The eagles have migrated to urban centres, disappearing from the rural landscape.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
In my childhood, the bird that caught my imagination the most was the eagle as it soars high and makes circles in the sky without flapping its wings.
My curiosity was enhanced when a pair of them made a massive tree its home, right across my street in the village. The pair would perch on top of a branch scanning the entire surroundings for its potential prey. I grew up watching every moment of the eagles from cleaning feathers and taking off and landing to building a nest with twigs and leaves. I became a fan of them, known for keen eyesight, sharp claws, strong beak and amazing hunting skills.
However, one incident made me turn into a foe of eagles forever. In those days, it was very common to raise poultry birds in every household. We too had some birds. Every season except summer, my mother would keep a dozen eggs or so with a brooding hen to hatch. One of the hens hatched all the eggs and the chicks began to grow, accompanying the mother all the time.
One day, the mother hen leading the brood went outside the house in search of feed. Coming from nowhere, the eagle swooped down like a dart and snatched a young chick clutching tightly with its claws and flew away. It happened in front of my own eyes and it was over in a flash, leaving me helpless to rescue the chick.
My mother said, “All hatchlings do not survive. The eagle is a bird of prey and is at the top of food chain because of the large size and ability to fly.” My anger subsided to some extent after listening to my mother. After 30 years, no hate for eagles is left in me. But my childhood avian friend is missing in action.
The eagles left my village long ago as their habitat was snatched for “development”. Left with no alternative, they migrated to urban centres, disappearing from the rural landscape.
Thus my village has become poorer in biodiversity.
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