Last Sunday, I was out on a relaxed morning motorcycle ride through the quieter and greener countryside roads of Karnataka. I was headed towards Savanadurga via the Dodda aladamara and Manchinebele dam route when I spotted this very appealing dirt track leading to the top of a nearby hill. The dirt track turned out to a dead end after a bit, but it led me to this tree by a small stream that had an active baya weaver colony with their famous well woven nests.
Video Note: Watch the video in 4K for best quality and for all the details. Shot on Google Pixel 2 XL Phone.
This weaver nest colony piqued the interest of the birdwatcher in me and off I went closer to them. I could see both the male (bright yellow) and female (Dull dirty yellow grey) species of this Baya Weaver bird busy fluttering in and out of their nests. But, I was kind of stupefied by the incessant tweeting and chirping of the birds and that’s when it suddenly struck me. The monsoon season is when the Baya weaver gives birth to her young ones and the chatter that I could hear near the tree were actually the little ones shouting for food or for their parent’s attention. The baya weaver birds kept going in and out of the nests. May be, they were feeding them or taking care of them.
These well engineering nests that are made of a combination of grains, clay, mud, twigs and leaves are a sight to behold and to actually see a full colony with birds fluttering in and out and the sound of the young weaver chicks is more than what I could have asked for. The birdwatcher and the nature lover in me definitely returned happy. If you like such birdwatching, keep an eye for their nests next to water sources on your next trip to rural India.
For those who wish to know, the Baya Weaver, is found all across the Indian subcontinent and their nests are found especially on thorny trees near water sources. They breed during the monsoons and it is the males who build these well engineered nests.
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