The ‘epic willfulness’ baffles scientists and amateur birdwatchers alike. It is what makes palm-sized Kunta a nationwide celebrity. Kunta, a Grey Wagtail, weighs just above 15 gm, and despite being handicapped has made a migratory journey of 1,500–2,000 km from the highlands of Central Asia to Billigirirangan Hills in Karnataka for three years consecutively. It arrived at TS Ganesh’s coffee estate, south of Bangalore, with one leg missing. Ganesh had noticed it for the first time in 2007, when it spent the winter in his garden with another Grey Wagtail. Its missing leg made each of Kunta’s visits an epic one, and brought it fame by being featured in national newspapers and magazines, including Open.
Kunta was last seen in the winter of 2009-10; perhaps the perils of migration finally caught up with our courageous Wagtail.
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| Photo by Raghavan aka Rags |
When Venky and Prabhu asked me to join them today for a drive up to Sriharikota to watch flamingos ( the word was out that the birds were seen in hundreds) and a rocket launch from the SHAR center, I went along without knowing what to expect.
We reached SHAR road by about 7.30 am and drove along trying to spot birds one either side. When we reached the Wildlife Warden's office, we were stopped at a heavily armed Police and Army barricade. As the rocket launch was scheduled for 1100 hrs, we were not permitted to drive further but were advised by the men in uniform to turn South and drive along the brush jungle to spot birds. We could only see Egrets, Painted storks, some ground roosting Pelicans and some bush birds like pipits, finch larks, black winged kites and so on.
There was little water in the lagoons and the mud flats were turning into a mirage with all the heat shimmer in the distance. Disappointed by the complete lack of flamingos, we turned back North and drove up to the derelict watch tower to hang around and watch the rocket launch at the least. We were probably 10 kms away from the launch pad, which was obscured by the distant tree line to the East and we waited with baited breath for the launch to take place, a first time experience for me.
At 1058 hrs, there seemed to be an eerie silence - as though the wind had stopped blowing - and at 1100 hrs on the dot, we heard a distant siren wailing and then blast off! It was a flaming streak that took off from the distance - sounding perhaps as loud as a jet engine initially - and barely a few seconds into lift off, I experienced a ear shattering BRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMPP and the ground around my feet shook - I was hearing the sonic boom as the rocket broke the sound barrier! Another few seconds and there was only a rapidly dissipating vapour trail left behind by the rocket.
The attached picture is already magnified about 100%, even though I used my 300mm/f4 on a Nikon D90 body. If you enlarge the picture more, you can see a distinct 'ring' of condensation just below the nose. Prabhu, being the tech savvy man, explained the 'ring' phenomenon. As the rocket slices through the air, the velocity at the nose is so great that a low pressure or vacuum forms just below the nose. The water vapour 'ring' settles within this low pressure zone and travels with the rocket till it gets out of Earth's atmosphere. Quite an experience from someone who only went looking for flamingos!
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| Malabar giant squirrel- Ratufa indica - keeps an eye on Mr Ramanan! |
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| Gaur - Bos gaurus - largest cattle species. (Photo by Mr Ramanan) |
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| Would you like to share the fruit with me, Mr Ramanan? |
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| No? Oh well, I cant wait anymore! |
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| "The MNS lot are here!" |
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| Lion tailed macaque - Macaca silenus - endemic to the Western Ghats |
Nearly one-third of ‘karuvelam' trees ( Acacia nilotica ) grown inside the Vaagaikulam tank near Alwarkurichi in the district were cut on Saturday. These trees were home to thousands of domestic and migratory birds for the past several years during and after the monsoon, thus leaving the winged visitors' beautiful abode nurtured by nature in a pathetic shape.
The acacia trees at Vaagaikulam were planted by the Forest Department under their social forestry scheme. As per their policy, these trees are scheduled for felling in 10 years. The contract for cutting them is given by the panchayat and the income shared with the contractor on a 1:3 basis.
As the trees inside Vaagaikulam became an excellent roosting site, where researchers could identify 38 species of birds in and around the lake, steps were taken to convert it into a bird sanctuary on the lines of Koonthankulam in the district.
Birds that come
Among the various species of birds that flock to this place are white ibis, glossy ibis, black ibis, chestnut-tailed starling, brahminy myna, cotton pygmy goose, spot-billed duck, spot-billed pelican, Indian moor hen, pheasant- tailed jacana, white-breasted water hen, sandpiper, gull-billed tern, common kingfisher, white-throated kingfisher, pied kingfisher, pied crested cuckoo, western marsh harrier, night heron, rosy pastor, red-vented bulbul, open-billed stork, osprey, pond heron, purple heron, cormorant, darter, egret, little grebe, yellow-wattled lapwing, yellow wagtail, barn swallow, palm swift, black headed munia, brahminy kite, brown shrike and house crow.
When the trees on which the birds are roosting were earmarked for cutting in January 2009, 70 per cent of the trees were removed and the rest were spared because of the rains and subsequent increase of water level in the lake. Moreover, the move was stopped by the villagers then.
After the birds' new abode was brought to light by The Hindu , Bangalore-based Ashoka Trust for Environment and Education, which first located the tank brimming with water and trees weighed down by thousands of birds, some steps were taken by the Department of Forest to convert it into a bird sanctuary. The then District Revenue Officer P. Ramanasaraswathi even visited the tank to explore the possibilities of ensuring flow of water to the tank throughout the year so that the birds can roost and nest round the year.
Renewing his efforts on removing the trees, a contractor, who has successfully won the ‘cutting order' in his favour, has been asked by the revenue officials to wait till the end of the forthcoming civic polls. “We'll take an appropriate decision after the end of the elections,” he was told by the revenue officials it is learnt even as the Alwarkurichi villagers were vehemently resisting the cutting of trees.
Enquiries with the Department of Social Forestry revealed that the ‘cutting order' that was given by the then Conservator of Forest Rampathi about eight months ago was cancelled after the report on trees inside Vaagaikulam sheltering thousands of birds appeared in this newspaper.
Villagers' efforts
When the information of cutting of trees inside Vaagaikulam spread, the villagers, mostly farmers, rushed to the water body and stopped further felling of the trees after heated argument with labourers hired for the purpose. Even as the situation was volatile as the arguments continued, the police and revenue officials came to the spot after much delay.
Though the birds' shelter has been saved as of now, the threat being posed by the contractor with the renewed ‘cutting order' continues, environmentalists here feel. Officials with the Department of Social Forest refused to comment on this incident.
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| White flowers |
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| Berries or buds? |
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| The thenpuchi maram (Guazuma ulmifolia) revealed a flower, and had lovely fresh leaves, all hairy and ready to collect dust. |
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| Pongamia leaves, completely covered with the characteristic leaf galls. |
And we ended next to the naagalingam, a native of the Amazonian region of South America, but now venerated here! |
| Couroupita guianensis |
23rd Feb 2025 - Patan Continued from here. Once again, we needed to check out by 8am and head for breakfast. We were ready early and dec...
One of the younger trees