First of all, an explanation. Some of my wildlifer friends don’t ever post nest photographs, for several valid reasons:

1. Photography disturbs the birds in the nest.

2. The presence of the photographer could alert predators to the nest site.

3. The nestlings would also be distracted and disturbed.

However, in thie case, these reasons don’t apply, because:

1. The birds have built their nest even though they see us in the apartments every day, so they are not disturbed by my photography.

2. I am sitting inside my home and not intruding on the nest or its environs in any way; the nest is right outside my balcony, on a coconut palm. (You can see the coconuts among the fronds.) And the nest is on a busy road, too.

3. It is obvious from the proliferation of the black kites in Bangalore that the nestlings are not easily disturbed.

So, for my own documentation, I will be posting photographs of the black kites, with the mother in the nest, faithfully incubating her egg.

Here’s the first picture; you can see the egg under the bird and even more remarkable, you can see the piece of sponge that has been used in the nest…talk about soft comfort for the baby!

And here’s another, where she is shooing away a rock pigeon which was trying to venture close….

Today I couldn’t see the sponge, but found a fairly large towel in the nest….my, the decor does change! Will post another pic soon.

My friend AMS tells me that crows often predate the nest of kites and eat up the egg…so will keep a watch out for this!