When i put in a birdbath some months ago i was expecting to attract a number of birds and have a chance to see them in action. Instead the only visitors / users were the crows. Now crows too can be very interesting to watch but I'm sure you won't blame me if i wanted more.
This made me realise that the number of crows had increased greatly and the sightings of smaller birds around were diminishing. That's when Sunita wrote in to tell me to check on the compost pit.
It took a while before i organised a covering over the pit and within a week I noticed a vast difference.
To my delight the number of leaf warblers, spider hunters, sun birds, ioras .... increased. Then we were graced with many sightings of the Goldfronted Chloropsis, a pair of noisy but endearing drongos but the highlight was a pair of grey hornbills that we saw just once (thanks to Doc's sharp ears) but i suspect will visit more often once the Umbar tree ( wild fig) is fruiting.
Cheers to the birds, butterflies, bees, wasps dragonflies and many more interesting creatures that make themselves at home in my garden thereby complementing me on my efforts to make them feel welcome.
Astrid Rao
