Keech...Keech...Beware...Parakeets Are Visiting....!

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 As soon as I saw the picture of parakeets and so many of them in a small area in the city centre,  in the Tamil magazine Aananda Vikatan, I decided to preserve the article in my blog.  All of you know how crazy I am about birds and animals.

Then I searched the web to get more details of this news and got it.  It is here, in The Hindu dt. 12th June, '13. 

As we know already, we rarely see small birds like sparrows in the crowded cities nowadays.  Even crows are becoming less in number, I was told.  When I went to our old house, which was in the outskirts then, 17 years back, I used to see these birds visiting our house for the seeds of the Rathnagandhi flowers.  They used to split the beans like seeds and eat the seeds which are inside and leave the outer skin on the ground.  Whenever they visited, the whole garage area was full of these skins.  I was not writing blogs in those days (!) and so it never occurred for me to take pictures of so many of the birds.  But I used to stand there and watch them. I don't see them anymore now. The bulbul birds are also gone. The bulbul birds were like family for us.

The articles in 'The Hindu' and 'Aananda Vikatan' say that this man, 'Camera' Sekar, resides in Rayapettah, Chennai, in a rented house in a crowded, busy locality.  He has got his office downstairs and house upstairs. He repairs cameras for a living.  The story of the birds goes like this:

His wife had the habit of keeping rice, wheat, fried gram etc. for the birds on their terrace.  Crows used to eat the grains.  Sometimes pigeons joined them.  Around a year back, one day a parakeet (Kili in Tamil) came to eat the grain in the midst of 10-15 crows.  But the crows pecked/bit the lone bird and it flew away.  After a few days around 10 parakeets came together and started eating the grains which were kept on the parapet wall of the terrace.  For around one week the crows sat in one corner and ate the grains without 'disturbing' the new guests who started feeding on the grains on the other side of the wall.  After a week, slowly, the number of parakeets increased from 10-15 to 20-30 to nearly 200 now! Very rarely one or two crows join them nowadays!

He gets up at 5 am and spread wheat and rice on the terrace and comes down, closing the door.   The parakeets start coming around 6 am and eat until nearly 8 am.  Likewise they visit from 4 pm to 6 pm in the evening.  He needs around 15 Kg. ration rice everyday to feed them.  He is very particular not to disturb them when they eat.  Nobody is allowed to ring the doorbell when they are fed (though everybody knows the 'bird feeding' time now!).  He tried to feed some fruits, but they are smart.  It is easier for them to gobble up the grains than fruits.  They eat very fast, he says.   Nowadays he sees multi-coloured parrots also sometimes.  

He says that he will feed them as long as he live.  He says he is blessed to have them as guests in a house which is surrounded by vehicular traffic and blaring sounds. 

Now, to the pictures I got from 'Aananda Vikatan' and 'The Hindu'. Click on them to have a better view:

This photo looks like a wedding party,  waiting at the dinner table! (Added this on 4th Oct.'13)

Parakeets at Royapapettah, Chennai!

 A few pigeons are sitting along with the ring-necked parakeets!
 

 This picture is beautiful....the parakeets don't seem to be scared of the crow!

I clicked this picture from the Tamil Magazine, 'Aananda Vikatan'

This is the man whom I admire, Sekar! Look at the buildings in the background.  The area is full of shops and you can imagine the vehicular traffic in this area!

I am keeping on looking at the pictures...I am so happy to see them.  One day, I should try to visit this place.  But, I don't want to disturb the birds.  Just would like to meet this great man!

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P.S.: I came across this video today (8.9.14):