Images from Corbett - March 2008

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 ....

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 !!

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

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 :)