Nature and Photo Walk by Natural Biodiversity Group !

The Natural Biodiversity Group

July 9, 2017. The nature and photo walk organized by the Natural Biodiversity Group brought us to the rural setting of Sector 39 West of Chandigarh, the city beautiful. Present were about 20 nature lovers belonging to diverse fields but with a unifying thread that of appreciating nature with all its bio-diversity.

We reached the spot at around 06 30 hrs in the morning, driving through the thin lanes of Jujhar Nagar Road of Village Malloa. The  area was under cultivation of variety of crops including maize , corn and rice.  As soon as we reached the place, the cameras came out and the clicking session began. While most of us were clicking photographs of birds nipping on the corns and maize buds, Sonaika Sharma and her lovely daughter who came all the way from Gurugaon were seen clicking tiny creatures on the leafy plants as they specialize in macro photography. Arvind Syal of course was seen busy making videos of the birds and the walk. Sharan Lally , an ace bird photographer known for his vivid photographs of birds was present with his beautiful daughter who looked as enthusiastic as every one else.

Red adavat or the red munia couple 

Most sought after were the Red adavats or the red munia or the red strawberry finches. The birds did not disappoint even though they do shy away , only to return to their favourite plants to nip at the corn buds. This small finch is easily identified by the rounded black tail and the bill that is seasonally red. The rump is red and the breeding male is red on most of the upper parts except for a black eye-stripe, lower belly and wings. There are white spots on the red body and wing feathers. The non-breeding male is duller but has the red-rump while the female is duller with less of the white spotting on the feathers.

The place was full of Baya Weavers and the Black-breasted Weavers who had built their intricate nests in the  fronds of palm trees. The nests are solely built by the males in order to attract their chosen mates. Hanging like a pendulum, the nests are woven from thin shreds of leaves and grass , representing not only the skill but the hard work of these tiny winged creatures. It is said that after the initial structure is built , the female inspects it minutely. If accepted , chambers are added and if not, either the nest is deserted or torn apart by the male itself to build a new one. However, there have been instances reported where the old nests have been repaired and improved upon. Even when the nesting takes place and eggs are laid, the male bird dutifully keeps on strengthening the nest.

Besides the drongos and the shallows, the wire tailed ones and the Indian Roller and scaly breasted munia in dozens, we spotted the Knob-billed Duck on the periphery of a small water body at a distance besides the red-naped Ibis perched on a tree .

Knob-billed duck 

Knob-billed Duck gets its common name from the large, fleshy, dark grey growth or ‘comb’ on the top of the male’s black beak. This unusual and distinctive structure enlarges during the breeding season . The male is a large duck with a glossy blue-black or green-black upper parts, tail and wings, white underparts and pale grey or black flanks. The top of the head and back of the neck are black, and the rest of the head is white, speckled black, with yellow tinges on the sides and on the neck during the breeding season. Narrow black bands run along the sides of the upper breast. Females may appear almost white, and also lack the male’s ‘comb’ and are much smaller than males, with less glossy plumage, less well-defined black breast bands, more speckling on the head, lacking any yellowish tinge, and sometimes with brownish mottling on the underparts.

The red-naped Ibis

The Lizard with its various hues.

Not solely dependent on water bodies always, unlike other Ibis, Red-naped Ibis is distinguished by the nearly all dark body with a white patch on the shoulder and a bare dark head with a patch of crimson red warty skin on the crown and nape. The white patch stands it out from the Glossy Ibis with which they are at times confused with.Mostly silent, they call at dawn and dusk and more often when nesting. The calls are a series of loud braying, squealing screams that descend in loudness. They build their nests often on the top of tress.In Hindi , it is referred as 'Kala Buza'.

The participants were amused by a Lizard that had mounted itself on one of the binding logs of a make shift canopy , changing its colours every now and then, giving enough opportunity to all to click it .

The four hour walk concluded with the participants sharing their experiences with Mr Arun Bansal , the main driving force of the group coordinating the intros lamenting that how natural biodiversity wasv on the decline in the name of development.  Mr Sanjay Barar gave useful tips on how to photograph flowers.

As an icing to the cake, Dr Guruprtap Singh, an educationist and bird researcher and Mr Kulbhushan Kanwar , the Chairman of the Natural Biodiversity Group rendered beautiful gazals to the delight and joy of every one present.

The journey shall continue…………