We do not see many birds in these parts and in this weather but this feathered friend created quite a racket early one morning. On hearing the rather unusual noise, I discovered three of these on the branch just outside my window but in the time I got the camera, only one of them was there. These little interludes in the otherwise harsh summer are most welcome.
This sparrow thought it could weather any storm. Well, not quite.
When the wind was at its howling best and the tide at its highest, the little creature could not take it any more.
At one moment, it was ‘hopping and skipping’ and, at another, it was in the water, struggling to stay afloat.
That was when we happened to be there and carried out the ‘rescue’, even as I managed to take a few pictures.
The bird was last seen scampering towards a pile of old furniture stacked for disposal at Bahrain’s Busaiteen coast.
All was well, it seems!
Those who fly solo have the strongest wings
– Picture taken on the Muharraq coast, Bahrain
I never thought I would hate a sparrow of all the things!
I also never thought this teeny-weeny creature could cause so much ‘damage’!
But after a large group of these birds ‘raided’ our garden over the last few days and picked on every newly-sprouted sapling, I don’t want to ever see another sparrow.
The gardener had warned – don’t feed the birds, they will come and eat all the saplings as they emerge from the ground. Nah, I said, why would they? But, taking his word for it, I stopped putting out the bird feed.
Two days ago, it was virtually a green carpet, with spinach, coriander, lettuce, green chilli and beetroot plants, among others adorning the backyard but yesterday, there were just tiny stems – and today even those have fallen off!
One look at the “I told you so” expression on the gardeners face said it all. I didn’t say anything. “Get a net,” he said. “I will re-plant everything, and more and organise the net. It’s still not too late.”
So, we’ve now got a net. As it awaits the gardeners arrival tomorrow, I can’t but think about the wonders of nature. Even something as tiny as a sparrow could be so “destructive”, though in a very unique way, is beyond imagination. And why did they leave the tomato plant? What about the cucumber? And why have the flowers saplings been left alone? They know taste, they know the looks and they know what they want.
Anyway, the deed’s done. We shall just take precautions henceforth. The net should be in place in less than 24 hours so let’s see what happens then!
But as the gardener said when he left. “In a few days, there will be gardens in bloom all over so the birds will not bother. It’s just the beginning of the season so they are starved off the good stuff.”
I wonder whether that is true.
We shall see.
This is only the second picture that I have taken of a sparrow in Bahrain. Let along that, I have never actually spotted these tiny little creatures more than a few times. That’s what happens if one stays holed up within the four walls of a high-rise apartment building or stays within the confines of a big city’s congested neighbourhood. The only other time I photographed a sparrow was just about a year ago when it was in distress and we carried out the great rescue act (http://singhcircle.com/2014/06/17/a-little-bird-and-the-sea/) in Busaiteen. After that, this one appeared as out of nowhere on a tleafless tree in Manama. And, the ‘sighting’ was exciting, even more so since I had the camera on me at that time. Yes, Bahrain is quite a haven for birds of all kinds but not in the cities and certainly not in this terrible weather. That is why this Summer Sparrow is rather special!
MANDEEPSINGS 