Dear All,
Gottcha !! at last ….The ever elusive Ultra Marine Flycather ( Ficedula superciliaris superciliaris) …….
It took the lucky presence of Ritesh and 10 yr. old Sooraj Bishnoi (who saw this species during the bird race) and the sharp eyes of Ritesh to spot the tiny Ultra marine flycatcher this Saturday (18 th Feb'06) at Karnala…..After 4-5 years of futile search, atlast I managed to see this bird….not one but 2 males fighting for few seconds before separating. One of the males gave excellent views thro' the scope.
The bird we saw was a subspecies superciliaris presumably from the Western Himalayas….it has a clear white supercilium and white upper tail coverts. Our bird had a very prominent (broad) white supercilium. The other subspecies (aestigma) is believed to be from the North-east and winters in east and south India. It lacks the white on supercilium and on tail…..The exact spread of the wintering grounds of these subspecies, however requires further study.
I was not sure whether I would get an opportunity to visit Karnala again till April, due to my job commitments, but I did manage to squeeze in at the last moment, thanks to Rama for the lift. We started early at around 6.30 am. The sighting of a Greater coucal on the way, had my instinct indicating a very lucky day ahead. The falling leaves, blooming Silk cotton, Palash and Pangara and the melodious calls of Koel and Magpie Robins were clear signs of the changing season……Within a month the winter migrants will start their journey back, while the resident birds will breed here and sing.
Many people complain that on some days, you wont find many birds in Karnala ….however, I have observed that (almost all the time) the people saying this reach Karnala late….The perfect time is 6.30 to 9 am, after this the activity slows considerably……
Our first bird in the park was a magnificent male Verditer Flycather sitting on an open bare branch. This was immediately followed by some frantic action all over the road that leads towards the rest house. A male heart spotted woodpecker was seen at its regular spot (so many times, did I see this species in the same location, but the timing is the key), A Pompadour Green pigeon collecting nesting material from a dried inflorescence of a teak tree was sighted by the sharp eyes of Ritesh…we could also manage to trace the tree where it was probably building a nest and later was seen basking at the topmost branch, giving us some delightful scope views and an opportunity for some mobilescoping.
We spent half an hour at this spot and got Common Ioras, Racket tailed drongos, Red whiskered & Vented bulbuls, Crimson backed and Purple rumped sunbirds, Scarlet minivets,R.Ringed parakeets, G.Fronted chloropsis, Pale billed flowerpeckers, C.S.Petronias, Calls of Brown headed barbets, Magpie robins (Very vocal now) & Greenish warblers.
Many people complain that on some days, you wont find many birds in Karnala ….however, I have observed that (almost all the time) the people saying this reach Karnala late….The perfect time is 6.30 to 9 am, after this the activity slows considerably……
Our first bird in the park was a magnificent male Verditer Flycather sitting on an open bare branch. This was immediately followed by some frantic action all over the road that leads towards the rest house. A male heart spotted woodpecker was seen at its regular spot (so many times, did I see this species in the same location, but the timing is the key), A Pompadour Green pigeon collecting nesting material from a dried inflorescence of a teak tree was sighted by the sharp eyes of Ritesh…we could also manage to trace the tree where it was probably building a nest and later was seen basking at the topmost branch, giving us some delightful scope views and an opportunity for some mobilescoping.
We spent half an hour at this spot and got Common Ioras, Racket tailed drongos, Red whiskered & Vented bulbuls, Crimson backed and Purple rumped sunbirds, Scarlet minivets, R.Ringed parakeets, G.Fronted chloropsis, Pale billed flowerpeckers, C.S.Petronias, Calls of Brown headed barbets, Magpie robins (Very vocal now) & Greenish warblers. Further down the "Hariyal" trail, a very handsome Crested serpent eagle took flight parallel to the trail. A barred jungle owlet was calling from close (that's what I thought then) and tried to trace it amongst the foliage…only to find that a G.Racket tailed drongo was fooling me….I had never before heard him mimic a jungle owlet and that too with such perfection…..that fellow did embarrass me ("you black beauty, you wont be able to fool me again")….
The time was running, so were we to get to the spot where we expected to see the UMFC. Immediately after we reached there and while we had some good views of C.S.Petronias, Paradise flycatcher female…..all looking towards right….suddenly Ritesh (Who was looking left) shouted "Its Ultra Marine Flycather" …..I can tell you, my heart skipped a bit, trying to figure out where Ritesh was pointing his Binocs, we could see two tiny blackish bird struggling with each other…..we all pointed our binocs towards them, but they dissapeard for a moment…..in a flash I thought that my bad luck continues…..Well !! the bad luck have to have an end….Yes…one male sat on a branch very near to us and gave some time to adjust and focus the scope….the broad white supercilium was very prominent, it was the race / subspecies superciliaris. Presumably from \nWestern Himalayas…..I got my new lifer….The Ultra Marine Flycatcher was conquered at last….ahh !! What a feeling…..We soaked ourselves in the excitement, relishing the ripe papayas and green peas brought by Julious and celebrated with a cake brought by Rama.
This hotspot showed many other exciting birds including a superb male C.Rosefinch, Male B.C.Pigmy woodpecker, a male Y.F.Pied woodpecker, R.Breasted and Monarch flycathers, C.woodshrikes, Bronze and W.Bellied drongos, Purple sunbirds, W.T.Kingfisher, S.Green beeeaters,calls of Jungle owlets (atleast from 3 diff. locations, calling each other…(sure no drongo this time), Golden and B.Hooded Orioles,a pale morph Booted eagle, C.S.Petronias & a Large cuckoo shrike within a span of one hour……
We reluctantly moved away from this hotspot (I would christen it as "Ultramarine spot") to try out another place near the rest house. This place, has a cemented round embankment shaded with tall trees and an excellent place to see flycatchers… though no flycatchers, we did see/hear plenty of Brown cheeked fulvettas and a male W.R.Shama sitting on a shaded branch very close to us…….
Ritesh rightly said "Karnala is not quantity, it's the quality" and when the birding is coupled with the enthusiasm of 10 yrs young Sooraj, the sharp eyes of Ritesh & Julious and great company of Rama, Jacob, Neena, Vishal & Amit….it gets a different meaning..
For now, let me get soaked in the bliss of the sighting of that elusive bird that had dodged me for several years…..Till then, do visit Karnala and experience the Birding mania.
Happy Birding,
Addi The Birde
PS: Many times I don't rely on people giving directions to spot a bird (particularly when the action has to be fast)….invariably the person says "Look near that tree"…or behind that tree ….or next to that big / small tree…..and what you see in front of you are all trees and I end up looking foolish…..instead, I usually, immediately see, where the person is pointing his binocs and then try to trace the bird
