Entering Platform 9 3/4

Birding is like entering Platform 9 3/4 or Diagon Alley. From the humdrum, a lively magical world suddenly springs forth that only some seem to see.

For nearly 5 years I have been going everyday to the sprawling and beautiful Infosys campus, sparing only an occasional glance to the verdant world around. All that changed in the last couple of months. The campus is now like Miss Sprout's greenhouse, full of strange beings. To an interested observer, there are so many things to study and learn. Sermons in stones, literally!

For instance, Spring brought a dramatic change- a whole set of new visitors are on campus:

- Just 3 weeks ago, the quiet of the campus was shattered by the characteristic Kutur-kutur-kutur of the elusive white cheeked barbets. Since then, I can hear them everywhere. No more the monotony of mynas, parakeets and large pied wagtails. The perennial berry trees were suddenly tenanted by these birds.

-But they were just the harbingers - a train of guests were to follow.

-Today, as I chatted with a colleague, a common tailor bird suddenly caught my eye, hopping away next to a shrub, cocky tail aloft

-The large berry tree as I enter campus was always a favorite roosting place for the mynas in the evenings, as I ran to catch the bus. But now, it is a tower of babel even during the day. Over a 100 birds busily pluck away at the berries, chattering all the time. Against the light, I thought I spotted a whole new set of birds. Rosy starlings? Barbets?

-Other questions arise: why is the ground always so clean under this tree? Like the human residents, are the birds well bred professionals who do not despoil the ground beneath their feet?

-I am drinking my coffee in the morning with a bevy of colleagues when I see the phantom bird again. Just to mock my ignorance, it hops jauntily on the grass in front of me, wagging its tail in derision. Brown on top, white on the bottom, prominent tail, sparrow sized- no amount of searching the field guide helps in IDing the bird. It hops all around our table, with the other folks utterly oblivious of it.

-Countless warblers, flower peckers and sun birds keep rushing from one flowering tree to another in search for nectar and insects

-About 6 months ago, Infosys had converted an inefficient drain into a small tank of fresh water, about 50*30 ft. There is no other water body in campus except the pool. Today, for the first time on campus, I see a pond heron, placidly lounging at the edge of the pond. Funny how it found a new home with unerring instinct. I am now anticipating more water birds to turn up soon.

All in all, an entire ecosystem hums into high activity come Spring. Will the activity be the same in late Summer? I look forward to finding out. A whole term of Hogwarts magical education stretches ahead of me.

But the most amazing aspect of the whole show is the utterly oblivious audience. Other than me, no one seems to see anything happening! But as Stan Shunpike would say: Muggles! They don't see nothing, do they?