Our New Neighbours

by Tarini Tiwari

Last summer, two crows came and built a nest in a tree by our window. They put a lot of effort into it, and laid eggs in it. Soon after, the monsoons hit, and their nest, balanced dangerously on the edge of this huge tree, was rocking perilously in the wind and rain. A short while after, they had to leave, as it was impossible for them to stay. This summer, two couples came to build their nest. One set of crows built one and laid their eggs in an almond tree near the window, and the other couple made their nest in the same tree as they did last monsoon season. This time though, part of the tree that was hanging off the rest of it was gone, as it had been chopped when the wind was blowing it into our window. They nestled themselves into this nice little enclosed space in the tree which had only two gaps through which one could enter, and a wall of leaves surrounding the rest of it. It has been very handy for them, as they have been able to stay dry during the heavy rains that have hit south Mumbai. They decorated it with a pink ribbon and have stayed nice and cozy inside. Not long back, Mum told me that the eggs were gone from the nest down below in the almond tree. I looked, and the whole nest had gone! The eggs were fairly recent, so they couldn’t have hatched, but were probably eaten. The nest, we figured, had toppled over. Strangely though, the nest and the eggs were back a day or so later! I am still unsure of how it happened...

Update July 7th:
All is not well in the nests. The one in the large tree with a little ‘house’ is now abandoned, but the one in the almond tree just got babies. I love to watch them live life in such a similar way as us humans. Maybe deep down, we’re all just the same.    

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