Hornbill Heights (Part 3) - Incarcerated

The second part of this blog is here

I had been looking forward to this weekend. Usually, when Woodcrawler Jr is around we plan a trip somewhere. Unfortunately he broke the gears on the rear wheel of his bicycle and his priority was getting it repaired at the earliest. If that was not done, his daily trips to his friend's place would not happen. Since the bicycle shop would open on Sunday we decided to stay put in town to drop his bicycle for repair. So when we woke up it was with a lazy Sunday mentality!

After dropping off the bicycle we were wondering what to do. Our plan to go to Silent Valley was out because we would have to have started before daybreak. Then I remembered the hornbills. I was free so I could spend some time observing them from close quarters. We loaded up the cameras and drove off. In retrospect, it seemed that the broken bicycle gear was a blessing. If not for it, I'd have missed some serious action!

WARNING: Some of the videos (& photos) in this post are rated PG. In case you are following this blog with young children be ready to tell them about 'the birds & the bees'!

9th, February 2014 @ 11.15 AM

The mynas were still at it, harassing the hornbills but it seemed the bigger birds were not too bothered. They had a settled look about them. Even though the mynas were still trying to take their nest back, their attempts looked half-hearted. There wasn't much activity from the hornbills and the second pair was nowhere to be seen.

I had a good look at the hole the second pair was trying to nest in. There were two holes close to each other and both were smaller than the hole on the trunk. I was wondering if the second pair had abandoned it because of its size. It seemed more suited for myna sized birds.

There wasn't much hornbill activity so I returned home planning to go back later in the day.

9th February, 2014 (4.45 PM to 6.00 PM)

I reached the tree a little past 4.30 PM. Things looked quiet and I walked up slowly not wanting to disturb the birds. I was surprised to see the myna pair at the smaller hole. Perhaps they found the smaller hole more suitable than the bigger one. After all, it's foolhardy messing with a bigger bird armed with a formidable beak!

As I walked around to the main hole I found the male sitting on guard and he took off startled by my sudden appearance.

Seizing the opportunity one of the mynas flew down to re-take what, to them, was rightfully theirs. I noticed it was hesitant to go into the hole for some reason. Under normal circumstances it would have flown straight to the mouth of the hole and entered it.

It called out to it's mate who came and sat on a branch just above the hole, making no attempt whatsoever to reoccupy their old nest. Both of them were squawking their protest but showed no inclination to reassert their claim.

The male hornbill was just watching these antics, probably amused by it.

Even the crow that was also getting ready to start its family wasn't looking very happy at the disturbance!

One of them was  flying around all over but it's mate settled down on the branch. Obviously, it had given up or was waiting for an opportune moment.

Suddenly the myna got up and called to its mate. Then they were both looking towards the hole. I thought, perhaps, they had decided to give it an attempt despite the male sitting just above them and looking them over with a keen eye. Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw a movement and at the opening of the hole there was a small pointed protuberance (see in the yellow circle).

The pointed thing gradually grew in size and then it dawned on me why the mynas were keeping their distance.

 It was the female hornbill crawling her way out of her nesting hole!!

It appeared to be a tight squeeze but she managed to wriggle out; head first, then a wing and then another. She flew up to join her mate waiting for her. No sooner had she vacated the hole the mynas were back!

One of them seemed to accepted the fact that the hole was now gone from their control this season but the other wasn't giving up so easily!

 The two hornbills, meanwhile had no worries about the myna. They had full control over the hole now. It was now time to put the next plan into action. Making babies!

The male sidled up to his partner stretching his neck and making displays with his bill. His intention was clear. He was in the mood for something erotic!

WARNING: The photos & videos coming up after this are PG rated. As I had mentioned earlier, if you are reading this blog with young children, be ready to tell them about 'the birds & the bees'!

The female hopped off to the next branch, reading her partner's intentions. She wanted to be on a stable perch for the action to follow. As soon as he got his invitation the male mounted her. (Time: 5.25 PM)

The mating lasted for more than a minute with violent flapping of wings and crossing of bills.

Then the male dismounted and they sat together a little apart, catching their breaths! The female, who looked visibly exhausted, was lying pressed against the branch.

The male then called out to her and she seemed to respond. Maybe he was telling that a voyeur was standing below and watching them!

They flew off to another tree but didn't hang around too long. The male was showing his intention but the female was too tired to mate again so soon I guess. She flew back to the tree followed by the male.

The male kept giving me looks with his beady eye, as if asking me why I was intruding on their romance?

He then hopped to another branch and was looking for a gift to coax his beloved to have another session of lovemaking!

He came back with a fruit and the game of passing the fruit started again, even though the female still looked tired after her exertions.

I guess the urge to nest was strong in her too. The pair moved away to another branch and another bout of mating occurred (Time: 5.54 PM). This time it went on for more than two minutes.

After the second bout of lovemaking the female just lay on the same spot, too drained to move immediately.

I packed my gear and walked to my car. The light was fading and I had been given the privilege of witnessing something unique. I had been intruding on their privacy all day. It was time to leave them in peace.

The Tree Hole over the weeks

The tree hole that I have been observing too underwent a change. What was a round wide opening in November became half its width, and then a small slit. The female had confined herself inside and only her bill was visible occasionally.

Early November 2013

11th February, 2014

11th February, 2014

Peek-a-boo, 11th February, 2014

12th February, 2014. The final appearance of the slit like opening.

As I watched the hornbill's beak withdraw inside I realized that I have been witness to a miracle of nature. These events that I have recorded have played out in the heart of a bustling town, on a piece of land sandwiched between a railway station and a bus stand. I am sure, not many would have had the fortune to witness these scenes coming one after another in sequence. I am blessed.

I have also realized another truth. Woodcrawling is not, only about walking around the jungles. It can happen right at our doorsteps. We only have to keep our eyes open!

Now the period of anxious waiting starts. I haven't seen the male the last couple of mornings. It has probably gone foraging for food, to feed his confined beloved. For him, and me, the next 60-70 days are crucial. We are not going to see the female lay her eggs and incubate them. We'll know only when the chicks hatch and the activity in the nest picks up.

Watch this space for the appearance of the fledglings and a break out! 

DISCLAIMER:
All photographs in this series (Parts 1 to 3) have been shot using cameras with telephoto lenses (Olympus E3, Olympus OM-D EM-5, Zuiko 300mm f.28 with 2x TC & M.Zuiko 70-300mm). No bird was harmed or disturbed during the shooting of pictures or videos. No flash photography was done. No means to access the nest was used. All photographs were shot from ground level from a safe distance.

Hornbill Heights (Part 2) - February Frolic

The first part of this blog is here

It has to be something to do with the season. Every bird pair I lay my eyes upon seem to be in a very raunchy mood. February still has a nip in the air and the days still comes a tad late making you want to turn over and snuggle under a warm blanket long after the alarm clocks have gone off.

My hornbill pairs have been busy over the last few months setting up their nest to receive the incoming packages the storks would bring later in the season, that is, if the hornbills too believed that storks carried good tidings like us humans do! There has been a spurt in the stork population too but that story is for another time.

1st February, 2014

Turf wars were still not over. The myna pair has been relentless. I noted with surprise that if one of the hornbills were alone the mynas had no qualms about dive bombing it and chasing it off. They know that their tree hole is gone but they are not giving up without a fight. Feisty little birds; the mynas.

Pair 1 looked a little lost and confused at time when the mynas were at their aggressive best. They'd sit on a branch, a little away, watching as the mynas frantically tried to reassert their claim.

7th February, 2014

While Pair 1 was waging their war it seemed Pair 2 had no such problems; or so I thought. They were going about setting up the nest in earnest. Most often, it was the female that was hanging about and cleaning up the nest while the male would forage in the vicinity and bring food for her.

The female would hang on to the edge of the hole, push her head inside and scoop out stuff lying inside the cavity with her long beak.

She would then proceed to spit it out before repeating it many times. After a while she'd fly off to a nearby branch to rest while her mate would inspect the nest.

I have observed this in the morning hours till  around 9 AM after that they'd fly off somewhere together. I too would have to leave for office.

In between cleanings and inspections they would continue their game of  'pass-me-the-fig'. The male would fly off (and it was always the male) and return with a fruit or some such thing for his partner and they would keep passing it to each other without swallowing it with twisting and turning of their necks. (See previous post here for photos of this game)

I read that there was a method to this madness. It is not only a behaviour adopted to coax the female to enter the nesting hole, but also to 'train' her to grasp the offering without dropping it. Once incarcerated, only the beak and sometimes only its tip, can be put out of the small opening in the hollow. If the female drops it there is every chance that their hatchlings may not survive because the male has to go out far to find food again. It is also meant to reassure the female that he'd be around to feed her while she is incarcerated.

Meanwhile, on the main trunk, Pair 1 was also going through their nest inspection process. The male would inspect the inside and then go and sit next to his mate and coax her to do that same.

She would then swoop down and do her inspection.

All this was happening under the watchful eyes of the myna pair who had an expression of righteous indignation. After all they had lost a prime piece of real estate to a larger bird!

This 'pass-me-the-fig' game was also being performed by Pair 1 around their nest but I noticed they were doing something else too. The male had acquired a fruit from somewhere and had it in his beak.

He then flew down to his mate and started the game. Contorting himself over her and around the opening of the nest he handed over the fruit. What he did next was astonishing!

He presented his butt to her! From his posture, at first, it appeared that he was trying to push her head into the nest with his tail and butt.

Then I realized that the female was sort of rubbing the fruit on his behind and then passing it back to him.

Then she buried her face under his tail feathers again and this went on for a while!

It appeared that he was squirting his feces onto the opening of the hole to help create a seal for the nest. Sometimes, he would fly up and observe her progress, then break off a bit of bark from the tree and go back to give it to her.

She was very busy, meanwhile, giving finishing touches to the opening. She'd chip away in on one corner, rub her beak on another then try to squeeze herself inside.

The male would occasionally fly down and help her and probably trying to also coax her to settle inside. It appeared that she wasn't quite ready yet.

She would keep scratching the edges of the hole and induce the male to do the same for her.

Then she'd try again to pull herself inside but would withdraw after reaching half way inside. Indeed; a frustrating time for her mate!

He'd fly off, leaving her to her work and watch from another branch.

He wouldn't go far away because the mynas were always waiting for an opportunity to fly back into what, for them, was their nest. So he would have one eye fixed on them always!

This post isn't quite complete yet. There is more to come. Meanwhile enjoy the tale till now...............

11th February, 2014 UPDATE @ 9.00AM
Very important day in my Hornbill Story. She has been INCARCERATED!!
I saw her struggling to squeeze out of her hole on 9th February evening. She mated with her partner so I had an inkling of what is to come over the next few day. Today I saw the female inside with the opening narrowed to a slit! She must have sealed herself in in the last 36 hours. Now it will be 90 days of masterly inactivity for the male and I!