Addi The Birde

Transformation - The Magic of Monsoon

2010-06-14T15:19:00.041+05:30

Finally !! the monsoon has arrived. After the sweltering heat of the summer months, the whole landscape and every living organism including human beings, look up at the sky and wait for the clouds to burst. The effect is magical, particularly in forests… the monsoon changes the visual sense of the forest completely and recharges the whole environment. It's a whole new scene of wildlife that takes place….

Just a few days back, when the sun was at its scorching best, the forest was set for this transformation as if anticipating the monsoon, like it has for millions of years. Life emerges from the forest floor in a myriad forms. Such is the variety and diversity, that it is just unbelievable. This breath-taking natural wonders has to be experienced to be able to believe. The forest floor is now littered with flowers, crabs, bugs, beetles, spiders, caterpillars, frogs and what not. It is amazing what the first shower does to the landscape. The monsoon proclaims the beginning of plenty, a season of new life….. a Transformation.

Take a walk in the forest and enjoy this treasure trove..you never know, how many years this magic will last !!

I have attempted to portray this “transformation” through some images that were captured around Mumbai (Tungareshwar, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, aarey colony area, Yeoor and Nagla forests) during the last few days.

(Click on the image to enlarge and to see the text)

Fruits of Schleichera oleosa also called locally as Kusum.... these are collected by tribals to eat....it tastes something like "khata meetha" lichie

At the height of summer, the forest abound with wild fruits, that are not just collected by the tribals, but also enjoyed by all the forest denizens - Here the Rodents feed on the fallen fruits

Before the rain starts, the tribal make merry - they collect forest produce like they have been doing for several centuries, this is the month of bounty - Children collecting wild fruits in Tungareshwar WLS

Camouflage - a Grasshopper camouflages itself amongst the dried leaves

A bark Scorpion ssp. hides amongst the leaf litter in wait for its prey

Baby skink slithers away amongst the forest litter...most baby skinks sport colourful tail

Male calotes fighting to gain the dominance for the approaching breeding season

A wolf Spider scans its territory from his den

Nymphs of Red-silk cotton bugs emerge from under the dried leaves

A weaver ant tends to the Aphids - Ants have been farming the Aphids for millions of years to obtain a sweet secretion

Mushroom emerge to carry out the mission that best suits them - Decompose and Recycle

A crysalis of a butterfly waits in anticipation of rains.... the caterpillars will then have a better chance of survival in the season of abundance and greenery

The reptiles in all their glory

The rains have started - the first drops collected in Bracket fungi

A velvet mite emerges from its loooonnnngggg sleep .....
It is believed that the emergence of these mites signifies good monsoon :-)

A Deccan banded Gecko is on a look-out for the baby insects..... it is the best season to encounter reptiles and amphibians

Orchids bloom - Rhynchostylis, Arides, Dendrobium, Habenarias (These are Orchid varieties).....its a season of bounty for all of them

Velvet mites tussle with each other to occupy feeding territories

Wild turmeric emerges from the parched land

Various species of Chlorophytum emerge immediately after the first showers of rain..... they would just last for about a couple of weeks, before they fruit and disperse their seeds..... such flowers / herbs are called "ephemerals"

Curculigo - Kali Musli...of the a.k.a "Musli Power" fame. Such and hundreds of medicinal herbs sprout immediately after even a little amount of rain

Scilla hyacinthina flowering

A baby brahminy skink scampers amongst the forest floor

Fungoid frogs emerge from their aestivation.....their summer sleep

It is also a colourful season of beetles

Mushrooms everywhere....they get the vital "water" to speed up the decomposition process and give the nutrients back to soil

Scilla hyacinthina in bloom

The Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher has also arrived..... they are breeding migrants to our region arriving at the onset of monsoon.

Splashes of green - The Praying Mantis looks on with its 180 degrees head turn

Myraid colours of the insect world

The rains have arrived ..... Finally !!

Amorphophallus commutatus or Wild-Yam sprouts everywhere....a favorite amongst vegetarians

Mahua seeds (Madhuca indica)germinating....proclaiming that the season of Life has arrived

Aaaaarey Aarey Aarey - The Green island (27.7.08)

2008-07-27T23:46:00.001+05:30

The lashing heavy rains the previous night was threatening to dampen the MBC (Mumbai Birdwatchers Club) birdwalk to Aarey, Goregaon this Sunday (27^th Jul, 2008) and though the dark clouds and intermittent showers loomed over us, about 20 nature enthusiasts still managed to assemble for the trail instead of just sleeping off the morning and doing nothing in the confines of our concrete walls …… Everyone knew that the sightings would just be a bonus, but the excitement to make the most out of the wonderful whether, definitely reflected on everyone's faces ….. and it was more than what we could have expected.

Even before we started the walk, many Alexandrian & Roseringed parakeets that have a good population here and a Black hooded Oriole kept calling near the New Zealand hostel junction. Sunjoy briefed us all with the history and current status of this piece of green expanse which is now eyed upon by the land developers (mafias actually)….Once a flourishing centre, the governments apathy towards reviving this area for dairy development was evident with the pathetic conditions of Cattle sheds of which only few remain. With the current pressures from all corners, even this beautiful place would be someday lost under the artificial world of humans…..

Sunjoy also briefed us about the myriad life forms that abound this place in the form of birds, mammals, insects and plants and also on the leopard-human conflict that has kept this place in hot news in not so distant past.

There is a small pond clothed with water lilies and vegetation, which once harbored numerous water birds including Moorhens and Jacanas and used as a playground in summers, only produced a pair of Common Kingfishers and Little Grebe this time, infact I could locate an architecturally perfect yet a camouflaging "floating Nest" of the Little Grebe… one parent was seen incubating & the other feeding. A couple of Munias (probably Scaly-breasted) took off from a nearby bush even as we kept hearing the continuous calls of Ashy prinias and Coucals all over. A small flock of some Gulls were seen flying high up moving from west to east indicating that the season of bounty is not far. Further ahead a female Cuckoo with a really hoarse and exotic call kept the people confused for a while and the agile palm swifts continued their feeding in mid-air mindless of the water showers. The tailor birds were particularly vocal and active as well as the White-spotted Fantail flycatchers, one of which circled us for a few moments before it resumed its pursuits after the winged morsels. The Black Kites decided to shelter themselves on the many palm trees that dot this landscape.

I always feel that monsoon gives birders a reason to look around and appreciate other aspects of nature when the birds take refuge in the thick foliage ….. So, as the rains started pouring, we naturally diverted our attention around us surely to find many interesting small lives, each struggling for its survival. Stinging nettle caterpillars had devoured many plants yet were difficult to spot due to their amazing camouflage. A Signature spider here and a Lynx's spider there, a stink bug here and a katydid there, a looper caterpillar here and a Jewel beetle there kept, especially the newcomers amused. The green carpets of vegetation were looking very promising for the days to come and wild flowers had already started to peep in.

As we retraced, someone saw Black objects on the palm trees which looked slightly odd like stones placed high up , on having a closer view, these turned out to be 6 White-rumped Vultures resting lazily. These birds have become so rare these days that undoubtedly, they were voted by all of us as the "Bird (s) of the Day" and was a very heartening sight indeed. Everyone looked elated and rounds of discussion flowed, the reasons for their declines were discussed and how this particular small population has remained alive and sighted was shared.

We car-pooled and went to another site –the Nakshatra garden, where we saw some more birds. The spotted dove pair flirted with each other and the Common Ioras whistled to their mates from behind the leaves as if the lovers enjoying the mystical atmosphere. The Common Mynas and Asian Pied Starlings continued with their daily chores and a couple of Juv. Tailor birds played around. The White-breasted water hens, White-throated kingfishers and Yellow-eyed babblers were calling from far, while a grey-breasted prinia was announcing its mate that he is healthy and ready.

The Lush green carpets of vegetation were sprinkled with various colorful shades of wild flowers like the Indian Boraj, Balsam, Commelina, Bahunia, Tridax and Vinca.

With such a spiritual weather which can neither be bought even for a million dollars. nor one could get in any malls, the group was reluctant to leave the place, and we all decided to celebrate the heavenly atmosphere with atleast a cu-pa chai, with some garma garam wada and missal pav in the nearby "Tapri" …..It was nice to see joy on Little Ashok's face (Mrs.Nita Deb's Nestling :-), who was quick to remember many things that were seen....

Sunjoy and Kiran (Shrivastava) wanted to photograph some flowers, so some of us again went back while the rain stopped briefly and were rewarded with sightings of a couple of Common Mongoose. I was also fortunate to sight a lone Chestnut tailed Starling, a male Baya weaver in breeding plumage, a black drongo mobbing a Shikra and an Ashy Prinia with some nesting material frantically building her abode.

All in all a wonderful morning spent amidst a heavenly weather with quite a few wonderful sightings including the now rare Vultures…..

Pity for those who decided to spend their Sunday confined in the artificial walls :-)

Happy Birding!!

Warm Regards,

Adesh Shivkar

(Co-ordinator-MBC)

Indian Pitta in Karnala WLS

2008-06-01T20:29:00.004+05:30

What an incredible birding it was this weekend (1.6.2008) …….Karnala Bird Sanctuary reverberated with the natures symphony lead by our target bird, the Indian Pitta several of which were accompanied by White-Rumped Shamas and myriad of other resident species. However, an unusual highlight was that of singing Grey Headed Canary Flycatchers (probably c2)…..

The Enthusiasm to attend any MBC bird walk was evident as almost 18 people joined for the early morning birding even at a very short notice……it was also nice to see a couple of friends (Mr.Ajey Kelkar & Mr.Makarand Karkare) joining us all the way from Pune. A testimony on how popular the MBC walks are and this trip was no exception.

About 10 persons had already arrived in Karnala, a small bird sanctuary on the Mumbai-Goa highway and were seeing the Pompadour Green Pigeons, Grey breasted prinia, Crimson-backed Sunbirds, White-Rumped Shamas and some other birds when we joined at about 7.00 am. The open space near the newly built nature interpretation centre, just as you enter the gate is always very productive and I often spend considerable time here to see the birds showing up one by one…..and as expected, it was here that the drama unfolded.

Amongst the many species that were actively feeding on the trees, included the Golden fronted Chloropsis, Brown headed Barbets, Crimson and Purple Rumped Sunbirds,

White-Rumped Shamas, Thick-billed flowerpeckers, Common Iora, Small & Orange Minivets, Bronze drongos etc. The hot summer ensured that the birds were up early and were in a feeding frenzy……Just when I thought about the absence of any signs of Indian Pitta, I heard his distant but unmistakable 2 note whistle ”Wheet-whiyou”…..a very loud call for a bird of Myna size…..I challenged him with a similar call…..the Pitta responded to the challenge and started coming closer and closer and closer……finally he came and sat very near to us on a tree of medium height….our calling continued and he was in no mood to quit, he was out there to prove that he is healthy and furious……As I moved forward calling…..he followed :-)

The Indian Pittas or "Navrang" as it is often called in Marathi / Hindi, because of its rainbow colours, are passage migrants to our region during mid may to mid June, with sporadic breeding records from Mumbai region and regular breeding records from South Maharashtra (Sindhudurg, Chiplun, Ratnagiri etc)…… they, then proceed towards Central and North India to nest. It is far easier to locate them on passage during summer when they are very vocal….and equally difficult to get noticed (and hence few records) when they are returning back to South during October, as they are silent by then…..they probably stop on passage for few days to rest, feed and then continue their journey.

While this was happening a male White rumped Shama that had a nest nearby was getting annoyed and he too joined in the chorus…….The quality of Shama call is rivaled by none, and it was not surprising why our great old man considered this bird as our best songster……it was an amazing experience to see this wonderful songster, singing full throttle, so close to us ….. nearby, more Indian Pittas were calling now (atleast 3) ……. and the forest was now full of bird calls….all (people and birds) were so excited; it was evident on their faces ;) ….the female Shama was seen carrying nest material in a tree hole with the male keeping a vigil for any alarm………..the heat was killing us, so we decided to move towards Hariyal trail.

The Hariyal trail (Hariyal = Marathi Name for Green Pigeon, the state bird of Maharashtra) added few more birds to the list, including Brown cheeked Fulvettas, Racket tailed Drongos, Chestnut shouldered Petronias, Baya weaver (all females feeding on a tree), Black napped Monarch, Bulbuls, Tailor bird etc…..further ahead near the stream we heard calls of Changeable hawk eagle and Crested Serpent eagles.

The Shady cemented parapet close to the forest rest houses, provided us the much needed rest…..This is traditionally a good place to see Shama, and not only did we see more Shamas, but also witnessed an amazing experience of how even Shamas, mimic calls of other birds to perfection (calls of drongos, Serpent eagles were executed to perfection) infact it even tried to mimic me when I was trying to imitate Brown cheeked Fulvetta, its call had a human whistle like quality…….some Puff-throated Babblers were also seen rummaging in the undergrowth …… an Indian Pitta landed on a branch close to us…..I thought, lets see if it responds to the imitation……I gave a ”Wheet-whiyou” and…..ttthhhherrre he responds with a puffed breast ”Wheet-whiyou”…..Wow ;)…..The Pittas are usually encountered rummaging on ground for worms and grubs, but when singing, they prefer high branch, from where they puff their breast, face the gods and deliver this 2 note whistle…..

While all this orchestra of sorts was going on, we heard yet another bird singing not very far…..it was a very familiar and unmistakable song of Grey headed Canary flycatcher. Now this was something unusual, because this species is supposed to have gone to breed in the Himalayas long back. We even checked, whether a drongo or Shama were mimicking (a strong possibility), but the calls / song were consistent and repeated continuously for a long period….”te… te…tu..twiet” . There were infact 2 birds calling, though we did not see, I was sure of its presence. These might be the late migrants still moving from far south (probably Srilanka) to their northern breeding grounds.

All of us had already started walking back by 9.30 am, amazed and satisfied, carrying back a memorable mornings experience provided by the birds with their melodious symphony …. The call of Indian Pitta still rings in my ear.

Though we did not see the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher or any Cuckoos, we hope that the coming monsoon will bring a new leash of life, hope and Joy…..

Till then……”Wheet-whiyou”

Regards,

Adesh Shivkar

Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary - Fact File

2008-05-31T14:02:00.013+05:30

Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary

About Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary

The beauty of the Western Ghats, the majesty of Maharashtra, and the blessings of nature make this place a real treat for the nature lovers. The Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the most beautiful wildlife sanctuaries in India.

The Bhimashankar wildlife Sanctuary was declared by the govt. of Maharashtra on 10th Oct 1985 as a reserve forest for the Malabar Giant Squirrel and a huge number of other animals and birds. It covers 130.78 sq. km of forest. The Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary is positioned at an altitude of 2100 feet to 3800 feet, and is located in the Ambegaon taluka of Pune District, Maharashtra, infact; it is spread over the districts of Pune, Raigad and Thane districts of the north-western part of Maharashtra. There is a shrine in the forest of the wildlife sanctuary, which has one of the 12 Jyotiralinga temples of Lord Shiva. The valley found beyond this temple is a wonderful combination of shrubs, magical herbs and plant life and serve as the catchments area for the Bhima, Ghod and Arala rivers, which empty into the Krishna. It receives heavy monsoon rainfall of approx. 6000 mm annually.

However, this forest has also seen some turmoil in recent years from tribals who have felt unjustly burdened with the declaration of a wildlife sanctuary in their ancestral environment. The undulating Bhimashankar plateau straddles the main ridge of Western Ghats with its peaks and flat ridge tops.

The easiest way to reach the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary is to drive down from the city of Mumbai, which generally takes around 7 hours (approx. 250 kms). The best time to visit the wildlife sanctuary is from the months of October to May. The tourists are suggested to carry camping gear, dry snacks, binoculars, woolen clothes and mosquito repellents. One can also trek from Karjat side, from the foothill village of Khandas (36 kms from Karjat station). There are 2 paths – Ganesh ghat (Easy) and Shidi Ghat (Tough), but both paths traverse through amazing forest with rich bio-diversity.

This is one of the best habitats in the Western Ghats for the giant squirrel and there are confirmed sightings of tigers. However, tourism projects which seek to build in the heart of the forest threaten the arboreal ecology of these creatures. Proposed roads also threaten the forest, as do development projects designed to cater to the needs of pilgrims who visit the nearby temple complex.

Trails:

There are several trails in the sanctuary; some of the well defined trails are as follows:

1) Gupt Bhimashankar Trails (1.5 kms long straight walk): This trails traverses from the south of Bhimashankar Temple through a magnificently dense forest with high canopy trees. One of the best trails to see the Malabar Giant squirrels along with scorpions, and reptiles that rest under the rocks and crevices. Also a good trail to see the Western Ghats endemic birds like White-bellied blue flycatchers, Nilgiri wood pigeon, Yellow-browed bulbuls etc. There is a temple “Sakshi Vinayak” at the end, from where the trail drops down towards a stream. Here there is a Shiv lingam which is called “Gupt Bhimashankar”… there are small perennial water puddles that attract many species of birds and butterflies and has plenty of Water boatman and water skatters (insects)…..This trails futher leads to Bhorgiri caves down the valley.

2) Nagphani Trail (2 kms long with steep, but easy climb): This is the highest point trail and stands at 3696 feet. Once at the summit, you are left breathless not so much from the climb, but from the vista that opens in front of your eyes. You can see a brilliant sunset from the peak. The ground looks like a black and green patchwork quilt with little clusters of villages thrown in for a touch of red. A number of tiny lakes glisten like rubies in the translucent reddish glow of the setting sun. Serpentine rivers meander gracefully around sleepy villages like skeins of raw silk. The skycap is dominated by forts and neighboring hill stations, like Matheran that jut out proudly into the sky. This trail is very good for watching raptors (Birds of Prey) with regular sightings of Common Kestrel, Shaheen falcon, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Crested Serpent eagle, Black eagle etc. The “Padar gad” , Tungi and Peth fort is just below on the plateau towards Karjat and A Hanuman temple is situated at the base of the summit. The top is also famous for the carpets of wildflowers just after the monsoon.

3) Machaan Trail (1 km from adjacent to MTDC resort and straight, easy walk): This trail traverses from near the MTDC resort and the terrain is more or less open with good visibility. There is a tiny machaan(watch post) erected by the Forest Department near a small Dam (Which is usually dry in Summer, but always has water on the other side of the wall) and a small temple dedicated to “Bhagadevi”, the forest Goddess of Bhimashankar. Extremely productive trail for mammals like Mouse deer, Barking deer, Sambhar, Hare and good place to see Nightjars in the evening. I have seen Leopard Pugmarks on this trail, almost on all occasions that I have been.

4) Forest Rest House (1 km from opp. MTDC with steep, but easy climb): This walk traverses thro’ a good number of tall trees, especially Ficus species and a very good trail to see bird species like White-cheeked Barbets, Chloropsis, Black Bulbuls, Flycatchers, Brown cheeked fulvetas etc. At the end of this trail, there are settlements for Forest staff and offers a very nice panoramic view of the surrounding forest.

5) Koli Village (3 Kms steep trek down towards Karjat side): If you are trekking from Karjat side, then you will have to pass through this village, before reaching Bhimashankar. Otherwise one can climb down from Bhimashankar to reach here, which is situated on a plateau. Tough a steep trail, this traverses through a nice forest rich in Biodiversity with plenty of insects and birds including Shamas, Orange headed and Malabar Whistling thrush, Orange Minivets, Flycatchers etc. The Villagers sell nice and refreshing “Butter milk” for the trekkers climbing from Karjat side. There are plenty of open habitat birds near this village where Rice and Nachni are cultivated in the fields.

6) Ahupe Forest (19 Kms from temple, with 7 kms of good road and then a walk of about 11 kms): As you near Bhimashankar, approx. 4 kms before, there is a small tar road towards your right, which travels through one of the few remaining primary forest patch, extremely dense and pristine. The tar road ends up till the Kondhwal village (approx. 5 kms from the main road). This is an amazing place, very quite and cool. From here, one can descend down to “Siddheshwar fort” and further down towards “Naneghat”. The first few kms where one can go by road is very very rich in birdlife with sure sightings of Crimson-backed Sunbirds, Orange headed Thrush, Black Bulbuls etc. Near the Kondhval village the cultivated fields offers Bee-eaters, Malabar and Syke’s Crested larks in plenty

Though these are well defined trails, any jungle path is very productive in Bhimashankar and the surrounding countryside...

Fact File:

Location: Western Ghats Of Maharashtra

Coverage Area:130.78-sq-km

Main Attraction: The Home Of Malabar Giant Squirrels, Birds, Insects, reptiles and Medicinal herbs

Accommodation: Small restaurants cum basic rooms for the devotees near the temple (ranging from Rs.300/- onwards, Dormitories ranging from Rs.100/person onwards)

Blue Mormon resort (about 9 kms before the Temple), price ranging from Rs.900 / room onwards- Excellent

Hyde Park (about 7 kms before the temple), price ranging from Rs.450/- onwards – Basic

Electricity: The Temple area is now connected with electricity and telephone. However the mobile range is only limited to BSNL as of now, but one can get range of other mobile services from the various high points.

Food: Small Dhabas and Restuarants serve basic Vegetarian food, however, due to shortage of drinking water (supplied by water tankers daily), bottled mineral water is recommended.

Travel:

By Rail: The nearest railway station is at Pune

By Air : The nearest airport is at Pune.

By Road: The road distance from Mumbai is approx. 255 km via Malshej Ghat

Nearby Excursions: Temple of Lord Shiva, Dimbhe dam, Nagphani point for a superb view of the plains below and the surrounding Western Ghats, Bhorgiri caves and other nature trails as given above.

Medical Facilities: The nearest hospital is approx. 47 kms in the town of Ghodegaon.

Ideal Road routes from Mumbai:

Via Malshej Ghat: Mumbai – Thane – Kalyan – Murbad – Malshej Ghat – Junnar – Ghodegaon – Dhimbhe Dam town – Bhimashankar (approx. 252 kms from Sion, Mumbai)

Via Lonavala : Mumbai – Vashi – Panvel – Khandala – Lonavla – Chakan – Rajgurunagar – Manchar – Dimbhe Dam town – Bhimashankar (approx. 240 kms from Sion, Mumbai)

Personally, I would prefer the Malshej Ghat road, because of good road, thin traffic and scenic beauty ;)

Flora:

It contains relic forest with a high diversity of endangered evergreen tree species many of which are endemic to the Western Ghats. The main forest of this sanctuary is the southern tropical semi evergreen forest. Tourists can find wide range of plant life, magical herbs, and shrubs. The major flora found in Bhimashankar wildlife sanctuary includes Bamboo, Palas, Babul, Bija, Salaia, Tendu, Dhawda, Zizphus Helicteres, Khair, Sal, Terminenalia species, Casia Auriculata, Bel, Hiwar, Teak, Hirda, Behada, Jamun, Ficus ssp., Anjan etc. The commonly found shrubs include varieties of Isora, Vitex Nigundo, Solanium Giganteum, Lantana etc. and many species of herbs, climbers, grass and ferns.

In the monsoon season, one can spot a bioluminous fungi growing on some trees. The fungus gives out a faint glow that makes the tree trunks shimmer gently in the darkness of the night.

Fauna:

The area is rich in fauna since there is variety of forest types in the sanctuary. The wild life found here includes Malabar Giant Squirrel (of the ssp. Ratufa indica elphinstonii), Leopards, Barking Deer, Sambar, Wild Boar, Langur, Hares, Pangolin, civet cats, and occasionally Hyena. More than 150 species of birds are found in Bhimashankar WLS and the surrounding areas (Checklist at the end). Among the birds one will be able to find are White-Bellied Blue flycatcher, Puff-throated babbler, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Brown cheeked Fulvetta, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Black Bulbul, Indian Black Bird, Black Eagle, Bonelli’s eagle, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Emeral Doves, Oriental turtle dove, Grey Jungle Fowl and many, many more. One might get to see the great butterfly and moth brigade including several species. The Insect life is tremendous here and the reptiles are in plenty.

Best Time to Visit: For Birds October to May, For Insects and Reptiles, July to Dec, For Wildflowers Aug to Nov.

Permissions: There is an active forest dept. office very near to the start of the temple steps. Though not many restrictions to roam around on the trails inside the sanctuary, you are not allowed to venture inside the forest after dusk.

About Malabar Giant Squirrel (Shekru in Marathi)

The sanctuary is famous as the home of a highly endangered subspecies of the Malabar Giant Squirrel - Shekaru ( Ratufa indica elphistoni), which is also the state animal of Maharashtra ! The animal is extremely shy and almost never comes down from the trees where it stays. The giant squirrel is mainly arboreal and so needs a thick canopy of trees to move around in, look for food. The giant squirrel has a distinctive rust-coloured fur and shrill cry. It lives either on its own or in pairs, making nests at the high ends of branches, well away from the reach of predators. It lives all its life on the trees, leaping upto 20 feet between branches and trees. It could make upto six nests on trees so as to take shelter in the nearest one during a crisis. Its breeding season extends from March to April and again from September to October.

Road Map from Mumbai and Pune:

The Legend of Bhimashankar

The Bhimashankara temple is a composite of old and the new structures and is built in the Nagara style of architecture. It is a modest yet graceful temple and it dates back to mid 18th century. The shikhara of the temple was built by Nana Phadnavis. The great Maratha ruler Shivaji is also said to have made endowments to this temple to facilitate the carrying out, of worship services. As with other Shiva temples in this area, the sanctum is at a lower level.

This temple is closely associated with the legend of Shiva slaying the demon Tripurasura associated with the invincible flying citadels Tripuras. Shiva is said to have taken abode in the Bhima form, upon the request of the Gods, on the crest of the Sahyadri hills, and the sweat that poured forth from his body after the battle is said to have formed the Bhimarathi River.

Bhimashankar is a beautiful black rock structure built in the Nagara style of architecture, the temple dates back to the mid 18th century. Believed to have been built during the reign of the Peshwas, the temple surprisingly displays a relic of the Portuguese time, a large bell hanging between two huge pillars in the courtyard. A small path behind this temple leads to a natural Shiv ling in the riverbed, a short distance down stream, only visible when the water level is low. Besides the temple, the two picturesque lakes, Kamalja Devi and Hanuman and the highest point,

Although the structure here is fairly new, the shrine Bhimashankaram (and the Bhimarathi river) have been referred to in literature dating back to the 13th century CE. Saint Jnaneshwar is said to have visited Tryambakeshwar and Bhimashankar.

For more on this, click here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhimashankar_Temple

http://www.jyotirlinga-tour-india.com/bhimashankar-jyotirling.html

Below Bird Checklist is compiled by me and should not be considered authentic in a sense.....I have only included the resident species in the list so far (will update it later)

No.	Name	Status
1	Grey Francolin	UC
2	Blue Breasted Quail	UC
3	Jungle Bush quail	UC
4	Rock Bush Quail	UC
5	Barred Button Quail	UC
6	Red spur fowl	UC
7	Painted Spur fowl	UC
8	Grey jungle fowl	O
9	Indian pea fowl	O
10	Lesser whistling duck	UC
11	Spot Billed Duck	UC
12	Rufous woodpecker	O
13	Heart spotted woodpecker	O
14	Brown capped pygmy woodpecker	O
15	Yellow crowned woodpecker	UC
16	Lesser yellownape	UC
17	Streak throated woodpecker	UC
18	Black rumpedflameback	C
19	White Naped woodpecker	UC
20	Brown headed barbet	UC
21	White Cheeked barbet	VC
22	Coppersmith barbet	O
23	Malabar gray hornbill	UC
24	Indian gray hornbill	UC
25	Common hoopoe	UC
26	Malabar trogon	UC, Rare
27	Indian roller	UC
28	Common kingfisher	C
29	Oriental Dwarf kingfisher	UC
30	White throated kingfisher	VC
31	Pied kingfisher	UC
32	Green bee eater	VC
33	Pied cuckoo	O
34	Common hawk cuckoo	O
35	Eurasian cuckoo	UC
36	Lesser cuckoo	UC
37	Banded bay cuckoo	O
38	Grey bellied cuckoo	O
39	Drongo cuckoo	O
40	Asian koel	C
41	Greater coucal	VC
42	Puff-throated babbler	VC
43	Vernal hanging parrot	UC
44	Rose ringed parakeet	C
45	Plum headed parakeet	VC
46	Malabar parakeet	UC
47	Indian swiftlet	UC
48	Asian palm swift	C
49	House swift	C
50	Alpine swift	C
51	Crested treeswift	VC
52	Collared scops owl	C
53	Eurasian eagle owl	UC
54	Brown fish owl	UC
55	Brown wood owl	UC
56	Spotted owlet	O
57	Jungle Owlet	C
58	Grey nightjar	VC
59	Indian nightjar	VC
60	Savanna nightjar	UC
61	Rock pigeon	O
62	Nilgiri wood pigeon	C
63	Green imperial pigeon	UC
64	Oriental turtle dove	C
65	Laughing dove	VC
66	Spotted dove	VC
67	Red collared dove	UC
68	Eurasian collared dove	UC
69	Emerald dove	VC
70	Pompadour green pigeon	O
71	Yellow footed green pigeon	UC
72	White breasted waterhen	UC
73	Purple swamphen	UC
74	Common coot	UC
75	Eurasian thick knee	UC
76	Little ringed plover	UC
77	Yellow wattled led lapwing	UC
78	Red wattled lapwing	C
79	River tern	O
80	Black shouldered kite	C
81	Black kite	VC
82	Egyptian vulture	UC
83	White-rumped vulture	UC
84	Long billed vulture	UC
85	Short toed snake eagle	O
86	Crested serpent eagle	VC
87	Black eagle	C
88	Shikra	C
89	Oriental honey buzzard	VC
90	White eyed buzzard	C
91	Tawny eagle	UC
92	Bonelli’s eagle	C
93	Changeable hawk eagle	O
94	Common kestrel	C
95	Red necked falcon	UC
96	Amur falcon	UC, Pasg
97	Laggar falcon	UC, Rare
98	Peregrine falcon	UC
99	Little grebe	UC
100	Little cormorant	UC
101	Indian cormorant	UC
102	Little egret	UC
103	Cattle egret	VC
104	Indian pond heron	VC
105	Black crowned night heron	UC
106	Black ibis	UC
107	Woolly necked stork	UC
108	Indian pitta	UC, Pasg
109	Asian fairy bluebird	UC
110	Blue winged leafbird	O
111	Golden fronted leafbird	VC
112	Bay backed shrike	UC
113	Long tailed shrike	O
114	Southern grey shrike	UC
115	Rufous treepie	C
116	House crow	VC
117	Large billed crow	VC
118	Eurasian golden oriole	UC
119	Black hooded oriole	C
120	Large cuckooshrike	O
121	Small minivet	O
122	Orange minivet	VC
123	White throated fantail	C
124	White browed fantail	UC
125	Black drongo	C
126	White bellied drongo	O
127	Bronzed drongo	UC
128	Greater racket tailed drongo	O
129	Black naped monarch	VC
130	Asian paradise flycatcher	UC
131	Common iora	VC
132	Common woodshrike	C
133	Malabar whistling	VC
134	Indian Blackbird	VC
135	Orange headed thrush	VC
136	White bellied blue flycatcher	C
137	Blue throated flycatcher	UC
138	Tickell’s blue flycatcher	C
139	Oriental magpie robin	VC
140	White rumped shama	VC
141	Indian robin	C
142	Pied bushchat	VC
143	Chestnut tailed starling	O
144	Brahminy starling	O
145	Common myna	O
146	Jungle myna	VC
147	Black lored tit	UC
148	Eurasian crag martin	UC
149	Dusky crag martin	VC
150	Wire tailed swallow	O
151	Red rumped swallow	O
152	Streak throated swallow	O
153	Red whiskered bulbul	VC
154	Red vented bulbul	C
155	White browed bulbul	O
156	Black bulbul	VC
157	Yellow browed bulbul	VC
158	Gray breasted prinia	O
159	Jungle prinia	UC
160	Plain prinia	C
161	Ashy prinia	O
162	Zitting cistcola	UC
163	Oriental white eye	UC
164	Blyth’s reed warbler	UC
165	Common tailorbird	VC
166	Indian scimitar babbler	C
167	Tawny bellied babbler	O
168	Yellow eyed babbler	UC
169	Large gray babbler	UC
170	Jungle babbler	VC
171	Brown cheeked fulvetta	VC
172	Indian bush lark	O
173	Ashy crowned sparrow lark	C
174	Rufous tailed lark	UC
175	Malabar lark	VC
176	Sykes’s lark	VC
177	Oriental sky lark	UC
178	Thick billed flowerpecker	C
179	Pale billed flowerpecker	VC
180	Purple rumped sunbird	C
181	Crimson backed sunbird	VC
182	Purple sunbird	VC
183	Crimson sunbird	O
184	House sparrow	C
185	Chestnut shouldered petronia	C
186	White browed wagtail	O
187	Paddyfield pipit	VC
188	Tree pipit	O
189	Baya weaver	UC
190	Indian silverbill	O
191	Scaly breasted munia	O
192	Grass hopper warbler	UC
193	Richard’s pipit	UC
194	Blyth’s pipit	O
195	Jerdon’s nightjar	UC
196	Plain Flowerpecker	UC
197	Intermmediate Egret	O

VC = Very Common: Almost 100% Sighting

C= Common: Most likely to see

O= Occasional : Seen sometimes

UC= Uncommon : Least likely to see

Rare= Scarce records

Pasg= Passage Migrant : Possible in this season

Images from Corbett - March 2008

2008-05-26T00:57:00.007+05:30

Ghost of the Grasslands

This female Hen harrier was scanning the Dhikala chaurs (Terai grasslands) one late evening when quite abruptly it braked mid-air, looked down and launched an attack on something in the grass…..unfortunately, we were late and could not find what the prey was…….Surely, for not only the reptiles and rodents, but also for the small birdes like stonechats, prinias, munias and cisticolas……the harriers loom over them like the "Ghosts of the grasslands"…. …

Flamingos of Mumbai ....

2008-05-22T00:25:00.011+05:30

The word flamingo comes from the Latin word for flame or fire. They are referred to locally by many names – in Marathi they are called “Rohit” or “Raktak”. In Hindi, they are called “Agni Pankh” or “Rajhans” and in English they are called “Flamingo” or “Flame Bird”…….The pink colour in their plumage is due to the “Beta carotene” rich food in the form of blue green algae and Shrimps (In zoos the flamingo food is often mixed with carrots that contain this pigment)…even their flesh is pink in colour…As the breeding season approaches the lesser flamingos (adults only) are adorned with rich pink colour all over the body, with wings and legs getting almost scarlet ……When-ever, I see the flashy wings of these flame birds, I often remember the famous dialogue by Amitabh in his film “Agnipath”……and I recite the dialogue in AB style…….“Agnipankh, Agnipankh, Agnipankh” ….

The lesser flamingos before leaving the shores of Mumbai to their breeding grounds…..perform a spectacular display that is rivaled by none…...Even if you do not get any images…...its an amazing experience to just watch this…..the bright pink adults group together in tight formations (sometimes over 300 adults) and move around adorning their lovely plumage, twisting and turning their necks, right & left, up & down, side to side, opening their wings in between, a flap here & a flap there, tapping their delicate feet in water……they march together to announce that they are ready and healthy…resembling like the flames rising from water……...this is what I call “The Flame Dance”

A "Pat" of flamingos dancing (Group of flamingos is called a "Pat").....is one of the strangest, most breathtaking sights in the natural world.....it is amazing to see this spectacle in the heart of one of the worlds most populous cities "Mumbai.....The lesser flamingos have specific feeding requirements unlike the Greater and the effluent rich warm waters released by the surrounding industries provide rich source of food for these pink beauties......But the pollutants that attract them here may also be slowly poisoning them in a long run.....These "Dancing Flamingos" of Sewri can be best seen in the months of April and May…..here you can see the spectacular “Broken Neck” display which is a part of their dance ritual :))

The myth of the legendary Phoenix has been around for centuries…It goes like this…..”The Phoenix is a legendary, beautiful, brightly colored bird of great size. Its plumage resembles the flames it rises from upon its rebirth from the ashes, combining orange and red hues. Its eyes glow a deep ruby red”…...The Flamingo is often associated with this mythical bird. The Early Christians thought that the flamingo was the basis of the legend of the Phoenix and viewed it as a metaphor for the resurrection of Christ. Phoenix is the Greek word for "red", which links this magical bird to fire and the sun, hence its family name Phoenicopteridae …. This image reminds me of that mythical bird “The Phoenix” that rises from the ashes like fire....

Some FAQs on the Flamingos of Mumbai:

1. What are Flamingos and why are they pink?

A Flamingo is a beautiful long legged pink feathered wading bird found in India, Africa, Europe and South America. It has a large down turned beak and have broad pink wings with black tips. Some flamingo species like the greater flamingo can reach upto 5 feet in height and weighs upto 4 kgs. They live upto 20 years in wild.

The word "flamingo" stems from the Latin word meaning flame. Flamingos obtain their pink/orange/reddish coloration from what they eat. A diet high in carotenoid pigments (same stuff in carrots) gives the flamingo feathers their trademark coloration. Young chicks are pale to white in color and it is believed that flamingos won’t mate until they obtain their color. If flamingos do not receive enough carotene in their diet, they become malnourished and turn pale.

Flamingos sometimes stand on one leg while resting. They stand on one leg to shift their weight to a better rested leg. Flamingos have webbed feet which help to support them on soft mud. They can also swim. A gathering of flamingos is called a pat.

2. Where do flamingos live?

Flamingos live in lagoons, or lakes, where there is lots of mud and water. Flamingos use a variety of habitats: mangrove swamps, tidal flats, and sandy islands in the intertidal zone. The depth of the water is especially important not only for feeding but for nesting. Hence they often have to migrate in search of a good and favorable habitat to survive.

3. What do flamingos eat and How?

The typical flamingo diet consists of diatoms, seeds, blue-green algae, crustaceans, and mollusks that they filter out of the water. Using their long legs and partially webbed feet, flamingos will stamp on the muddy bottom of lagoons to mix the food particles with the water. They have a unique beak that is lined with comb like lamellae (similar to whales) which help them to filter out water and take in their food. Flamingos drink fresh water.

4. How do flamingos breed?

Flamingos live in large groups all year long called colonies. Tens of thousands of flamingos can live in one colony! Within a colony, flamingos breed in pairs during the breeding season. Every pair of flamingos does not breed every year; however, breeding flamingos are able to reproduce by the age of about six. There is no specific season associated with breeding, but it seems to be correlated with rain. Nest building may depend on rainfall and its effect on food supply.

When they are ready to lay eggs, birds will form pairs. Within the whole colony, groups of birds will be engaged in courtship displays -, a predictable sequence of displays including marching and head turning, calling and preening. Several hundred to several thousand flamingos are all doing the same behaviors at the same time. This helps to synchronize breeding within the colony, so that most of the birds are laying eggs or raising young at the same time.

Every flamingo does not nest every year. When they do nest, they typically lay one large, white egg. The nest is built of mud, small stones, and feathers on the ground and is in the shape of a volcano.

5. What do nestling flamingos eat?

Parent flamingos do not regurgitate food for their young the way most birds do. They feed their nestling a liquid substance called 'crop milk' (Like the pigeons), a secretion of the upper digestive tract stimulated by the hormone prolactin. Crop milk is dark red in color and very high in fat and protein and is produced by both male and female birds. Both parents nurse their chick for about two months until their bills are developed enough to filter feed.

6. Where do they come from in Sewri Mudflats?

Though studies have not been done, it is believed that the flamingos migrate to Sewri all the way from Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, where they are believed to breed in huge numbers of almost half a million. About 10000-15000 flamingos come to Sewri and the neighboring places in the month of November and leave back in the month of May or June.

7. Why do they migrate?

When conditions become unfavorable in their breeding grounds like drying up of water, food shortage, they have to look up for a new and favorable place to spend the winter. They spread across the country in search of such places, sometimes migrating to the same locations year after year. Since Sewri also is an ideal place, some of them migrate here.

8. Why do Flamingos come to Sewri?

Flamingos not only come to Sewri but also in other places like Vasai, Trombay, Thane Creek and also travel to other parts of India like Chilika lake in Orissa, Pulicat Lake and Point Calimer in Tamil Nadu.

However, Sewri mudflats are preferred because it provides the right habitat (Muddy shore) and plenty of food. This food that contains blue-green algae, brine shrimps and mollusks thrive on the increased silt and pollution that is thrown out from the surrounding factories. Moreover, since the Sewri bay is surrounded from all sides by important and sensitive companies (like BPCL and HP refineries and fertilizer companies like RCF) and also because the Mangrove acts as a buffer, the flamingos gets some protection too.

Over the years a lot of siltation has occurred in the Thane creek, because of various reasons like destruction of mangroves, more effluents and waste products from the industry, sewage disposal in the creek, soil erosion in various places, reclamation at most of the places, construction of big complexes near the coastal area…..because of this the water is shallow here and algae growth is fast.

9. When should one come to see flamingos in Sewri?

Flamingos are best seen in Sewri at least 4-5 hrs before the high tide, when the tide is coming in or 2 hrs after the high tide…..During the high tide, the flamingos move away in the mangroves for rest and return back to feed during the low tide.

However, you can see them all the time during low tide, but they are very far from the shore. Alternately, one can hire a boat from Mahul side to have a closer look. The ideal time to take a boat is 2 hrs after the low tide.

10. Why are flamingos not found on Sandy beaches?

Flamingos are very selective in their habitat. They prefer only Muddy beaches and not sandy beaches, because they get their food (Blue-green algae & Brine) only in muddy shores. Hence these flamingos are not found on shores like Alibaug, Juhu, Girgaum chowpatty or Dadar chowpatty which are sandy shores.

The Greater flamingos on the other hand can also live in freshwater marshes, hence they can be seen on large rivers in Pune, Malshej Ghats, Orissa or even in yamuna river in Delhi.

11. How many different types of flamingos are there in India and in the world?

There are 5 species of flamingos: Greater, Lesser, Caribbean, Andean, Chilean, and James. The James flamingos are a sub-species of Greater flamingo. The Lesser flamingos are the smallest of all the species of flamingos and the Greater flamingos is the largest and has by far the widest distribution.

In India (and in Sewri) we get 2 species of Flamingos – the Greater Flamingo and Lesser Flamingo. While the Greater flamingo are more taller with a black tipped grey beak, whitish eyes and more white in body colour…..the Lesser flamingos are smaller, more pink with dark beaks and red eyes. In Sewri 95 % are lesser flamingos.

12. Are flamingos endangered?

In reality, all flamingo populations have undergone a rapid decline in their populations, since they live in large groups in concentrated numbers in fragile wetland habitats that could easily become polluted, fragmented (divided up into smaller un-usable pieces).

The flamingos worst enemy is man, who destroys the bird's habitat, directly by using the land for other purposes or indirectly by changing the natural processes that occur on that land (water depth, water quality, salinity).

13. Are flamingos safe in Sewri?

Not really…..apart from the poaching (hunting) by locals for food, the flamingos in Sewri are facing a major threat from the proposed Nhava-Sheva sea link that has been given a nod by the centre and will be constructed by Reliance. This proposed sea-link (bridge) will go right from the flamingo bay (Starting from Sewri Darga) upto Nhava-Sheva Port, a distance of about 22 kms.

The construction of this bridge will surely affect the movements of flamingos in Sewri. It may also possible that, because of the disturbance, the flamingos might not visit Sewri at all in future. Not finding enough food in their feeding grounds may adversely affect the breeding of flamingos and their numbers decline.

14. What are the other birds found in Sewri?

Apart from the star attraction i.e. Lesser and Greater flamingos, Sewri also harbors many other species of birds particularly waders (several species that wade in water / intertidal shores for food), egrets, herons, kingfishers, kites etc.

Most of these waders are of different species that include Sandpipers, Stints, Shanks, Plovers, Curlews, Whimbrels etc and majority of these birds are winter migrants coming to sewri from as far as Siberia, Central Europe and the Himalayas. They too start arriving here in October and migrate back to their breeding places in April – May. During the month of April, it is a preety site to watch waders in their breeding plumage, when, not only they look spectacular, but also easy to identify.

Birdwatchers have noted more than 120 species of birds in and around Sewri. Thus Sewri is a major wintering habitat for thousands of birds and its existence is very critical for their survival. Sewri is declared as an IBA (Important Bird Area)

Bhimashankar – The Sacred Forest !!

2008-05-20T21:25:00.028+05:30

Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary has always been my favorite birding spot and over the many times that I have had opportunities to visit this place, it has always held me mesmerized with its magic…..there is something mysterious about this place. Not just the birds, but a mere feel of this evergreen forest makes me want to go here again and again.

Wanted to plan a trip for Mumbai Birdwatchers Club to Bhimashankar and so decided on a quick "Rekki" trip to see if I could get a good staying place at a reasonable cost. With this intention, I decided to make a visit all the way by bike along with my good friend Shaunak Pal. This place is about 252 kms from where I stay in Sion, Mumbai (approx.127 kms from Pune) and indeed this was going to be a hectic drive in the hot summer month.

I took the Mumbai-Badlapur-Mhasa-Malsej-Junnar-Ghodegaon-Bhimashankar route that traverses through one of the most beautiful countryside around our region. Though hot, it was a wonderful journey all thro' the way with very good road and less traffic (Only a couple of bad patches)…….It took us around 7 hrs to reach there.

Bhimashankar, as the name suggests is a Pilgrimage centre famous for one of the 12 "Jyotirlings" – Shiv Temple. While this place has seen some heavy crowd over the years, it still remains one of the less visited "Jyotirlings" due to its distance and poor facilities. However this has kept the forest intact to a greater extent compared to the other Pilgrim centers and the forest dept. has done well here……Bhimashankar is situated at an elevation of approx. 3296 feet and thus qualifies as a very good hill station and is also designated as one of the Important Bird Areas (IBA) by Birdlife International. This sacred forest has typical north western ghat vegetation with evergreen and mixed deciduous trees, plants and medicinal herbs and has been especially reserved for Malabar Giant Squirrel or "Shekru" (In marathi), the state animal of Maharashtra, which is found in good numbers here. It also harbors many endemic bird species and is good to visit any time of the year depending on what interests you……in monsoon, this is a good place for insects, amphibians and reptiles…..in Oct/ Nov it is good for Wild flowers and from Dec to May/ Jun it is good for birds…….here in May/ June the water dries up in most of the streams and only some perennial water puddles remain and it is a good time to see birds and mammals coming to these waterholes.

The Place around the temple is degraded with many houses and small restaurants……the facilities are basic….only last year this place was connected with Telephone (but no mobile range except BSNL)……the staying can be arranged at any one of the small make shift hotels and dormitories…..there are only a couple of good hotels (Hyde Park and Blue Mormon Resort), but they are 9 kms from the Temple and outside the sanctuary, which is good….we stayed at one of the "Buddha Vihars" without electricity and open toilets ;)).....there are several trails here ...some of the wonderful trails being..."Gupt Bhimashankar" trail, "Nag Phani" trail (Highest point), Machaan trail, Ahupe Ghat trail, Forest Rest house trail etc.....

As soon as we reached, we just dumped our bag and headed for the "Machan" trail that goes behind the MTDC resort (Now closed for renovation)…..here in Bhimashankar the sparrows and crows are replaced by Red Whiskered Bulbuls and Black Bulbuls….infact they are so numerous that we could have counted them in hundreds…..this trail always rewards with mammal sightings and we immediately hit upon our first of Mouse deer (later we saw another) that dashed off so quickly that we could just ID it…..a couple of Juv.Bonelli's Eagles were seen playing in mid air very far off, but their features showed well…..while looking at the eagles, another huge eagle suddenly rose in front of us….it was so close and looked huge that for a moment we wondered what species it was, but it turned out to be a juv. Crested serpent eagle…..it circled for sometime and flew at a distance…..and just as I was wondering why it came so close to the ground that I got my answer …..after a few paces, to our left on the ground was a magnificent Cobra about 5 ½ foot basking on the rock with its hood open……what a specimen it was and what an attitude it had….the serpent eagle probably came for this snake, but was disturbed by our presence……the snake then coolly slithered away amongst the rocks…..Wow, what an experience to start with…..

At the Machan point, while we waited patiently near a small water hole…..the Juv.Bonelli's eagles again showed up followed by their parents….. imagine 4 Bonelli's eagle flying towards you and passing over your head…..I was so engrossed that I forgot, I had a camera….it was too late by the time I attempted any images and could just manage a couple of poor shots…a barking deer sensed our presence and gave an alarm call…..we realized we were too close to their comfort and decided to return back…..on the way back we again came across the same Cobra, scanning its territory unmindful of the danger from the eagles above…..a couple of Emerald Doves and Nilgiri wood pigeons showed up well. We traversed thro' a dense patch of forest to come up almost 3kms on the tar road leading to Bhimashankar and on the way saw a forked tailed Oriental Honey Buzzard (Probably moulting tail), many Black Birds (of ssp. nigropileus), White-rumped Shamas calling melodiously, Green Bee-eaters, Blyth's pipit, Small sunbirds, Calls of Indian Pitta…..It was almost 7.30 pm and the light had faded, the myriad Horseflies were bothering us incessantly, the crickets had started calling in otherwise a silent walk and suddenly an animal came crashing down a tree at the edge of the road…..it was an Indian Palm Civet……

The Evenings and mornings are very cool in Bhimashankar and you don't really require fans even in May, so not many houses have one. Early mornings is also time for natures call…..and when you are at it in open, having a blissful time, you get a very good opportunity to watch the bird activities without movement and with patience ;))….A hare flushed out from his rest startled a greater coucal that went scampering like a road runner, a black bulbul was busy with incubating in his nest on a medium sized tree, a Pied Bush chat male was busy carrying food for its nestlings and black birds were seen singing from top of trees.

The morning was quite a buzz with bulbuls, Puff throated and Scimitar babblers, B.Cheeked Fulvetas, Small sunbirds, White cheeked Barbets, Tickell's Blue flycatchers. The Orange headed thrush were particularly vocal……we tried the "Gupt Bhimashankar" trail. This wonderful trail (that goes uptill "Bhorgiri' caves) traverses thro' thick canopy forest and is particularly good to see the Malabar Giant squirrels, White-bellied blue flycatchers and Yellow browed Bulbuls…..we did see them in good numbers along with a blind snake and plenty of scorpions (atleast 3 species)……the "Gupt Bhimashankar" spot (approx.1.5 kms south of the temple) has many perennial water puddles where many birds come to bath and quench their thirst (this trail is highly recommended in summers)….here we saw Emerald doves, O.Headed Thrush, Black Bulbuls, Giant squirrels, a lone Oriental turtle dove and a Paradise flycatcher…..the puddles were infested with water boatman and water beetles…..On our way back, Shaunak got a very beautiful "Mumbai Shield-tail" snake….this yellow and blackish blue snake has rough tail scales hence the name….it burrows under the soil and thrives on earthworms….

In the evening, we traveled the 9 kms to check on the resorts and came across many Malabar larks, paddyfield pipits, an Oriental Honey Buzzard chasing cattle egrets, a Black shouldered kite, Pied bushchats…..The Blue Mormon resort is the only deluxe resort in the region (and quite expensive) with suites, bungalows, rooms and cottages nicely tucked away overlooking a deep valley, complete with helipad et al. for the ministers that come to the temple in a hope to wash their sins…..co-incidentally a Blue Mormon butterfly was seen flying around the resort …….in the night, saw a Jackal near the Bus stand and several Indian and Savanna Nightjars calling……

There is a place not very far from Bhimashankar which is so dense and pristine that it is one of the best primary forest patches found in north Western ghats – the "Ahupe forest", which is approx 16 kms North east of Bhimashankar…..this is one patch which is not explored much….there is a small road that leads to this place, but after about 5 kms (uptill Kondhwal hamlet), the road becomes virtually non-existent and you have to literally walk down 11 kms to reach here….. We off course started early and could go upto Kondhwal by bike…..here the feel of the forest is a different experience, so quite from the madness of humanity….the area near a dried up waterfall gave us many Nilgiri wood pigeons, Plenty of Shamas, a Common Kestrel, Black birds (with nest) and Black bulbuls (with nest), Scarlet Minivets, Jungle Mynas, M.Whisling thrush etc….on the open cultivated fields near Kondhwal hamlet, we came across many Malabar and Syke's crested larks together, a calling Bay banded Cuckoo, Shikra, Crimson sunbirds etc.

We were so mesmerized with this magical place that we didn't realize that we are getting late (It was almost 10.30 am) and we had to drive back in the scorching sun…… and like always the return back was much boring….not much photography, but the memories that we took back were much more valuable from this Sacred Forest – Bhimashankar.

Happy Birding !!

Adesh Shivkar

Amur Falcons in Mumbai

2007-11-19T22:47:00.002+05:30

I was at home on 19th Nov'07 (Monday) when I got a call from Shashank Dalvi at 5.45 pm that a Friend (Mr.Kevin) has spotted some birds circling in a big group somewhere near Matunga...... I called Kevin immediately and he confimed that while travelling (in train) via Matunga Road station, he saw some birds in a huge flock that were not looking like kites, near and above Matunga station.....offcourse I suspected Amur Falcons, as this is the time when they are on passage migration over Mumbai....

Within 20 mins (on my bike) , I was at the spot where Kevin had mentioned but could not find any bird....Just when I thought that, they might have moved on.....I saw some smokish patch in the clouds that was moving towards Dadar Chowpatty / Hinduja Hospital......on close observation
thro' my binocs, that was indeed a small cloud of birds moving high up, however, I could only see the silloutte......I raced towards Dadar chowpatty, just in time to get a glimpse of what it was.....and lo behold.....they were indeed "Amur Falcons".....about 250 to 300 of them....I could just, but clearly see the unmistakable falcons with some showing the whitish contrast to darker wings and were circling and moving towards Bandra reclamation...still a bit high up....I suspected they would roost somewhere there for the night.....I saw them only for a couple of mins, before they moved from sight and it was too dark (6.20 pm) by then.....my God....what a fantastic moment that was......

I was twice lucky in this week, as again on 22nd Nov'07, I had been to Gawlideo hills with Julius Rego and we had a wonderful sighting of a pair of Amur falcons hunting insects in mid air (I got some record shots) ....the pair was zooming in air at breathneck speed, hunting for insects and gave us good views for about half an hour...

*Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis*), formerly known as Eastern Red-footed Falcon, breeds in south eastern Siberia, China & Mongolia and winters in South Africa. It is a passage migrant to India....seen from Mid Nov. to Mid Dec. and again in April while returning.....

It is an unmistakable falcon with slaty grey (sooty) colour and red legs.....the underparts has white contrasting with grey.....the females look like Common Kestrel females, but with a dark eye mask and thin tail band..... They are gregarious while on migration and are often encountered in huge nos.

Apparantly Amur Falcons are passage migrants to our region particularly sighted during this time (Mid Nov to Mid Dec.).....Interestingly Shashank Dalvi sighted and Photographed 1000+ Amur falcons in Nameri National Park (Arunachal Pradesh) on 11th Nov......then Dr.Vaibhav Deshmukh sighted 3-4 of them in Alibaug, Near Mumbai on 18th Nov.....and I saw about 250
- 300 hovering Amur falcons in Mumbai (Near Dadar Sea shore) on 19th Nov.....They again migrate back in April........2 years back we sighted 4 Amur falcons in March in Bhimashankar WLS...about 250 kms from Mumbai East....

There have been regular sightings of Amur falcons from Mumbai region in recent years (Mine is this 4th sighting) in 3 years....

I have taken some record shots of the pair in Gawlideo....click below to view these...

http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.php?id=30993

and

http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.php?id=30992

To Know more about this raptor....click below.

http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/SpeciesResults.asp?specID=8225

and

http://www.answers.com/topic/amur-falcon?cat=technology

*Regards,*
*Adesh Shivkar*

BTW: As I parked my bike and ran towards the shore like mad and started looking up thro' my Binocs....smiling and obviously very very excited.....there were scores of people who were quite amused looking at me and wondering what this chap is upto looking at the sky and laughing like a
freak :)

"RAJMAGIC" Experience

2006-10-02T21:38:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

Maharashtra is blessed with the Sahayadri Range and though unlike the south where the mountains are covered completely with green, here the green is restricted wherever the trees and shrubs could get hold on amongst the otherwise rugged cliffs and rocky terrain. The Sahayadri's offer a great blessing to the trekkers, however, there are few such places like "RAJMACHI", that offers both the trekking as well as nature trail pleasure. After a long break, I decided to do Rajmachi, with another 9 equally enthusiastic nature lovers (see photo above with Shrivardhan & Manoranjan forts at the background). Thanks to Animesh (Mandrekar) for organizing this wonderful outing for 2 days (30 th Sep'06 and 1st Oct'06)….In all 65 bird species, Kaarvi in bloom, Bioluminescent fungus, Bamboo Pit Viper, E.Eagle Owl, Atlas moth and much more.
October is always a best season for nature trails, as the migratory birds start to return, the butterflies emerge from their pupa, and flowers start to bloom in a backdrop of the lush greenery...... We started a bit late at around 8.30 am after having a sumptuous breakfast at Lonavala. The total distance from Lonavla to Rajmachi would be approx. 13-14 kms of undulating (But never tiring) continuous walk. However nature had plenty of things in store for us and we got our first reward…..a Small minivet female sitting in a neatly made cup nest lined with cobwebs and fed by her mate, followed by a Red-Vented Bulbul nest, beautifully hidden amongst a roadside plant, followed by House swift's mud nest high up under a water tank and followed by the Spotted dove's delicate home……. One has to traverse thro' the Tungarli village….cross the Mumbai-Pune Express way under a bridge, to start the actual trail. This is a well wooded path, where we came across more birds and migrants like Pied crested cuckoo, E.Golden Oriole, Ashy Drongo, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Tree frog etc….and plenty of wild flowers. The Tungarli Lake at the base is a small lake surrounded by a picturesque forest where one can see some water birds in late winter. A Malabar crested lark looked handsome sitting on a rock and a baby Monitor lizard was seen basking majestically on a rocky outcrop. The different shades of wild flowers and the pleasant wheather left us mesmerized thro'out the trail....

The Cliffs along the way to Rajmachi were once famous for Vulture's roosting and breeding and it was painful to see its deserted appearance. However, my eye caught an outline of a bird while surfing through my Bino's on the rocky cliffs , which I was sure, was a Falcon. A closer look thro' the scope, revealed it to be a Peregrine Falcon ( ssp.Calidus - Shahin) which was scanning the area from its throne. For a moment I imagined, how would the scene be from that height, I was brought back to my senses with a sudden dash of movement…..it was a fighting / chasing of 2 species of Shrikes…..The Baybacked shrike being chased by a Long tailed Shrike ( ssp.Erythronotus) ….

The whole area and the rocky slopes were clothed with various shades of colours sprinkled by wild flowers and the accompanying mist made a heavenly experience. In between them were some Kaarvi plants in bloom (They are expected to bloom en-mass in 2007 after 7 years) that was a lifer for many in our group.

A blackish looking bird was seen on top of a mango tree, that turned out to be an immature Blue rock thrush from the S.scope, A Pied Bush Chat pair flitting from one cacti to another, and a couple of Common Kestrels were seen scanning the rocky cliffs……..The commonest and most abundant wild flowers were the yellow "Sonki".

On the way Sahas spotted a female Atlas Moth (The Largest moth in the world) and we (including that moth?) then witnessed a photo frenzy…. And after satisfying ourselves (And not disturbing her), we continued walking and exploring the wonders of nature. As our destination approached, a lone Nilgiri Wood Pigeon gave a nice fly-past over the tree tops from a close distance and Sahas, who went ahead, sighted an Indian Pitta (They are passage migrants to our region)…….

Finally after reaching our destination (a newly built cement house with few rooms for trekkers) we were welcomed with a hot cup of Tea and just soaked ourselves with the day's wonderful sightings and experiences……..A short night walk rewarded us a Juv. Bamboo Pit Viper (The first reward for my bright Maglite torch) and the famous "Bioluminescent Fungus" glowing like radium on the dead fallen branches.

We had planned to go to one of the forts of Rajmachi on the second day morning, but the consistent rains washed our wish and so we headed towards a plateau, that is situated east of the village and which traverses thro' a sacred grove. It was here that we spotted 3-4 Malabar Grey Hornbills and Green Pigeons. There is a small pond with an 1100 AD plaque on one of its steps and at one of the corners, is situated a quaint little ancient Shiva temple… The rains didnt stop and so we decided to have a small but hot debate on the Sewri–Nhava sea link issue. The rains stopped briefly and as we came out of the temple, we got a glimpse of a largish bird being chased by a crow. Looking at the size, shape & flight, it was not difficult to guess that it was an Eurasian Eagle Owl. The Owl obliged us by perching on a nearby tree and allowing us close views for a considerable amount of time thro' the S.Scope……After all the mess created by rains, this was surely a jackpot for us. I could see excitement in almost all in our group including the ever enthusiastic 65 yrs young Mr.Thiru…….I think it is not only enjoyable to watch birds, but also the happiness that oozes on the face of the birders …….I was lucky to experience both at that moment.

We had decided to descend from Karjat side (Via the village of Kondivade), which was steep and with consistent rain, we could not risk to spend more time on the top, so we cancelled to go on the forts and instead just had a small walk to an ancient temple of "Bhairavnath" that is situated in a valley, between the 2 forts……I personally like this temple, for its mystic looks and the location.

The homely "Thali" food (don't read it as "Thai" food) served at the place we stayed, was delicious enough to compete with the 5 star hotels back here. The return descends was a bit heavy, what with the downpour making our luggage heavier than our weight and the ground more slippery than a glass…..but we did hear the Malabar Gaint Squirrel once.

Well !! It was not just the number of sightings / listings or wild flowers or Atlas moth or birds or the wonderful birders…..but it was more about the whole bunch of goodies that made our trip memorable….what I would like to call a "RAJMAGIC" experience!!

Happy Birding,
Addi The Birde

The trip was made all the more lively with Radhika Borkar and Kamolika Roy Choudhary's presence (they were our official camerawomans:), with Mr.cool's Mayur Kadrekar & Hemant Tripathi, The buoyant Sahas Barve, The explorer Neil Fernandes (He was the only one who quickly went on top of one of the fort, tough missed on the owl), Curious Parag Damle, our Manager :-) and advisor Animesh Mandrekar and the Evergreen and wonderful 65 yrs young Mr.Thiru.

Photo Credits: Taken from all the participants (I did not take any photographs)

To Know more about Rajmachi...Please click the links below:

1) http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/Rajmachi-925039180.html

2) http://www.indyahills.com/maharashtra/places.html

3) http://www.travelmasti.com/domestic/maharashtra/lonavala_khandala2.htm

TIGER in Nannaj, Solapur

2006-08-24T13:20:00.000+05:30

I am sure you all were shocked and surprised with the title��.Well!! Tough
there are no Tigers in Nannaj, we experienced the same thrill, frustrations,
emotions, suspense that one experiences during the quest for a Tiger in an
Indian Forests.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that what a Tiger is for the Indian
jungles�.The Great Indian Bustard (GIB) is for the Indian Grasslands.

And while the focus is always on the Big cat��the fate of GIBs is hanging.
It is estimated that less than 500 of these majestic birds remain
precariously in the ever shrinking patches of grasslands along with the
other grassland birds like the Floricans and grassbirds��GIBs are the best
indicators of a Grassland plain.

I had been to Nannaj many times before, but the charm of the GIB always
attracted like a magnet. This time tough, there were 17 wonderful birders
and birding with such a group is always a great experience�..Thanks to
Mandar Khadilkar, the train & accommodation was well managed. Nannaj is also
an easy-to-plan wildlife destination particularly for the people of Mumbai
and Pune and a Friday to Saturday itenary is sufficient.

There are an estimated 24 to 27 GIBs in Nannaj and the surrounding area.
However the GIB is a very shy bird & possesses excellent camouflage and
hence difficult to spot. The birds seem to dislike humans so much that it
will not allow anyone to approach less than 100 mtrs and it was with great
effort that we could see 2 birds at last. There were no sightings for about
a week prior to us��and I knew that this trip would promise a great treasure
hunt.

Never before, I scanned the grasslands and fallow lands like this trip for a
glimpse of this magnificent bird, with apt concentration and hope and to
have a glimpse of expressions on the faces of my collogues who had come
here for the first time��..I had to agonizingly wait for 2 days�..though I
had a fleeting view of a Bustard for a couple of seconds before it vanished
over the horizon��the feeling was somehow painful as none of the people
present except I had seen it�..so, after the lunch without taking rest and
not withstanding my swollen foot, we went to the same area and the sharp
eyes of Kevin tracked a magnificent male Great Indian Bustard, walking
gloriously with a grace comparable only to Tiger�..after co-ordinating /
calling all the group on phone we saw this majesty for quite some time
appreciating its gate and style in his realm of Grassland, before taking
flight��it was as if, he had come only for us to view�..�.you should have
seen the expressions of thrill, excitement and relief on each of the members
present��After all ..... Birdwatching is all about "Patience and
Perseverance"

However, a chilly feeling also crept in the mind whether this bird will also
go along the faith of the "Dodo"?? �.whether we would ever see this majestic
bird in future and for how long??...whether, declaring a sanctuary is
sufficient for the survival of this bird??......what more needs to be
done??........the protection of Grasslands is not only critical for the
GIBs, but also the other grassland species, like Floricans, Quails,
Partridges, Chinkaras, Blackbucks, Larks, Pipits, Coursers etc��there are
many such questions that have to be answered seriously��..I think
"Conservation is not just about saving other species��.its more about our
responsibility as a human species towards other life forms"

For the complete drama, Birdlists and excellent trip reports�.please click
the following links by my passionate birding pals below:

http://nannaj-wls-our-own-indian-savanna.blogspot.com/

http://the-nannaj-experience.blogspot.com/

http://nannajthegrassland.blogspot.com/

I think one visit is a must for all nature enthusiasts to view this
magnificent Grassland (Or any such grassland) to see its denizens and the
wonders of survival (If anyone needs any information on planning and other
info. Please do not hesitate to call me)��some of the friends that went the
next weekend saw 4 GIBs in the core area and last year we had seen plenty of
sightings��there seem to be lot of local movement of this species as per the
food availability.

One very unusual sighting was of a lone Alpine swift that was seen hanging
around with Red-Rumped swallows and House swifts for a couple of days��far
from its usual montane habitat��.probably a new record for Nannaj checklist.

I sincerely hope, that we in India would never have to make a phrase "As
dead as a Bustard"��.

Warm Regards,

Addi The Birde

To have a detailed report on Bustards, please click
http://www.care4nature.org/wildindia/bustard.htm

Karnala - The Ultramarine Flycatcher Conquered at last.....

2006-02-18T22:22:00.000+05:30

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

Karnala and the Quest for Ultramarine Flycather

2006-02-05T21:44:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

I have been birding extensively for the past 15 years or so…..predominantly in and around Mumbai and also in some parts of India…but missing out on those favorites as the Himalayan foothills, Northeast and the South India for some reason or the other (mostly due to commitments with various groups, as a result of which, exhausting all my leaves)…..an hence it was my endeavor to atleast see as many birds, recorded in the Mumbai region, that leads me sometimes to become a t witcher of some sort………

There are approx. 360 bird species recorded in the Mumbai region so far (Sunjoy Monga's excellent compilation) and I have managed to see around 321 species in Mumbai from these, including some recent first time records like the Rosy Pelican, Red necked Phalarope, Great knots, Brown wood owl etc…….The others, not sighted, included some rare, uncommon records…….The Ultramarine Flycather is one such bird, that I am dying to see….and was on a look-out for the last 4-5 years. This bird has been sighted from SGNP and Karnala quite occasionally……..and the bird race gave an opportunity for many to sight it in Karnala.

It was with this hope that I went after it almost thrice in a span of 15 days to Karnala Bird Sanctuary……BUT no luck for me….inspite of how hard I observed and how patiently I waited near the spot where it was sighted……….It was similar to my Tiger luck…..I had a glimpse of a tiger for the first time after about 14 years and after visiting 9 Tiger reserves…….But was this "Bad Luck" good for me?…….as I returned home this Sunday (5th Feb'06), I realized that, this "bad luck" was my encouragement to go out in the jungles again and again, to explore and observe the denizens of the wonderful natural world and I thank my "Bad luck" for this.

However, all said and done….I do come up with some very good sightings. This Sunday I had been to Karnala with Bob "Iwan" Roberts, Dr.Neil Soraes, Anil Pinto & Parthiv Sanghvi…….The Highlights were White-Rumped Munias, Forest wagtail and Verditer flycatcher.

While Dr.Neil, Anil & Pathiv had already gone ahead, I along with Bob arrived later and took the first right immediately after the forest check post (Hariyal trail)…..this trail meets the "Mortaka Trail" further ahead and is cut by various streams that flow only in monsoons…..one such stream however had small puddles of water, that attracted various birds to quench their thirst, getting cover amongst the cacti that lined the edges.It was on this stretch that we had most of our sightings including Paradise, Monarch, Verditer and Red-Breasted flycathers, a Nest of a Purple sunbird (One more completed nest elsewhere), Yellow-crowned Maratha woodpecker and \nB.Capped pigmy woodpecker (On an earlier visited, we had sighted a White napped woodpecker)…..common wood shrikes, Ashy drongo, E.Golden oriole…..and surprisingly 3 White Rumped Munias.

I remember few years back when I was new to birding and explored the area around Dombivli with my good friend Nayan Khanolkar. We used to follow the checklist of Maharashtra by Humayun Abdulali then……It was monsoon and a peak breeding season for the resident birds, we were birding in Murbad (Beyond Kalyan) and came across not only sightings of the W.R.Munias (White backed munia) but also found a very healthy breeding population there….It was surprising as this bird was not listed in Humayun Abdulali's list……..This turned out a reason for us to meet Mr.Humayun Abdulali in Bnhs and ask him about the distribution…..I still remember his words "The Checklist is made by Man not the Birds"…."However checklist of the region, does give an idea of what to expect, so that we eliminate those which are not supposed to be found…..tough such surprises do come up, but it has to be questioned and confirmed", he said.

White Rumped Munia is an uncommon species for Mumbai (Sunjoy's list) and I think this would be a first for Karnala B.S ……….returning back and near the rest houses, we had Forest wagtail, Tickell's blue flycatcher, Call of Rufous woodpecker, Crested Serpent Eagle, more Red-Brested Flycathers, Golden & Black hooded orioles, Greenish and Booted warblers, Paradise flycathers, P.R.Sunbirds…….But no Ultramarine FC.

The Hill Myna confiscated from the "Dolphin aquarium", Vileparle was seen enclosed in the cages along with Red breasted, Alexandrian and Rose ringed parakeets……..the falling leaves reminded us the gentle change in season.

On our way back, there was this person who said that "20 years ago when I used to visit Karnala as a child, there used to be lots of birds….now there are very few"……Offcourse, he was referring to the caged birds…………For me there are plenty of birds in Karnala, so what if I didn't get the Ultramarine Flycather…..I am sure I will see it someday.

Happy Birding,
Addi The Birde

Common Buzzard (?) in Mumbai, Kharghar

2006-01-27T21:54:00.000+05:30

HSBC Bird Race'06 - Report from team "Flamingos"

2006-01-22T21:32:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

January 2006 had been a very exhaustive birding for me. It all started from the 1st day of the year itself..…….I thought that I would be concentrating on my new Job…..the birdies, however kept me busy all thro'out the month and with the 2 nd HSBC Bird race 2006 fast approaching, I knew it would be a birding frenzy all over……

Plenty of last moment changes found myself accommodating in a Thane team, infact my original team had to be moulded almost 11 times in 10 days. Anyways I am glad that I had an opportunity to bird with new people……Our team consisted of Dr. Nyayate as our team captain, Mrs. Subhadha Nyayate, Mrs. Seema Ketkar & myself. Our contact point was the forest check post at the base of Yevoor at 7.00 am (22nd Jan'06). I got up half asleep (what with the hectic week before the bird race, juggling with all permutations and combinations)….but Riding by bike all the way from Sion to Thane in the early chilly hrs made me forget all about my sleep…..…

I was meeting my team colleagues for the first time, but thoroughly enjoyed birding with them all thro' the day…..their enthusiasm and zest percolated in my tired soul which gave me enough energy for the entire day (I was all the time on my bike moving from diff. places)…….

Yevoor: Our first location was Yevoor, Thane. It is a part of the north-eastern side of SGNP and quite rich in Birdlife and we were hopeful of catching up plenty of Forest species here. We not only saw many species (39 nos.) but came out satisfied more than just listing. …….The Bird Race prompted many people (almost all) to reach the locations very early in the morning and am sure most (particularly the newcomers) must have realized the importance and logic to start early…….

In a forest where the foliage limits the visibility, one has to be really attentive to the bird calls….infact it is safe to conclude that in a forest habitat, it is "Birding with Ears" more than the eyes. This helps not only to identify but also to trace that particular bird at exact locations (Habit wise…..as in woodpecker on tree stumps, Minivets on tree tops, Ioras in tree foliage etc.), to be more attentive, learn to concentrate etc ……..our team was well disciplined and deeply attentive and we sure were rewarded with ample no. of calls and sightings.

Our first bird for the day was a Greenish leaf warbler with its unmistakable call, followed immediately with a Crow pheasant…..so it was a good omen …..followed by Chestnut shouldered petronias, E.Golden & B.Hooded Orioles, Purple & P.Rumped sunbirds, W.Browed bulbuls, S.Green beeeaters, and very clear "wut wut wut" calls of the Collard Scop's Owl……….The drongos were everywhere and we were able to spot 5 out of the possible 6 species of drongos (except Bronze), dominated by Ashy, but the highlight was a magnificent Spangled drongo thro' the S.scope……

After my Dandeli visit, the call of Vernal hanging parrot had embedded in my mind permanently and I was surprised to hear this call in Yevoor…..this bird has this characteristic 2 note call that it gives in flight. Since we had not seen it, I thought, It was just my imagination and excitement……but then I heard it 3 more times and on the fifth occasion could sight it as it dashed through the canopy…..The sighting was special because its rarely seen in Mumbai region and a thorough lookout is needed for this otherwise perfectly camouflaging bird…..It was surely my "Bird of the day" …..And, the call helps!!
Our luck continued with calls and we traced the Brown capped pigmy woodpeckers near the broad stream where we had other wonderful delights waiting for us including C.woodshrikes, O.Honey Buzzard, C.Serpent eagle, R.Treepies, Malabar whistling thrush (calls), Redbreasted flycathers (call)…Only "I" had a glimpse of a Black rumped flameback…….but could not list it as per the rule…..

We had sightings of Scarlet Minivets at very close range. Looking at the gorgeous colours of both male and female S.minivets was enjoyed with some "Oohhs" and "Ahhs" and was enough reason for our team captain to declare it as our "Bird of the day"……On the way we meet another team (Hope-Thane)…shared our sightings and moved on…..it was nice to learn about their commendable activities on awareness towards nature….many children's and teachers had joined one of their regular nature trails that day.

Airoli: We were late to reach Airoli, our next location, but fortunately the low tide helped us to see many waders……this spot (thanks to Parag Damle from Mulund & Julius Rego from Airoli) is now frequented & reported regularly. Huge numbers of waders greeted us and we got all the sandpipers (except Broadbilled) here i.e. Terek, Common, Curlew, Spotted/wood, Green and Marsh sandpipers. Also Black tailed godwits, B.W.Stilts, Common Red & Green Shanks. Gulls were a plenty too and with the S.Scope it was easy for us to separate the Slenderbilled gulls from Black & Brown headed gulls (and mobilescope too)…….Further down we also added Common babblers, W.Cheeked bulbuls, E.Marsh harriers, S.Breasted munias, A.Pied starlings and L.tailed shrikes to our now swelling list.

IIT, Powai: Our 3rd Location was IIT Powai. With Dr.Nyayate (he is a professor in Gyansadhna College, Thane), we didn't have problem with permission to enter the campus and near the wonderful Powai lake. I had birded around Powai on many occasions, but never had the opportunity to bird from inside the campus. Thanks to the Bird Race, I got my first chance to appreciate the beautiful IIT campus and the road bordering the lake. Two teams lead by Dr.Ajay Pradhan and Sanal Nair were also present there and we had some wonderful time Birdwatching with these equally wonderful people. Amongst the new species added in our list were Purple herons & Swamphens, Common & W.Throated Kingfishers, Both Phesant tailed & Bronzewinged Jacanas, Glossy Ibis, Common Coots, Spotbills & Lesser whistling ducks, C.Pigmy goose, Indian & Little cormorants, Whiskered terns and a very acrobatic Osprey that delighted everyone with his diving prowess to catch his prey.

Sewri: It was already 3 pm and we still had one more location to cover-Sewri and though the teammates were tired, all had enough strength and zeal to continue……after refreshing ourselves with tea at one of Mr.Nyayate's relatives (One Dr.Wangikar, who won the President's Junior scientist award for 2005- truly inspiring) we proceeded towards Sewri, that we intended to reach before the high tide (at 5.08 pm) and catch up those marvelous birds on which we had named our team (Flamingos) …… Sensing too much crowd near the main jetty and also the fact that the high tide reaches there first we diverted towards the Colgate factory, only to find almost 7 teams there…….It was wonderful to see so many birding colleagues and especially new birders together ( wearing the wonderful HSBC T-Shirts) along with the curious people that thronged the place………

The sheer sight of the flamingos helped us to forget about all the fatigue of the day. Both lesser and Greater flamingos were close to the shore along with some other waders, Gulls & Terns. Grey plovers, Eurasian Curlew, Gullbilled terns, Little ringed plover and a lone Pacific golden plover gave good scope views…whereas the Slender billed gulls were appreciated by all……….The private BPT road (Toll Rs.20/car) that joins Sewri to Chembur RCF colony is another good place to bird and we added Paddyfield pipits and Common Mynas to our final tally of 111 birds.

All throughout the day surprisingly….and quite surprisingly we didn't sight a single wagtail of any species…..in Powai, Airoli or Sewri and hence our "Dip of the Day" was Wagtails……..Many people saw them though…but the overall numbers seem to have declined this year.

The evening function was held at a convenient location- Maharashtra Nature Park and it was heartening to see so many birders (almost 180+) on one platform and coming from all over the region, some as far as Pune, Chakan, Badlapur (and that too present, after a long & exhaustive full day birding) ……The arrangements were well done, thanks to Mr.Avinash Kubal (Dy.Director of MNP) and the short presentation well given, especially the Kids from Udayanchal school, Godrej and the children from Chakan…….I am sure the poem and presentation by them have inspired many, who were present……….moreover their keen observations on bird behavior, taught us some lessons on how to observe birds.

Though there were only 4 prizes, there was never a hint of Losing ….everyone had won, everybody had enjoyed ……it was a day not just for listing down birds that were sighted, as many people have been unfortunately making out……but a step forward, in making "Birdwatching as a Hobby" more popular, To know more about the avain data of the region, To sensitize more people towards birdwatching, that no doubt is a door to enter the wonders of nature, an opportunity for many (especially team captains) to lead a small group, so that they lead larger groups in future, To bring the birders on a single platform and share their knowledge……………and much much more………

A very Big Thanks to HSBC, who have being supporting the event for the last 2 years and for those T-shirts and caps….those were lovely and attracted many people's attention towards our cause.

A huge thanks to Sunjoy Monga who, as always have been taking initiatives to organize such events and encouraging many people….and Mandar Khadilkar for helping out.

It was a great opportunity to interact with so many birders on a single day and appreciate their passion for the hobby from a 7 yr old to 70+ yrs young….its infectious. I hope more people would join in next time, most importantly, to share their knowledge with the novices and to motivate new people….this year there were 175 participants, but I hope to see 175 teams next time.

And Finally, my deep gratitude to the Birds who delight and motivated me as always …………….

Happy Birding,
Addi The Birde

Complete list of the Team "Flamingos"

1) Jungle babbler
2) Brown-headed Barbet (large green)
3) Coppersmith Barbet
4) Small Green bee-eater
5) Red-vented bulbul
6) Red-whiskered bulbul
7) White-browed bulbul
8) White-eared (white-cheeked) bulbul
9) Oriental honey buzzard
10) Common Coot
11) Indian cormorant
12) Little cormorant
13) Coucal, Greater (Crow pheasant)
14) House crow
15) Large-billed (jungle) crow
16) Eurasian Curlew
17) Laughing (little brown) dove
18) Spotted dove
19) Ashy drongo
20) Black drongo
21) Greater racket-tailed drongo
22) Spangled drongo
23) White-bellied drongo
24) Spot-billed duck
25) Booted eagle
26) Crested serpent eagle
27) Cattle egret
28) Great egret
29) Intermediate (median) egret
30) Little egret
31) Greater flamingo
32) Lesser flamingo
33) Pale-billed (tickell's) flowerpecker
34) Thick-billed flowerpecker
35) Asian paradise flycather
36) Monarch, black-naped
37) Red-throated flycather
38) Tickell's blue flycather
39) Gargeny teal
40) Common Greenshank
41) Black-tailed Godwit
42) Cotton pygmy(cotton teal) goose
43) Black-headed gull
44) Brown-headed gull
45) Slender-billed gull
46) Eurasian marsh harrier
47) Grey heron
48) Indian pond heron
49) Purple heron
50) Glossy Ibis
51) Common Iora
52) Bronze-winged Jacana
53) Pheasant-tailed Jacana
54) Common kingfisher
55) White-throated kingfisher
56) Black kite
57) Asian Koel
58) Red-wattled lapwing
59) Rufous-tailed lark
60) Golden-fronted leafbird (Chloropsis)
61) Scarlet minivet
62) Scaly-breasted munia
63) Common Myna
64) Black-hooded Oriole
65) Eurasian golden Oriole
66) Osprey
67) Collared Scops Owl
68) Alexandrine Parakeet
69) Plum-headed Parakeet
70) Rose-ringed Parakeet
71) Vernal Hanging Parrot(Lorikeet)
72) Chestnut headed petronia
73) Blue Rock Pigeon
74) Paddy-field pipit
75) Grey Plover
76) Little ringed Plover
77) Pacific, golden Plover
78) Ashy Prinia
79) Grey-breasted Prinia
80) Plain Prinia
81) Common Redshank
82) Indian Robin
83) Oriental magpie Robin
84) Common sandpiper
85) Curlew sandpiper
86) Green sandpiper
87) Marsh sandpiper
88) Terek sandpiper
89) Wood sandpiper
90) Shikra
91) Long-tailed Shrike
92) House sparrow
93) Asian-pied (pied myna) starling
94) Black winged stilt
95) Purple sunbird
96) Purple-rumped sunbird
97) Barn Swallow
98) Red-rumped Swallow
99) Wire-tailed Swallow
100) Purple Swamphen
101) Asian palm Swift
102) Common Tailorbird
103) Gull-billed Tern
104) Whiskered Tern
105) Malabar whistling Thrush
106) Rufous Tree-Pie
107) Booted warbler
108) Greenish warbler
109) Brown-headed pygmy woodpecker
110) Yellow-crowed (Mahratta) woodpecker
111) Common wood-shrike

Bhigwan - A “Big One” for Ducks and Waterfowl

2005-12-19T20:06:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

The wetlands in North (India) generally are very good spots to see huge nos. of migratory waterfowls especially ducks as compared to South (India) …….. But if you visit “Bhigwan” near Pune it is a different story……It’s definitely a “Big One” for Ducks.

Bhigwan is about 95 Kms from Pune on the Pune-Solapur highway (NH-9) and is a catchment area of the mighty Ujani Dam. It is a proposed sanctuary for migratory birds, an area of about 18000 hectares. The water catchment area is spread across around the town of Bhigwan……..This is probably the best spot in South Central India to see ducks in enormous numbers….the whole area is mesmerizing & reminiscence to the wetlands of the north.

For a long time I wished to visit this place (I had a glimpse of this spot way back in 2002 for about 2 Hrs on the way to Nannaj, Solapur) and so we (Myself, Mandar Khadilkar, Abhijeet Narvekar & Palavi Joshi) decided to birdwatch around Bhigwan on 19th Dec’05……Thanks to Abhijeet for his Zen and a long drive, we started from Mumbai on 18th Dec’05 in the evening and reached non-stop to Bhigwan town by 11.30 p.m…….There are not many hotels to stay here and it is advisable to halt for the night in Pune….we got a hotel though (If I could call it as a hotel, the electric switches of which reminded us of “Suduko” game) with unlocked bathrooms & Open windows…we somehow survived the night…..

We started early next day (19th Dec’05) for birding. Mandar had done some research (opps?) on the routes and good spots and also with some help from Mr.Gaurav Purohit (Pune) managed to cover 4 major spots around Bhigwan in a single day – Kumbhargaon, Diksal, Patas & Varwand dam ……..

Kumbhargaon: To reach this spot one has to take the highway from Bhigwan town towards Solapur, cross a bridge (about 2 kms.) and take a left “Kuccha” Road (there is a board named Kumbhargaon)….about a km from the main road, the vast expanse of the Ujani dam area spreads out in front of you…….

The morning was misty and chilly….the first thing that struck us here were huge nos. of Common Coots along the stretch of the water body……Also, we could see thousands of ducks from here that included predominantly the Beautiful Eurasian Wigeons, Gadwalls & Shovellers (Most in their eclipse plumage) other duck species were few viz. Spotbilled, Common Teals, Ruddy sheld ducks, Gargeny. Surprisingly Pochards were nowhere to be seen only one male Common Pochard and a lone female Red crested Pochard was seen mingling in the company of other birds.

There were several other interesting sightings that included, literally thousands of barn swallows, House swifts, Red Rumped swallows, Wire tailed swallows hawking for the insects above, zigzagging just above the ground, oblivious of our presence (We wondered how they do not collide with each other in such rapid flight)…4 Palla’s Gulls, All species of wagtails except White wagtails, Brown & Long tailed shrikes, River, Whiskered and Gull-Billed Terns, Great, Little & Indian Cormorants, Glossy Ibis in huge nos, Asian Openbill and Painted storks……Waders included Wood & Common Sandpipers, Black tailed Godwits, Red Shanks & Black winged stilts…….A soaring pair of Small Falcons could not be identified as they were against the sunlight (I suspect them to be Red Necked falcons from the Gizz)………………I am sure there must be those Pratincoles mixed among the swarms of Swallows, though we couldn’t see any.

There is a Pump house about 500 mts from “Kumbhargaon” village. We hired a boat from here to go close to the ducks. The Boatman was happy to take us at Rs.100 (1/2 of his daily earnings) for a ride……though we were able to go a bit closer to the ducks, they always maintained a certain distance, but it is always a treat to watch these beauties at eye level swimming/feeding/relaxing/preening/floating. The area around the water body is also very good for birding and we added plenty of other birds in our list including, Pied & Common (now Siberian) Stonechats, Golden Orioles, Lesser white throats, Paddy field pipits, Rosy & Brahminy Starlings, Small Green Bee-eaters, Grey Francolins calling and the master of camouflage Yellow wattled Lapwings………

The surrounding place is rich for cultivation of Maze, Sugarcane, Jowar……Burlp….the Corn maze and Sugarcanes were very sweet…

The roads (after the mighty monsoons) were very bumpy and the Maruti Zen's low road clearance bottom kept banging all the time...so much that we eventually had to cristened it as "Maruti Hummer-H2" (The legendry american army vehicle)....however, a Vehicle is a must if one has to cover more spots.

Diksal : To reach this place……take a left turn from Bhigwan (Towards Solapur end) and go straight for about 8-9 kms…..there are a bit twisty turns, but on the way there are many spots to stop and bird. We did the same and were rewarded with a Twany Eagle, Cotton Pigmy Goose, Lesser Whistling Teal, Ruff, Clamorous warblers, Marsh harriers, Comb ducks, More Ruddy shelducks, Common Kestrels……once again Eurasian Wigeons, Gadwalls & Shovellers dominated the scene ……incidentally this is the spot (I learn) where the Greater Flamingos are seen in late winter.

Patas: This place is on the Pune-Solapur highway about 20 kms from Bhigwan…….apparently a good habitat for waterfowls but we saw only few Common Coots, many Purle Herons, Purple swamphens, Common & W.T.Kingfishers, Pheasant tailed Jacanas……..There is a huge heronry along the Eucalyptus trees and a big colony of fruit bats (Flying fox).

Varwand Dam : There are 2 ways to go here …..Either take a right turn just before Bhigwan (About 6 kms) or take a right turn (Kuccha Road) after Bhigwan (Solapur end or the road opp. the road that leads to Diksal) …….We took the later after bothering Mr.Gaurav Purohit for directions…..

After a sumptuous vegetarian Rice plate at a hotel at Bhigwan, we proceeded towards Varwand Dam, While getting directions, we were told by one farmer to stick along the water-pipe going parallel to this road…..we did follow his instructions, but at one point we took a wrong turn and landed up at a dead end….but this was fruitful as, when we stepped out to inspect the barren area ahead, we saw some Indian Coursers running in their peculiar gait, far on the fallow land….on close observation that region revealed more birds that included, Greater short toed larks, tawny pipits and a male Pallied Harrier….apparently a very good habitat for grassland and dry country birds including Sandgrouse (and GIBs) ….Ahh !! this was sure a bonus for us….. nearby, a water canal revealed Little Ringed Plover, R.W.Lapwings, Wood Sandpiper & Longtailed shrikes………

By the time we reached “Varwand” Dam at around 5.00pm, the light had already started to fade but a scan thro’ the Spotting Scope revealed one of the biggest congregation of Ducks …..even at a conservative estimate the Nos. would be anywhere close to 15000…….Lo….how we came late here and missed the light….everyone of us were depressed, as we were unable to identify the ducks (on the other shore) in the fast fading light and to reach the other side where all of them were concentrated, we would have to negotiate a very bad road about a Km. or so that would have taken more time and light…….A huge eagle about a size of Imperial eagle was seen mobbed by a Jungle Crow on the other far side sitting on a pole and we could just judge its size from its silhouette…. Sigh!! We decided to check this place first, in case we happen to visit again………However, the mood was somewhat regained with some clear and close sightings of Barred Button quails on the road……..

I know, there are many Duck crazy birders (err…I mean to see and observe) and Bighwan is a place for them…….Its a “Big One for” Ducks…..

Happy Birding,
Addi The Birde

PS: Thanks for the wonderful company …..It was an enjoyable experience.....Particularly Abhijeet for his vehicle and his uncomplained driving (It was very very tiring) , Palavi for keeping us smiling all the time and Mandar for his directions (Hmmm....) and passion.

Here’s a complete list of the birds seen & heard (Total 104 species):

Barred Button Quail (Clear & Close sightings on the road)
Ruddy Shelduck (few but in all 4 sightings)
Comb Duck (a Pair near Diksal)
Gadwall (Plenty)
Eurasian Wigeon (The most numerous)
Spot Billed Duck (Scattered along the edges)
Gargeney (Very few)
Northen Pintail (about c50)
Northen Shoveller (Plenty…most in eclipse plumage)
Red Crested Pochard (One female)
Lesser Whistling Duck (Only one)
Cotton Pigmy Goose (Near Diksal)
Common Hoopoe (at least 4)
Common Kingfisher
White Breasted Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher (Only 2 at Varwand)
Green Bee-eater
Asian Koel
Greater Coucal
House Swift
Rock Pigeon
Laughing Dove
Spotted Dove
White Breasted Waterhen (seen one near Patas)
Purple Swamphen (Everywhere)
Common Moorhen
Common Coot (Most numerous)
Wood Sandpiper (Along the edges)
Common Sandpiper
Black Tailed Godwit (One each near Kumbhargaon & Diksal)
Indian Courser (4 at fallow land near Varwand)
Common Red Shank
Ruff ( a Pair near Diksal)
Pheasant Tailed Jacana
Little Ring Plover
Yellow Wattled Lapwing (Many in suitable habitat)
Red Wattled Lapwing
Palla's Gull (About c4 at Kumbhargaon)
Brown Headed Gull
Black Headed Gull
River Tern
Whiskered Tern
Gull-Billed tern
Black Shouldered Kite
Black Kite
Brahminy Kite (one at Patas)
Eurasian Marsh Harrier
Pallied Harrier (one magnificent male)
Shikra
Tawny Eagle (one near Diksal)
Common Kestrel
Little Grebe
Little Cormorant
Indian Cormorant
Great Cormorant (Few)
Little Egret
Great Egret
Intermediate Egret
Cattle Egret
Indian Pond Heron
Grey Heron (Plenty everywhere)
Purple Heron (Many at Patas – a very good habitat for this bird))
Glossy Ibis (Huge flocks)
Oriental White Ibis (2 at Diksal)
Painted Stork (At Diksal & Kumbhargaon)
Asian Openbill (The most common Stork)
Brown Shrike
Long Tailed Shrike
Bay Backed Shrike (One on the way near highway)
House Crow
Large Billed Crow
Small Minivet - call
White Browed Fantail
Black Drongo
Ashy Drongo
Common Stonechat (Now called as Siberian Stonechat)
Pied Bushchat
Brahminy Starling
Rosy Starling
Common Myna
Great Tit (One on the way to Varwand)
Barn Swallow (In thousands)
Wire Tailed Swallow
Red Rumped Swallow
Red Vented Bulbul
Blyth's Reed Warbler
Clamorous Reed Warbler
Lesser Whitethroat (At the Pump house-Kumbhargaon)
Common Tailorbird
Common Chiffchaff
Jungle Babbler
Large Grey Babbler
Ashy Crowned Sparrow Lark
Rufous Tailed Lark
Greater Short Toed Lark (At fallow land near Varwand)
House Sparrow
White Browed Wagtail
Citrine Wagtail (Plenty)
Yellow Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Paddy field Pipit
Tawny Pipit ((At fallow land near Varwand)
Baya Weaver
Indian Silverbill

Sewri- The Flamingo days are back (27th Nov'05)

2005-12-01T02:45:00.000+05:30

Hi Folks,

After the SGNP in the morning, I, along with Sahshank and a colleague, went to Sewri for a brief visit to check out the arrival of Flamingos on 27th Nov’05 Evening…..

It was a low tide and the birds were very far and with an old ship docked nearby for repairs and banging away, the birds were a bit farther away from the shore….we had a spotting scope though and could see the Lesser flamingos (About 400-500) at far end near the BPCL refinery towers…….However no Greater flamingos……the number is expected to increase in few days.

We had planned to stay only for few mins. But the many curious families that came to see flamingos were looking disappointed at not seeing them (with the naked eyes), so had to volunteer to show them thro’ the scope and explain some facts….surprisingly all of them seemed to know about the proposed sealink.

The sight of the flamingos (thro’ the scope) put a smile on their face, One person even offered us “Watermelon” from a fruitwalla, who sure knew where to park his moving store.

Other birds sighted were, Terek, Curlew, Broadbilled & Common Sandpipers, Pacific Golden & Grey Plovers, Lesser & Greater sand plovers, Little stints, Black tailed Godwits, Curlews, Wimbrels, Common Red & Green Shanks, O.White Ibis, Gull-billed terns, Little, Intermediate, Reef & Great egrets…..and many gulls & terns that were far enough for any id.

Sashank pointed out some black waders…..I instantly thought of spotted Red shanks in breeding plumage…but wait….on closer look, they revealed as oil bathed Curlew / braodbilled sandpipers (Several)…..a day later, Sanshank visited Sewri again and informed of an oil layer on the water near the Excise/customs office end…..on the last visit to Sewri with Mr.Ananth, we saw few Black tailed Godwits with black mask and I had jokingly said that these were the Masked Godwits…now I realized that it was afterall the oil that was responsible for the mask.

Once again for those who wish to go to sewri:

The best time to see Flamingos is 3 hrs before or 2 hrs after the high tide (when the birds are nearer to the shore). The tide timings can be found out from the following site:

http://www.mobilegeographics.com:81/locations/658.html

The Flamingo days are back……….

Cheers!!
Addi The Birde

SGNP - A flock of migratory Amur Falcons

2005-11-27T20:45:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

Had a great day birding with Bnhs members on Sunday 27th Nov'05 near Kahneri caves (SGNP-Borivali national park, Mumbai). This was an official Bnhs trail lead by Sanal Nair and self to the highest point, But due to some reasons, got permission only uptill the "Gomukh" point above the Kahneri plateau.

Highlights : A migrating flock of 8 Amur Falcons, Greater spotted Eagle and Verditer flycatcher.

The climate was cool, but the forest was comparatively silent and what with about 35+ people with us.......the sightings and sounds were relatively poor. We started our trail from the base of Kahneri (Opp. to the Tulsi Road) and ended up on the Kahneri plateau.

Most of the birds were identified by calls, that included Greater Racket tailed Drongos, Tickell's, Monarch & Red breasted flycatchers, Tickell's leaf warblers, a sulphur bellied warbler, White Breasted Kingfisher...and had some very good sightings of Verditer Flycatcher, an adult Greater Spotted Eagle (Mobbed by jungle crows), Plum Headed parakeet (Female thro' S.Scope), A Honey Buzzard, Pond Heron, Yellow footed green pigeons, Ashy drongos, Greater coucal, Golden Oriole…….

Reaching at the plateau, I was scanning the area, when I saw a flock of birds approaching from east to west….it was very far and flying rapidly….first I thought they were green pigeons…but so high ?...then I thought their flight resembled sandgrouse…but sandgrouse are not found here……then as they came near, above my head, I realized what I was looking at were Amur falcons….the wing shape, the fast fight and the timing all pointed out towards Amurs…..…..We counted 8 of them and were sure, some more would be on their way…..I tried to scan a little more and waited for a while, but that was the only flock we saw.

Interestingly the Amur falcons are rare passage migrants to Mumbai region and they migrate from Northern China / Mongolia to South Africa…an incredible journey of several thousand Kms.

I was surprised to find no Crag martins……..

Cheers!!
Adesh

Tungareshwar - An overlooked forest

2005-11-20T19:58:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

(Photos courtesy: Mr.Murlidhar)

After a splendid last weekend in Tungareshwar, where we saw an Immature Rufous Bellied Hawk Eagle, Malabar parakeets, Crested Tree swifts & White eyes….I wanted to explore this place again and see if I could get a photograph (Mobilescope atleast) of the R.B.H.Eagle..... a very sighnificant sighting for the region.

The recently declared Tungareshwar sanctuary ( deciduos / Moist decidious/ semi evergreen) can be accessed by various routes and having birded there several times by the main route (Vasai/Tungareshwar phata), Mandar suggested to take another route that is close to the famous Vajreshwari springs…….To reach this place one has to go via the Ahmedabad Highway, take a right turn at Shirsat Phata (Or Vajreshwari Phata) and after crossing “Usgaon” (8-10 kms from Shirsat) village about a km., there is a Kuccha road that leads to the “Sadanand Baba Ashram” ….there is a board that announces this……

Last Sunday (…), we had some good catch like Malabar parakeets, White-eyes, Crested tree swifts, Y.Legged Green Pigeons etc…….. We were lucky with Malabar parakeets (Western ghats endemic) this time as well…..This area apparently seems to be the northern most range of its distribution ( Sunjoy informs , he too has sightings of these parakeets from this area) …….We also had a very clear and confirmed sighting of Juv. R.B.H.Eagle. This species has distribution from Goa south and we all were surprised and stunned to find this bird here…way way north…..The unmistakable black hood and whiter under parts and the small size ( +Booted eagle ) makes its ID fairly easy.

It was not a particularly happy day for me though……firstly my mobile phone (Mobilescope fame) went dead and I have to give it for repairs, secondly my S.Scope fell and broke the adapter (Thankfully the optics are safe), so could not use it for the trip (And won’t use atleast for a couple of weeks now) and lastly my right eye got some particle and was sore………

The prospect of sighting a Rufous bellied Eagle, had Venkat come all the way from Chembur and Amod Karkhanis & Mr.Anil Kunte from Thane at 7.00 am on 20th Nov'05, rest of us had stayed at Mandar's ( Dahisar)........

The climate, however was cool when we* spotted our first species- a pair of Common Rosefinches. Continued with Malabar parakeets, White browed Bulbuls, Imm. Shikra, O.Honey buzzard, E.Golden & Black hooded Orioles, Small minivets, Rufous bellied babblers etc…..

Pugmarks of a Leopard in the mud on the main path and further on, of a Civet cat (Mr.Anil Kunte) indicated of a good healthy forest, but the rampant woodcutting activity along the way made us realise the true picture……..

Among the other species we saw were Verditer flycatcher, White bellied, Ashy and Greater Racket tailed drongos, Common woodshrikes, Redbreasted, Paradise & Monarch flycathers, Greenish leaf warblers singing, a Good sighting of Western crowned leaf warbler and Sulphur bellied warblers, Thick billed and Pale billed flowerpeckers, Common Ioras, Black headed cuckoo shrike, Yellow crowned woodpecker, Plenty of Crested tree swifts, Tree pipit, Grey brested prinias in non-breeding flocks. Also what I thought was a Tytlers leaf warbler, but could not confirm…… Good & plenty sightings of Eurasian Crag martins hawking insects along with the swallows and swifts……

The region seems very good for forest raptors. We had very good and prolonged sightings of a pair of Changeable hawk eagles and with the breeding season commencing, this pair is expected to stick to this place, also magnificent Black Eagle rising on the thermals….one has to see it, to experience the graceful flight of these majestic eagles with the glistening black feathers shining in the sun rays………

Though I birded with my damaged phone (camera), Spotting Scope and one eye, I had my 2 ears, 1 eye, and wonderful birding pals with me …….

This part of Tungareshwar deserves more visits that promises plenty of surprises…..

Happy Birding,

Adesh

*Participants (on 14th Nov'05) : Myself, Ashwini Vaidya, Mandar Khadilkar, Abhijeet Narvekar, Animish Mandhrekar, Ms.Pallavi Joshi & Mr.Murlidhar

On 20th Nov: Venkat Krishnan, Amod Karkhanis & Mr.Anil Kunte.

Karnala & Indian Pitta - The SUSPECT (10.7.05)

2005-07-10T23:37:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

It’s nice to see after a long time,so many people, contributing their sightings on the group…let me as well give my share.

After a very long Hibernation (almost 2 months), I had been to Karnala on 10th July’05 with Bob (Iwan) Roberts, Vidya Rao & Shashank Dalvi.

It was pretty late (9.00 am) when we reached there. The weather was very humid and hot. With no rains for almost a week, we were certain to miss out on the numerous mushroom species that emerge out and for which Karnala is a superb place.

We were greeted with plenty of bird calls, with Vidya looking absolutely lost. There were calls of Sunbirds, flowerpeckers, Ioras, drongos, minivets…..One bird call, however caught our attention. It was that distinct call Weet….weview……an Indian Pitta. Now, this bird (Also called as “Navrang”) is thought to be a passage migrant for our region, moving from South to North & central India for breeding and can be encountered during end May & initial June and again in October on their return journey….. Well this was July, its peak breeding season. Also some of my friends who went to Phansad the following Tuesday also informed me that they saw & heard quite a few Pittas ( and then Dr.Vaibhav also confirmed seeing Pittas near Alibaug regularly in July)….This particular bird responded to the calls we made and was looking in a very challenging mood, and was calling continuously, thinking of some intrusion on its territory. I SUSPECT this species may be nesting here in small nos……… However while scanning thro’ records I found this comment from Dr.Salim Ali-- “Breeds sporadically e.g. Bombay environs. Mainly southwest monsoon winter visitor and/or passage migrant in peninsula India,” Ali, S. & Ripley, S. D. 1983;. (From compilation by Anand Prasad, BOB files)

Click the following to view this beautiful bird: http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/birdimages.php?action=birdspecies&Bird_ID=1313&Bird_Image_ID=12558&Bird_Family_ID=142&p=8

While photographing this bird with my handy cam, I had a bad fall twisting my left wrist, while shooing away a Rhesus Macacque, which was attracted to my un-attended bag on the ground……

Further down the “Mortaka trail” we encountered a very good mixed hunting party of birds that almost had 13 species…..including G.R.tailed drongo, Whitebellied and Bronze drongos, Palebilled & thickbilled flowerpeckers, Purple & Crimson backed Sunbirds, Black hooded Orioles, A party of C.Wood shrikes, Spotted Babblers, Ioras…..etc. a party of c3 C.Serpant Eagles was soaring above (Probably a family), calls of Malabar whistling thrush, Quaker babbler, L.Flameback, Monarch flycatcher, Grey jungle fowl etc….. Surprisingly no cuckoo calls or Orange headed thrush calls were heard.

Mr.Chandrashekhar Marathe (RFO-Karnala) showed us the stuffed Leopard and a tiger that was gifted by the Late actor Mr.Ashok Kumar Ganguly, which are kept in their guest house (Mayur)… he was also kind enough to share, what the forest department is trying to do to maintain the forest & the various activities including nature education….but also expressed the Dept’s helplessness due to lack of guards & beaurocracy……..

With the rains now in full flow, Karnala should be very good for birds, plants, insects & amphibians.

Happy Birding,
Addi the Birde
Mumbai
9820455713

"Nilje-Dombivli" and Breeding Bronze winged Jacanas (13.2.05)

2005-02-13T18:02:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

I had done extensive birding for many years in and around Dombivli from 1994 to 2001….However because of the Job commitments could not bird in these areas for some time now. However Bnhs was kind enough to organize an outing at Nilje today i.e. 13th Feb’05 (A village situated about 8 Kms from Dombivli station along the Dombivli – Sheel Phata- Mumbai Highway) but was little disappointed to see almost 80 people registered for the outing, including 36 college students. However had an opportunity to revive the old birding memories.

Nilje is an average sized “Agri”village that has this very beautiful pond just at the entrance. The surrounding area is a mixture of cultivated land / dry fallow land and Scrub country. We have recorded almost 150+ species from here over the period that we had birded including a number of uncommon sightings. A regular bus service from Dombivli station east takes you to this place in 20 mins. Nilje is also connected by rail on the Diva – Virar Route.

The Nilje pond is a size of two football fields that is covered with water lilies and other aquatic vegetation that attracts plenty on water birds including migratory ducks. We had good sightings of Gargeny teals (approx. c50) and Cotton pigmy goose / Cotton teals in Br+ plumage…..

Apparently I thought the numbers of these small but beautiful ducks has fallen considerably around Mumbai region with very few sightings as compared to past ( I used to see C.P.Goose in Bombay University Kalina Campus, Juhu-near D.N.Nagar,some ponds in Thane, Araey Pond etc., now they seem to be gone from these places)…

There were also good sightings of Lesser Pied Kingfisher couple, hovering & diving for fish in its usual spectacular display and there were Egrets and Pond Herons taking there favorite perches at regular intervals.Both the species of Jacanas found in India i.e. Pheasant Tailed (In Non Breeding plumage) and Bronze winged Jacanas were numerous and the most vocal of the lot.

What surprised me was, one Jacana had 3 nestlings about 4-5 days old. Usually the breeding season of Jacanas is from June to September at the onset of the monsoon with slight variations but I had never seen this during winter and February is too early for this bird to nest. The male was keeping a sharp vigil as the 3 babies feed nearby pecking at some vegetation or water insect (very clearly seen from the Scope) ……I say male bird as the Female of Jacanas are known to be “Polyandrous” i.e. It has many husbands and is known to kill even its own babies so that the male is induced to mate again. In Nilje Jacanas had been seen breeding and with babies only during the monsoon………..

The water vegetation was not thick and hence, probably the Purple swamp hens were missing from the gang that are otherwise present in huge numbers ( The pond was desilted this year, so the vegetation probably had taken time to grow). There were other birds in and around the pond / Lake that included Green Sandpiper, Little cormorant, White breasted water Hen, White throated kingfisher, Yellow wagtail, Paddy field pipit, Long tailed shrike, Blyth’s reed warbler, Tailor bird, Ashy prinia, Barn swallows, Palm swifts………A pair of Rufous tailed sparrow lark visited the pond to quench there thirst….. If you just decide to sit by the pond you will see many such birds visiting the pond as the day becomes hot.

The trees surrounding the pond were also very productive as the pipal and Banyan trees were fruiting and the Coral tree & Indian Silk cotton starting to blossom……..and on these were spotted plenty of Common Rosefinches (One of my sure places to sight these fellows), Coppersmith Barbets, Tree pipits, Golden Oriole, Black Drongos, Chestnut shouldered petronias, Common Ioras that was responding to the calls…

There is a Mango tree nearby and is the favorite place of a pair of spotted owlets that were very noisy at our approach.Further down in the cultivated fields were Indian Robins, Crow Pheasants, Crimson breasted barbets, Ashy crowned Sparrow Larks, Small green bee eaters, Red vented Bulbuls, Pariah Kites and an Immature Brahminy kite soaring…

I thought few birds were seen this time. A shikra was seen scanning the pond area latter in the day.

Though these are just few birds sighted within a span of 2 ½ hrs around the Nilje pond with 80 people around, the place has much much more to offer. And would like to share my past birding experiences around this area…….But sometime later.

Happy Birding,

Addi The Birde
9820455713*

Sincere thanks to Mr.Vithoba Hegde ( From Bnhs) and Mr.Parthiv Sanghvi for helping in managing the large No. of people that turned for the outing.

Karnala - There are plenty of Birds out there.....(6.2.05)

2005-02-06T18:08:00.001+05:30

Dear All,

Wanted to write the trip report of Karnala, but was late again……however, here comes a rather long mail this time…….

Once a friend of mine informed me that there are no birds in “Karnala Bird Sanctuary”…… I was taken aback by his Findings (???) ….but then could I blame him for that?.....well !! This is the perception of most of the people not in the business of birdwatching as for them there are birds in Karnala only when they see them in cages kept near the rest houses……and sure enough the cages were removed / broken with only two cages having Australian budgerigars & orange spotted cockatiels respectively that kept the visitors especially children’s amused and to believe that there are many birds in Karnala.

Karnala Bird Sanctuary however, does have plenty of wild birds owing to its rich deciduous habitat….and the Sunday outing of 6th Feb’04 organized by Bnhs gave good opportunity to explore.

Karnala is on the busy Bombay-Goa NH-17, just c12 Kms from Panvel. A beautiful Deciduous / mixed deciduous forest that spans roughly 12.11 Sq.Kms. While the forest is a paradise for birdwatchers, the fort trail is enjoyed by the Hikers that leads to the now depilated fort on the top having a prominent pinnacle, famous as the “Thump’s up” pinnacle (460 mts). However the picnickers that get attracted to this serene environment, by there “Hoopla” make a sorry picture.

There are 3 good trails for birding in Karnala (Offcourse this is my personal view, otherwise any path in the forest offers good birding)

1) Fort Trail : That leads you to the fort thro’ much climbing and muscle pumping for about 1 ½ - 2 Hrs with some treacherous climbing at the end (not recommended for the poor hearts). But is worth taking as you go thro’ different woodland types with Moist deciduous interspersed with semi-evergreen vegetation at the higher elevation and the view from the top is wonderful particularly after the monsoon with some birds like the Shahin Falcon, Common Kestrel & Crested Serpant Eagles waiting for you there.

2) Boremal Trail : This trail is on the other side of the road on the west and is also a very enjoyable trail, however I have not explored this trail much & hence do not have much to write on this.

3) Mortaka Trail : This undulating trail more or less travels parallel to the highway from inside the forest and at the base of the hill. Continuing further along this trail for about c2 ½ Kms , one reaches the NH-17 highway.

Owing to my illness I had requested Mr.Parthiv Sanghvi to come along with me just in case few members wanted to go along the fort trail that required some exertion and he was kind enough to accompany. Dr. Almieda was the resource person for the plants (A virtual encyclopaedia on the Plant kingdom) who made the trip very exciting & complete.

We took the Mortaka Trail that travels thro’ some excellent birding route and also which is less travelled by the “Rowdy Mobs” wanting to go to the fort (as there is a bifurcation from this trail that is a shortcut to go to the fort)…..

But for me the best birding patch in Karnala, as I experienced over the several visits is, from the Gate ( Road ) uptill the Rest house, a distance of merely a 100 Mts, but one should go in the early morning, before the “Time-pass public” start pouring in.And sure enough, as we reached there at 8.15 am (Still a bit late) our first bird of the day was, surprisingly a Malabar whistling Thrush that was revealed due to its metallic long drawn calls ( The whistle call that made it famous as the “idle schoolboy”, I believe is given rather when the bird is in a relax mood ??)……I have often observed several times, a strange behaviour of this bird of being very inquisitive, and would approach you very near or come out in open as if to investigate who is the intruder ….This was immediately followed by very good sightings of 4 species of sunbirds out of the possible 5 that could be found here namely the Purple Rumped , Purple, Crimson or Yellow backed and the Crimson backed or Small Sunbird ( I think Karnala would be the nearest place from Mumbai to have a sure sighting of the Small sunbird) …The bird that was left out from this clan being the Loten’s sunbird.

Well !!! we had come at the right time, as the Famous “Trio” of trees that adds the red colour to our forest and announces the approaching summer, had started blooming i.e. Red Silk Cotton, Flame of the Forest (Palash) and Indian Coral tree. One could also add, “Bonnfire” tree to these (Sorry…I only know the common names)………

With the bloom also came other species that get attracted to these, such as the Drongos, Golden & Black hooded Orioles, Golden Fronted Chloropsis, Chestnut shouldered petronias, leaf warblers, Mynas Etc…..infact we were lucky once again to observe 4 species of drongos as well out of the possible 6, namely…Ashy drongo that was looking very “Rowdy”, Greater racket tailed (only calls), common Black & the White bellied.

There are various species of trees around the 2 beautiful rest houses--Mayur & Bhardwaj. Some of them (As we learned from Dr.Almeida) are rare and on these are the equally varied and uncommon birds that can be seen….infact I would go to the extent of saying that atleast once, do not take any trail, just sit amongst these trees and you will find almost 75% of the bird species, that otherwise could be seen normally on a trail …….well !!! we spotted birds close to this number e.g. Large cuckoo shrike (Calls), Brown headed / Large Green Barbet, Racket tailed drongo, Lesser Golden Backed woodpecker, Golfronted leafbird / Chloropsis, Sunbirds, Pale billed Flower peckers, Golden Orioles, Tailor bird (Calls), Quaker babbler, Slaty headed Scimitar babbler (Calls), Greenish leaf warblers, Booted leaf warblers, Scarlet Minivet (Female – good sighting by all) & Orange headed ground thrush rummaging on the ground.

Further down the trail, we got to see a very rare plant. As Dr.Almeida informed that this climber “ Nitum ola” is the living fossil & only species in its family to be found in India and is the only flowering Gymnosperm.We were lucky to see it in flowering……..

The heat had started building up now and with the undulating terrain every body seemed to be tired…when somebody caught site of something looking like a pair of birds on a bare branch of a tree, which on close observation was identified as Green Pigeon and I was just explaining to the group that the state bird of Maharashtra is the Yellow footed Green pigeon…when suddenly it turned a bit and its brown / maroon mantle came into view….Oh !! Oh!! So they were not the Yellow legged after all, but the “Pompadour Green pigeons”. These Green birds have such a wonderful camouflage of colour that it takes some time for any birder to realise that there are so many of them on the same tree ( They are usually found in groups)..but this gave an opportunity for some revision on the state- bird, animal, tree, flower & fruit…later on we spotted them 3 more times, Plus a Black napped blue monarch & the Rose ringed parakeets.

A short break at a beautiful spot overlooking a small valley gave us some time to revise and appreciate the forest wealth…. On the return trail a Crested Serpant Eagle rose with the thermals and its typical scolding calls were heard at the background even as Dr. Almeida Sir revealed the charms of the plant kingdom with his usual ease & expertise………..

We also had a brief visit to a nearby, well maintained nursery called “Go Green” on our way back.Though there are plenty of birds out there ….

I think it is going to be tough for me to convince my friend about it unless I take him there personally for birding………………………….Till then….

Happy Birding,

Addi The Birde
9820455713

Karnala - There are plenty of Birds out there.....(6.2.05)

2005-02-06T18:08:00.000+05:30

Phansad Sanctuary-Jan'05

2005-01-15T06:28:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

This comes after a long time…. Actually am recovering slowly from Hepatitis E that I acquired soon after the Phansad trip………While Vaibhav has given in detail the list of birds that we saw in Phansad W.S.during our trip on 15th & 16th Jan’05, I would like to touch upon some of the other aspects of the trip…….

Phansad is a semi-evergreen / mixed deciduous forest that lies roughly about 143 Kms from Mumbai (Sion) and about 42 kms from the town of Alibaug.

From Alibaug go south and ask for Akshi…..The road traverses parallel to the seashore going thro’ “Chaul” ( This was an ancient port…the remnants of which can still be felt) and then thro’ Rev Danda, where again remnants of an old fort still exits …It is here that we also saw a skeleton of Blue whale………
Yes an 8 month old baby (45 feet long only) whale whose carcass had washed ashore (It was identified later by an expert, we were told). Since it was stinking the villagers buried the animal…However one person from the village of “Therunda” took the skeleton out with the intention of showing it to the visitors and now after much work it is been displayed like the dinosaurs in museum with iron rods, roof et al..for public viewing free of cost. You can only appreciate the size & all only when you see it. I would advise everyone who is going to Phansad to visit this place that is on the way.

Once you cross the town of Rev Danda you come to the Bridge across the Revdanda creek. There are 2 ways to go to Phansad from here i.e. either right or left. The right road though long is recommended because it goes thro’ some splendid scenery parallel to the sea on the right and Phansad forest range on the left. Not far from here lies one of the most beautiful beach-Korlai, where an Old Portuguese fort still exits. Further down the road passes the Kashid beach and Nandgaon and then goes all the way to Murud. However there is a U turn for Phansad that is a steady climb of about 6 Kms to the village of Supegaon. The forest rest house is just opp. this village.

The forest guard Mr.Harishchandra Naik is a humble person & an ardent birder and an expert on Phansad wildlife. If you have to enjoy Phansad to its fullest then you essentially should have him with you as he knows not only the trails but also has hawk eyes & Knowledge of the local wildlife that leaves you surprised.

The rest house is very simple, each with 2 beds, a bathroom with bore well water, a dining room and a vast compound. Mr.Naik’s family lives closeby and can prepare food for the visitors. The Dept. also has some tents…so a large group ( School & college) can be accommodated comfortably.

There is a small but very dense patch of Sacred Groves or “Devrai” as it is locally called just outside the Supegaon Village and right in the middle of cultivated fields. The villagers wont dared touch this patch as they belive that the forest God otherwise will get angry and may bring ill luck to the village. Such beliefs, particularly in the Konkan region have created such Sacred groves in many places that act as a gene pool for the species that are rare or long lost.

The forest however is totally different, I thought. Phansad has some perennial water streams called locally as “Gans” like “Phansad Gan”, “Sambar Gan” ….Etc. Most of the birds seem to be concentrated around these areas as the areas hold good old fruiting trees. Even the elusive Malabar Gaint Squirrels can be encountered here. The sanctuary also has few meadow openings in between, that are called as “Mals” like “Chakacha mal”, “Nawabacha mal” where the nawabs used to hunt wildlife from machans built somewhere near the edge of these mals.

The best birding in the morning is however at the periphery of the forest. Just walking along the main road, one could find bare trees full of Pompadour & Yellow legged Green Pigeons, Blossom headed parakeets, Tree pies, Grey Hornbills, Orioles, Barbets Etc. The Nightjars are also a sure sight during night with there conspicuous calls.

The mammal sightings are good in Phansad…..Over the visits in the sanctuary I was lucky to have sighted Barking deers on many occasions, Civet cats, Wild Boar, Langurs & Bonnet Macaques, Giant Squirrels, Sambars & Mouse deer / Indian Chevrotin.The presence of Leopards can also bee sensed from the scats along the paths.

Phansad is heaven for Reptile lovers with plenty of Green wine snakes, Bronze backed tree snakes, Bamboo pit vipers, Cat snakes, Wolf snakes, Banded Geckos, and various lizard species. Also a good place for scorpions and huge cat legged spiders that reminds of the “Tarantulas” of the tropics. Butterflies are also very common what with the lantana shrubs infesting the forest floor. However during the monsoon the streams in the sanctuary are full of leeches & tree frogs and in summer the lantanas and grasses harbors plenty of ticks.

Among the uncommon birds typical of the semi evergreen / Evergreen vegetations that have been recorded in Phansad are the Blue faced Malkoha, Malabar Pied & Great Indian Hornbills; Canary & White bellied Blue Flycatchers, Fairy Blue Bird, Vernal Hanging Parrots, Black Eagles, Nilgiri & Green Imperial Pigeons (I didn’t see it this time. Vaibhav had mentioned that by mistake, probably as I continuously mentioned to him that I wanted to see this species) …..For me the lucky sighting this time was clear views of Male Black Naped Oriole.

Any birding trip always becomes interesting and exciting if accompanied by enthusiastic birders who wont mind skipping the breakfast or even lunch to see more birds and with Dr.Vaibhav Deshmukh, Dr.Sameer Mehta (Who does not get tired to take down each and every note that is mentioned, in his diary….the good habit unfortunately that I have stopped), Mr.Pravin Kawle & Mr.Harishchandra Naik, the birding gets a different meaning……………….

Phansad is one of the closest Semi evergreen forest from Mumbai that one could plan even for a weekend……….

Happy Birding,

Addi The Birde

Uran - Rosy Pelican, Imperial Eagle & Red collard Dove (26.12.04)

2004-12-26T06:28:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

Writing after a long time.......tought of posting the trip report of Uran before the year ends.

Birding in theYear 2004 had been very rewarding, with some great new sightings....The last trip of the year also added some new sightings in my Uran checklist.

Had a great birding with Shashank, Vishal Ohri, Dr.Sameer Mehta, Amit Gupta, Gaurav...and later joined by Venkat (i-flex), his wife Seema and their sweet daughter Arundhati (Probably her first outing) on 26th Dec'04. The weather was cool and clear........

Among the highlights were Rosy / Great white pelican, Red collard Dove & an adult imperial Eagle.

Bird numbers had dropped considerably (particularly the waders), as most of the places have now dried up.None the less the list touched 87 species.

On the way to Uran we got a couple of Caspian terns, Gullbilled terns & Brown headed Gulls. A female Blue throat gave a glimpse along with a female of Indian Robin.....
Around Jasai, The black breasted weavers were seen in flocks in their non-breeding plumage as the Marsh harriers kept their vigil from top.Had good views of 3 species of larks However a sad scene was witnessed..of a Jackal been knocked by some vehicle.

The pond opp. the JNPT Police station was covered with algae with only a lone spotbill duck floating liesurely, however the marsh beyond this, had some waders that included... little stints, wood & common sandpipers & also white ibis,R.W.lapwings, Grey & Pond herons, Little, Cattle & Intermmediate egrets. A flock of Red avadavats feeding on the ground was observed from a distance not more that 7 feet (Imagine the excitement on our faces).......The raptors were in good numbers....at one point we saw about 4..possibly 5 Marsh Harriers together, scanning the area. A shikra was seen at its usual hideout along the treeline. Blackshouldered kites were neumerous amongst the raptors, with some juveniles (c 3) moving around.

Yesterday (25th Dec'04) we (Amit, Dr.Sameer & I) had been to Vihar lake from CEC & had a good sighting of Eurasian collard dove... the bird was seen from scope at close quaters ( Very rare for the region).......Coincidently today we saw yet another rare sighting for the region from the same family...Red collard Dove. This bird ( probably a straggler) was seen moving around with a spotted dove.....The excitment was further flared up with a Hoopoe sight.....

Moving further down the road, a common kestrel was seen gliding... The marsh adjacent to Funde village, suprised us all with a Rosy / Great White Pelican, relaxing amongst c 33 painted storks, Spoonbills & White Ibises. This could probabely be the same Pelican sighted 2 months back ( 22nd Oct'04). I was wondering where this fellow feeds in Uran.The other usual sightings were Blackwinged Stilts, a couple of Pied avocets, Little ringed plovers, Brahminy kites.....

The marsh near the JNPT training centre still had many ducks, and as expected some common teals showed up, the Gargeny teals have just started to shed their eclipse plumage. Also seen were both the species of Jacanas, Coots, L.Whistling Ducks, Spotbills, Purple moorhens, small green bee eaters, Dabchicks, Purple Sunbird, C.Iora, Palm Swifts, Barn & Wiretailed Swallows,....

On the way back, had 2 exciting sightings...one adult Imperial Eagle with its ever so graceful flight. The identification was very easy, with its buff neck & shoulder patch, Massive size, almost straight wings and slightly protruding head. While on the palm beach road, caught a sight of a dimunitive bird sitting on a pole. For few seconds I just lost my senses....but was able to make out a spotted owlet sitting. Everyone had good views of the bird from scope, that seemed very active at this unusual time.

The satisfaction on everbodies face was evident and a proof of how good Uran is, as a birding spot......

BTW....Let me also take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy, Prosperous, Peaceful and A Satisfying New Year.

Regards,

Addi The Birde

Nilje - My Experiences

2004-11-15T06:28:00.000+05:30

Hi Jacob and all,

You know what ?? I actually started my birding from Dombivili. I owe major part of my birdwatching to my good friend Mr.Nayan Khanolkar ( An excellent wildlife photographer now).

I used to bird with him or sometimes alone along the periphery of Dombivili / Diva in places like Nilje village , Bhopar village , along the railway tracks between Diva & Dombivili, Khidkali.....etc.

These places harbored some amazing bird life, However in the course of time these places have been exploited much to the loss of habitat and consequently birds.

Not long ago ( about 10 years back) the creek between Diva and Dombivili ( One could see through the train) used to be teemed with Ducks ( as mentioned by Survashis) like Grageny, Common teals, Gadwall ducks, Lesser whistling teals, Coots, Spotbill Ducks ( No Cotton Pigmy goose.. they do not prefer saline waters), Spoonbills,Numerous waders, White ibises and sometimes (2 occasions) even Greater Flamingos..............However too much of hunting was done ( Even today, I believe, the hunting still goes on), though good numbers ?? still can be seen today... However one accessible road to this creek ( Near old Dombivili / reti Bunder village) has been developed now as mini sea shore with people coming from all over Dombivili for a picnic.

The Nilje village was (is) my favorite birding ground.......this is where I was inspired to study the breeding ecology of Larks. It is a small village tank that had Gargeny, Lesser Whistling, Common Teals, Gadwalls, Cotton Pigmy goose visiting. The pond also was used to build the floating nests by Little grebes, The elegant nests on Lotus leaves by Jacanas, The huge nests of Purple swamp hens........ and the surrounding cultivation/sparse lands were used by the ground nesting birds.

I still remember ( Nilje) the enthusiasm to identify a species of Duck that did not match with any in the bird books that we had.......How we went waist deep in the water to have a closer look..and how we were encountered with a cobra right in front of us in the water..The chilly feeling we had as the Cobra stood in front of us with its hood upright and only about 3 meters away from us.......How we were frozen completely for a moment........ and how I went all the way home ( Sion) drenched with dirt in the local train...After some days the un identified ducks started to get there true plumage and turned out to be the Gargeny teals / Blue winged teals ( apparently they were in an eclipse plumage). Sadly though, while passing nilje a few days back ( It is on the Mumbai-Sheel fata -- Dombvili Highway) , to my shock, the lake was made dry for desilting or Construction??. I tried to take info, but could not get.Hope the lake to be back as it was.

The above places has some amazing bird life that are otherwise considered very rare to our region. I had some uncommon sightings from these regions ( Though I had never published these anywhere till now) like Scavenger Vulture, Wryneck, Small green bee-eater nesting, Common Rosefinches, Grey necked Bunting, Red headed Buntings, Blue breasted Quails nesting, Grey Francolins,woolly necked storks, Greater spotted eagles,Mallard Ducks,Various Harrier species ( Montagus, Hen, Pallied), Desert wheatears, Sirker Malkoha .......etc, etc..

We can still plan for a Birding trip to Nilje ( In February )..............

Well.....Errr....Sorry, am I boring you all ???.....Sort of got carried away a little with old memories.

Happy Birding
Addi the birde

Uran-Birding in Uran & Karanja Naval Base (23.10.04)

2004-10-23T06:28:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

After an exciting trip to Uran yesterday, I had an opportunity to visit Uran today (23rd Oct’04) again with some top Naval officers including Vice Admiral Mr.Krishnan, Mumbai.

Mr.K.B.Singh had organised a birding trip for the naval officers to the naval base at Karanja & JNPT mudflats around Uran. About 20 people including some very enthusiastic kids were present for the introductory birding session.

The naval ship took us from Lion gate (Opp. Hornbill house) at 6.00 am to Karanja. The naval base here is not only beautifully maintained but also turned out to be very rich in birds and plants.

An introductory talk by K.B.Singh set the pace and mood for the ever so willing group, almost all of whom were new to birding. A short walk along the naval base yielded many interesting bird species including a pair of common grey hornbills, spotted owlets, small minivets, shikra & Common Iora to name a few. The group was very receptive and the kids in particular were very fast to grasp whatever was delivered to them.

Further towards the JNPT mudflats we saw Marsh harriers, W.T.Kingfishers, Blue tailed bee eaters and egrets from the navy bus……. K.B. was also so dedicated to show the birds that he was stoping the bus for every bird seen, giving an impression of a wildlife safari from bus (Just kidding …..).

The bird numbers though were not as encouraging as yesterday (No Pelican & Flamingos) yet the species were well represented with plenty of Black winged stilts, Coots, Egrets, Glossy Ibises, Black tailed Godwits. The group watched with admiration the beauty of Pied avocets and their delicate upturned beaks, the handsome stance of the Grey and Purple Herons, the greenish bronze sheen of the glossy Ibis…The group was even surprised when they were informed that the ducks migrate from such distant places and are the highest & fast fliers.

The return journey gave an opportunity for a revision and the group came up with flying colours and were surprised that in a matter of couple of hours, so many different birds were seen …… I was sure the group had developed SENSITIVITY towards nature.

Here is the complete list of birds reported today during the trail.
1) Black Drongo
2) Barn swallows
3) Spotted owlets
4) Common grey hornbills
5) Small green bee eaters
6) Common Ioras
7) Baya weaver nests
8) Red whiskered Bulbuls
9) Red vented Bulbuls
10) Common Mynas
11) Pied starlings
12) Red Munias
13) Roseringed parakeets
14) Alexandrian parakeets
15) Purple rumped sunbirds
16) Purple Herons
17) Grey herons
18) White throated Kingfisher
19) Glossy Ibis
20) White Ibis
21) Cattle egrets
22) Intermediate egrets
23) Little egrets
24) Large egrets
25) Western Reef egrets
26) Black tailed Godwits
27) Red Shanks
28) Green Shanks
29) Common Sand Pipers
30) Marsh Harriers
31) Brahminy kites
32) Shoveller ducks
33) Common Coots
34) Plain Prinias
35) Tailor Birds
36) Small Minivets
37) Black winged stilts
38) Pied avocets
39) Shikra
40) Long tailed shrikes
41) Blue tailed bee eaters
42) Red wattled Lapwings
43) Gull billed terns
44) Magpie robin
45) Purple moorhens
46) Little ringed plovers
47) Little cormorants
48) Lesser whistling ducks
49) Little stints
50) House crow
51) House sparrows

As we are aware that there are many such Army and naval bases that because of strict patrolling and protection has turned to be excellent places for wildlife to thrive and Karanja Naval base was no exception. It was good to see people from the armed forces sensitised towards nature.

Meanwhile…….

Happy Birding

Addi The Birde

* Many thanks to K.B.Singh, Vice Admiral Mr.Krishnan and all others for giving an opportunity to explore an excellent new place for birding.

Uran-Rosy Pelican sighting (22.10.04)

2004-10-22T18:58:00.000+05:30

Hi Birds,

Rosy Pelican in Uran...........You Belive?

Well this is what we saw in Uran yesterday ( 22nd Oct'04). As I have written in my previous mails, Uran never fails to excite in every visit. Every time you go to Uran, there is something different.

I along with Mr.Amit Gupta (Bnhs Memb.) thought of utilizing the morning of Dushera Holiday. Initially many others had planned to join us, but couldn’t make...poor fellows....they missed all the action (Shashank, Amar, Pragya...you there?)

The migratory birds are all there now with the addition of various species of ducks, Aguila Eagels and wagtails that were absent probably a week ago (Last went on 13th Oct'04). Total 87 species. The highlight was of course a lone Rosy or Great white Pelican, Broadbilled sandpipers, Wigeons, Blue tailed beeeaters (Probably on their passage migration) and Pied Kingfisher.

The pond opposite to the JNPT Police station yielded Pied Avocets, Broadbilled sandpipers (Had a very good close scope views) that were feeding along with Marsh & wood sandpipers, Black winged stilts, Black tailed Godwits, Little stints, Red & Green shanks, Ruffs (see photo-Right is non br. plumage & Left is partial br. plumage). Also saw Common coots with juveniles (with white under neck), Common teals, Shovellers, Gargeny teals, Grey Herons, Plenty of Glossy Ibises. A number of Marsh Harriers were seen flushing the birds. A sparrow hawk (with the gular stripe very clear) was seen loitering among trees.

A flock of about 25 ducks were looking place to land and circled for quite some time. In flight one of the duck showed clear white patches on wing. Since they were circling in a regular beat, I managed to catch them on the scope which confirmed the ducks to be Wigeons with the male, having that wing wing patch….They however didn’t settle and moved far away.

Amit was driving his santro, when we saw a huge flock of Grey herons, Great and Intermediate egrets, Spoonbills and White Ibises far away where we had seen the first Flamingos and Painted storks in the previous visits, when Amit pointed out that there was a very large white bird amongst the Egrets, after a careful scan thro’ our binocs the large bird turned out to be a pelican. I literally jumped out from the car, grabbed the scope and pointed towards the bird… and there it was …A great white or Rosy pelican feeding amongst the Egrets and spoonbills…Probably a first record for Mumbai region ?(comments from experts please). Suddenly all the birds flew towards us…..with the R.Pelican looking like a giant. It flew far away and then came back again and started soaring high up. A flock of about 200-250 greater flamingos also passed us….But we were so engrossed with this Pelican that the Flamingos got a second preference from us.

Some juvenile Brahminy kites and a short toed Snake Eagle gave company to the Pelican on the top.

Excited…. we moved towards the JNPT training centre that is situated in a forested hill some 2 Kms away hoping to find more ducks in the marshes surrounding the hill. We were not disappointed as, from the view point (an excellent spot where one can observe birds from above) we could see hoards of ducks roosting/ feeding in the waters. Apart from the ducks already mentioned there were some Bronzewinged Jacanas, Little grebes, Coots, Spotbilled and Lesser whistling ducks. A steepe Eagle gave us close view and from this point we could also spot about c3 Curlews far away on the sea shore.

Some other birds that were spotted included Western reef egrets (dark phase), small green bee eaters, Spotted & laughing doves, Red & Spotted munias, Collard stone chat, Oriental skylark, Rufous tailed lark, Citrine wagtails, Blackbreasted & Baya weavers, Shikra, Pond & Purple herons (after a long time) Common blue & white throated kingfishers, whiskered & gullbiled terns, Black & Brownheaded Gulls, Black drongo, Little & Indian cormorants, Open billed storks ( No Painted storks this time), Little & cattle egrets, Kentish plovers, Purple moorhens, L.T.Shrikes, Indian & Magpie robins, Blyth’s reed & greenish warblers, Ashy & Plain prinias, House & Palm swifts, Barn, Wiretailed & Red rumped swallows………..

While returning back we again visited the Pelican spot. The fellow was seen preening along with some Grey herons. While the Rosy Pelicans are a common sight in Gujarat and in North, this bird seemed to be a straggler to our region (A friend of mine informed, that they have been sighted in eastern Maharashtra once by Mrs. Shailaja Grubb.….May be this fellow was lured by the birds here to visit the rich habitat of Uran?).

Today (23rd Oct’04) again I had an opportunity to bird in Uran with some top Naval officials.....Courtesy Mr.K.B.Singh. However the Pelican was not seen. I will put up a separate list of birds seen today.

The high tide seems to be the right time to visit Uran as the waders in particular move towards higher mudflats when they do not find place along the shores……..and with so many birds turning up here, I hope to see lot of people move from their High tide (High tension human environs) to Uran Mudflats (Low tension nature environs).

Meanwhile……

Happy Birding

Addi The Birde

Uran - UUU……RANNN of Mumbai (19.9.04)

2004-09-19T18:58:00.000+05:30

Hi Birds,

Yes the flamingos have arrived in Mumbai …. About 187 of these flame birds ( Greater flamingos) were spotted in Uran ( Behind the JNPT Township ). Over the few days, both the Greater and the lesser flamingos will pour in the region, particularly in Sewri.

In all 68 Species of birds were seen during the Bnhs Navi Mumbai birding trip that was organised on Sep 19, 2004. About 27 people participated included 4 very enthu. Childrens.

Even with the non availability of Bnhs bus, people were excited to go to Uran, thanks to those who got their cars.

Uran ….. surely has turned into miniature Rann of Kucth…with salt pans…Open Mud flats…Flamingos….waders…and other migratory birds.

Apart from the flamingos, the migratory birds have also started coming in, however some notable species were Collard Stone Chat, Marsh Harriers, Gargeny teals, various Gull and Tern species. After a long time the sky was filled with some raptors, though many are still expected. In all some 5 raptor species were spotted.
The black breasted & Baya weavers are still breeding and both species were seen very busy with nest construction ( The Bayas on the trees and the Blackbreasted weavers in the Typha reeds). It was surprising to see Spot billed ducks mating at this time of the season ( 1 spotbill female with chicks was also spotted amongst the reeds). The Long tailed Shikes that are local migrant to our region arrives Mumbai in late August / Early September and on Sunday they were seen almost everywhere.

A nest of a plain prinia (Probably with chicks) and a half built nest of Black headed munia were also found.

A complete list is as below:

1. Lesser Whistling-Duck ( 1 Juvenile)
2. Black-headed Munia ( A pair constructing a nest)
3. Spot-billed Duck ( A pair Mating on water & also a Female with chicks)
4. Garganey ( Very far, but identified in flight-bluish grey flight feathers)
5. House Sparrow
6. Common Kingfisher
7. White-throated Kingfisher
8. Asian Koel
9. Red Avadavat ( Br+)
10. Rufous-tailed Lark
11. Rose-ringed Parakeet
12. House Swift ( Plenty at certain regular spots)
13. Asian Palm-Swift
14. Rock Pigeon
15. Laughing Dove
16. Spotted Dove
17. White-breasted Waterhen (One seen)
18. Common Coot ( Last Tuesday, also saw with chicks)
19. Purple Swamphen
20. Black-tailed Godwit (The commonest wader)
21. Common Greenshank
22. Common Sandpiper
23. Oriental Skylark ( Calls – Br+ Display)
24. Marsh Sandpiper (Plenty)
25. Little Stint
26. Ruff ( Some with partial Br+Plumage)
27. Common Redshank
28. Black-winged Stilt ( Neumerous)
29. Red-wattled Lapwing
30. Heuglin’s Gull ( Very far, probably with other large gull species)
31. Whiskered Tern
32. Little Tern
33. Gull-billed Tern
34. Short-toed Snake-Eagle ( ???—Very far)
35. Western Marsh Harrier ( Have arrived in good numbers)
36. Black-winged Kite ( 1 seen)
37. Brahminy Kite ( 1 seen)
38. Black Kite
39. Little Grebe ( 1 Juvenile)
41. Little Cormorant
42. Cattle Egret
43. Great Egret
44. Little Egret
45. Western Reef-Egret ( 1-Dark Phase)
46. Grey Heron
47. Indian Pond-Heron
48. Greater Flamingo ( 187- some immature)
49. Glossy Ibis ( Common)
50. Long-tailed Shrike ( Plenty)
51. Large-billed Crow / Jungle Crow
52. House Crow
53. Black Drongo ( 1 seen)
54. Oriental Magpie-Robin
55. Common stonechat ( 3 Females seen)
56. Asian Pied Starling
57. Jungle Myna ( Now seen regularly)
58. Common Myna
59. Red-rumped Swallow
60. Wire-tailed Swallow
61. Red-vented Bulbul
62. Red-whiskered Bulbul
63. Plain Prinia ( also one nest)
64. Ashy Prinia
65. Common Tailorbird
66. Black-breasted Weaver ( Br+)
67. Baya Weaver ( Br+)
68. White-throated Silverbill ( pair seen)

The notable absentees amonst the birds were Wagtails, Other species of Sandpipers, Plovers, Bee-Eaters, Other Raptors, Storks, Purple Herons, Jacanas & other Duck species.

However the highlight of the day was undoubtly the Greater flamingos that made the day. Even the childrens were very excited…..and in the coming days Uran surely will offer great treat and satisfaction to any birder.

The Birding Festival has started……….

Happy Birding,

Addi The Birde

* Thanks to the Core committee of BNHS Navi Mumbai Chapter for organizing such a wonderful trip, particularly Sagar Mhatre, Jacob & Vijaya Madam.

Nagla Block : O(d)K- The monsoon has begun

2004-06-13T18:58:00.000+05:30

Hi Birds,

Refer my mail of 14th June 2003 , i.e. exactly one year back when we (Myself , Manisha & Karuna) had reported the first of Oriental dwarf Kingfishers (OdK) or Three toed Kingfisher for the season............Exactly after one year and almost....on the same day we saw our first OdKingfisher of the season, this time in Nagla Block of SGNP on 13th June 2004.

The climate was quite and sultry when we started our nature trail organized by BNHS.Though there were some showers last week, the soil still looked dry and the crinum lilies , Costa's(Spiral ginger) and wild turmeric which spring with the first of monsoon showers looked weak. Bird sightings was scarce with only some breeding birds vis..Common Ioras , Magpie robins, wren warblers, announcing their monsoon weddings.

However plant lovers were kept entertained with Sanal Nair's excellent field knowledge on trees.The Nagla trail also has trees that bear the name plates, both scientific & common names.

For half an hour we almost saw no birds, however our first bird was that "gem of SGNP" & my favorite "The Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher" formally known as the Three toed Kingfisher.These kingfishers are breeding migrants to our region & we had probably bumped near its nesting site, as the pair was very restless & were calling continuously.One should be very familiar with the call of these bird as it is hard to locate these birds amongst the dense & shaded vegetation which the birds prefer.
One should also observe these birds in the wild to believe its beauty as no bird book justifies its colours in their sober illustrations.In all we sighted 5 OdKs ..with one pair near its nest (Very near to the nature interpretation center).

Apart from the OdKs the other interesting sightings were of White rumped Shama & Black naped monarch.
Some butterflies included The spotted sword tails,Plum Juddy,Immigrants,Glassy & Plain Tigers,Common leopards,Chocolate pansy,Tailed jay,Tiger moth & plenty of Red silk cotton bugs....

A green wine snake that was caught & a bronze tree snake that just escaped swiftly had the crowd excited for some time.

Though the sightings were few, there was definitely a suspense in the air and a process of change below. As for me the arrival of the Oriental dwarf Kingfishers in the region marks the onset of the monsoon...............

Happy Birding,

Addi the Birde

Tadoba - Birding in the Tiger Realm

2004-05-16T01:57:00.000+05:30

Hi Birds,

Back on the group after a long time with some good memories of Waghoba, I mean
Tadoba..........

Nyass-National youth for sports & science, Dombivili organizes Nature education
camps every year & even this year I had an oppurtunity to go as a resource
person with them to Tadoba from 11th to 15th May 2004.

Tadoba National Park is under "Project Tiger" with an area of 645 Sq.kms , a
typical Central Indian deciduos forest which is situated just 45 kms from
Chandrapur.

Belive it or not I sighted my first Wild Tiger after 14-15 years that I have
been with nature......Yes atlasssst after visiting 6 Tiger reserves (including
Ranthambore , Kanha , Nagzira.....etc) and nearly missing on nine occasions I
spotted my first Wild Tiger in Tadoba and the feeling is really
grrreaaattttttt..........With all the anxiety & frustration, I had nearly given
up seeing a Wild Tiger even here.

Even here I spotted this particular Tigeress on the Last day by sheer
coincidence ( I was only one of the two persons amongst 54 participants who had
not seen the tiger till the very last day, as I was with different groups
showing birds to them) with a thought already developed in my mind of what an
unlucky person I have been.

Anyways.....The birdlife was difenitely very rich in Tadoba with the list
extending to nearly 103 species in 4 days (A complete list is given at the end).

There were some highlights though like Twany fish owl , seen from a machan (
Katezari Machan) in the early morning hours.All the three species of nightjars
found in Tadoba namely the Savana Nightjar , Grey nightjar & the Longtailed
Nightjar were calling continously almost thro'out the night. Many birds visited
the waterhole in the morning like the ever so elegant Paradise flycathers (
males , females & sub adult males) , Black naped Monarch , Indian Pittas,
W.Breasted & C.Blue kingfishers , Drongos.

Among raptors sighted were Grey headed Eagles , Plenty of Oriental Honey
buzzards,White eyed buzzards,Crested serpent eagles ( Also sighted one, near a
waterhole from Jeep at a distance of not more than 10 feet) , Shikras & One
immature Changable hawk Eagle.

Shrikes were represented by Bay backed shrikes and common wood
shrikes.Shightings of woodpeckers however were very few with only Lesser Golden
backed & Rufous woodpeckers , however one group was lucky with the rare Lesser
yellow naped woodpecker.

The forest resounded with the calls of Indian Pittas , Common hawk cuckoos &
Indian cuckoos. Incidently one of the members of the local organization"Green
pigeons" which is doing some excellent conservation efforts along with the
forest department informed that they have been studing Indian pittas for the
last four years and have been trying to locate / count nests of Indian pittas,
The numbers of which were really impressive with 28 , 56 & 157 nests in the last
three years respectively.

Some other sightings included Asian Brown flycather, Crested tree swifts , Pied
kingfishers ( The founder of the organization "Green Pigeons" Mr.Atul Dhamankar
is coming up with a book in Marathi on the Life of Pied kingfisher very soon,He
also has an Excellent book "Wagh" to his credit) Yellow footed Green pigeons ,
Eurasian Thicknee, Red Spur fowls, Oriental Darter , Asian openbilled storks,
Large Cuckoo shrikes, Grey Hornbills, W.T.O.H. ground Thrush.......

Interestingly all the birds sighted were the resident birds and with the
Breeding season which is just about to commence for most of them,the breeding
displays & breeding calls echoed all over, making us (Humans) feel so inferior.

TADOBA BIRD LIST
FROM 6TH TO 10TH MAY 2004

1. Red Spurfowl
2. Grey Junglefowl
3. Indian Peafowl
4. Lesser Whistling-Duck (on the lake)
5. Rufous Woodpecker
6. Black-rumped Flameback
7. Lesser Yellownape ( one sighting)
8. Coppersmith Barbet
9. Brown-headed Barbet
10. Indian Grey-Hornbill
11. Indian Roller
12. Common Kingfisher
13. Pied Kingfisher (lake)
14. White-throated Kingfisher
15. Little Green Bee-eater
16. Banded Bay Cuckoo
17. Indian Cuckoo (Very vocal)
18. Common Hawk-Cuckoo (Very vocal)
19. Asian Koel
20. Greater Coucal
21. Plum-headed Parakeet
22. Alexandrine Parakeet (Calls)
23. Rose-ringed Parakeet
24. Asian Palm-Swift
25. Crested Treeswift
26. Twany Fish-Owl (Katezari Machan)
27. Shikra
28. Savana Nightjar
29. Grey Nightjar
30. Large-tailed Nightjar
31. Blue Rock Pigeon
32. Yellow-footed Green-Pigeon (Roosted on bare trees for the night)
33. Laughing Dove
34. Spotted Dove (one nest)
35. Eurasian Collared-Dove
36. Eurasian Thick-knee (One sighting)
37. Bronze-winged Jacana (lake)
38. Red-wattled Lapwing ( Four nests along the lake shore..spotted with
spottingscope from, across the other side of the lake)
39. White-eyed Buzzard (Plenty)
40. Black-winged Kite
41. Grey-headed Fish-Eagle ( 4 sightings)
42. Black Kite

43. Oriental Honey-buzzard (Many)
44. Crested Serpent-Eagle
45. Changeable Hawk-Eagle (One sighting - Immature)
46. Oriental Darter
47. Indian Cormorant
48. Little Cormorant
49. Cattle Egret
50. Great Egret
51. Little Egret
52. Purple Heron
53. Indian Pond-Heron
54. Black-headed Ibis (lake)
55. Asian Openbill (lake)
56. Indian Pitta (Many)
57. Bay-backed Shrike (2 shightings)
58. Rufous Treepie
59. Large-billed Crow
60. House Crow
61. Eurasian Golden-Oriole
62. Black-hooded Oriole
63. Large Cuckoo-shrike
64. Small Minivet
65. White-browed Fantail
66. Black Drongo
67. Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
68. Black-naped Monarch
69. Asian Paradise-Flycatcher (Numerous)
70. Common Iora (Very vocal)
71. Common Woodshrike (Very vocal)
72. Orange-headed Thrush
73. Asian Brown Flycatcher (2 sightings)
74. Tickell's Blue-Flycatcher
75. Oriental Magpie-Robin (Very vocal)
76. White-rumped Shama
77. Indian Robin
78. Asian Pied Starling
79. Brahminy Starling
80. Jungle Myna
81. Common Myna
82. Red-rumped Swallow
83. Wire-tailed Swallow
84. Red-vented Bulbul
85. Red-whiskered Bulbul
86. White-browed Bulbul ( Katezari machan)
87. Grey-breasted Prinia (Very vocal)
88. Plain Prinia
89. Ashy Prinia
90. Oriental White-eye (Numerous)
91. Puff-throated Babbler
92. Jungle Babbler
93. Rufous-tailed sparrow-Lark (outside / periphery)
94. Ashy-crowned sparrow-Lark (outside / periphery)
95. Thick-billed Flowerpecker
96. Pale-billed Flowerpecker
97. Purple Sunbird (Very vocal)
98. Purple-rumped Sunbird (outside / periphery)
99. House Sparrow
100. Chestnut-shouldered Petronia (Numerous)
101. Paddyfield Pipit
102. White-throated Silverbill
103. Scaly-breasted Munia

Mammals & Reptiles

Tiger , Wild Boar , Sambar , Spotted Deer , Barking Deer , Small Indian Civet
(from machan at 1.00 p.m.) , Ruddy Mongoose (many Sightings) , Indian Wild Dog /
Dhole , Sloth Bear , Blue bull / Nilgai, Common langurs,Bats (?) , Three striped
Sqquirels,Indian Tree shrew , Marsh Crocodiles , Fan throated lizards,Forest
calotes , garden lizards...

Tadoba.........Both for Birds & Animals is very highly recommended which has a
fairly good Infrastructure.

Happy Birding,

Addi The Birde
(Adesh Shivkar)

Uran-Ground nesting birds (4.4.04)

2004-04-04T18:58:00.000+05:30

Hi Birds,

Preparing to tan myself this summer (Err.....I am already a tanned person),I started with the objective of observing the resident ground nesting birds (Larks , Lapwings , Pipits.....) as, this is their breeding season.The ground nesting birds in particular have to finish their nesting, before the onset of monsoon.

I obviously opted , once again for Uran,Owing to its varied habitat , particularly Scrub,Dry fallow land & Cultivation. Starting a bit late on Sunday April 4,2004 ,I caught up with Sunjoy and party on the way.They had a good time by then , having found Common Babblers for the first time in the region. The numbers seemed to have dropped as compared to last week,However the species count was none the less 93 (Including Sunjoy's list ,which he has posted separately).

Had good birding around the JNPT township area particularly of waders & waterfowls,however the Pied kingfishers were nowhere to be seen this time.Even the "Crake point" witnessed hectic construction work of a sewage pipeline which was extended further in the reeds.I thought the Long tailed shrike numbers were higher than usual.
After departing with Sunjoy , I birded with K.B. Singh for some time before exploring the Lapwings , Larks ...et.al.

The area between Jasai and JNPT is a good spot for this purpose , and just one scan from the Binoc. fetched, one nest of Red wattled lapwing & Ashy crowned sparrow lark each. Lapwings nest , contrary to the belief is one of the most easiest nest to find. To find a nest of a lapwing, there is a One line "Mantra". ( Altough I do not want to mention this here, for the better part of the bird).

The lapwing had already laid 2 eggs from its normal clucth of 4.Its interesting to observe how these birds maintain the temperature. On one occasion while photographing the Red watteled lapwing from a hide for hours , we had observed the lapwings antics to keep the eggs at a constant temperature.During the heat of the afternoon the bird used to just stand on the eggs shading them , to avoid overheating.Sometimes the bird used to dip its belly in water nearby & then incubate.When on eggs the birds would be absolutely silent,while its mate used to keep watch from nearby,giving a typical alarm call on an aproach of an intruder.... the bird on the eggs would then quietly sneek away , far from the nest. On other times when the eggs were hatched and the chicks were around, the parent birds would simply attack ( Nose-dive) the intruder with deafening screams.

The nest of the A.C.S.Larks had 2 eggs in them ( Normal clucth size is 2-3 eggs).The nest was made up of grass under a grass tussock & neatly lined with pebbles.Nearby the male was displaying (In Marathi they are called "Dombari" or "Gaaroli"). Also found another nest of A.C.S.Lark, a little further, But did'nt dare to approach it as, those, ever so cunning / opportunistic Crows were around ( Care should be taken always, while approaching any nest.......Better still to observe it at a distance). However the heat was killing...so I retraced back, hoping to explore more next time (Will go once again on Friday.... Hoping a "Good Friday")

The Hormones are sure running high........in air.

Happy Birding,

Addi the Birdie

Uran-Craking with excitement (28.3.04)

2004-03-28T19:58:00.000+05:30

Hi Birds,

I am sure, those of you who are not going to Uran for birding in the name of long distance, are going to be jealous after reading this mail.

Team members: Myself, Dr.Salil Choksi, Shashank Dalvi, Claudio Kolleir (Switzerland) & Bill Martin (England, who later joined us at Uran) had one of the most exciting birding in Uran on Sunday March 28,2004.

Equipped with my new Nikon Spotting Scope (15 - 45 x 80 mm - Sky & Earth series No.7454), I had a memorable day.

The migratory season back has already commenced with most of the waders dressed for the occasion & other singing migratory birds practising with their vocal chords to lure the girls back at the breeding grounds.

Our day started with a Blue tailed bee-eater perched right above the Navratna hotel in Vashi Sector 17.Blue tailed bee-eaters are passage migrants in our region (As also reported by Sunjoy & Kiran Srivastav). The water body just before the sea woods complex also teemed with Terns & Gulls, seen frantically fuelling themselves for the long journey. The terns included Gull billed, Little & Whiskered terns ,with a lone Caspian tern looking impressive amongst them (All with Br+ plumage). Brown headed as well as Black headed gulls were also seen with Br+ plumage.

We crossed the panvel creek and I was just casually pointing a particular telephone wire where I had seen a Pied Kingfisher a month back (Refer Sunjoy's mail of 22nd Feb'04), When suddenly to our sweet surprise there were c4 Pied Kingfishers exactly at the same spot where I had seen last month (Amazing......). Also seen nearby were Pacific Golden Plover, Common Red shanks, Small blue Kingfisher, Yellow eyed babbler singing continously, Black bellied Sparrow larks, Little cormorant, Ashy & plain prinias, Long tailed shrike….

Near Jasai about c10 openbilled storks were busy feeding in the fields. Black breasted weaverbirds moving in flocks, a lone Black shouldered kite scanning from a telephone wire.

The water body opposite the police chowki had a good mix of birds. Gargeney teals were plenty with few Shovellers sprinkled amongst them. Common, wood & Marsh sandpipers were looking so different with there Br+ plumage. A Hoopoe rose just 5 meters from us. Wagtail family were represented by Citrine, yellow & White fellas. About c4 Painted storks landed gracefully (Looking them through a scope was a delight). Other birds were some Blacktailed Godwits, Common & Spotted Redshanks, Black winged stilts, Ruffs, Redwattled Lapwings, Paddy field pipits, Spotted & Red munias, Collared Stonechat…A very exciting scene caught our breath for a moment. A female Marsh harrier was chasing a male painted snipe in flight. The harrier circled twice before her chase was taken up by a Jungle crow (The fate of the snipe was not known because of the reeds).

I had, a month back reported 2 species of crakes from a particular site (Refer my mail of 22nd Feb’04). Dr.Salil, Claudio & Bill wanted to see crakes for a long time, so we proceeded to the "Crake point" (This was what we named it later). Unfortunately there is a road construction going on exactly at the very spot where the crakes were seen with Bull rushes on either side (I fear this beautiful patch will be destroyed in a couple of years….) We strained our eyes through the reeds, which revealed a common snipe and a female Blue throat, but no sign of the crakes………….Suddenly in a matter of 5-6 mins 3 species of crakes gave us their “Darshan”. While Ballion’s crake and Blue breasted rail were hidden amongst the reeds, The beautiful Ruddy breasted crake literally danced in front of us…….There was excitement everywhere & Bill was literally Craking …I mean shaking with excitement. That’s what he said & we saw.

Moving further we came across a Long legged Buzzard soaring high up & with Claudio and Bill (Who had seen these buzzards in Europe quite often) didn’t have difficulty in its identity. Oriental skylarks were singing at a distance. The common & Spotted Redshanks were standing together giving us magnificent opportunity to compare them, with the spotted Red shanks just starting to get the dark grey colour (From a scope, you really cannot miss).

There is a very good patch of forest near the JNPT training centre, from where one could observe birds below (A small patch of wetland) which hosted more Gargeney teals, a couple of Shoveller females, Gulls, Purple sunbirds, Pheasant tailed jacanas, White throated kingfishers, Purple herons, Coots, also a common Indian mongoose slipping from the bush , oblivious of our presence above……….

An Indian Spectacled Cobra rescued by Shashank was released in the forest, which was blind with left eye. While returning we counted the species that we saw and heard and were not surprised when the list reached 93 species.

On our way home we greeted the feathered guests goodbye for now ………Only to wish them to come back soon.

Happy Birding,

Addi the Birdie

Sewri - 27th March,2004

2004-03-27T19:58:00.000+05:30

Hi Birds,

Sorry for this delayed mail..........Four of us (Myself , Venkat K.,Shashank Dalvi and Vidya) went to Sewri for a brief birding on Sat.27th Mar'04.

I had just bought my new spotting scope and I thought, what a way to inuagurate, with the first bird, none other than a Flamingo.It was a low tide when we reached there at about 10.30 am and we could see a pink carpet of flamingos at a distance.The waders were scattered all over.

Most of the wader species were looking different with their Br+ plumage.Apart from some c7000 + Lesser Flamingos,the whole area was teeming with different kinds of waders that included Common , Wood , Marsh , Curlew Sandpipers .A lone Terek sandpiper was very conspicous with its typical movement.Little ringed , lesser sand , Kentish & Greater sand plovers were also seen,Infact a Lesser sand plover with a complete Br+ attire looked so beautiful.The most numerous waders were the Black tailed Godwits in different shades of rust and copper colours.Gullbilled , Little & Caspian terns were scanning the area below for a morsel.A couple of Ruddy Tern stones and some Grey plovers were also busy feeding.

There were good number of Eurasian Curlews around and one particular Eurasian Curlew confused us for quite some time ( With Sumit Sen's Eastern Curlew still lingering in the mind---Reported by him on 24th Mar'04 )*,the beak somehow seemed longer and it had mask like black on its face. However , a little later its identity was revealed as the tide came closer ( The identity would have been much easier in flight).A very interesting feeding behaviour of the curlew was noticed more than a couple of times. The curlew used to probe with its long beak deep in the mud till its beak completely dissapeared in the mud and the head almost touching ground ( This explained the black mask on its face) , to take out a long worm,which looked muddy.The curlew then used to walk few steps towards water, dip the worm clean and gulp it down.We could clearly see the muddy worm turn to fleshy red after the wash....Good table manners.

With the ever so cheerful Vidya for our company ( I really appreciate her enthusiasm for nature...coming all the way from Vasai)..... it was a good starter (Sewri) before the main course (Uran) on Sunday.
Happy Birding

Addi the Birdie

* Sumit : The Eastern Curlew is a vagrant species for India , reported only from the West Bengal / Bangladesh Region ( Grimmet & Inskipp).Was it an Eastern or the Eurasian Curlew that was sighted on 24th Mar'04 .Please correct me.......

Uran-A break with crake (1st Feb'04)

2004-02-01T19:58:00.000+05:30

Hi Birds,

Once again had a fantastic birding expedition to Uran on the eve of World wetlands day.

Uran is an incredible place to bird and I could always bag some exciting sightings. This time it turned out to be the 2 species of crakes (Baillon's & Ruddy breasted) & a flock of greater short toed larks.Total of 54 species.

Started alone a bit late in the morning (There was a BNHS outing for Uran as well).Along the way near Jasai saw c19 openbilled storks feeding in cultivated field.A number of black breasted weavers still seen in flocks,A female marsh harrier scanning the ground below.
In most areas the water has dried out , with only few areas holding water where waders were few but well represented.The water body just opposite the JNPT police Chowki had few spoonbills feeding with a lone white ibis amongst them , some Black winged stilts were also present.Behind them ,on the dry salt pan were three painted storks lazily sitting together with some Grey herons.Waders included wood , common, Marsh & green sandpipers,Black tailed godwits , Common Red & green shanks, a flock of Ruffs, Little ringed plovers, Kentish plovers, Red wattled lapwings.....

This particular water body is fed by a sewage pipeline which runs just opposite the Police chowki , the mouth of which is surrounded by Reeds and "Bull rushes" .It is here that I saw the Baillon's crake which was later joined by its pair.The pair was busy feeding even as as I parked my bike close to almost 15 feet from them,where I took some decent Photographs of these birds.This winter migrant,a diminutive bird with its white paint like speckles on the olive brown back and slaty grey chest was easy to identify.An Indian moorhen and some Red avadavats also peeped through the reeds.

I later joined the BNHS group led by Dr.Unnithan and birded along with them for some time.We proceeded to a village tank situated inside the town.Until recently this particular pond was covered with water vegetation and one could see plenty of Purple swamp hens , coots , Dabchiks,Jacanas.....However this time the water was cleaned out off this vegetation for the so called fish farming and we had sightings of only White throated kingfisher , R.W.lapwings and barn swallows & Palm swifts hawking insects.

Among raptors were c2 dark phase Booted eagles,Marsh harriers (male,female and Juvenile),Black shouldered kites , female shikra,brahminy kite.

I was joined later by Dr.Tarin Mithel from Kharghar and we did some more birding together after the BNHS group parted.I took him to the place where I had sighted the crakes in the morning and to our surprise they were still there , busy feeding.We were in for more surprise as a Ruddy breasted crake emerged from behind them and quickly vanished in the reeds. But even a slight glimpse of this beautiful bird is enough for its ID....Even as I write this (Incidentally or co-incidentally) there is a posting in bng birds-Bangalore birds e-group- of some one also seeing and photographing these two species of crakes on the same day some where in Karnataka.

Further down we spotted the Desert wheatear female yet again at the same spot as last month , however the male was nowhere to be found.Long tailed shrikes were plenty and could be seen almost after every few meters on the telephone wires.Also spotted c2 Indian rollers on the telephone wires dropping now and then, below with there magnificent blue wings spread to catch an insect ,again to return back on there look-out post.Even had an opportunity to observe different phases of Citrine and grey wagtails.

Larks are early breeders and most of the species have already started there breeding displays.Rufous tailed sparrow lark, Oriental skylark, Malabar crested lark & the Ashy crowned sparrow larks ( In Marathi A.C.S.Larks are also called as "Dombari" , because of there unique breeding display) have all started to show there breeding antics.A flock of Greater short toed larks settled nearby in an cultivated field,giving a good view.I Eventually ended up seeing all the lark species found along the Mumbai region.

It is always so relaaaaaaxinggggggg...... to spend the weekend watching birds as if it were an energy dose for the hectic week of work ahead.

Happy Birding,

Addi The Birdie