Our birding guide, the man from the Himalayas !

Our birding guide, the man from the Himalayas !

Neer is the birding guide provided to us by Strabo Pixel Club during our three day visit to Sattal. In his early twenties, Neer has been a birding guide for the last six years. Over the years, Neer keenly observed the behavior of birds, listened to their calls, learnt their breeding habits and had insights into their habitat and could tell with precision where one could see a particular bird.

Neer lives in the forest area of Sattal in a secluded area all by himself as he says that being alone in the lap of nature gives him an advantage of remaining focussed and concentrated on his passion which he does not consider just merely a job.

Neer on the right 

Neer says that he wants to do something for the himalayas during his lifetime. He says with a glint in his eyes that he was born for the himalayas, he lives for the himalayas and will die for the himalayas. He indeed has grand plans which includes involving the local community in improving the natural biodiversity in the area. According to him, birding tourism in the area has a vast potential and needs to be exploited in a manner that it does not exploit the natural environment. He laments that some people come and throw garbage in the area spoiling the beauty of the forests and the mountains.Many a times he had to face their wrath for pointing it out to them but he boldly tells them to clean up or leave the place.

Coming back to birding, Neer says that he prefers serious birders and that too in small numbers. He says that the birds need to be observed from a distance as they too want their privacy to be maintained. According to him, birding is all about observing with patience.

Neer has been a birding guide to many including birders from Germany, Denmark and USA with whom he has been in constant touch. Besides birding, Neer is into adventure sports including trekking. He also has interest in metaphysics and philosophy.

Thank you Neer for being an excellent birding guide to us during our stay in Sattal and showing us exotic birds and thank you Strabo Pixel Club for getting Neer on board for us.

Being at Sattal, the Birders' Paradise, Courtesy #StraboPixelClub

Being at Sattal, the Birders' Paradise, Courtesy #StraboPixelClub

Twenty Seven Birding enthusiasts from across the country

were at Sattal in Uttrakhand at the invitation of Strabo Pixel Club from November 24 to November 26, 2017. During their three day stay, the birders scouted for birds in Sattal,Chafi  and
Pangot and were able to identify more than 130 different birds. The most sought after were the Brown Fish Owl, the Colloared Owlet, the Flower Peckers, the Leafbirds, the Common Green Magpies, the Crested Kingfishers, the Nut Hatchers, the Laughing Thrushes, the Woodpeckers and Himalayan Bulbuls. The rare finds included Eurasian Wren or the Nepal Wren Babbler and the Brown Dipper.

The commitment of Arvind Syal

With Hemant Bishnoi and Subroto Chatterjee 

The highlight of the event was an exhibition of photographs of birds held at the iheart Cafe which was inaugurated by the Divisional Forest Officer, Mr D.S.Meena,IFS. In his address, Mr Meena highlighted various steps being taken by the Uttrakhand Government to preserve and improve the rich biodiversity of the state. He said that the steps being taken by the Forest Department need to be supplemented by people at the grassroot level.

Collared Owlet

On each of the three days, the birds would get ready for their exploration early morning, equipped with their heavy camera equipment and embark in different directions accompanied by guides, deep into the thick forest area in their camouflages that included a jacket gifted by Strabo Pixel Club. Whenever, anyone spotted a bird, he would signal to the others to come and click. The spirit of comradeship was indeed evident.

Brown Fish Owl

After a hectic day of  birding, it was time for relaxing around the bonfire. It was time for sharing experiences, the day's findings, some singing and dancing. Amit Sharma, Preity Chaturvedi and Anupreet  Kaur Mavi were the main singers while Hemant Bishnoi played the guitar.

Strabo Pixel Club he brainchild of  Hemant Bishnoi and  his wife Anu , supported by Puneet Virmani and Subroto Chatterjee. The club has been named after Strabo who was one of the earlier Geographer who is credited with drawing probably the first world map. Strabo Pixel Club has a vast membership base of 1.56 Lakhs  at this moment and is getting enlarged with each day. It is a unique platform that networks birders not only across the country but also globally.

The event was sponsored by Discover India magazine, DTDC and  iheart Cafe with active support of the Uttrakhand Forest Department. All the participants were given  Participation Certificates, Mementoes , Camouflage jackets and a Coffee mug with a photograph clicked by the birder himself/herself. The entire arrangements for stay, boarding, local transport and hospitality was made by the Strabo Pixel Club personally supervised by Hemant Bishnoi and Anu Bishnoi.

The event was given wide media coverage by India News in its prime time news as well as in a dedicated feature.

They come from across the Himalayas……flying high

They come from across the Himalayas……flying high

These days , hundreds of Ruddy Shelducks are flocking to Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh and other water bodies in the region for their wintry sojourn. Have you wondered from how far they come from and how?

Well they fly at altitudes, more than eight times higher than the tallest building on the earth so far i.e . Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Burj Khalifa is 829.8-metre-tall (2,722 ft). With the help of satellite tracking a team from the University of Exeter has claimed that ruddy shelducks fly as high as 6,800 meters (about 22,000 feet), allowing them to fly across some of the highest mountains, but certainly short of Mount Everest whose official height has been determined as 8,848 m (29,029 ft). However, studies are being conducted to determine if they can fly even more higher. They rank only next to Bar-headed Geese in the flight.

Strictly speaking, ruddy shelducks aren't really ducks, they can best be described as duck-like waterfowls that share characteristics of both ducks and geese. This translates into that they live on the water's edge and tip over in the water like ducks do, yet they also feed on grass like geese. Even though they look more like ducks, but are actually slightly larger than them having longer legs.

There are many other incredible things that are attributed to this wonderful bird besides their remarkable cruising altitudes abilities, they can easily adjust to thin mountain air as they breed on plateaus that are as high as 5000 meters. Another unique aspect of this bird, unlike their relatives, is that they lay eggs in rock cavities and caves. They even move their young ones to abandoned foxholes for raising them up.

Even their courtship is equally unique. The males impress their chosen ones by nose-diving through the air while emitting noisy screams with nasal trumpet tone being the most common. Being monogamous , the relationship is a lasting one as the couple remain faithful to each other. It is said that the couple meets only during the day time and remain separated during the night. Some people claim that this is because of the curse of a sage who felt disturbed by their screams. Many folklores , stories and even songs have been woven on this. 
In Tibetan culture, Ruddy Shelduck is considered as a scared bird. It is a symbol of love. In a local legend, Ruddy Shelducks move always in pairs, one male with one female. If one of a pair died, the other would look for the partner with lament. If it couldn’t find the partner in the end, it would bury its head in a cave and hunger to death. The outlook of Ruddy Shelducks is yellow which is a symbol of dignity and luck. 
In the Jataka Tales, there is a story of it conversing with the crow conveying :

“When leading a homeless life, one must do with affection
Without a good character, on must do without companions
When one commits offence with women, one must do 
without capacity for deeds of lasting worth.”

In Sanskrit, it is called Chakravaka and finds numerous references in ancient Sanskrit Literature, being an embodiment of eternal love, nocturnal separation and then union. In Ramayana too , the bird is mentioned as that it beautifies the rivers such as the Ganges, Godawari and Pampa. There are references in Rigveda as well as Mahabharata where Chakravakas denotes the two- wheels of the chariot, one cannot do without the other.

In a stub published by Indianetzone, Chakravaka is a Brahmani goose and the name of a wise counselor in the Pancha Tantra. Hiranyagarbha, the king of the water-fowl was anxious to make war, when his minister, Chakravaka made many speeches to prevent it, suggesting that victory was ever doubtful.

While searching for inputs, I came across a beautiful song , “ Chakravaka Pakshi Viyogi” sung by Suman Kalyanpur. Even though I do not know Marathi, the song had a very soothing effect. 
These migratory birds come from Southeast Europe and Central Asia . In India it is also called Brahminy duck. It is called Chakkva in Punjabi and Surkhaab in Faarsi

The tale of two owls !

the Asian Barred owlet 

Spotted Owlet 

When it comes to photographing birds, my all time favourite is the spotted owlet. Rather, when I started the hobby of photography, the second bird that I clicked was a spotted owlet which I vividly remember was sitting still on the branch of a tree in the Sukhna Forest Trail in Chandigarh on a particular day. Whenever I visit the place, the same owlet is found at the same place and I have stopped counting how many photographs I have taken of it but trust me every time I go there, I do click it. The same is the case with yet another owlet that resides in Thappli village. The reason for my liking spotted owlet is that they sit still to enable me as an amateur to click its photographs to my heart’s content and of course I find them to be lovely with their with spots and plumage and wide open eyes. Recently, one owlet was also spotted near my flat in the evening to give me a decent click even though it was dark.

On a trip to Chaki Mod in Distt. Solan , a birding paradise in this part of the country, I saw another owlet which I thought was again a spotted owlet or probably my thinking was constrained by my preference for spotted owlet and I believed it was it only even though it looked slightly different. I posted it on a group and immediately Dr Gurpartap Singh, an authority on birds, corrected me that it was an Asian Barred Owlet. There is so much to learn any time and Dr. Gurpartap Singh is more than willing to come to my rescue. So many times I have faltered and so many times he has corrected me. He has always cautioned me that do not post pictures if you are not sure of its identity but then old habits do not die easily .
Coming back to the spotted owlet, it is small and stocky bird, less than 21 centimetres in size. The upperparts are grey-brown, heavily spotted with white. The underparts are white, streaked with brown. While the facial disc is pale and the iris is yellow. There is a white neckband and supercilium. The flight is deeply undulating.

On the other hand , Asian Barred Owlet , as I have found out when corrected, has white eyebrows that extend to the rear of the eyes and a white moustachial streak. Eyes are lemon-yellow while its bill is yellowish-green. The head and nape are finely spotted pale buff, while the mantle is plain or only weakly barred. The upperside, sides of the head and neck and wing-coverts are dull brown or olive-brown, or faintly tinged rufous, closely barred fulvous-white or dull rufous-white. It has a distinct white patch on its throat, while the breast is barred dark brown and dull fulvous-white. The upper breast has paler brown and pure white bars, the lower part being more streaked than barred. The tail is blackish with about six whitish or pure white, widely spaced bars.

Learning is an unending process and it is even more stimulating when it comes to your passion. However, sharing your passion with others is equally joyful and my journey to explore more, to know more and share more shall continue……….

Indian Muntjac , commonly known as Barking Deer !
Chaki Mor
June 25, 2017

Fact sheet
The Indian Muntjac is also known as the red muntjac due to the rusty colour of its coat.
*The name Muntjac originates from the Sudanese “mencek”, which means small deer.
* Though barking deer is one of the oldest known species of deer, it is also one of least studied species.
*They are one of the smallest species of deer on the planet.
*They can reproduce any time of the year.
* Females can mate in a few days after giving birth.
* They shed their antlers every year.
*Barking deer's unique cry resembles the bark of a dog . Its bark is often misunderstood by locals. The groaning sound gives rise to many paranormal stories around the region.
*Though herbivorous in nature, their long canine teeth may cause serious damage in case of fighting.
* It has eyes placed on the sides of its skull, giving it a wide range of vision to spot predators.
*Along with all the basic senses, it also uses a special sixth sense, known as the vomeronasal organ that is located in the upper side of its mouth to detect chemical scents left by other animals
* Though they are hunted by top predators like tigers, pythons, leopards and humans, they have survived for over 25 million years on our planet.

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…………

Indian Pitta

Bird of many hues !

While scouting for birds early morning today i.e. June 17 near the Parch Dam ( few Kilometres away from Chandigarh), I heard a clear short double whistle. The sound led me to a branch on which an amazing beautiful bird was perching and whistling. While making the sound, the bird’s head was thrown back and the bill was pointing skywards. It was the Indian Pitta.

Indian Pitta is a colourful bird that contains numerous colours and hence it is locally called ‘Navrang’ or ‘Nawarang’. It is a small stocky bird that is mostly seen on the ground level of forests or under dense undergrowth, foraging on insects and small invertebrates in leaf litter. It has long, strong legs, a very short tail and stout bill, with a buff coloured crown stripe, black coronal stripes, a thick black eye stripe and white throat and neck. The upperparts are green, with a blue tail, the underparts buff, with bright red on the lower belly and vent. The orange or brownish-orange beak has a black tip. Its legs and feet are pink and the nails are brown.

Normally it breeds in the sub-himalayan region but migrates to warmer areas in South India and Sri-Lanka during the winters. Being a slow flier, it normally gets fatigued or exhausted when it reaches its destination in the south. .

The name Pitta is derived from Telegu which means a small bird and is also referred in Tamil as Arumani kuruvi which means 6 ‘o clock bird as it is best seen then.

Location courtesy : Arvind Syal.

Coppersmith Barbet

Even though Coppersmith  Barbet is only a tiny bird measuring between 15 cm. to 18 cm. and weighing between 30 to 50 g. , its robust and loud  ‘tuk-tuk-tuk’  sound  can lead you to the branches of the cluster fig tree that it loves to perch on. The bird gets its name from its distinctive call which resembles the sound that a coppersmith makes by beating sheets of copper with a mallet. The  coppersmith barbet makes the sound which is monotonous  but varies in loudness and tempo  by inflating a patch of bare skin on both sides of its throat while the  beak remains shut. Locally it is called chhota vasant and even tuktukiya.

Resident of Indian-subcontinent and other South Asian countries, it is a pretty colourful  bird with its distinctive red cap and red throat. Its body is leaf-green  which helps it to  camouflage itself successfully. It has  yellow patches above and below the eye. Both males and females look alike but juveniles are duller in colour with red colour missing.It has a large head with a stout and dark beak as a robust feature that it employs to peck holes in trees where it nests. Its beak is  bordered with conspicuous bristles. The tail is , however, short and triangular, which is observed as distinctively  truncated when it is in flight. However, the bird hardly comes to the ground.

Found in deciduous forests, open woodlands, countries with thickets, urban parks and in mangroves’ edges , Coppersmith Barbets like to live either alone or in pairs. However, large groups could be seen on fruit trees  for feeding purpose only.

Coppersmith Barbet feeds on various fruits such as figs, berries and mangoes and petals of flowers, but occasionally, it also consumes small insects. On average, they need to eat  about three times their own body weight daily.

Coppersmith Barbet is smallest one in the barbet family that in the region includes the Great Barbet, the Brown-headed Barbet and the Blue-throated Barbet.

The pictures were clicked in Thappli Forest Area (Haryana) on 15^th June 2017.

Do birds recognize human faces?

Do birds recognize human faces?

Experts have been pondering on this question for quite some time and numerous studies and experiments have been conducted over the years.  Research has suggested that some birds indeed do know who their human friends are, as they are able to recognize people's faces and differentiate between human voices.

Two major studies were conducted separately by University of Lincoln and the University of Vienna on pigeons and crows. The research on pigeons pointed out that pigeons can reliably differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar faces. They rely on facial features to discriminate people apart.

Research published in Avian Biology Research shows that pigeons can reliably discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar humans, and that they use facial features to tell people apart.

Lincoln's lead researcher on the project, Dr Anna Wilkinson, from the School of Life states, "Such advanced cognitive processes have rarely been observed in pigeons and suggest that they not only recognize individual humans but also know who they know -- something which could be very important for survival. Some humans feed pigeons, others chase them”.   The bird’s survival perhaps depends on its able to identify a friend or potential foe.

In the other study, published in the journal Animal Cognition, the team inferred that the crows respond significantly more often to unfamiliar than familiar human.  The research points out the evidence that birds can discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar individuals using auditory stimuli.

Christine Stracey, a researcher from the University of Florida has been invading the mocking birds' nests in her neighborhood, counting eggs and banding chicks for a research project. Over time, she noticed that the birds were getting aggressive with her: They would squawk and swoop toward her as soon as they saw her coming.  While they reacted for Stracey whenever she approached them, they ignored passersby and even gardeners working right beneath their nests. "By the end of the summer, I was absolutely convinced that the birds knew me and did not like me!" she says.

Ask any parrot owner, a parrot knows the difference between the owner and a stranger.  Parrots respond quickly to owners while they shy away from strangers.

John Fitzpatrick, an ornithologist at Cornell University says “It's amazing what a bird brain can do." He says there is subtle interplay between the natural and human world. Most people assume that birds are minding their own business, he says, when in reality they are quite in tune with the people passing by.

I have been frequenting the Thappli forest area in Haryana. On a particular tree, I spotted a spotted owlet.  For the first few days, on seeing me, the owlet would either fly away or hide itself behind the branches. It was difficult to click it. However, days passed and I continued to frequent the area. Every time I stopped near the tree and looked for the owlet. Now the owlet does not fly away or hide itself. Rather it would make familiar sounds to perhaps tell me where it is. I have clicked numerous photographs of the bird to my heart’s content. On any particular day, if I do not stop near the tree, the owlet would swap its wings perhaps to remind me why I am ignoring it. Perhaps, some bonding has been achieved.

The cognitive behavior of the birds and their ability to identify human faces and voices provides a useful tip for bird photographers. Give some space to the birds that they intend to click so that they get familiarize with you and conclude that you are a friend and not a foe. Once they are comfortable with you, I assure you they will give you a perfect pose. Patience is perhaps the most important ingredient to bird photography.

Why do I click photographs of Birds?

Why do I click pictures of birds?

For the last couple of years, I have been clicking pictures of different birds and posting them on Facebook and elsewhere. Recently, to a descriptive post, someone commented, “What is great deal; you have just clicked a picture of only the Titar?”

Even though better sense would have been to simply ignore the comment and move on with what I love the most or do some introspection and address the issue. Since the photograph posted was of a bird that me and my fellow birders had been seeing for the first time, it gave us enormous pleasure and joy, being labeled as that of a ‘only a Titar’ just proved the cynicism with which it was commented upon. If the viewer had perceived it to be that of Titar, my post to generate awareness on the variety of birds that are there in this world is fully justified. In a democratic world, healthy criticism is most welcome as differing views aim to improve things and caution one what could be wrong. But here was the case of just sheer cynicism and the comment in journalistic parlance deserved to be ‘spiked’ and it was spiked. However, the question remains, why do I click pictures of birds?

After having put in a hectic corporate life of 30 odd years, I was looking for a healthy ‘getaway’ as a stress buster. Roaming aimlessly in the nearby forest area, the chirping of the birds was enchanting and I could not hold back to click a picture of red-billed magpie perched on a branch of a tree with a camera gifted to me by my son. The sheer joy of having clicked the first photograph of a bird taken by me prompted me to share my joy with my family and some chosen friends. Encouraged by their smiles, the journey for pursuing a new hobby began.

Is it just a hobby? The question has been aptly addressed by Arvind Syal, a fellow birder who in a tour together recently said, “Bird watching is perhaps the best form of meditation, a form of spiritualism.” Being in the lap of nature and looking at the wonderful and colour creatures on wings created by God is enchanting and brings inner joy and peace. It lifts your spirits soaring high.

Nature has so much to offer and we simply ignore. There are about 11000 species of birds and many birders have travelled across the world to list them. As per Wikipedia, no individual can claim to have seen all. The highest record is that of 9000. I am just a beginner and have so far seen and clicked around 250 different birds. There is so much to explore, see and appreciate. Why would anyone be interested in pictures I click? The answer is simple, my joy is doubled when I share that joy with others.

However, there is more to it. Gurwinder , my wife’s friend, who also happens to be on my friend list says that ever since you have been posting pictures of birds, we have also started looking at birds and observing them. She says, “Earlier we thought there were just sparrows, koels and crows and we never imagined there is such a large variety.” Many others have expressed the same thought. Even if I have been able to generate awareness among just few people, my job as a birder is done.

As an added bonus, in my birding expeditions , I have come across some wonderful people who share the same passion. They have enormous experience and they freely exchange their experiences, knowledge and ideas. To be a part of them, is indeed a huge blessing. With them, my life has become bigger and more meaningful.

Internet is a wonderful media to share your joys. However, it is pull media where you can see what you

like and ignore what you do not like. Choice is entirely yours. By the way, ”Titar”is alo a beautiful bird and my journey shall continue……….

Photograph courtesy : Arvind Syal

Coffee with striated heron!

Chakki Mor in Distt. Solan of HP (India) is a favorite birding site for the Chandigarhians and also birders from other parts of Punjab and Haryana. Located at about 39.4  Kms from Chandigarh  in the lower Shivalik Range of hills, the drive from Chandigarh is a pleasant one and it is even more enjoyable when the weather is lovely. On any given Sunday, one could easily spot numerous birders equipped with huge cameras and equipment to click pictures and exchanging with each other their new finds. The place has a wide variety of Woodpeckers, Asian Flycatchers, Starlings, Drongoes, Leothrixes, Thrushes, Doves, Barbets, Sunbirds, Bulbuls, Shallows, Parakeets, Prinias, Tits, Cuckoos, Fantails, Jungle fowls, the beautiful Kalij pheasants and what not. Each time, there is a new find for every birder.

On Sunday, the 11th June 2017, the weather was very pleasant with overnight light showers. As Arvind  Syal , Manager Systems in the Computer Department of Panjab University accompanied by Sanjeev K Verma, Under Secretary,  Govt of Haryana, Revenue and Disaster Management picked me up at 4 45 am, all three of us were confident that today would be a great birding experience.

However, when we reached our favorite spot, it started drizzling but we were happy that soon the clouds cleared. We did spot a blue-throated barbet, few bulbils, plum-headed parakeets, white-headed laughing thrushes, a yellow napped woodpecker far away, a starling here and there and some tits. Nothing new. All our hopes dwindled to find something new and unique, a bird that we had not seen early.

 Disappointed we headed further up the hills to stop at a roadside Dhaba managed by a local named Ishwar along with his wife and lovely daughter. They cook delicious stuffed Paranthas served with some vegetable or pickles. We had pranthas. Me and Sanjeev took tea as well. Arvind does not drink tea but does not mind coffee which of course was not available at Ishwar’s Dhaba.  We once again reminded ourselves that next time, we carry with us some coffee sachets the next time.  Even time we do that and somehow, we forget it.  My apologies to Arvind. We decided to call it a day and head towards our homes.

While returning back, we stopped at still under construction guest house. We enquired if coffee was available and to our delight it was. The coffee was served to us in the lawns in the lush green lawns with a small seasonal rivulet flowing down below. The caretaker had placed few chairs and a table in the lawns and while we were sipping our coffee, Arvind’s keen eyes spotted a Crimson Sunbird perched on a branch of the tree at the edge of the lawns. Not to miss it, Arvind focused his P900 Nikon camera to take a clear shot. While doing so, he signaled us that there is bird down which looks different. It was grey colored bird with a long yellow beak stealthily searching for a prey in the puddle of muddy water near the stream. We slowly moved to the edge and clicked our cameras. It appeared to be a pond egret but the grey color of the bird puzzled us. We had not seen it earlier. I thought it was small green heron. Later on it was confirmed it was striated heron 

As per Wikipedia, “The striated heron (Butorides striata) also known as mangrove heron, little heron or green-backed heron, is a small heron. Striated herons are mostly non-migratory and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. Their breeding habitat is small wetlands in the Old World tropics from West Africa to Japan and Australia, and in South America. Vagrants have been recorded on oceanic islands, such as Chuuk and Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marianas and Palau; the bird recorded on Yap on February 25, 1991, was from a continental Asian rather than from a Melanesian population, while the origin of the bird seen on Palau on May 3, 2005 was not clear.^”

Wikipedia further states that this bird was long considered to be conspecific with the closely related North American species, the green heron, which is now usually separated as B. virescens, as well as the lava heron of the Galápagos Islands (now B. sundevalli, but often included in B. striata, e.g. by BirdLife International; collectively they were called "green-backed herons".

To sum up, Chakki Mod once again did not disappoint us. Our journey shall continue to explore more………….

 

Magpies, the harbinger of happiness and good luck…

Magpies, the harbinger of happiness and good luck……….

While roaming around Chaki Mor in Himachal Pradesh looking for the varied species of birds that the place seems to attract, we stopped at the old Hanuman Temple atop one of many hillocks there. Our stopover was not to do much with paying obeisance at the temple but more for resting in the shade that the tree in the compound of the temple offered us. We spotted a couple of red-billed Blue Magpie. Before I could frame them in my camera, they flew away in a splash. Probably, the bird is of shy types. They looked majestic in their whites and blues and the red bills. I regretted not having clicked them. After resting for some time, with no magpies in sight, we moved on.

While returning, we again stopped at the Temple to take the chance of finding those birds again and also take our lunch that we carried with us. The moment our car stopped, we saw them flying to hide themselves in the thick branches of a tree in one of the corners of the temple. However, my camera could not click them because of the thick braches that hid them. We waited patiently with my camera all ready to click the moment I could get a chance. But the Magpies did not relent. Finally, we decided to leave to return again after few days. I kept on reminding myself, I need to see the Magpies again.

The following week, we again came back and again stopped at the same temple. Hold. The Magpies were there with their exotic plumage, nibbling at the offerings in the temple. To our delight, this time they did not vanish but stayed back. Were they now recognizing us? I think so. Birds and animals do recognize and feel comfortable with familiar faces. We had become part of them and they became part of us. We are all part of the same Big Family comprising of the plants, birds, fish, and animals and of course the human beings.

A few words about the Red-billed Magpies need to be typed to complete yet another leg of the journey. As per Wikipedia, “The red-billed blue magpie is a species of bird in the crow family. Corvidae. It is about the same size as the Eurasian magpie but has a much longer tails of any corvid. It is 65-68 cm long and weighs 196-232 grams”. Even though shy of human beings, it gives harsh high pitched contact calls , kyak-kyak- kyak- kyak, plus a range of other calls and whistles. It feeds on fruits, small birds, eggs and insects and often feeds on ground.

Magpie is a symbol of happiness in Chinese culture. The singing of Magpie is considered auspicious by the Chinese as they believe it foretells happiness and good luck. The Manchu minority in China consider them to be sacred birds. The legend says that Fukulon, the goddess from heaven one day ate a red fruit thrown by a magpie hovering above . Few months later, she gave a birth to a boy named Bukulirongshun who later became the forefather of Manchu minority. It is believed that the neighboring tribes felt threatened by the Manchu minority and decided to slaughter them. While all were hunted and killed, a boy named Fancha survived the genocide as Fancha ran from dawn to dusk with hunters in hot pursuit. Ultimately, a magpie landed on his head and he stood motionless. The hunters thought that it was a tree trunk and went away in another direction looking for Fancha. Manchu minority survived extinction, thanks to this wonderful bird.

For me it was indeed a blessing to see the Magpies as part of my journey and to include them in my writings and collection of photographs.

Brown Headed Cowbird?

Few days back, I took this picture but did not post it because I was not sure about the identity of the bird. I thought it was a Flycatcher but a friend cautioned me that it is not a Flycatcher. Was it Robin? No way! Or a Bluebird? But Bluebird has a blue head even though its body could be brown. On the other hand, this bird's head was brown and body dark blue. Further research and consultation followed. Like enthusiastic kids, we matched the photograph with that of hundreds of birds. Eventually, I zeroed down to Brown Headed Cowbird. I may be wrong but certainly I am not far away. Some birds look similar but are different. Only an expert can judge. I am only a beginner. I case I find the right identification, I will correct the post. Till then, bear with me and accept that it is Brown Headed Cowbird or let me know if you have the right identification.

In the entire process of identification, I learnt a lot about other birds that I have yet to see. Let me assure you it is so much fun bird watching, taking their pictures and knowing about them. . There is so much to explore and learn. Want to join me?

Sunbirds

The Sunbird!

Among my recent sightings were the Sunbirds. They are bright coloured beautiful birds and are abundantly found in the lower hills of Shivalik Range of Mountains.

India has 12 distinct species of Sunbirds. Smallest sunbird is the crimson-backed that is only 8-cm-long and weighs as little as 4 grams. They feed on nectar of flowers but they feed their young ones insects. They have the unique ability to lower their body temperatures while roosting.

Sunbirds come with different hues with the males with distinct metallic colours.The colour of the iridescence changes with the angle of incident light such that a blue may suddenly appear green or black. Many have marked contrasts in their colours.

Though they are not known to have extraordinary vocal skills, one can hear their melodious songs, interspersed with whistles and wheezes.

The female sunbird lays up to three eggs in a purse-shaped suspended nest. The female builds the nest and incubates the eggs alone, although the male assists in rearing the young after hatching, sharing some responsibility. They often fall prey to cuckoos.

Both these were spotted in Chaki Modh, HP

The Yellow Wagtail !

The Yellow Wagtail !

While returning from office after hard day’s work at Pinjore, I spotted a Yellow Wagtail hopping merrily. It jumped from one spot to another, dipped its tail on and off and thumped it to the ground gracefully as it was dancing .

All wagtails are dainty, delicate birds but the yellow one is the most graceful of them all.. Running lightly within inches of grazing cattle, their slight bodies are often hidden, but bright colours, catch the eye.

It breeds in Alaska and Siberia and is an early winter visitor to India during the non breeding season . To find it in the hot month of April is bit surprising. This is the first time I spotted it in Pinjore.

Migration is the seasonal movement between their wintering and breeding habitats. They follow established migratory routes. Most long distance migrant birds fly at night. They may travel continuously or land daily around sunrise to rest and feed.

Traveling to different habitats enables birds to find plenty of food throughout the year. In the winter, when food sources are limited in northern areas, they fly south to areas that have mild weather and abundant food.

Perhaps , migration in birds is controlled by an internal clock operating on an annual rhythm. Each year, at a certain time, their biological clocks signal that it's time to fly. Through a variety of methods birds find their way over vast distances each year.

Birds seem to have a unique sense to find their way on the wide-ranging journeys. They rely on several different cues - the geomagnetic field, sun, sunset, skylight patterns and most importantly the position of the stars.

They wait for the most favourable weather conditions then set off on their journey. A strong wind in the right direction will speed the birds on their way. If there are strong headwinds, the birds' speed will be greatly reduced, therefore it will need more fat reserves to travel the same distance. But eventually, they find their destinations. No boundaries, no visas, no passports, no custom clearances are required by them. Aren’t they lucky?

As per the legend of Egypt, Yellow Wagtail is the representation of Atum. Atum was a "Complete" deity of the earlier times, the creator and the finisher who ultimately lands in the watery chaos. He was also considered the father of the king

The birds of deceit and deception! Some myths, some facts!

I spotted this beautiful bird. I thought it was "Titter" but a friend of mine who has a vast knowledge of birds identified it as a species of Cuckoo. He is absolutely right as I matched the photograph with that available on the net.The shrill cuckoo call in the morning is very enchanting but study of its habit is equally enlightening as many myths get removed.

I always thought cuckoos were just black in colour but now I know that they can be grey or brown with soft feathers . I further thought that they deceive just crows by laying its eggs in their nests. Some research into its habits point out that cuckoo not only lays eggs in crow's nest but also in the nests of many other birds by deceiving them and at times by force. It can lay up to 13 eggs even though there was an earlier belief that it lays only one egg.

Recently the researchers have further pointed out that Cuckoos secrete a stinking smell in the host's nest that keep the predators away. Thus they are not totally parasites but play a mutually useful role or pays the rent of the nest. Another interesting fact is that at times Cuckoo evict the hosts from their nests and throwing out the eggs of its host. It is only cuckoo who can distinguish its eggs from that of its hosts even though its eggs match in colour, shape and size of that of the host.

I read somewhere that there is reference of cuckoo as a symbol of deception in Greek mythology. Zeus , the god of thunder and lightening and also known as the king of gods of the Mount Olympus transformed itself into rain drenched Cuckoo to seduce Hera who considered Cuckoo as a sacred bird and had earlier shunned Zeus because of his numerous love affairs. Zeus marriage with Hera was kept secret from their parents, Myth says they were brother and sister before they got married. Hera was jealous of his amorous conquests and a consistent enemy of Zeus's mistresses and their children by him. Zeus engaged a nymph named Echo to distract Hera from his affairs by talking incessantly, and when Hera discovered the deception, she cursed Echo to repeat the words of others.

The Oriental White Eye

The Shivalik Range of Mountains is home to numerous birds. Among the birds I spotted during my recent journey out there was this couple Oriental White Eyed.

This bird is small (about 8–9 cm long) with yellowish olive upper parts, a white eye ring, yellow throat and vent. The belly is whitish grey but may have yellow in some subspecies.

Even though they are sociable, forming flocks, they separate on the approach of the breeding season which is from February to September with April as the peak breeding season season.They build compact cup nest that is a placed like a hammock on the fork of a branch and lay two blue coloured eggs. Both sexes take care of brooding the chicks which fledge in about 10 days. Though mainly insectivorous, the Oriental white-eye will also draw nectar and eat fruits of various kinds
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A wake up call!

While driving through the lower Shivalik Range of Mountains, I spotted    a House Sparrow.  It reminded of my school days, when hundreds of house sparrows hovered around our house in Chandigarh, chirping merrily all the day around.  As a matter of fact we woke up every morning with their chirping getting louder.

They used to build their nests in the hedge and at times in the balcony and even under the tube light shades. I recall my mother used to get upset with their nuisance, especially by their droppings but at the same time she used to keep grains for their feeding. It was probably love and hate relationship.

 Now these little birds have become a rare sight in Chandigarh and I believe in many other cities.  To my surprise, March 20 has been dedicated as World House Sparrow Day, clearly indicating that something is amiss.  A little research shows that it has already been put on red alert.

Known to be social birds living in groups, chirping and chattering to communicate with each other and have co-existed with humans for centuries mostly in urban areas.   The male and female house sparrows are easily distinguishable by their coloration. The male is dark brown, with a black bib, grey chest and white cheeks, whereas the female is light brown throughout its body, with no black bib, crown or white cheeks... It feeds mostly on seeds, but in the breeding season, adults feed their young with insects. These birds are found of mud bathing, leaving behind a dip in the earth and being protective of it. Sounds strange?

The reasons for the decline of house sparrows   are many. These include  the changing designs of infrastructure does not support sparrow breeding , lack of availability of  quality food, increasing use of pesticides, pollution caused especially by microwave (mobile) towers, less of grasslands, use of concrete walls for boundaries rather than the hedges.

Time to take a serious call on saving the house sparrow and encourage its breeding lest the imbalance in urban biodiversity may ultimately adversely affect the human species itself. A small step could be to adopt customized feedboxes, an initiative of World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

It is a wakeup call!