HOME was not built in a day !! 😀

While I jokingly paraphrase the famous saying, isn't it a fact that homes really do not get built fast. For most of us nerds and lazy A$$es, they do not even begin to get built.

Till we become much wiser (older !), we do not think of settling down, with a roof on our head that is kind of permanent.

Once again, nature teaches us that we should. We should build a home, a nest, like birds do - bit by bit and stick by stick if needed.

A stick a day - makes a nest some day!

I can not stress the importance of home - it is a place that we can call our OWN! Early humans were nomads but soon realized that settling down has numerous advantages. I do not want to get into the history of mankind and the settler's advantages but to me personally, here is why I need a home of my own -

• Home is the only place where I can do what I like and not worry about what others think
• Home is a place where I have a sense of peace and control
• Home is a place where I build my MEMORIES and I always know I can visit home anytime and enjoy my memories
• Home is where I always know I will meet my loved ones

I can go on and on...

On a slightly humorous note -

- Home is where I can look ugly and enjoy it!
- Home is where some people can run down stairs naked and look funny!

These are the thoughts that ran in my mind when I looked at this weeks challenge for SMaP by @nelinoeva. It is a difficult challenge. Nests of birds are often not in very visible locations and it takes a lot of observation to capture birds building nests.

I am not talking about common city dwelling birds that we see often like sparrows or martins. It is fun watching those species building nests too. However, I have been fortunate to come across some exotic birds and raptors either in nests or building nests... So, I thought I will share some of those clicks today along with what they signify...

Personified effort at home building...

A male baya weaver bird not only builds a beautiful nest but it builds several of them. When a male bird builds a nest, his lady love comes and inspects it. If she does not like his workmanship, she rejects it and the poor male starts from scratch to build another one...😀

Males often build nests and advertise their "Room available in my nest and in my heart ❤️" status by sitting in a half completed nest and flapping their wings...

Doesn't this really show how much commitment is there to build a home?

My 'HOLE' world- my home!😀

The cute and colorful coppersmith barbets on the other hand, prefer to make a hole for a home..
They become 'hole' makers before they become 'home-makers' 😀

Just look at the dust fly as this barbet hammers away at a dead tree branch to carve out a hole. This is an arduous process and really takes a lot of effort.

Even mighty raptors carry sticks for nests...

Bonelli's eagle - the mighty raptor which can carry off small dogs, tenderly carries branches and nests to build a nest lovingly...

After seeing this male eagle carrying the branch to build a nest, I started respecting it even more - not only he is a fierce survivor and predator but he is a 'family-man'!!

It is a huge nest, to suit the large size of the eagle and takes days to build but the eagles do that EVERY year. Talk about loving building homes!😀

A home and MOM - what more does anyone want!

I was lucky enough to get a chance to see an eagle mom with her chick in a well protected nest. This photo below is not a great close up photo (because I never approach close and disturb nesting birds during my photography) but it is my favorite one on the subject of nests and my entry for #SMaP 114

The nest, the watchful eye of the mother and the cute chick paint a perfect picture of a HOME - don't you think?

That is all I have today to say on homes, nests and this wonderful challenge for bird lovers as well as photographers! What do you think? Do you like the pics and agree on my views about a home 😀? Please feel free to share your comments and opinions.

A big thank you for support

Thanks to c/hive-106444 (Feathered friends community) for providing this wonderful opportunity to present my experience and photographs. Thanks to @barbara-orenya and @melinda010100 for all the support and encouragement to this community. Special thanks to @nelinoeva also for the wonderful contest and Author of the week initiatives.

Thanks to HIVE for this wonderful platform. Thanks also to @adalger and @dna.org for encouraging me by recognizing some of my posts as worthy of Densifying nature project.
Further, thanks to Amazing nature community for welcoming me and showing me their love on some of my posts.

---

Note: All images and collages in this blog are created by me, based on photos clicked by me personally and/or free vector images from Pixabay. Any other sources, if used, are indicated as image credits below the picture.
Quotes used, if not credited, are either from unknown authors or are proverbial old sayings.

---