Spotted Owlet: Athene brama

Spotted Owlet
Athene brama

I am partial to owls and owlets. The twenty-something downwards reading this might imagine this is due to Harry Potter. No. I go back at least 30 years before Harry was written to life.

 

Back in the '70s, growing up at the edge of Central Ridge area of a vastly different Delhi; peacocks, owls and so many other birds, animals and snakes were part of my life. Owls frequently roosted in our densely potted balcony which also had a fragrant "Night Queen" creeper going up to the terrace on one side. Or in the nooks and crannies and garrets of our colony. Often a peacock would perch on our balcony, fancy tail and all, and let rip ear-splittingly. Then, we kids spent most of our evenings and holidays in the forests of Central Ridge area. Brown Hares scampered out of our way. Jackals stalked us. But we never bothered. Just remained alert and in groups.

 

The owls never hurt anybody. I liked it when they roosted in our balcony. Even proud as I showed them off to my friends. And they appeared attentive to me. Made faces as if they were off to sleep. I liked them there.

 

But there were a group of boys in the colony where I was growing up who held a different view. They lived in the row of houses beyond the one behind ours...closer to the forest than I. But for them, owls were sport. Especially the Spotted Owlet.

 

They were meant to be captured, their legs tied and flown like paper kites. If they got tired, they'd swing the owl at the end of the string and bash it on the ground...

 

Those boys were bigger than I and rowdier, but something made me take a stand against them. Of course there was jousting, pirouetting, scuffling, plenty of glaring and threats. But the stodginess of my stand prevailed. I didn't see them do it again when I was around even if they did in secret. So I'm attached to owls.

 

One doesn't see all these birds and animals in the teeming numbers they used to be in. Delhi has changed and killed them all off...all the birds, bees, butterflies, fireflies, animals and reptiles. If one is lucky, one may spot the odd one hidden somewhere in the forest...or in some bird sanctuary on the skirts of Delhi.

 

It's sad, very sad how Delhi has evolved. The Airport Express Metro is the final nail in the coffin of Central Ridge. We could not find space for these small creatures.

 

I have many pictures of this owl, taken in April of this year, but childhood memories and depressing changes since, stopped me from processing the folder containing photographs of owls. There are so many birds I have to sort through and put up. From all my traipsing around. Time and eyesight...peering through camera lenses for long periods and staring into computer screen to sort them out has strained my eyesight over time. Maybe eventually...but right now they lie stored in external drives of memory.

 

Photographed at Buddha Jayanti Garden, Central Ridge Area, New Delhi India on 28th April, 2013.

 

Camera used: Nikon D5100 DSLR with AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm VR Lens