Crow Assignment and Dog Behavior

I used to stroll around the home in the evenings in kind of getting breeze and one day I causally looked at the custard apple tree (pic above) in front of our house but outgrown from the neighbor's compound, and found a male crow breaking the sprigs of the tree by going on the withered or easily breakable. Early summer the leaves were all parted and now it looks as if it started to shoot again and there’s already couple of little custard apples hung around… the crow seemed patient in finding the right sprig that’s easily achievable and it didn’t few away with the sprigs but dropped each after the break up. Later it few away and I left wonder. I know birds collect sprigs/sticks only if they are building nest and so I was sure the crow should be nesting somewhere and all the break ups for that.

What I really wonder was does the crow (or any bird species) built the nest at this time was because they know it is the season where trees withered to produce more sticks or it’s a coincident where nesting of birds and fall happens at same. I think in Tamil Nadu the fall season was between February-March.  During a visit to Topslip in mid Feb, I saw abundant of leaves filled across the forest and mountain pass and upon which I inquire to know it was the fall season there. Before I stop wondering, I was amused at the sight which followed. Where a female crow flew in collecting the sticks on the ground that was broke down by the male crow. As I went near the gate I find numbers of sticks were parted by him. I really loved the cooperation between them in building the nest and producing their offspring’s in fall season!

I think the male crow was very concern about building the nest and helping his partner, as I saw him other day on another tree with the same assignment.  The crow in the flight (picture above) wasn’t shot at pointing at the bird, but fell into image when taking some photos at Elliots beach.  

Another interesting sight I got to watch outside the gate on the following days was, a stray dog munching on grasses! First I thought it was sniffing something but it was actually chewing on a patch of grass on the roadside. I have heard dogs eat grass, but ever seen one before. Our pet dog, Maya, used to eat raw vegetables like beans and carrot and not grasses like the one seen above.  Upon this, I browsed the net to know: that a dog eating grass is actually quite common and this form of pica is considered as normal dog behavior. And grass eating doesn’t usually lead to throwing up -- less than 25% of dogs that eat grass vomit regularly after grazing. Other suggested reasons why dogs might be eating grass include improving digestion, treating intestinal worms, or fulfilling some unmet nutritional need, including the need for fiber.

Linking this post for SaturdayCritters

Songs that stole my heart

It’s been sometime I felt awesome listening to a song, but this time I got to experience two at a time although both has similar tones, its pleasure to listen either the  Telugu or Tamil versions of Prema Parichayame, which in Tamil as Naan Un Azhaginile from the upcoming Tamil movie 24. A.R. Rahman has composed the songs and Chinmayi’s sweet rendering in Tamil and Telugu was immersing along with Hriday Gattani (Telugu) and Arijit Singh (Tamil) lending their male voices cause a soothing effect in Madan Karky’s heartfelt lyrics.

Though listening the songs back to back, I was impressed more by the feel caused by Prema Parichayame than the Tamil lyric based song Naan Un. Beyond the language and understanding, the music and rendering touched me deep to mummer the song without my knowledge. Apart the above two, Punnagaye, another melody from the album is also commendable and so beautiful. The song has couple of my favorite singers - Haricharan and Shashaa Tirupati, who has been around sometime and whose songs are almost my favourite. 

Punnagaye....

Park Fence

Hope you remember the beautiful sculpture of traditional women I posted here, and today’s image covers some of the sculptures the way they erected across the park, in a line.

The fence in front of it separates the parking lot and the small park of the restaurant where he had lunch during our trip to Kumbakonam. 

Mountain Pass of Kolli Hills and Arappaleeswarar Temple

Having our lunch at Senthamangalam, a town on the foothills of Kolli Hills and about 12 km from where the Ghat road with 70 hairpin bends begins! Among the mountain passes in south India, Kolli Hills has the highest number of hairpin bends. Though it perhaps sounds adventure and exciting and although it was, there’s nothing to fear about alike it resound dangerous – infamously called as the mountains of death, the travel for certain distance on this road is quite zigzag. An experienced driver could give a pleasure ride… and the road is good enough and wasn’t traffic alike other mountain passes could feel secure.

We climbed the mountains in the afternoon and the landscapes on the way till the foothills, from the town, were covered by farmlands, where paddy, sugarcane, palm coconut and areca are cultivated in large scale. I am thinking for a separate post on this to look more in detail. So, the almost ride on this mountain range were zigzag through evergreen forest until the first village atop the hill, Cholakkadu, emerge with a telescope house and farmers market. It was a beautiful ride with pristine beauty at every curve and except few sharp hairpin bends, where heavy vehicles are forced to take reverse as it is not possible to turn it one radius, it was pleasant indeed.

One of the sharp hairpin bends

An evergreen and pristine mountainscape

As I know Kolli Hills is famous for the herbal and medicinal plants with great potent, I kept breathe in deep the fresh air winding across the Ghat and believed it heals my respiratory which perhaps polluted to traffic environment in cities. Though I was disappointed somehow expose to the transformation of the mountain tops into farmlands, the calmness and leftover spaces of evergreen slopes keep me regain. We had booked rooms in the Panchayath Union cottage at Semmedu, the headquarters of Kolli Hils, but the rooms weren’t nice enough and that time we heard about the youth hostel near Arappalleeswarar Temple, in Kovilur.

Herbal forest at Kolli Hills

The youth hostel is about 11 km from Semmedu and we decided to check the place to know will it suitable for us, informing them to come back if we aren’t content. The road to the hostel takes us through some lovely farmlands and a mini falls, though the accommodation wasn’t that greater there, but the environment where it was built wanted me to stay over there. And it was slightly drizzling when we reached there, which add more pleasant to the moment and silent ambiance. The hostel is on the road to the Arappalleeswarar Temple, with a backyard facing mountains and valley apart holding a beautiful garden landscape within.

Arappalleeswarar Temple (click all pics for enlarge)

Being nearest to Arappalleeswarar Temple, it was our first spot to check out. No, I haven’t gone inside the temple and not only it has steps but I wasn’t interested then. The temple was the main attraction to the Kolli Hills only next to the Aagaya Gangai waterfalls, which closely exists to the temple and only people who are healthy and ability to climb down/up 1500 steps are permitted inside. Like I told in my previous post, the Arapalesswarar Temple was built by the mountaineer ruler and skilled archer Valvil Ori in the 1^st or 2^nd century CE during his regime. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and it also houses his entire family – Goddess Shakthi, Lord Vinayaa and Muruga. 

Indian Pond Heron @ the edge of the Lake

At the end of the neatly paved trail at Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, which we visited last week, I find an Indian Pond Heron stalk prey at the edge of the lake. The bird very common in India, usually forage alone and can be missed easily just the way stalk prey in the pictures below.

The Indian pond heron or paddy bird is a small heron, widely distributed across India and its bordering countries and in the Persian Gulf, it is found in Iran, Oman and UAE.   Appear stocky with a short neck; the breeding plumage (which is in the images) has dark brown patches on white unlike non-breeding birds that have white plumage streaked in olive and brown.

doesn't it look beautiful with the reflection in water?

Measuring 40 to 45 cm in length and weighing about 230 to 275 grams, and wingspan to 75 to 90 cm, the bird has a greenish bill with black tip and yellow eyes. The prominent feature of the bird was it transforms its appearance when take off with flashing bright white wings in contrast to their dull body colors.

a non-breeding plumage is also present in  the pic above

Apt to their name, they inhabit around ponds and pools mostly, apart marshes, rivers, streams, paddy fields… the birds feeds on fishes, frogs, crustaceans, insects and small reptiles, usually from the edge of the pond. 

Linking this post with SATURDAY CRITTERS