Padma’s Semal Part I

26 Feb Padma’s Semal Part I

I landed in Delhi yesterday after attending the two-week oral history course at NCBS, and the first thing I did was head to Padma’s place. There is a marvelous semal tree which shades her roof. It was a cloudy, overcast, gloomy sort of day, with only a weak sun coming out later in the morning.

She had left the door to the roof open for me. I had been dying to see the tree and was not disappointed. It was in full bloom and looked absolutely magnificent, with its red waxy, showy blossoms dangling all over and around me. Finally, finally, I had made it! My heart was jumping with joy. The only way to get up close with these tall trees is from someone’s roof, and I thanked my stars for having Padma as a good friend. I took my time reveling in the beauty of the flowers. The roof was littered with fallen blossoms. My shoes crunched over the flowers, sticking to the nectar which had dripped all over. I pulled a branch with blossoms close to me and was surprised to see so much nectar in them. As I dipped my finger in and tasted the sweet liquid, I finally realized why all the birds go gaga over this bounty of nature.

It was in full bloom and looked absolutely magnificent, with its red waxy, showy blossoms dangling all over and around me.

Now, to work. There is no better vantage point to observe a semal tree than from someone’s roof. This was also the first time I was observing a semal tree up close for bird activity for my research. The birds on this tree are pretty used to human presence since Padma spends considerable time on the roof with the tree herself.

The first birds I noticed were the impossible-to-miss house crows, nibbling on the buds, twigs, and flower petals. Even though I know they are omnivorous, I must say I was surprised when I saw them dipping their large beaks in the flowers to feed on the nectar. I am not particularly fond of these birds, as I find them noisy and ungainly. Their grey and black color does nothing to improve their image, but the semal makes everyone and everything on it look beautiful.

The activity on the tree seemed subdued, perhaps because of the overcast day. I still managed to catch common mynas, red-vented bulbuls, Asian-pied starlings, the brown-headed barbet, rose-ringed parakeets, the ubiquitous rock pigeons and palm squirrels on the tree. Several of them were feeding on the nectar, while the parakeets were being their most destructive selves, tearing apart the flowers, petal by petal. They seemed to be feeding not just on the nectar, but the petals and pollen as well. A squirrel running about the branches was constantly nibbling on what looked like pollen it was picking up from inside the flowers. The mynas, and even crows, were incredibly noisy while a kite circled overhead, scaring off all the birds periodically. There were also a few dozen bees hovering near the flowers. I took several photos to try and capture the beauty of the tree through my lens.

A brown-headed barbet takes a break, resting on the blossoms, its beak glistening with nectar.

Just as I thought I had seen everything for the day, there was a great influx of smaller birds – the oriental white-eyes, common tailorbird, red-whiskered bulbuls, purple sunbird, and even a treepie! I realized the birds would keep coming throughout the day, just as Padma had told me. They really did not seem to be done with the tree. But I was tired after my flight yesterday and decided to call it a day. There were many more happy days to be spent with the tree ahead!