probably the early messengers signalling the end of winter & beginning of Spring or Vasant Rutu.

Kate savar

I think so as to announce the arrival of spring as far as they can, these trees are studded with bright coloured flowers & virtually no leaves.As if taking cue from these messengers, suddenly there is lot of bustling activity, restless enthusiasm all around. The silence of the winter is soon a thing of the past. The birds shed all their boredom & soon there are calls of all sorts  from all directions. The forced break to their voices has worked wonders it seems.
You hear  the carefree, happy-go-lucky whistle of oriental Magpie Robin first & then you locate it somewhere on the tree top. This bird with its shiny, black & white looks,  is singing merrily & uninhibitedly. The whistle of an Iora is somewhat different. It is as if some college going youth is calling his friend (not necessarily a girl friend!) & asking to come out in the window.
The arrival of Spring has made some birds really bold. Those who would otherwise prefer to be camouflaged & only to be heard than seen, also venture out in the open. Coppersmith Barbet is the case in point. Here is he coming out of hiding, sitting perched on a horizontal branch of a tree. He is using it like a dais & giving us,the captive audience, an incessant & repetitive speech of his calls! 

Coppersmith Barbet
Photo courtesy- Vivek Joshi

These days we are seeing many birds that we hadn't seen  before. May be we were not coming here often during this time of the year or may be we were not keenly observing them. But better late than never, it is indeed a treat to your eyes & ears to see such wonderful birds. And I am not even considering peacocks here. We have been rewarded with sightings of Minivets & our favourite Paradise flycatchers on a regular basis.

Paradise Flycatcher
Photo courtesy -Vivek Joshi

Another bird to be seen usually is the spotted owlet. It is remarkable that we see the bird around the same spot whenever we go there.  It is seen around this dilapidated structure-either on the roof or on one of the branches of the Neem tree. 

This empty, broken structure is actually fit for shooting of a horror movie. The owlet would only add to the scary atmosphere!
A surprise sight these days is that of Common hawk Cuckoo or Brain fever bird or Pavsha in Marathi. I thought usually it is seen/ heard in the month of May, when the rainy season is just round the corner. In fact it gets its Marathi name because of  that. But I was wrong. I checked to find that it is seen in hot weather. Its call is fantastic.Its call could be interpreted as - perte vha...perte vha.... It as if tells the farmers to start preparing the farmland for the crops as rains could just be round the corner. But the English name of Brain fever is simply not fair. It means the calls are irritating. We have never imagined that this bird can be irritating.  Can the calls be electrifying? You can hear  from so far away & this call draws you towards the bird. It is that mesmerizing! The bird has obliged us not just with its calls but we have also been able to see it for a pretty long time. For a bird not even bigger than a pigeon, the calls are really of high frequency. These calls make me nostalgic & takes me back to the jungles of Dandeli when we had heard them for the first time. Those calls still ring in my ears! Funnily enough,the Koel, not wanting to be left behind, also joins the party.

The exuberance, the extravagance & the flamboyance seen or heard everywhere is not without a purpose.The Spring has in store immense possibilities. It is a season of not just rejuvenation but also regrowth & regeneration.The Spring ushers in breeding season for many birds. All this fuss by the birds- their calls & their appearances-is about getting noticed. So all the eligible candidates for this year are in a hurry to prove their worthiness & be the Chosen One!