My Elusive Neighbours!

Asia, Wildlife, 166 Comments

It has been a good season for the mango tree caressing my fourth floor kitchen window. It’s branches are heavy with fruit, and two mangoes close enough to reach out and touch, were eliciting so much attention, I had to run in and grab my camera! First it was a furry squirrel who was so busy gorging he didn’t have time to lift his head and say hello.
Parrot & mango
Then this beauty weighed the pros and cons of an unripe fruit nearby…….
Parrot & mango
…and hopped on over to the tried and tested one.
Parrot & mango
Followed by her elusive cousin who threw caution to the winds and ignored the crazy lady with the black thingie for a change!

Parrot & mango
Aah, I know how good that tastes….I wonder what I am going to do when the mango season ends too!

Midway through the feast my camera got distracted and latched onto this wise old lady meditating in the background…
Parrot in the background
…who did deign to turn around and show me her pretty face.
Parrot in the background
Thank you for visiting and have a great week ahead.

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Madhu is an Interior designer turned travel blogger on a long sabbatical to explore the world. When not crafting stories on The Urge To Wander, she's probably Tweeting @theurgetowander or sharing special moments on instagram.com/theurgetowander

166 thoughts on “My Elusive Neighbours!”

  1. I’ve two mango trees and experienced squirrel/fruit fly/bird problem. This was solved:
    Squirrels – Use a one way door trap (either kill or release the vermin)
    Bird – Use bird netting during ripening to deter birds.
    Maggots/Fruit flies – Apple cider vinegar/soap drop in a bottle with holes.

    You should see more mangoes with wastage reduction. Rear honey bees if possible. Fastens up pollination during flowering season. Good luck

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  5. Beautiful shots! Needless to say, thatI am green with envy over the greenery you live in and those fruits just within reach. Coudl you believe it, that in Bali Mango trees grow along the roadside and no one picks the fruits, leaving them to the monkeys to have a feast on? In Indoesna Mangoes are eaten raw with a Palm Sugar dressing, however I prefer a ripem, sweet and aromatic mango…..hmmm! Something we badly miss out here as expats!

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  10. Yum … Yum … Yum … I love mangos. Unfortunately, the ones we get at the stores are frozen and don’t always taste as sweet. I do go to a farmers market for fresh ones but those aren’t always as sweet too. I would adore having a tree in my back yard. I have to think about planting one. We have squirrels as well which might mean less fruit…. but … no gorgeous birds like the ones pictured here. Stunning post of nature living its daily life.

  15. I remember mangoes from West Africa, St Ludia and India. ( best I can do at the moment is inferior fruit at the super-market)

    I love your story…

  16. Well, I suppose every season it’s a dream you could reach out and pick yourself a fruit but then you wouldn’t have these pretty visitors 🙂

  17. Hi Madhu, I’m so jealous you have this magical scene right outside your window. I love mangoes; I’d be delighted to have them within my reach! And those birds are lovable. I wouldn’t mind sharing the fruits with them. Stunning photos.

  18. Great captures of these greedy birds, Madhu. 🙂 Will you get some mangoes for yourself, or will they have a go at them all?

  19. How delightful to see mangoes from your window! I eat mangoes every day during this time of the year 🙂

  20. This is delightful! How wonderful to have a mango tree outside your window. They are such delicious fruits!

  21. Lovely images of birds I will never see in the UK except at Edinburgh Zoo. There are so many lovely birds in different parts of the world.

      1. Limping for life has a certain ring to it, Madhu. The weather is dreary again so perhaps it’s no tragedy. 🙂

  26. Much competition for the fruits on the trees – squirrels, birds and you. 🙂

    1. A typical scene in the west coast isn’t it? But I never had a fourth floor view growing up 🙂

  30. I felt like a little kid all excited as I watch your green feathered friend on a mango tree. You are blessed to live in a place surrouned by colorful, exotic creatures. A paradise on Earth.

    1. The big city is just behind that tree IT, but I do pretend it isn’t 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.

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  33. So true! These neighbours are elusive when it comes to photographing them! Love these images 🙂 And I’ll also miss mangoes once the season’s over… So will try to gorge on them as much as I can… And congratulations! 🙂 Your photo of machu picchu is one of the images decorating the new WordPress Homepage 😀

    1. Thank you Kasturika. Where did you see my MP image? Sorry for a ‘duh’ question, but I have no idea how to get to the WP home page! I either see the log in page or my reader after I sign in.

      1. Even I saw it only that day! After that I also got the standard login page… The WordPress homepage is pretty mysterious… Maybe they were just testing it out…

  35. I don’t believe there is much better in this world than a ripe mango and those lovely birds you so wonderfully captured seem to know it too Madhu. 🙂

    1. Yes, she actually seems to be posing doesn’t she? 🙂 Thank you for stopping by to share your thoughts.

  37. I wish I could be there to look at those “pappagallini verdi”! A beautiful green lush… in fact be a delight to meditate and take life slowly and peacefully 😉 claudine

  39. It must have taken a lot of patience and quiet readiness to get these shots! Thanks for showing them to us.

    1. You are most welcome Mary-Ann. It did take several hours of standing super still beside that window 🙂

  40. I once read somewhere that there are dozens (maybe hundreds?) of mango varieties, and we see maybe 7 or 8 here in the US. How many varieties do you see in your local grocery store? I would love to see these birds in my backyard. Great shots!

    1. At any given time, not more than that. There are several dozen varieties, but the seasons are staggered. Also most are regional and only the most popular are imported into other states. I grew up eating at least six varieties that grew locally, that i don’t see on our shelves here. R’s uncle was a horticulturist who was credited with creating several hybrid varieties! 🙂

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  43. Mangos. Growing outside the window. The only time I ever see mangos is on the shelf in Sainsbury’s supermarket! I shall bookmark this post, Madhu, and return and gaze at it whenever I am feeling in need of a little vicarious travel. What a really beautiful post.

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  46. The mangoes and the birds just bowled me over. I’d love to escape in your tropical paradise right now. Weather here has been pretty lousy in the last couple of days. 😉

    1. Not quite a paradise Malou. We are still bang in the middle of a crowded city. This is a welcome oasis though 🙂 Hope your weather is better already.

  47. Whoa! Some nice looking friends you have there. 🙂
    Great photos and write up. 🙂 Just a remembrance: We have the same Mango tree in our backyard. Your post was a reminder of the sweetness of it’s mangoes.

    1. Thanks Manu. I grew up amid mango and coconut farms too, but this fourth floor perspective into the branches is truly amazing! I think it confuses them a bit as well 🙂

      1. 😀 Yeah, it does. You should invent a device to catch mangos right from the branches and then post about it.

  50. What an exotic world! Outside your fourth floor kitchen window, a tropical paradise, “a green thought in a green shade.”
    The patience you have! but so repaid by the shots of the green birds (who match the green background). Can you imagine how different is the view here in austere Western Massachusetts? Like two different planets.
    My great mango love is the Ataulfo, the “champagne” mango, which starts to be imported into our supermarkets. Most definitely to be eaten over the kitchen sink!
    Enjoy the season, M —

    1. I would be devastated if that tree gets felled in the name of development!
      My favourite mango is the Alphonso, followed by the larger and lighter Banganpalli, both not native to our state. The season for the former is all but over and the latter is nearing its end, perhaps two more weeks at the most. The tail-enders are lesser varieties but I savour every single one till the very end 🙂

      1. PS: According to Wiki. the Ataulfo is closely related to the Alphonso! They certainly look similar.

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    1. The birds? They try…..I have yet to master the art of listening 🙂 Good to see you here Witt.

      1. Birds on the window feeders, fruit in the trees, happy bird-songs from the neighbors, you remind a sailor of the joys of nature ashore. I’d be glad to count as one in your flock 🙂

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  58. I have mango trees but no parrots. What great pictures. My trees attract squirrels, opossums and raccoons. One of our trees is beginning to ripen and there is nothing like a fresh ripe mango from one’s own tree. I agree. 🙂

    1. Thanks Lynne. As children we used to watch as mangoes were harvested using long sticks with nets attached that had little knives at one end. A lot of skill was involved in cutting off the right fruit so it dropped into the net, without bruising it or the unripe ones left on the tree. I should try and find a contraption like that to pluck these right from my window 🙂

  59. You deserve and award for this !! ♛♛♛

    I am just in awe at the clarity of your photographs and that you live so close to nature and fruit on demand. Please, what IS the furry creature with the arrow straight tail and also do the parrots awaken you? I owned two and they can SCREECH!

    Just wonderful Madhu !

    1. The furry creature is a squirrel Kathryn. Our bedroom is on the opposite side of the house so the parrots’ calls don’t bother us at all. We have pigeons trying to roost on our window sills though and I truly dislike them 🙂

      1. It was a HUGE squirrel . I thought it something more exotic Can you put low spikes on your sills? Thats what they do in NYC?

  60. I’m drooling…and you have mangoes right outside your window?! They are the perfect abundance to encourage just the right kind of neighbours.

    1. We have coconut palms too, but the mango tree is more popular, not surprisingly. Lovely to see you here Amy 🙂

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  63. I used to love watching the parrots on my balcony when I lived in Australia, so much more colourful than our English birds!

    1. I agree. But I don’t think any place can match the variety of vividly coloured bird species as South America.

  64. oh my gosh what a thrilling tropical view from your kitchen window. Thank you for getting our your camera and sharing the view… I wish I could look out at a parrot eating a mango!! We sometimes have flocks of parrots in our neighborhood but mostly its mockingbirds, turtle doves and humming birds and ficus benjamina trees.

    I didn’t realize there were sour mango trees. Are they used for chutney?

    1. I am fortunate to have the branches at eye level. Wouldn’t have been the same from the ground. These mangoes are a wild variety I think, not planted for a particular purpose. But yes the sour ones are great for chutneys and pickles.

    1. You have your gorgeous flowers and landscape AnnChristine 🙂 Yes, today was quite a show! Didn’t complete any of my chores thanks to these parakeets 🙂

        1. Yes! Even if today I find myself wishing I can wave a wand and make them disappear 🙂

  67. The best neighbours ever Madhu! Stunning photo’s of the elusive beauties Madhu and thanks for sharing hon. 🙂 *hugs*

  68. love the parrots ! I love the ripening mango more. I used to have a lot of those, picked off from the tree and eaten while still warmed by the sun. Sigh…the glories of a tropical life. 🙂

    1. Sigh!! Growing up, we ate those dipped in salt and chilli powder! I remember how the ones purloined from neighbours gardens were somehow sweeter 😀

  69. you surely gaze out your window and find peace when you see the dense green, the mangos, the squirrels, birds…
    do you use the green mangoes often? in salads, in cooked dishes? sometimes i prefer the green to the ripe, but then when i htink about it, a ripe one is hard to beat.
    do you have the mamay? that brown grapefruit-sized orb with bright orange flseh? it always reminds me of a mango, yet w/o the fibers that hide between my teeth!

    1. Just Googled Mamay, and I think the nearest thing to it here is the Sapota (or Chikoo) which is much smaller in size but delicious. But for me nothing comes close to a ripe mango 🙂 I didn’t like any that I had in South East Asia strangely! We were probably served out of season ones in October.

      1. yes, there are two fruits here that look a lot alike, but their textures are totally different.. i think the zapote is the one you’re talking about, but i am not sure either. that one was smaller and juicier and the bright-orange flesh clung to the seeds and was sort of stringy.. the mamay was more like the flesh of an unripe peach.. but bright orange..

        i have some photos… somewhere… 🙂

    1. Thanks Ledrake. Isn’t always this exciting though, those birds know their camouflage 🙂

    1. The mangoes look yummier than they taste sadly. No one picks them, which is probably why there is such a wealth of bird life here in the middle of this crazy city! Have been tracking an elusive speckled female Koyal in vain!
      Appreciate your stopping by to comment 🙂

    1. Couldn’t believe my luck! Did involve an enormous amount of time in front of that window….a lot of patience! R thought I had gone mad 😀

    1. Thanks Colline. They blend in too well. They couldn’t resist the allure of the mangoes today to my delight 😉

  76. Beautiful setting and a window seat to natures bounty! The entire post narrated beautifully as if events were happening real time 🙂

    Many thanks Madhu

    1. This happened earlier this afternoon Dilip, so it was still fresh in my mind 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.

  77. Wonderful neighbors you have! And what a wonderful vista outside your kitchen.
    Mango have to be my favorite fruit. In Mexico, we peel them, then spear them with a fork along side the bone, and chomp away; best done over the kitchen sink 🙂

    1. My favourite too Angeline. The season is nearing its end and I shall miss my daily (over?)dose of vitamin A 🙂 Here the smaller ones are not even peeled, we just suck the pulp out of one end! Over the sink of course 🙂

      1. Madhu, these pictures take me back in time to my grandmother’s home in Palghat, and the summers of endless mangoes – green raw mangoes, juicy ripe mangoes, and mango in chutneys, curries, and desserts. I miss mangoes, but not the heat. I hear even Bangalore is scorching these days – whatever happened to the Pensioner’s Paradise? Enjoy the mangoes Madhu, and eat one for me too 🙂

  78. Hello Madhu,

    Thank you for enjoying my piece on Eric Alagan’s fine writing site. I appreciate it. And I enjoyed your post here, with the mangoes and inquisitive birds. It must be quite lovely where you live.

    Take care,
    Paul : )

    1. It is. As it was to read your beautifully crafted response to Eric’s prompt. Thank you for your visit and comment 🙂

  79. It must be a pleasure to have a tree like this coming up to your kitchen window. What a lovely feeling it must have been to see a parrot feeding on a mango right at your perch. Liked your earlier posts too. Following you.

    1. It is Amrita. I have been waiting a long while to witness that feast, got lucky this afternoon! Thank you for stopping by to comment 🙂

  80. Brava e molto attenta. Ho dei merli che hanno nidificato vicino a casa, da 10 giorni continuo a perdere l’occasione per fotografare la nidiata. Oggi piove e non è il caso di tentare, ma appena torna un poco di sole ne devo approfittare. Ciao 🙂

    1. I have been trying unsuccessfully for months Popof. I think they are getting used to my staring into that tree 🙂 Good luck with your blackbirds.

  81. You can walk outside and pick mangoes, I am so jealous! They are my favourite taste ever but over here they are quite often tasteless because they’ve been shipped in deep refridgeration, the supermarkets don’t know how to keep them and they cost a fortune 😦
    I’m glad the little parakeets? get a good feast though 🙂

    1. These mangoes are very sour Gilly if it makes you feel any better 🙂 Good for curries or salads only. In fact the birds have been ignoring them all this while. That’s why I was surprised by all the excitement over those two fruits!
      But yes our mangoes can’t be beat. Great variety spread over four short delicious months 🙂

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    1. Birds actually, there is a whole colony of them in that tree. Appreciate your visit and comment 🙂

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