At 5 am, before the city of Noida fully wakes up, Ekta Nahar steps quietly onto her balcony. Her mornings do not begin with bright sunshine or an alarm clock, but with something we rarely experience as city dwellers. 

The chirping of birds. 

At first, it is just a few chirps. Then come the flutters, and the sound of dozens of wings. 

Within minutes, her balcony fills with birds: some perched on railings, some hopping between her 300 planters, some pecking gently at grains, and a few flying close enough to feed from her hand. The birds that visit her every morning include sparrows, hummingbirds, silverbills, Koel, parrots, and laughing doves.

Her high-rise apartment balcony in a concrete neighbourhood is now a thriving living ecosystem, visited by nearly 200 birds every day. 

‘Birdsong followed me home’

Ekta, 35, has lived in Noida for over a decade. An artist by profession, her work focuses on mental health, often using art as a medium for healing and expression. At home, she shares her life with her husband and two rescued dogs. Over the years, she has cared for nine dogs and has also worked with animal welfare organisations such as People for Animals as a volunteer. 

Animals were always part of her world. Birds, however, were not. That changed during a 2022 family trip to Mussorie, Uttarakhand, when birdsong filled the place where they were staying.

“We stayed at a place where we could hear birds all day,” she recalls. “It was peaceful in a way I hadn’t........

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