For most of us for whom ‘living in the lap of nature’ is as fairytale-like as Cinderella’s pumpkin-made chariot, the life of Poornima would sound like, well, a fairytale itself. A homemaker for the past 18 years, Poornima’s love for birds has changed her humble abode at Kalpatta in Wayanad to a veritable bird sanctuary. In her own words, “I have a special liking for birds and animals. They are like family. I don’t know why, when I see them I feel like hugging them tightly.”
Poornima, married to a birdwatcher and wildlife photographer Retnakar, has her bird table perpetually full. Many rare bird species swoop down on the bird table to munch on the food supply. The couple have counted to about 60 species of birds that visit their backyard on a regular basis. These species include – the diminutive woodpecker called the Speckled Piculet, the rarest of raptors called the Jerdon’s Baza, Redwhiskered Bulbuls, Yellowbrowed Bulbuls, Blue Rock Pigeons, Blackcapped Blackbirds, to name just a few.
A busy homemaker, Poornima’s (36) days are packed with household chores and tending to every need of her husband and two children. But she is wedded to an interesting hobby that permits her to ‘talk’ with the birds, her first love, all day long. An amateur photographer, she profiles these feathered creatures in between sweeping and sauteing. Her favourite Olympus camera comes in handy whenever she spots a winged beauty perched precariously on the bird table.
Poornima’s house is placed in the midst of a coffee and arecanut plantation, covered with innumerable trees. With the area around also well wooded and with uncultivated patches and small streams among the plantations, the birds reside in hordes in and around the place.
It all started with the traditional practice of putting some grains in a plate in front of the house for the birds. Some Redwhiskered Bulbuls and Blue Rock Pigeons started feeding on it. A couple of years ago, Poornima varied the menu, adding some cooked food to it, and the visitors doubled, and then tripled, in the course of time. Now, more than 15 species of birds come to feed. And another dozen species hang around the place to peck on insects or to nest inside the house or the garden, Poornima says.
Amusing anecdotes
Talk to Poornima about her birds, and she gets chatty. Information about their lifestyle and interests just pours out. Redwhiskered bulbuls are the first to arrive at the bird table. The Redvented Bulbuls join them followed by Yellowbrowed Bulbuls. The migrant Blackcapped Blackbird is the one that visits the house only from mid-September to April. And they feed only on the cooked food. “Whitethroated Ground Thrush are a very family type,” she says. They visit her bird table only with their respective families. The VIP visitors, the rarest of the species, who visit Poornima’s house are the Malabar Whistling Thrush and the Red Spurfowl. The frugivorous Malabar Grey Hornbill too visits the bird table often. Though they don’t feed on the food supply, they come in time to savour on the fruit of the Champaka tree. Yet another beautiful resident of their attic is the Purple-rumped Sunbird.
Poornima’s description of these birds’ lives is peppered with amusing anecdotes. “A Ground Thrush used to visit my bird table regularly. But, of late, the Robin is not letting it come down. Looks like Robin has marked its territory and doesn’t want it to be disturbed,” she says, adding, “once I also caught a Hornbill stealing the Robin’s eggs from its nest. The fiery Robin attacked him and got the egg back. I have also seen this Robin attacking a snake in its attempt to save his egg.”
The strictly non-vegetarian Large Pied Wagtails and Magpie Robins too visit her courtyard. When Wagtails hunt for some private corners in her attic to start a family, Poornima says the Magpie Robins have a peculiar habit that makes for an interesting sight. “I regularly light an oil lamp near the tulsi plant in my frontyard. As soon as the flame goes out, these Robins swoop down on it from nowhere and eat the fuming wick soaked in oil,” she says.
With a family of her own and a large number of visitors to feed, Poornima is one busy lady. With beautiful music and cheerful calls to listen to and innumerable inane fights among these visitors to solve, it feels like heaven to be at Poornima’s house. A true nature lover, she admits to enjoying every bit of it.
