Madras Ramblings

Pongal at Point Calimere - The ubiquitous Brahminy Kites

2012-01-27T14:56:00.000+05:30

Brahminy kite, with a fish in its mouth.

They were everywhere, on the trees, soaring above in the skies, over the water, in coconut trees, on electricity poles, by the fishermen's boats, and even on roof tops!

I have never in my life seen such a congregation of brahminy kites!

At the pumphouse

Again, with a prey - seems to be a lizard.

Mr Ramanan says: "They are fearless when they steal fishes from the fishermen which was evident even when an auction of fishes took place among thirty odd people, they pierce the crowd fearlessly and take away the fishes.

But they really failed when they chased a feeding young one of sunbird as it flew very close to one of the fence made out of thorny materials of a house. Whereas in the pumping house, which pumps sea water to the saltpan, the Brahminy Kites hovers and wait for as and when the river terns catch the fish which comes out of the salt water from the pump, it chases them and using its legs, hit them at the back so that the river tern drops the fish which can be easily taken away by them as it success rate of catching the fish compare to the river tern is less."

Mr Ramanan's photo - at the pump house, the marauders!

Photo by Mr Ramanan.

Rags captured a brahminy kite flying at dusk, and another fabulous shot of the kite fishing.

Pongal at Point Calimere - the feral horses in the grasslands

2012-01-26T11:12:00.001+05:30

Our first views of the feral horses, in the distance across the waters of the wetlands.

Last year, I saw wild asses at Kutch, and I loved them! I was intrigued at the prospect of the wild/feral horses that are present at the Point Calimere sanctuary. Sure enough, we bumped into them, on our very first evening outing in the grasslands.

The first herd, had the sun behind them, and we saw them silhouetted, and the scene reminded me of a watercolour painting.

Further along the track, there was another herd, much closer, with the light behind us, and it was so nice to see horses without saddles and stirrups, and the foals, oh they were the best!

A second bunch

Observe the one in the centre right, with the white "naamam" and read on below.

Mr Ramanan had this to say: "A decade back Point Calimere was known as a small fishing village where one could see only 30 odd fishing boats at the jetty. But now there is a lot of development and the road leading to the village is full of houses on either side of the road and up to the boating jetty.

The Point Calimere sanctuary situated on the eastern coast of India near the Park Straits, Tamilnadu, is the only place where one comes across wild horses in India. In those days the horses were branded on the back with the initials of the owner and according to the locals whenever their service was required they were caught and utilized for transporting salt from the saltpans!

Once the area was declared as the sanctuary, the owners had no right to retrieve the horses and hence they became free/wild horses. On our recent visit, the owners name was missing on the grazing horses, and so they have became really "wild", which is visible from their characteristic instincts."

Only the horse with the "namam", seems to still carry some branding on its side.

Photo by Mr Ramanan - is she pregnant you think?

Photo by Mr Ramanan - This was my favourite (and the youngest) foal I saw.

Census records rise in vulture count in Panna

2012-01-25T10:12:00.000+05:30

The Hindu: Census records rise in vulture count in Panna

The results of the vulture census in the Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) will definitely provide wildlife enthusiasts with a reason to cheer. The count in the third annual estimation exercise that concluded on Monday has registered an increase of 39 per cent over the last year's figures.

While the maximum vulture population this year stood at 1797 (as against 1340 in 2011), the minimum number was 1054 (814 last year) while the average count recorded was 1510 (1079 last year).

Vultures were found in 38 of the 39 sites earmarked for counting, as against 21 of 25 sites last year.

The PTR is home to seven vulture species — long-billed, white-backed, Egyptian, red-headed, Eurasian griffon, Himalayan griffon and cinereous. The first four are permanent residents of the park while the last three are migratory.

A significant decline was seen in the numbers of the long-billed (502 from 775) and the cinereous vulture (1 from 6) but that could be because of lack of technical expertise on the part of the enumerators, explained park officials.

97 birds not identified

“Because of the difficulty in distinguishing between the long-billed vulture and the Himalayan griffon vulture, 97 birds could only be identified as “unknown” by the observers due to lack of technical expertise,” PTR Field Director R.S. Murthy told The Hindu.

Based on a public-private partnership model, the enumeration exercise is being carried at PTR for the last three years.

This time, 110 participants from 9 States and two Union Territories, including two foreign citizens, had registered for the exercise. Finally 65 people actually participated in the event.

While the PTR is evidently a great vulture habitat with ample feeding opportunities for the avian scavengers, some areas of concern have emerged recently.

“The use of the banned diclofenac for cattle around the Patori village and the cutting of the Arjun tree, which serves as a good nesting site for the white-backed vulture, are two areas of concerns we have identified as threats to vultures. Efforts are needed to stop such activities,” Mr. Murthy said.

Pongal at Pt Calimere - Kodikarai

2012-01-24T14:32:00.001+05:30

The map that hung in our forest guest house. Poonarai Illam was where we stayed.

Kodikarai aka Kodiyakarai aka Kodigeri seems to be a fishing hamlet, but with a strong government presence - there is a naval outpost, a BSNL station (so cell phones worked loud and clear, and everyone in the village seemed to have one!), a Customs and Revenue station and also a coast guard presence. Just south, and across the Palk Straits after all was Sri Lanka.

This was main street, photographed by Sheila, which rain north to south - the roads were in better shape than in our neighbourhood in Chennai!

Western Union money transfer available!

Kodikarai is a plastic-free zone, but there was plastic strewn everywhere.

Take a look at the tariff card that was up on the notice board in our guest house - and pay special attention to the rates that the elected representatives of the people pay!!

Our guest house.

Its a shame, the way we spend money in this country. There was an old dilapidated building just behind the guest house we stayed in, and group members who had been there earlier said that that was the old guest house. This Mark 1 guest house still stands but is occupied by bats and has no doors and windows. We occupied what should be Mark 2, not very old, all tiled and painted. But maybe between the 13 rooms, we could have had three rooms with everything working - I mean, take the fan from one room, the toilet from another, light bulb from the third, etc etc.

The whole weekend we were there (yes it was Pongal I know), there was not a single maintenance staff around - so, no sweeping, cleaning of any sort happened, and only good old Razzak bhai to answer questions and man the desk! Another couple of years and Mark 2 will resemble Mark 1.

It looks like Mark 3 is also up - a more swank airconditioned guest house behind ours, which was given to an Austrian couple who just strolled in off the street looking for a room. These were middle-aged, not hippy like or anything and later the man admitted he knew nothing about birds, so what on earth were they doing prowling around Kodikarai, and eating in our "restaurant"?

Ramar's mess was run by a family of four brothers, it seemed. It was a shack with a couple of tables, wood burning stoves and was obviously the best address in town. There would be crowds of people always at their door, and a "queue" to get in.

There were vadais with morning tea/coffee, then breakfast was idly with sambar and chutney, lunch was sambhar, poriyal, rasam and kootu and curds. (Actually, it was meen kozhambu but we got "shaiva" kootu.) Dinner was always parotta and kurma. Vijay told us that they had landed a permit to make parottas in Singapore, for the summer of 2012!

Puris made for us on Pongal day!

It was about 300m south of the rest house, and the first evening we were taken aback at the evening/night life of Kodikarai. It seems that the street light outside the resthouse was the gathering place for the returning fishermen. These fishermen come from other hamlets, for the season, and work on a commission basis, bringing larger boats and better equipment.

So, the street light was where they gathered and got into high spirits quite literally. There was not a woman in sight after dusk, and many of the men, by nightfall, could not walk a straight line.

After the refreshments, dinner was at Ramar's, and they would need that parotta urgently. So Ramar & Co decided to make them (who were after all their regular clientele) takeaway packs of their parottas and kurma, and we were served inside. I thought I would get high just off the alcohol on their breaths!!

There was much curiosity as to who we were and where we came from, quite obviously. But the amazing thing was when we visited the boat jetty or the fishing harbour the morning after, these men would be returning from sea or be busy with their catch, and operating quite normally - no effects of a hangover it seemed!

The Beach Birders at the Fifth Chennai Bird Race

2012-01-23T21:15:00.003+05:30

This was the way it was. No colour filter! Photo by Rags. See the entire set of pictures here.

Our Beach Birders team from the coast

decided to bird for half a day, at the most.

With binos and books we took to the Bird Race.

It was the refreshments that set the leisurely pace!

A gorgeous sunrise, such as I had never seen before

but wait, Pallikaranai had much more in store!

Swamp hens, egrets and stilts galore

the cormorants and ducks creating a furore.

A lone Ruff, Pelicans landing one by one

Stints in aerial ballet, it seemed, just for fun.

Bobbing sandpipers, the prinias chirping

meditative herons and jacanas preening.

Unmindful of the garbage and stench were they

"A poor sense of smell", the experts say.

A news crew arrived in the meantime from afar

and before we knew it, Rags was a TV star!

Watched the spot bills and pintails and teals flypast.

We decided to move on after a coffee-and-sandwich repast.

To Sholinganallur wetlands, past the toll, we drove

and Fulvous Whistling Ducks we saw, by jove!

Kelambakkam backwaters by midday we did drop by.

Blue waters, a breeze, the sun high in the sky.

It was time for the biggies the thermals to ride

Painted storks and Pelicans, side by side.

A few Terns winged without intent

their low numbers, to me, a disappointment.

But a family of curlews did give us a sneak peek

as they fished in the mud with their overlong beaks.

Happy and hot and tired were we

as we headed home, Sheila, Rags, Ammu and me!

Our bird of the day was the Grey-headed Lapwing
but for the Emerald Doves, an Orphean Warbler did sing!

Bridled Terns logged 121, our tally 59
but with the fun and company, that suited me fine!
************************
The fifth Chennai Bird Race held on Sunday Jan 22nd.

The TOI new report has a few errors. The winning team of Vikas was Bridled Tern. And he spotted an eagle not an owl!

The Jacana Junkies were at the third edition in 2010.

Birding at Yelagiri, interrupted by cyclone Thane

2012-01-20T14:45:00.000+05:30

28th Dec 2011 to 31st, with cyclone Thane keeping us indoors all day on the 30th!

Pied bushchats and bulbuls everywhere.

The mermaid-in-the-lake seemed to point to the white-browed wagtail, which was on the rock to her left! Poor thing, her arm has dislocated with the effort!

Asian Paradise flycatcher, that flitted in and out of the silver oak trees on the 31st morning.

White-bellied drongos - fascinating aerial swoops and dives as they caught insects on the fly!

My first ever Verditer flycatcher - the blue birdie on the wire.

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Pongal at Point Calimere - a photo summary

2012-01-17T21:58:00.000+05:30

View Larger Map

Prawn fisherman, salt pans

Mud flats

Feral horses

The British lighthouse - still works

The ruined Chola lighthouse

Glorious Glory lilies

Crab kolams

Mangroves at Muthupet lagoon

Avicennia germinans?

The boat jetty leading to the broken board walk

Our local restaurant

Proprietor Ramar

Ghostrider in the making

A hermit crab says hello

Orange sunrise

Golden sunset

More details to follow!

The baobab at YMCA

2012-01-10T18:45:00.001+05:30

Adansonia digitata - the African baobab. I believe there are only four specimens in Madras.

I did not see flowers, but it was in pod. They are velvety, covered with fine hair, and look a bit like the gourds of the sausage tree.

The baobabs grow in water scarce areas, have this massive trunk and sparsely leaved branches, and I believe can live to a thousand years!

Siruthavoor, for the first time

2012-01-01T14:01:00.002+05:30

I added these three species to my life list, in the first fortnight of December -
Rufous-tailed Lark
Black-headed munia
Oriental Skylark

At Siruthavoor.

A necklace of terns - gull billed?

Bee eater enjoying breakfast

Find the Oriental Skylark

Rufous-tailed lark?

Barn swallow. Not the streak-throated swallow, sighted here just the previous week.

Do some bird watching, and tell me how many species you see.

The munias

Kambha stays unaffected by cyclone Thane

2012-01-01T13:52:00.001+05:30

We were out of town when cyclone Thane crossed the Madras shores. There were strong winds - one of our sea-facing windows worked open and broke with the constant banging - and a lot of rain.

The composting kambha of mine sits on the terrace under a ledge, but open in the sides. I was worried that I would come back to find a soggy mess. Went to take a peek today, and was much relieved to see that it was doing fine.

Things look a bit more moist than when I left, but no troubleshooting required.

Looking forward to some compost in 2012.

Spotted! Owlet at Children's Park.

2011-12-18T19:33:00.003+05:30

Dec 18th - Children's Park - Nizhal Marghazhi walk

Had a delightful stroll with a large bunch of adults and kids through the Children's Park, Guindy. Everytime I visit the park, I love the walk through the trees, and despite the hordes of people and buses in the car park, they all seem to go to other parts of the park!

A spotted owlet, spotted because it "blessed" one of the walkers right below!

The soapnut tree with lots of nuts.

The inky marams were in fruit too.

Ouch! And why do they have to nail the boards, so?

Still more walks coming up:

Semmozhi - Dec 25th - Sun 10.30 am and Jan 7th - Sat morn 10.30 am

Children's Park - Dec 31st - Sat 10.30 am and Jan 8th - Sun 4 pm.

Panagal park as well - Dec 24th - Sat 4pm and Jan 1st - Sun morn 10.30 am

Dont miss them!

The Nizhal Marghazhi walks are on

2011-12-17T21:22:00.005+05:30

Nizhal has a whole bunch of tree walks planned for the month of Marghazhi. The first one at Semmozhi Poonga was today morning. It was led by Arun-of-the-turtlewalk-now-afforesting-Tiruvannamalai fame, and there were around 20 of us, several children.

The weather was fabulous, and the poonga not too crowded. The nux vomica was in fruit and the ducks have had babies. So if you missed today's walk there are several others to attend.

The tree walks are in three of the city's parks, and here are the dates and times.

Semmozhi Poonga - RK Salai

======================

Dec 25th - Sun 10.30 am

Jan 7th - Sat morn 10.30 am

Children's Park - Guindy

==================

Dec 18th - Sun morning 10.30 am

Dec 31st - Sat 10.30 am

Jan 8th - Sun 4 pm.

Panagal Park - T Nagar

==================

Dec 24th - Sat 4pm

Jan 1st - Sun (new year) 10.30 am

My lunar eclipse

2011-12-13T14:40:00.001+05:30

10th December. Chennai, from our balcony.

6:57 pm

7:20 pm

7:40 pm

8:48 pm

9:48 pm

It was lovely to see the moon fully eclipsed, like a cheese ball, all reddish brown and yummy. Or was it more like a gulab jamun?!

Next one in India - 2018.

Composting diary - troubleshooting

2011-12-02T14:19:00.001+05:30

Just as I was feeling smug about my trouble-free khamba debut, I ran into my first "trouble". I had not checked on the bottom-most, empty (thus far) pot, since it was well empty, no?

With two pots filled with composting garbage, it was time for the semi-composted middle pot to move to the lower pot. When I peered into it, it was far from empty - it was filled halfway with water, and there were maggots swimming merrily in the watery sludge - EWWWWWW! The water was rain water, which I should have realised would have entered via the side openings when we had our monsoonic depression and heavy wind and rain last week.

Emergency action! Take the pot down slosh it all out, clean well and sun!

That was yesterday. So, today I went and refilled it (dry and clean) with a little sand at the bottom. This is Unit C. Moved the dry, semi-composted Unit A stuff into it and moved Unit B above it. With all the rains, Unit B is more wet than I like - it will definitely breed more maggots, so I have added more dry leaf. Let me see if this works.

Should add even more dry leaf tomorrow I think.

Roadside tree planting

2011-11-27T14:58:00.001+05:30

Preamble

The residents of New Beach Road felt the need to plant more trees at the eastern end of the road, that leads on to the beach front. The western parts of the road are tree-lined and shady, while the eastern end has looked bare.
So, there was discussion and dialogue as to how to go about this and what follows is our experience in planting trees on the road, for the benefit of anyone else looking to do so.
We decided to do this just before the rains, rather than in the summer, so that the saplings would get a head start with good water and cool weather. Little did we realise that our chosen date would work to a "T" - the monsoons broke over Chennai, the morning after we had done our tree planting!

Pitting

Saplings were sourced from Nizhal. We got five punnai and five pooarasam saplings - both of which are expected to do well in coastal areas, with sandy soil, harsh sunny climes, and they are both native species as well. Oct 23rd, a Sunday was agreed upon as several of teh residents were available, post Deepavali.

Then to figure out costs - we need sand and red earth/manure, plus labour to dig pits 2ft by 2ft, and 2 ft deep too. One of the residents got in touch with Malathi Nursery in the neighbourhood, and we worked out costs as Rs 250 per tree planting, with sand/manure and labour.

Next question - how do we share these costs? We decided that each tree would be "sponsored" by a child of the road, who would then be responsible for keeping an eye on it, watering it in the dry season, and reporting if the sapling was not doing well. Overnight, we had ten "sponsors" and the money question was answered!

We then spoke to the Additional Engineer, Chennai Corporation Thiruvanmyur, informed him, then got the permission of the AC, Adyar division, who promised us tree guards too. I was sceptical that the tree guards would arrive in time, but lo and behold, come 22nd Oct evening, and a fishcart trundled up to our flat and disgorged the tree guards!

Planting

Sunday morning dawned and we gathered at 8am, deciding on the spots where we wanted to plant.

Soon, the gardener and the sand and manure showed up too, and he began pitting, digging the pits for our saplings. The young men of our road also added their muscle power. The nursery had packed ten bags of manure and ten bags of red earth, so we just had to empty one packet of each into each pit.
The kids enjoyed planting their saplings, placing them in the middle of the pit, and filling up the space around with manure and sand, making sure it was firm and well-packed.

Tree guards
Then, it was time for the tree guards. The tree guards that we were supplied with had these long, spindly legs, which had to be buried in the pit.

This was done diligently, and the kids wrote their names on the little blank bits of metal that you see. They are the designated caregivers for each sapling now.

I underestimated the need for the tree guard. A couple of days later while walking to the beach, we were dismayed to see that one tree guard had disappeared, and the punnai which it had protected stood bare, exposed and covered with plastic refuse.

Then, just ten days ago, we noticed that the garbage truck had obviously banged into another one, which was then all bent out of shape.

Watered

The saplings were all watered well, as we hauled water in some empty drinking water dispensers to the saplings. The plan is that during the dry season, we will just carry water in a 2-litre bottle, and each family will take care of the one sapling in their name.

One of the pooarasam saplings - all done!

It has been raining heavily ever since, and we hope this has given a good start to these saplings. We also uncovered other pooarasam saplings among the weeds, obviously from some previous planting efforts. Lets hope these saplings grow, along with our kids, into lovely tall, shady trees!

Composting Diary - Beginning

2011-11-25T19:10:00.001+05:30

September 24th 2011: Have begun composting with a khamba that looks like this.

I have kept it on my terrace in an area where there is light, cross ventilation, some sun, but it is protected from the rain.

The khamba is rather ingeniously designed. The top two pots have little vents for circulation, covered with guaze to prevent unwanted rodents' entry.

The instructions say that the bottom of the middle and upper pots, which just have some netted cords running through, need to be lined with newspaper, which I did, before dumping my organic waste.

I am putting all veggie and fruit peels, egg shells, used coffee powder from my filter, tea bags, tea leaves and stuff like dried leaves from my potted plants. I have so far filled up one pot, which is now in the middle, and am halfway through the next one.

Happy to report the absence of foul smell and fruit flies or other such stuff, (so far at least). The reason could be that the place I have kept it is airy and so the aerobic microbes are more?

The bottom most pot has a lining of sand.

The middle pot's waste now has blackened and shrivelled, but has not yet become like this.

Finally!

2011-11-10T13:08:00.002+05:30

Japan 2007. Fujigoko.

Ticket counter at the lava caves. A little bird. Friends with the ticket collector.

What was it, I wondered. So cute and colourful

And have continued to wonder all these years. Until just recently, when I came across Stu's blog and this post from Hakadote.

Varied Tit - Cyanestes varius. I also realised that it must be fairly common there - he has 51 tags for the bird!

This was where we were. Past Lake Saiko.

The caves had a walkway through them, these "bloody" icicles from the walls, and snake-like solidified rivers of larva.

And these fossilised eggs!

Outside was the Aokigahara. The dense dark forests, famed for suicides, and quite creepy in the day. Imagine how it would be in the night!

"A collection of starlings is called a murmuration"!

2011-11-10T10:19:00.000+05:30

And then, see this, for more information:My learning for the day.

Mr Ramanan's unusual finds in our city

2011-11-09T15:27:00.000+05:30

The Hindu : Photo op:

Orange-breasted green pigeon. Photo: Ramanan Padmanabhan

Photo opPRINCE FREDERICKRamanan Padmanabhan studies and photographs the great horned owl at the Nanmangalam Reserve Forest. While trekking through the scrub jungle on the morning of August 31 and searching for his favourite bird, he was greeted with a rare sight. It was an orange-breasted green pigeon.

A senior member of the Madras Naturalists Society and a wildlife photographer, Ramanan identified the frugivorous bird straightaway. “The lone bird was feeding on scrub fruits and when I drew near for a clearer view through the lens, it glided into thicker greenery to avoid detection. This is a camouflage technique typical of this pigeon,” recalls Ramanan.This is the first time anyone has reported sighting an orange-breasted green pigeon at any reserve forest in and around Chennai. “This bird is found in the evergreen forests of the Western and Eastern Ghats,” says Ramanan.

It's interesting to note that two months later, the birdwatcher had another rare sighting — this time, it was a dark-sided flycatcher perched on a rain tree in his backyard. “The dark-sided flycatcher was sighted at 3.30 p.m. on November 3 on a raintree at Shastri Nagar. Despite an unrelenting downpour, the bird was busy pecking at insects and it took up different perches on the same tree. From beak to tail, the flycatcher was around 13 cm long,” says Ramanan. For two more days, he sighted the bird on the same tree and, when the skies cleared up, he snapped a few pictures of it.“The dark-sided flycatcher is a long-distance migrant: it breeds in Siberia, Mongolia and travels to the western and eastern Himalayas during winter,” says Ramanan.Commenting on both sightings — confirmed as first-of-their-kind in Chennai by the Madras Naturalists Society — naturalist V. Guruswami says: “Through sustained observation and research, we arrive at the geographical limits of birds. They may exceed these known limits, but this fact often goes unnoticed. It takes bird enthusiasts to spot these birds, when they ‘stray' off their known haunts. The dark-sided flycatcher is an arboreal bird. But for birdwatchers, who are in the habit of looking deeper into canopies, this bird is often not easily sighted. The orange-breasted green pigeon is essentially a hill bird and found in the Eastern and Western Ghats. Habitat destruction can scatter such birds and can be one of the reasons why they are seen in places other than their known homes."

The dark-sided flycatcher. Photo by Mr Ramanan

Mr Ramanan is no stranger to readers of this blog! And so I am doubly delighted!!

More winged visitors flock to Adyar Poonga

2011-11-05T15:52:00.000+05:30

The Hindu : NATIONAL / TAMIL NADU : More winged visitors flock to Adyar Poonga

By Aloysius Xavier Lopez

A painted stork in the Adyar Poonga on Friday. — Photo: K.V.SrinivasanWith more species of migratory birds arriving at the Adyar Poonga (Tholkaapiya Poonga) this monsoon, the documentation of such species in the 58 acres is likely to commence shortly.Painted storks have come for the first time after eco-restoration of the first phase of the park. Grey heron, large egret, and black winged stilt are some of the other species spotted amid the vast lush green area after the northeast monsoon began last month.“Painted stork has not been seen in the Adyar Estuary for many years. Getting to see painted stork this year is very good news,” said K.V.Sudhakar, president of Madras Naturalists' Society.Around 200 species of birds have been reported in the Adyar area in the past, he added. Many of such species had vanished from the vicinity because of rapid urbanisation.According to officials, increased availability of fish in the waterbodies of the 58 acre area and improvement in habitat on account of the eco-restoration are some of the reasons for the migration of birds to the park.“We are not going to introduce any species. Every new species attracted to the park should be because of natural process,” said an official.The tidal inflow to the Adyar Poonga plays a crucial role in complete restoration of the ecosystem and attraction of new species of fish to the estuary, said officials. After the second phase of the project, the normal tidal inflow would be completely restored.Saplings plantedThe State government spent over Rs.23 crore in the first phase of eco-restoration. About 1.37 lakh saplings of around 172 endemic species of trees, herbs, shrubs, reeds and tuberous plants were planted to serve as habitat for aquatic, terrestrial and arboreal species.

An unusual visitor

2011-11-04T13:13:00.000+05:30

Dark-sided flycatcher

Mr Ramanan spots the dark-sided flycatcher(Muscicapa sibirica) near his home in Shastri nagar, Adyar. November 3rd. Not the brown-breasted flycatcher, usually seen every winter.

Skandan says that, "The streaks in the throat and flanks/the white line running through the belly are the identification tips," differentiating from the other more common winter visitor, the Asian Brown Flycatcher.

As V Santharam says, "This is usually seen in the Himalayan region and northern India and so is an unusual sighting for Chennai, where it was seen in the backyard in the heart of the city."

Along with the monsoons, November has brought this unusual flycatcher! I need to be extra vigilant now. Who knows what I may find on the Millingtonia, badam or teak tree in my neighbourhood.

By the way, young Vikas had an Indian Pitta wander into his balcony, which was set free in the gardens.

Other migrants spotted include Orange Headed Ground Thrush sighted at TS and IIT. (Geetha and Kumaran). Ashy Drongo at IIT. (Kumaran). And Lallitha spotted a vagrant Western Reef Egret close to the Sholavaram lake.

The Big B and Gir.

2011-11-03T19:30:00.000+05:30

Gir sanctury gets 60 per cent bonus tourists this Diwali vacation - Express India

So the Gujarat govt uses the Big B to promote the Gir sanctuary, and the tourists are flowing in! Not only that, seems there's a new Gateway hotel as well.

Gir sanctury gets 60 per cent bonus tourists this Diwali vacation

ADAM HALLIDAY,hitarthpandya,Hitarth Pandya Posted: Oct 15, 2011 at 0443 hrs
VADODARA/AHMEDABAD The Big-B charm continued to work for the forest department at Gir Wildlife Sanctuary (GWS), the only abode to Asiatic lions in the world. At least 60 per cent more tourists are booked at this sanctuary for Diwali vacations, compared to last year. The sanctuary will open on Sunday after a three-month break for monsoon, which also coincides with the mating season for the beasts.
According to officials at GWS, the tourist flow has increased drastically as compared to the last year. The conducive environment and the facilities provided by the department has turned out to be a major aspect attracting the tourist, officials said. Even the Gateway hotel at Sasan Gir is completely booked, weeks after it opened.

“After the poaching incidents, which surfaced in 2007, we have taken several measures to change the entire perspective about Gir. The staff has been changed totally and about 400 of them are new recruits and that makes a lot of difference. The old staff had been working as typical forest department staff whereas it needed something more than that because it was all about attracting more tourists,” Chief Conservator of Forests, Junagadh, R L Meena told The Indian Express.

“Not only that, the local tourist guides have gained a lot of confidence in explaining about wildlife to the tourists,” he added.

Roping in Amitabh Bachchan as tourism ambassador has done wonders for the department. “There is no doubt that his presence has made direct impact on the tourist flow. After all, he is a superstar and people do acknowledge him,” said Meena.

During 2009-10, a total of 2,06,563 persons visited the sanctuary and Devaliya Safari Park. During 2010-11, 2,71,745 persons visited GWS and Devaliya Safari Park, he said. “There is an increase of 65,182 tourists in the financial year 2010-11 in comparison to 2009-10, which shows 31.55% increase in the tourist flow. During the current financial year, 1,08,996 persons have visited the sanctuary and Devaliya Safari Park. The sanctuary remained closed for tourists from June 16 to October 1,” said Meena. The tourism campaign has also benefitted the private hospitality sector, with the first large foray into the area booked full for the Diwali season.

The newly opened Gateway hotel at Sasan Gir — a part of the Taj hospitality chain with 28 rooms and a regular jeep safaris — has already been booked to capacity for the Diwali holiday season. “We are completely sold out. It’s a mix (of foreign and domestic tourists), but a lot of domestic,” said Chaula Mazmudar, hotel’s general manager.

And, they are thinking of opening new safari routes too.

http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/gujarat-govt-to-introduce-new-lion-safari-14855

13 nations come together to save tigers - The Times of India

2011-11-03T19:12:00.000+05:30

13 nations come together to save tigers - The Times of India

Since when did the CBI have the responsibility of saving tigers?! Or is it for poaching crimes across borders? Not very clear.

A black drongo stops by

2011-10-24T11:31:00.000+05:30

A drongo came visiting, and it was black
Not ashy, I knew for red iris it lacked.

It wheezed, whistled and swooped

as, for flying insects it looked.

Swift forays from the teak branch

I tell you, he had plenty to munch.

Maybe he will visit again, for lunch

a beakful of insects do make a good crunch.

A background of white teak flowers
followed by October showers
and then the power fails for hours
making us into pretender troubadours!

Kunta, the grey wagtail

2011-10-21T09:55:00.000+05:30

Kunta, means lame, and a 15gm lame wagtail was christened thus. What was amazing about this wagtail was its migration from Central Asia to the Biligirangan hills on three consecutive years.

Where are the Birds Going? | OPEN Magazine

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.

Kunta features in the article on migration and changing patterns, over summering and the lack of sufficient data in India.

"No flamingos in sight, but a rocket"

2011-10-13T16:31:00.000+05:30

Rags is a neighbourhood friend, long-time MNS member and another of the Society's band of excellent photographers.

Here is his account of the happenings of Oc 12th.

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!

Rags

Check out Rags' pictures at Camerags

The rocket was ISRO's PSLV series, and it put a weather satellite up in orbit.

Can we now hope for better weather forecasting?

TREASURES OF NELLIYAMPATHY

2011-10-13T09:14:00.000+05:30

Mr Ramanan's photo album

The link has some great landscape photos too.

Nelliyampathy - a mammalian photo essay

2011-10-12T19:13:00.000+05:30

All photos by Mr Ramanan during the MNS trip to Nelliyampathy - Oct 6th to 9th.

Malabar giant squirrel- Ratufa indica - keeps an eye on Mr Ramanan!

Gaur - Bos gaurus - largest cattle species. (Photo by Mr Ramanan)

Would you like to share the fruit with me, Mr Ramanan?

No? Oh well, I cant wait anymore!

"The MNS lot are here!"

Lion tailed macaque - Macaca silenus - endemic to the Western Ghats

Trees sheltering thousands of birds cut at Vaagaikulam

2011-10-11T14:39:00.000+05:30

The Hindu : NATIONAL / TAMIL NADU : Trees sheltering thousands of birds cut at Vaagaikulam

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.

If you would like to raise a voice against this, please do sign the online petition.

The battle for the Rann of Kutch | Firstpost

2011-10-09T14:43:00.000+05:30

Janaki Lenin writes about The battle for the Rann of Kutch in Firstpost

What is the so called advantage of this road I wonder, for the Gujarat government to propose it in the first place? It goes through precious mangroves, flamingo breeding sites, and Dholavira, an Indus Valley site.

We went to LRK, the Little Rann and not the Greater Rann.

Sivan Park perambulations

2011-10-04T10:39:00.002+05:30

Sivan Park is in KK Nagar and was the venue for Nizhal's public walk in October, falling on Gandhi Jayanti.

If you are wondering where it is, take a look at the map:

View Larger Map

We landed up there bright and early, to see one large Sivan statue staring at us!! (I had thought the park was named after some luminary of Madras called Sivan, and did not imagine it was named after the ultimate Sivan!!). The story goes that the park was called MGR Park, and the Sivan statue was put there for some film shooting....and then was subsequently not removed, and it became Sivan Park!! This anecdote was narrated by active Nizhal member Kasiraman, a resident of the area.

The MGR statue outside the park seems to bear testimony to this story. And if you want to see the Sivan statue, click here.

The "we" included my poor husband coopted as driver, Sumana, Vijay and me. Since this was my first visit to the park, I wanted to ensure that there were atleast a few trees that I could identify!! A quick recce with Sumana. We strolled through the army of morning walkers, who stared at us with curiosity - oddities we must have been, craning our necks to look at canopies while everyone else marched on briskly, either chattering with companions or with a grumpy oh-why-am-I-hear scowl on their faces. Nettilingam, aala maram, arasamaram, nagalingam, neem... all there, nice and large and healthy, so I let out a first sigh of relief.

And then came the mystery tree. Three of them, large and imposing!

Lagerstroemia microcarpa?

So, this is what we looked up to - leaves so far up that my myopic eyes were tested to the full. Peeling bark, could it be Pride of India I wondered.

One of the younger trees

But then Sumana spotted white flowers and small berries! (Pride of India aka Crepe Myrtle has large lavender/purple flowers.)

White flowers

Berries or buds?

(Back at home, and with the help of flowersofindia.in, I tentatively identified this as Ben Teak, venthekku in Tamil, a native tree. Am I right? If it is that tree, then this is a Sivan Park highlight.)

The debate was abandoned and we moved on. Copper Pod, Gulmohar, Parklandia, Palm, Neem, Pongam, Pooarasam. OK, not too bad, we can still cope.

We began our walk, (with a good handful of Nizhalites, plus some firsttimers,) next to the Nettilingam, Mast Tree...and the newbies "walked" into the Ashoka "trap", and so I unleashed the no,-this-is-false-ashoka-not-the-realmccoy story, as a chameleon looked on rather dubiously.

The Peepul photo essay

Eucalyptus microtheca?

Another unknown once again with white flowers looking a lot like eucalyptus, but with no characteristic vicks smell!

Could this be the Coolabah, introduced from Australia?

The idying was done later on, post walk.

The thenpuchi maram (Guazuma ulmifolia) revealed a flower, and had lovely fresh leaves, all hairy and ready to collect dust.

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!

The tree was in flower and there were a few on the ground as well, that allowed us to examine its astonishing flower structure.

Couroupita guianensis

We wound up with Mr Kasi Vishwanathan of Nizhal Anna Nagar talking about his experiences with the Metro Rail project, and how 24 large trees of Thiruvika park were transplanted, and 23 have survived and taken root again!

This is the cost of development that we as a society do need to factor in. If we chop off these large trees, how long will it take before the new trees grow to these impressive sizes?

"What we are doing to the forests of the world, is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and one another" - MK Gandhi.

Cycling truths

2011-10-01T11:39:00.000+05:30

Facebook

According to Danny Cohen, this one is being painted by a local artist on the sidewalks of NY!

Winged visitors

2011-09-29T13:00:00.000+05:30

An injured semi looper moth -Trigonodes hyppasia

Lemon pansy butterfly

Tailless Blue

Is this a Egnasia ephyrodalis moth?

They fly in at dusk
And die at night.
Our home,
their final resting place.

Blue pansy butterfly

The same blue pansy, close to death

Loris calling!

2011-09-26T10:58:00.001+05:30

The Hindu : FEATURES / METRO PLUS : Loris calling! reports that

There are more than 60 slender lorises in the farms and wild habitats around Nagavalli and surrounding districts, most of which have been rescued by the master and his team.

Nagavalli is 15kms from Tumkur, and the "master" is a school teacher at the local Government High School. He is quoted in the article as saying,

“I am a science teacher and am interested in wildlife and biodiversity. But, it was my students who told me about three slender lorises they had seen in the school compound. Fascinated, I started researching and then creating awareness about them.”

May his tribe grow!

Semmozhi, again

2011-09-24T10:49:00.000+05:30

More Semmozhi trees here.

Markhamia Lutea -

The "throat" of the flower is deeper colour as against yellow cordia, which is yellow throughout.

Terminalia bellerica - one of the "triphala" trees. There are lights strung around this tree....not good.

Schleichera oleosa - Ceylon lac tree - kasumbh in Hindi, a rare tree.

I need to go back to collect some fruit and seed.

An amazing, magnificent, huge tree. Is it a mimusops/maghizam? The canopy was so high, we couldn't check for flowers or fruit!

There were a few saplings like this, which was identified as Buddha coconut by Arun. Pterygota alata, it has lovely flowers, and a fruit that looks like a coconut! Its a medium-sized tree, and can be used to line avenues.

Another sapling - Milettia ovalifolia - shisham, a variety of rosewood with clusters of pink flowers.

A lovely large red sanders, endemic to our region, valued for the wood, and protected as well.

It had a lovely blue vine along its trunk, so if you visit the park, that is a good way to know you are at the red sanders!

Another large magnificent tree.

Where have all the stars gone?

2011-09-06T11:37:00.000+05:30

We did not see a supernova this weekend. M husband forwards me the article, and while I'm all enthu, and in a "let's take out the telescope" mood, he mumbles and mutters, about the polluted night sky and how we have to look at the northern sky etc etc. Talk about a wet blanket!

But sadly he was right, I looked up and there were hardly any stars seen. I was also a bit shocked and saddened. When we moved into this part of town, a decade and a half ago, the night skies were beautiful, and I was introduced to the Big Dipper, the Great Bear, Mars, venus, even the rings and moons of Saturn. I looked out for Orion's belt, which was as far as my idying skills went!

Even then, the Milky Way of my childhood was not seen. Summer nights in Coimbatore as a child, used to be magical, not least because of the splash of starlight that would stretch across the sky

But atleast there were some stars to show our son. Now even that has gone..as the country has got electrified, so too the night skies have disappeared. That is inevitable, but could we be reasonable and innovative in how we light up?

I came across this post, which seems to indicate we can....

Weekend Diversion: Protecting the Night Sky : Starts With A Bang

Rhinos, elephants and waved albatrosses

2011-09-02T22:02:00.000+05:30

Its been a fascinating last few days of TV watching. India lost her T 20 match, Messi is in Kolkata and I have been watching BBC Entertainment, weekdays at 7pm.

And so I learnt that there were four Northern White Rhinos in a Czech zoo, which were successfully relocated back to Africa, by the same person who took them there in the first place! Well, almost. The zoo culture sucks in the 21st century, and I'm glad for these rhinos, which got sedated, shipped in crates and moved by cranes before arriving in Ol Pejeta conservancy in East Africa.

The footage of the BBC documentary with Stephen Fry was amazing and endearing. But also alarming and depressing.

An article in The Economist on Game Conservation in Africa puts it succinctly,

The problem is not that the rhinos are half-blind, lumbering, and often infertile—which they are. It is economic: the ornamental and medicinal value of rhino horn makes it hard for the rhino to pay its way alive.

The fate of the northern white rhino then, rests with Fatu and Suni, two of the relocated rhinos and their desire to start a family. I wish them well.

And then I learnt about one more large, magnificent creature also threatened by poachers also in Africa. The forest elephants of Dzanga Bai. So, these forest elephants found in the forests of the Central African Republic, are different from the regular African elephants, and not much is known about them, supposedly.

The BBC Entertainment episode on these elephants, centred around the amazing work being done by a woman called Andrea, who has been there some eighteen years, and now recognises the elephants one from the other, understands their different calls and has been a reason for the reduction of poaching. I was just enthralled to see the footage, the low rumbles of a mother elephant to her calf, the high-pitched "lost" call of an errant baby, the intertwining of trunks of family when they emerged out of the forest into the clearing of Dzanga bai. There are calls that the human ear cannot pick up, and a whole social life which is rather complex.

This was the evening of Ganesha chaturthi, and I was pensive at how little I know about these gentle giants, so provoked nowadays by pressures of space and development. I wonder, do the Indian elephants also have similar social structures and vocalisations?

Today I watched half an episode on the Galapagos islands and caught the bit about the waved albatrosses. Galapagos has always meant Darwin, island and tortoise! I was amazed to learn that these large birds with webbed feet, and huge gull-like bills, partner for life, can live up to fifty years and breed on only one of the Galapagos islands, Espanola. Each year, the pair will raise one chick at Espanola, and it is five to six years before the chick will be ready to mate and breed! And once the chick is off, the mum and dad go their ways, (hanging out at sea or on the coasts of Ecuador/Peru), and then dad returns next year to Espanola, hangs around waiting for his missus to show up.

And when she does show up, they go through this elaborate courtship dance.

Crazeeee! The wonders of the natural world!

Memories of my childhood

2011-08-25T12:52:00.000+05:30

Isn't it unfortunate, when its there you take it for granted, and when its gone you sorely miss it. I was reminded of my maternal grandfather's home when I read this quirky description. The Green Ogre:A tree may be our primary connection with the universe.

Summers spent hanging around under a huge peepul tree there, watching the huge black ants scurry among the roots and fallen leaves. Teasing and getting teased by cousins and my brother, reading a book a day, wandering off to the cow shed to feed the calf. Nungus from the tree in the evening, picking parijatha with my grandmother in the mornings, listening to the never ending koels. Slapping the gigantic evening mosquitoes with irritation and frustration. Mosquito nets, dim lights.

A lifestyle disappeared?

Semmozhi Poonga at last

2011-08-22T17:56:00.005+05:30

Sunday Aug 20th. Madras Day Celebrations. Tree walk by Nizhal.

Dr Vijaya retired HOD from Stella Maris led the walk, ably assisted by Chitra.

I quite like the design of the entrance, though the gate could have been wider?
Terminalia arjuna. I have not seen such a magnificent specimen.
Strychnos nux-vomica. Loved by Agatha Christie and ayurveda!
Erythrina indica and the diamond shaped leaves of the kalyan murungai
The light fades as we reach the Brazilian Ironwood

Valley of Flowers - the trip that never was

2011-08-20T16:48:00.004+05:30

We bought our trekking shoes
and paid our travelling dues.

We were off to the mountains, we three
From our town in the south by the sea.
But it seems it was not to be
Oh, so woe is me!

No monal pheasant, no whiskered yuhina
No Himalayan Poppy, no Potentilla
Himalayan Griffon I shall not see
Nor the snowy peaks of Badri.

Valley of Flowers, I missed for sure, but dear Raji and Gapi, most of all,
with you two it would have been such a blast, we would have had such a ball!

Valley of Flowers - cancelled

2011-08-19T21:32:00.003+05:30

The VOF trip ended even before we started.
Rain & landslides continue.
The trip is wisely called off.
Deflated
Disappointed
Relieved
Our little loss minor in comparison to what those living there must be going through.

Valley of Flowers - the state of Uttarakhand suffers

2011-08-19T12:13:00.001+05:30

Uttarakhand tourism, power paralysed by incessant rain

My going (or not going) on the trip is a small matter. People have died.

Valley of Flowers - will the weather gods be kind?

2011-08-17T20:56:00.002+05:30

Raji emails that there are landslides in Uttaranchal, and schools are shut until the 18th. I pretend to be blasé, oh we are only travelling after that.

I casually look up accuweather, and oh no, bad idea. The whole of next week has rain forecast fr both mornings and nights. It will be no fun if we get rained out or rained in.

My trekking shoes have settled in well, and gear is falling into place, and what a letdown if we don't go. Raji has her medicine kit all organised, Gapi has picked up a nice indexed book on flowers of the valley.

All we can do is wait and watch.

A Lemon Pansy stops by

2011-08-13T21:48:00.004+05:30

It stopped for a while on my bathroom floor

Almost stepped on it, as I walked in the door.

Lemon pansy, did you flee from a foe?

And after a while, where did you go?

Maybe out of the bedroom window,

or protein for my house gecko?

Sunbirds

2011-08-13T21:15:00.003+05:30

Mr Ramanan saw these sunbirds as they came seeking nectar to a male papaya tree, at Gandhigram.

As he sat watching their antics, Mr Ramanan also witnessed the resident cat stalk and kill one of a group of babblers that was feeding noisily off some grain. It caught the babbler by its wing, and just like its larger cousin the tiger, bit into the neck with its canines, bringing a swift end to the bird, and resulting in much indignant calling and cawing by the other babblers as well as the crows in the vicinity.

Male Purple-rumped sunbird. Photo by Mr Ramanan
Male Loten's sunbird, with the longer, curved beak. Photo by Mr Ramanan.

The female sunbirds are olive coloured, as seen here, as they picked up nesting material.

This was a sunbird's rather untidy nest I came across at my mother's home some months ago.

Nash and me

2011-08-10T09:36:00.003+05:30

You Can’t Get There from Here

by Ogden Nash

Bird watchers top my honors list.
I aimed to be one, but I missed.
Since I’m both myopic and astigmatic,
My aim turned out to be erratic,
And I, bespectacled and binocular,
Exposed myself to comment jocular.

We don’t need too much birdlore, do we,
To tell a flamingo from a towhee;
Yet I cannot, and never will,
Unless the silly birds stand still.
And there’s no enlightenment in a tour
Of ornithological literature.
Is yon strange creature a common chickadee,
Or a migrant alouette from Picardy?

You can rush to consult your Nature guide
And inspect the gallery inside,
But a bird in the open never looks
Like its picture in the birdie books-
Or if it once did, it has changed its plumage,
And plunges you back into ignorant gloomage.
That is why I sit here growing old by inches,
Watching a clock instead of finches,
But I sometimes visualize in my gin
The Audubon that I audubin.

Exerpted from “Up From the Egg: Confessions of a Nuthatch Avoider”

Thank you Sheila, for sending me this!

My apologies, for an adaptation I could not resist:

Bird watchers top my honors list.
I aim to be one, but this tail has a twist.
Since I’m both myopic and astigmatic,
My sightings turn out to be erratic,
And I, bespectacled and binocular,
Expose myself to comment jocular.

We don’t need too much bird IQ, I was told,
To tell a prinia from a pipit, so bold;
Yet I cannot, and never will,
Unless the silly birds sit still.
And there’s no enlightenment in a tour
Of ornithological literature.
Is yon strange creature a common ibis, black-headed
Or an uncommon black migrant in the marsh embedded?

You can rush to consult your Inskipp & Grimmett guide
And inspect the photo gallery inside,
But a bird in the open never looks
Like its picture in the birdie books-
Or if it once did, it has changed its plumage,
And plunges you back into ignorant gloomage.
That is why I sit here writing ghastly verse,
Instead, I should be out looking, for better or worse,
But I sometimes visualize in my dream
The birdwatcher that I became, supreme!

Urban wildlife - Chennai

2011-08-08T09:13:00.000+05:30

Welcome to wild wild Chennai - The Times of India

Arun Janardhanan, TNN | Aug 8, 2011, 05.43AM IST
From jackals, rodents and squirrels to black buck, pangolin and even slender loris, residents of the urban jungle of Chennai have spotted all kinds of wild creatures in their backyards. In the last year, forest officials in the city have rescued 3,025 monkeys and 1,200 snakes from residential areas. "Forest officials across the city rescued more than 5,000 animals from April 2010 to March 2011," said wildlife warden V Karunapriya.

Originally a coastal area with thorny bushes, Chennai is the only city with a protected forest - Guindy National Park - within the corporation limits. But as the city expands, the pressure on green spaces, which are also home to several species of snake, gecko and fruit bat, intensifies and animals lose their habitat. Thickly wooded forests and scrub jungles in Guindy National Park, IIT-Madras, Nanmangalam forest, Theosophical Society and Kalakshethra colony still provide shelter to these wild creatures, but they too are coming under threat.

IIT-Madras authorities recently cut several trees to make space for buildings, the Pallikaranai marsh, which is a source of water for the city, is being used as a dumpyard. T Murugavel of the Madras Naturalists' Society says that urban wildlife still survives in the green spots and protected forest inside the city. "What's left of the green belt inside the city surprisingly sustains a wide variety of animals, though we have lost several species, including birds like the white-headed babbler, the purplerumped sunbird and red-vented bulbul," said Murugavel, who has rescued cobras and rat snakes from his neighbourhood. "Last month, I rescued a barn owl that had been injured by a kite string. We set it free after a vet treated it," he said.

Recently, a slender loris was rescued from the terrace of a house. A limited number of this endangered species still lives in the city. Jackals can be seen at the Adyar estuary,while the Indian mongoose is spotted often in busy T Nagar, Shenoy Nagar and Adyar areas. Flying foxes still swoop through the evening skies. E Seshan, a retired chief photographer of the Zoological Survey of India, said the weather also plays a role.

"During the monsoon, animals come out of their habitat. In the city, there is no space for them as everything has been covered with concrete," he said. "The IIT-Madras campus, Guindy National Park and Raj Bhavan campus are an important habitat. But the institution has decided to proceed with major construction projects, which will affect the animals," he said. S Davidraj, forest range officer of Velachery division, said that habitat loss is the main reason for the increasing man-animal conflict. "We have taken all measures to attend to cases immediately. We are monitoring about 997 spotted deer in Alandur, Adambakkam, Velachery and Kotturpuram," he said.

Valley of Flowers - books for my trip

2011-08-06T21:17:00.001+05:30

The Valley Of Flowers: Frank S. Smythe

An account from Smythe who "discovered" this beautiful Valley.

Flowers of The Himalayas - Oleg & Adam

A reference book for the flowers I hope to see.

Birds of North India - Inskipp & Grimmett

Some birding too I hope!

The eco-warrior - Uday Veer SIngh

2011-08-06T11:07:00.002+05:30

The Business Standard writes about the eco-warrior, Uday Veer Singh, a forest officer who has made a difference.

The Adyar Poonga

2011-08-06T11:03:00.002+05:30

Madras Musings - Adyar Poonga

Worrying article that claims the Poonga is being neglected, suppliers not being paid....

Valley of Flowers - countdown begins

2011-08-02T14:12:00.001+05:30

View Larger Map

Leaving soon for a Trek to Valley of Flowers. The route we are taking is almost identical to Thignam Girija's!

Though ours is supposed to be a bit more "luxurious"? An A/C bus Delhi-to-Delhi, and porters to carry our luggage on the trek.

# Trekking shoes bought. Used them yesterday, uff they are heavy.

# Outerwear begged and borrowed from Usha.

# Daily use contact lenses ordered. (Need good vision you see!!)

A loris on a terrace

2011-08-01T11:21:00.001+05:30

Rare little primate found on Sastri Nagar terrace - Times Of India

Why the lady would scream on seeing this little creature is beyond me!

There is a picture of it here.

Johnny Allen Auroville

2011-07-23T10:32:00.001+05:30

Auroville after many years � Ian Lockwood

There are a kaleidoscope of personalities and lifestyles in the community but Johnny lives my idea of the vision. He uses locally available materials for construction, the power comes from the sun and biomass and the impact on the ecology is minimal. He is still using a biomass-fueled Stirling engine to make peanut butter and dosa mix and chutney every Saturday. This was the engine that had first brought my father Merrick here. I had tagged along on several trips in the early 1990s. Johnny’s home is set amongst towering trees, thatched workshops and cowsheds. He is just the sort of teacher that helps you understand the practical side of sustainable living. Lenny was given a personal tour of the Stirling engine, a compost toilet and models of housing units that Johnny is designing for young people.

Rann riders reviewed

2011-07-18T10:26:00.001+05:30

United colours of breaking even | CSR | wildlife resort | The New Indian Express

Purple sunbirds

2011-07-15T11:03:00.005+05:30

Purple sunbirds, at Sheila's window sill

Lifted my spirits, filled me with thrill

As they chirped and flitted and discussed

the fine art of nest building, oh how they fussed.

One day, maybe I will be lucky and see their nest

That they have made with such care, choosing the very best.

The heron that blinked

2011-07-03T17:15:00.003+05:30

I learnt about the nictitating membrane in birds from these fine photos by Mr Ramanan.A nigh heron with a fish that looks too big to swallow! Fish are always swallowed head first, and its a skill learnt by chicks at an early age. I've seen darters and pied kingfishers tossing fish deftly, before swallowing them head-first. (Photo by Mr Ramanan)

Photo by Mr Ramanan. The heron has swallowed the fish. Do you see its eye? Now look at the next picture.
No, its not a case of removing "red eye", its the heron's nictitating membrane having covered the eye! Photo by Mr Ramanan

Click on the picture and zoom in, and take a close look. This thin protective membrane is an extra protection that birds, fish and reptiles have, (we dont). This translucent third eyelid closes and opens horizontally across the eyeball, clearing dust, moistening the eye, protecting it in some cases from extreme conditions.

So, for example, owls while out hunting would keep this membrane closed and eyelids opened, so as to keep their eyes moist for better vision, but (quite literally) keeping their eyes open for that scurrying mouse or hopping frog.

It seems that the little pink bit of membrane we have in the corner of our eyes is a vestigial nictitating membrane.

A Kutchi Summer: Day 5- The Nawabs of Junagadh and their makbara

2011-06-20T09:34:00.001+05:30

I knew nothing about the Nawabs of Junagadh before my recent Gujarat venture - yes, I agree, I was a lousy student of history. For me, the trip has not only shown me lions and wild asses, Indian Coursers and Crested Larks, but it also brought me in touch with a part of the history of Indian independence and that dreaded P word - Partition.

Muslim rulers have been in Junagadh since the fourteenth century, and from the mid-eighteenth until Independence, Junagadh was under the rule of the Babi nawabs.

The sixth Nawab has this mausoleum.
The Mahabat Makbara, over the tomb of Mohammad Mahabat Khanji II, the sixth nawab

Amazing structure, and I just gawked at the Gothic columns, the Islamic domes, the somewhat European large windows...all together!
Click on the picture, and you will get to see the detailed work. I thought the quality of the work rivalled anything I had seen earlier.
The sixth nawab ascended the throne when he was 14, apparently, and ruled for 31 years. He is supposedly responsible for the mango orchards that Junagadh is now famous for. By this time, these nawabs were kowtowing to the "Agency", via the regent at Baroda.

More columns
The makbara was locked and this picture was taken through the grille gate. Strangely unmatched but colourful chandeliers as well!
It was dusty and unkempt inside, and silently reeked of neglect. Why is it not being cleaned regularly?

The Bahauddin makbara stood beside the Mahabat makbara. This was built by the PM of the seventh nawab, and he (the PM) lies buried here.

Less ornate than the Mahabat, it had these interesting winding minarets though.

So then we move ahead to the last nawab, the ninth one, Mahabat Khanji III, famous in India and buried in Pakistan. During my googling I discovered that he was a student of Mayo College, Ajmer. You may wonder, why this caught my attention, but a certain favourite author of mine also studied there!

So, Mahabat III is going along nicely, building dams (Willingdon dam), creating libraries, opening colleges, and being an extravagant dog lover (he had some 300 of them I believe, and used to throw birthday parties for them!).

He was also instrumental in putting a stop to lion hunting, preserving the Gir forests and the Gir cattle, so in terms of conservation in India, I guess he does have a place in history.

He was the nawab in 1947, and soon became friendless in India as he decided to accede to Pakistan. Much manoeuvering and dirty politics from both India and Pakistan, and he soon fled to Karachi, where he lived until his death, never returning once to his home soil. Matters were left to his Dewan to resolve and negotiate, and guess who the Dewan was?! Shah Nawaz Bhutto.

I also discovered that the descendants of Mahabat III continue to claim Junagadh as their state and part of Pakistan, as there is an instrument of accession, signed by the ninth nawab to Pakistan, and our Indian occupation of the state is therefore considered illegal.

Check out this site on the Junagadh state.

The two makbaras.The District Court building on the opposite side. There were lovely and tasty groundnuts being sold at the gate, at a price one-tenth that of the Madras prices!

We drove back to Sasan Gir, and soon it was time to leave for Somnathpur!.

The Somnath temple, destroyed, looted and vandalised countless times in Indian history. Linked with the cruelties of Mahmud Ghazni in every school-going child's brain in India. A temple whose wealth has attained mythical status.

And there we were at its gates, with a strong breeze whipping off the Arabian Sea, facing this mammoth, rather new-looking structure, surrounded by the usual set of temple hawkers, but unusually clean for an Indian temple town. As we moved to get in, we had to ensure we had no leather on us (belts, wallets not alloed), no phones no cameras, and there was security to ensure that everyone was decorously attired. My fifteen year old son was not allowed in, in shorts, and so waited at the gates for us, in a black mood.

The location of the temple is just fabulous, and I could have spent hours just standing and staring across the sea. But in its current, restored pristine state, my imaginations of times gone by were just not stirred...it was like a new Birla mandir, if you know what I mean.

Re-built in 1951, the structure is supposed to be a wonderful example of the Chalukya style of architecture. The ruins of the temple were pulled down in 1950, and Indian's first president Rajendra Prasad was said to be a moving force behind its current restoration.

Probably owes its existence to the ninth nawab!

It was time to head to the Veraval station, where this egret bade us farewell, as we all made our assorted ways back to our homes in Madras.

How fascinating is each and every state of India! Thirteen states that I have still not yet seen!

Cubs for T-19!

2011-06-13T09:23:00.001+05:30

The Hindu reports that it is Celebration time at Ranthambhore as T 19 is spotted with her 3 cubs.

The MNS group were at Ranthambhore in the summer of 2010, and there was sufficient Tiger spotting including T 17 and T 19, mentioned in this article. It was nice to read of their successful breeding.

A Kutchi Summer: Day 5- Ashoka's edicts at Junagadh

2011-06-05T10:31:00.010+05:30

Continued from the Uperkot fort.
This was one piece of antiquity that I wanted to see. Actually touch. I did. All those years ago, sitting in my history class (almost nodding off) as the teacher droned on (yes she did) about Ashoka, his edicts and his golden rule. And here I was, some three decades on actually seeing it!

After the Uparkot fort, we drove through some regular Indian town lanes and arrived in front of this white building. This would be the foothills of the Girnar mountain, the spot in the old days that pilgrims would have to pass on their way to the temples up in the hill.

Like a well-placed advertising hoarding of today, it must have gained much viewership because of its location!

The new "edict" in stone courtesy ASI gives the details of the antiquity of the rock. I got a few of the ten to stand in the doorway and block out the glare, so that it was readable!

I was seeing stuff from the second century BC, then! It had vanished into obscurity, as Junagadh itself languished. One of the reasons proffered is the flooding by rivers coming down the hills and the damage to the dam across the sudarshana lake. These are mentioned in the inscriptions of Rudraman and C Maurya. The edicts were then "re-discovered" by Lt Col James Tod, in 1822, after the British took over the area. The John Keay book on India quotes Tod as saying about the rock - "converted by the aid of the iron pen...into a book."
I could not be sure which was the earlier brahmi of Ashoka and which was the later script of Skandagupta Maurya from the fourth century AD, and there were no boards or "map" of the stone, to educate us either.

Pali? I think so. Those three dots are a prefix for a proper noun, if I am not mistaken. So, these would be the later inscriptions of Rudraman? describing the state of the riverways, the problems with the dams, etc.

As my son pointed out, as only a teenager can, the ancient stone was in good shape compared to the new boards on the wall. Take a look.
The translation of the Rudraman inscriptions.
Translation of the first to fourth edicts of Ashoka

The first edict (on morality) prohibits the slaughter of animals. Basically the king had become a vegetarian! The second one decrees that medical treatment centres for men and cattle should be set up, as also wells dug and trees planted. (I have to say, this is what I used to write for every king who was "a good king", in my various history exams!!)
Fifth and sixth. Also on morality. It was interesting to read about how the king was to ensure justice for all men, mechanisms for grievance redressals, in the context of the DMK losing elections in TN and Kanimozhi being arrested.
Twelfth and thirteenth. The twelfth talks about sectarian harmony and the thirteenth about the path of non-voilence in the aftermaths of the kalinga war.

Skandagupta Maurya's edict transcription
Is this Brahmi? I think so.
Brahmi again?

I found these two sites:

The Brahmi alphabet

Pali

Is it too much to wish for just a little eye to aesthetics, atmosphere and child-friendly and educative displays from the ASI? These were my thoughts as we moved on from here to the Makbara.

A Kutchi Summer: Day 5- The Uparkot fort at Junagadh

2011-06-03T21:15:00.017+05:30

View Larger Map

Ten of us skipped the last ride into Gir sanctuary, in order to make a quick dash to Junagadh. For sure, the rest would see spectacular sightings without us, that was a given! But I could not come so far, and go back without dipping into this part of ancient Indian history. Junagadh, linked to the Mauryas, important to Buddhists and Jains, a nawab who wanted to accede to Pakistan, the Girnar range of mountains...
The early morning sun falls on the Hiren river, as we set off to explore Junagadh
A purple moorhen watches us go - an Indica and a Qualis, ten of us peeled away from the lions of Gir.

First stop, the Uparkot fort. Believed to have been built by Chandragupta Maurya in 319 BC! The Neelam and Manek guns are displayed here. According to a board there, the Sultan Bahadurshah of Gujarat invited the Turkish naval force under Suleman in 1538 to fight the Portugese in Diu. the Sultan was killed, the Turks defeated and the guns abandoned! tehy were installed in Junagadh later.

Click on the picture and zoom in on the lovely detailing around that window on on of the walls of the structure that housed the Jami Masjid. The fort was abandoned for several centuries, some historians believe that there was a flood and the city was evacuated.
The inner courtyard. This part is believed to be a later addition when Muslim conquerors occupied and restored the fort, say tenth to fifteenth century AD. The pillars were arranged so that the roof had an octagonal opening.
One of the side corridors
The engravings over the mihrab
A closer look at the marble detailing, surrounded by graffiti. How did they get so high up to scribble, I wondered.
The Girnar mountains must have served as a natural barrier and protection. We did not have time to explore the temples on the highest peak (1100m and an extinct volcano), where you need to climb 5,000 steps to reach the Jain temples as well as aHindu temple.
Kites swooped and soared overhead
The upper ramparts
A view of the walls after we had descended to the site of the Buddhist caves
The entrance to the Buddhist caves, which are scooped out, in three levels from the surface downwards. The ASI board dated the caves, "stylistically" to the second century AD, the Satvahana period. There was a lot of kshatrapa pottery found buried in the caves, datable to 3rd-4th century AD.
This was the first chamber, a pond that collected rain water directly and also through a sytem of channels! Ingenious no?
Vanishing decorations along the roof. It was a hot day, but down below, it was remarkably cool. There were stone alcoves that probably served as beds for monks.
We could just about make out the carvings on the base of the pillars, down in level 3, floral ornamentations.
Emerging back up, and out from the caves.
A brahminy mynah was busy feeding its young.
A short walk brought us to the top of the Adi kadi Vav, a 162-stepped well!!
Here we are the head of the steps, looking down some 41 m. Its cut in the rock. Its probably one of the earliest stepwells in the country. Imagine, in times of siege, the fort thus had its own water source, but then again imagine walking up those steps laden with water!
The walls reminded me of the Petra rocks in Jordan, but what was really really sad was the state of the well. If you have the stomach, click on the picture and zoom in, the muck you see at the bottom of the steps is the well. I did not descend further because there was a foul smell emanating from below, and it is a shame that the ASI, which is charging an entrance fee, is not doing anything to keep this well clean.
A little further up was the Navghan kuvo, another stepwell, with a more elaborate forecourt.
I enjoyed the play of light and shadow, as I peered down those innumerable steps.
And was that a whole bank of pigeon-holes in the walls? The home for the official courier pigeons of the kingdom?

The sun was high in the sky, and we were glad to bundle into the cars and head out of the fort. Next stop, the rock edicts of Ashoka!

A Kutchi Summer day 4- The diary

2011-05-28T16:06:00.014+05:30

They were flowering everywhere. Doodla?, the guides said. Used to make junior cricket bats (not strong enough for the pro ones) As per Dr Rajaram via Mr Ramanan, it is Wrightia tinctoria, the indigo tree. Doodhi, not Doodla)

The Rainbow hotel beds were obviously not made for comfort, and with much groaning and moaning, I made my way towards the loo, in order to complete my morning ablutions. Ablutions done with, there was tea. Tea done with, there was the ride. I'll start from there as the tea was a very routine affair by now.

Adhi, Dhanush, Chandru and me joined Dhruva and Vijay uncle for the ride. The 4 of us juniors shared 4 cameras and not much bird identification expertise. Therefore, Vijay uncle and Dhruva were relied upon completely.

In a short while, a lion was spotted wandering in a nullah.
Adhi, even after much pointing and binocular viewing, was unable to spot the creature, and became the local laughing stock for a bit. After following our fellow Chennai-ites around for a bit, news passed on that Vikas' jeep had seen 3 leopards. Jealousy can very easily turn the least bothering people into the most vigilant and perseverant.

This very same quality overcame our jeep, and silence reigned for the next hour, as everyone kept their eyes doubly peeled for the leopard. To our credit, we came close. Twice. We heard alarm calls and all that jazz. We also saw the monkeys that had seen the leopard. To our discredit, the jeep in front of us saw it. Grumbles abounded as we thought we had been cheated. Wild boar at a water-trough. They fled soon after.

Sambar - we saw more here than at any other sanctuary that we've been to.

Towards, the end of the journey, all enmity, envy and jealousy were forgotten and a cunning story was concocted to show our superiority to Vikas. And of course, being us, the story was completely unbelievable! To my memory, it ran something like this: We saw the leopard and jackal playing cricket. Upon the discovery of their activities, the chital berated them, only to be berated itself by the lion who said no animal would scold another under his watch. You have to admit, its brilliantly ridiculous!

So, we reached the hotel to find the little prodigy loudly proclaiming his achievements of the day. (See how competitive we were?!!) This lent a lot of feeling to our storytelling, and by the time we were done, all the parents were staring very dubiously at us. Shortly after our story was exposed as a sham, breakfast was had and bags packed for our move to the Lion Safari resort, where we would complete our stay.

Jeeps loaded, we waited impatiently for the drivers to show up, because the jeeps were standing in the sun. Adhiaman, after a lot of pleading and persisting, was sent to find a driver, after having being taught two Hindi words 'Driver Bulana'. He walked off gamely, only to come back with a bewildered look on his face. His reply, 'Aunty, avan reply pannitan', had everyone in splits and was the punch line of the anti-Hindi movement for the next few days.

The driver soon arrived and we were off to Lion Safari, where it was tented accommodation with AC. And showers, believe it or not! So once we reached, rooms were slowly allocated, as guests were yet to leave some of the rooms. Once settled and lunched, the kids hit the games room and pretty much stayed there until it became time for the evening safari. The Lion Safari campus, with mango trees. The tents were on either side. My mom saw the trees full of mangoes, and pleaded with the chef to give us mangoes, so they cut a few and made us some salad!
The view from the resort down to the Hiran river. Nice area. My mom was always birding here, and I was in the games room to the right, playing billiards, or some form of it anyway!

A little temple on the other side of the river
A croc slithers into the water. Good thing it didnt decide to come the other way!
Cattle egret in breeding plumage posed for me (on the river bank).
Gir cattle - a subspecies of Indian cows. We went for a walk along the river's edge.
The Hiran river - upstream. With a check dam. This is where the crocs are.

Downstream where people were happily washing clothes, so I suppose no crocs.

The kids, after loud protestations, got ourselves our own jeep. And Bikku. Note to all those concerned:Bikku was the unofficial local head of the lion spotters union. So off we went with everybody following us. Round and round we went, with me spotting my Afirst Jackal.Even the chital thought we were crazy
Jackal!

Finally we reached a portion of the forest where four lions were snoozing. Of course, word having spread, all the tourists in Gir were at the spot and the forest guard was rationing time between jeeps which led to much Gujarati we did not understand between Bikku and said guard, and the photos posted earlier. All of us were now suitably happy and drunk with success, headed back, with only detours to see a CH Eagle nest and to go shopping at Sinh Sadan, the forest department headquarters. Hats, shirts and other paraphernalia purchased, we headed back to Lion Safari, to freshen up, play some billiards, and have some dinner.
The Sinh Sadan

P.S.: The story told to the parents was that we had seen four leopards, since the kiddy story would not not fool them. Also there was a CSK match that afternoon, which led to the gathering of cricket watchers in the games room after the evening ride. Since we had seen enough lions, mummy, me and some of the others hatched a plan to visit the historic town of Junagad the next day.

A Kutchi summer - Day 4 - Tryst with the lions

2011-05-27T22:28:00.009+05:30

Junior photographed these lions, lazy in the summer heat of Gir.

The lions of Gir, in this home video. Thank you iMovie!

The Day 4 Dairy continues.

A Kutchi summer - Day 3 - On to Sasan Gir!

2011-05-24T14:56:00.015+05:30

A Kutchi summer - Day 2 - is here.

Once again I was prodded awake (I was getting used to this and woke up on the second prod) at some unearthly hour, told that we were reaching Veraval. All morning rituals were done and our compartment sat in groggy anticipation of our imminent arrival at Veraval station.

Scheduled time came and passed and mutterings arose that 'the Railways was not like this in the old days'. Minnie, being enterprising and also the one with the internet on her phone, decided to check the schedule. She then very calmly proceeded to tell us that we were an hour late amidst much groaning and moaning from yours truly. Oh well, nothing I could do there.

Finally, we reached Veraval, which was significantly cooler than LRK. Bad news awaited us on the platform, as Pritam uncle had to head back due to personal problems. Upon hearing the news, we all morosely headed for the exit. I missed one of my "roommates" for the rest of the trip.

While we were winding our away down the over-bridge, Shantaram uncle delivered the best news of the day: Chennai had won the previous night. I wasted no time in informing Vijay uncle who very vaguely brushed it aside. Round one to me.

We piled our luggage and ourselves into the six Qualises that had arrived and set off to the Rainbow hotel.

We were now in Junagadh district I learnt. It was very different from LRK, green, with mango orchards and farms all along the way. It was about an hour and half to reach Sasan Gir, the town for the Gir lion sanctuary. All along there were boards proclaiming, how we were nearing the ONLY remaining home for the Asiatic Lion in the world!

Dhanush next to me dozed off while I tried hard to stay awake. Suddenly we noticed a small building where everybody was staring at us. Suddenly Vijay uncle realized that that must have been Rainbow Hotel, and we turned around.

Indeed it was Rainbow, and our companions of the other Qualises had been wondering where we were heading to. All snafus sorted out, we buried ourselves in breakfast and hot tea, before heading out for a very late morning Safari. My jeep for the morning was the photographer's jeep and I ended up getting loads of tips from Doc Alaganandan, Sivakumar sir and Hariharan sir.

We spotted our first Lion, enjoying his morning siesta in the shade of a small dried up nullah. Much excitement for us, as for me and mom, it was a first ever wild lion sighting. OK, it had its back to us, and slept through our excitement but what the heck?)

We moved on, hoping to perhaps spot more, but we spent the rest of the morning going around in circles, ending with me dozing off in the jeep and the others actually spotting some birds. We then headed back for lunch and a nap.

The afternoon saw everybody in their respective rooms and nobody strayed out, now seasoned veterans of the Gujju afternoons. The evening ride saw me doing what I never thought I would do, I climbed into mummy's jeep.

No lions greeted us, though several raptors put in appearances to save our evening from being a complete flop (Though Vijay uncle scared away an Eagle by yelling at everyone else to shut up!). We also passed through a Siddhi village. For those who are clueless, the siddhis are Africans that moved to India as slaves and ended up setting up establishments in Gujarat. They speak such fluent Gujarati, you will NEVER make out the difference.

Passing through the siddhibari village, where a game of football was on. A few of our guides were also from this community.

Siddhis soon done and dusted with, we saw a Changeable Hawk Eagle enjoying a dry martini in front of us. Cameras snapped away!

The Changeable Hawk Eagle, with my film camera

With efficiency to make the Red Bull F1 pit crew proud, the jeeps loaded up and headed back to our safe sanctuary at the Rainbow.

Upon arrival, the customary baths were had and Panneer Butter Masala Dinner was cooked, but not before one of the greatest Indian traditions was embraced- the power cut. Dinner done away with and beds looking inviting, the number of people staying outside their rooms slowly dwindled away and the day merged into the next.

Methi parathas being made

NOTE: The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) is found only in Gir and in Iran, unlike the African Lion which is found in larger numbers. It has a small population that has increased in the past 5 years.

(The lions are coming, all of us saw loads the next day, so be patient!)

Read about our tryst with the lions.

A Kutchi summer - Day 2 - snake skins, an empty den and theIndian courser!

2011-05-22T21:53:00.009+05:30

Continued from Day 1. My son's narrative continues.....

The next day, I was woken up(again) to go for tea, which I left to the very last moment, in order to get some sleep. Drowsily refreshed after the cup of coffee payasasm (Recipe: Coffee with as much sugar as will dissolve), we set out once again, with the same Jeep mates. This time, I quickly occupied the front seat along with Arun uncle, with whom I ended up chatting with until we reached our first destination. Thankfully we were spared the endless wastelands and were instead taken to a marsh or swampland where there was a largish water body

Said marsh with flamingoes in evidence.

Once again the cameras were out, fighting for supremacy over the length of their lenses. A spotting scope was also in attendance, for those who had the misfortune of not bringing a pair of binoculars. Once again a great many Flamingoes were spotted, and they soon took to the skies, their privacy shattered. I turned back thinking there was nothing else to see, only to hear the naturalists excitedly chattering about some bird, that to my eyes looked like a duck. I gave up all hope of even attempting to identify all the birds in the water body and after seeing the moorhen, purple heron and the shovellers, I went over to the vehicle to sit and watch the bird watchers watch time slip away. I was low on film for my camera, and this added to my discontent.

The same marsh, with the Nikon.

Another water body awaited and so were the many Stilts, egrets, coots and a congregation of cormorants.
Photo by Mr Ramanan. The cormorant congregation.
A cobra had also used the place for a changing room and left behind remnants of its old body.
The snake skin

Suitably sated with birds and creeped out by snake skins, it was decided that we would head home, when suddenly our jeep driver cum guide swerved off the road and onto a miniature plain. Vehicle stopped, he whispered “Indian Courser”. At once, every person in the vehicles was agog, searching for the well-camouflaged courser. For many of us, it was a first spotting, so it was exhilarating. And I, being me, usually would not have bothered, but I feel happy, now that I think back about that moment. Maybe, now I will start paying closer attention to the finer details of bird watching.

(My mom mentioned later that it was a first for her too. We saw a pair and a couple of chicks, which of course she found cute! And oh yes, Suresh uncle tried to stalk behind them, and the more he moved the more they moved away, in a kind of scurrying manner! We didn't get any picture of the coursers.)

A breakfast to suit our joy awaited us and nobody held back from gorging. The usual pre-lunch naps took place, this time along with people washing clothes. In the Kutchi atmosphere of less than 0 humidity, the clothes dried within a half hour. Lunch eaten, a spurt of post lunch packing took place, with washed clothes being neatly, or otherwise, put away. My mother, suitably surprised that I was washing my clothes, quickly put out her own clothes after washing.

See the clothes drying besides the room!

A Shikra in the tree that I spied close to our room

The pre-evening ride tea break was slightly subdued, with an assortment of members wanting to bunk. In the end, as the jeeps were getting filled, the very same members who had expressed an aversion to coming on the evening ride ended up climbing in themselves. The evening ride, sadly, saw us back on the dusty Rann. The same asses greeted us again and nothing new of interest seemed to pop up. What a strange habitat indeed!

Wild ass again!

One by one, all the jeeps had starting problems, easily enough rectified. We visited an active saltpan, teeming with birds even though the water was nowhere near potable. After a while, the jeeps and the "elephant" united at what was supposedly a fox’s dugout.
An abandoned fox den. Or was it inside, waiting for us to leave? The previous day, we had seen a momma fox and baby in the distance near a bund, and the mother scooted off, while the bay vanished down a similar hole. My mother's jeep waited patiently for a while, but it never poked its head out.
Disgusted at its absence, we all headed back to our safe base at Dasada to get ready for another train journey to Gir. On the way, we stopped to collect salt crystals that had fallen off the salt lorries and to photograph an owlet, safely ensconced on a cable.

The owl as seen by our "kutty" Lumix. Fading evening light.

The very same owlet. Photo by Mr Ramanan

A short while from this owl, all vehicles pulled over, no reasons given. Then the "elephant", which was usually at the front, showed up. ‘Clutch problems’ it seemed. So the gearbox was opened up, and the drivers, not ones for subtlety, starting whacking away at it with a hammer!

Needless to say, those who had studied engineering were shocked at this cavalier approach to the gear system. The drivers didn’t seem to care, though and they had the problem soon resolved actually!

When we returned, an anxious Vikas, who had dozed off and not woken up in time for the ride, wanted to know if we had seen anything interesting. Our somewhat lukewarm 'no's seemed to cheer him up, though.

At the resort, dinner and another journey awaited us, though these were looked forward to, since Gir and the lions was sounding very promising compared to the vastness and emptiness of LRK. After dinner, we all stuffed our bags into the back of a bus and hopped in ourselves for the ride to Viramgam station, where we were to catch our train to Veraval, the train stop for Gir. At Viramgam, I hopefully looked around for a shop selling film rolls, but all I found was a jielbiwallah and another selling paan and Coke! Oh well! Ration out the one remaining roll for the lions I suppose.

That very same night, our very own CSK were playing Pune and Vijay uncle wrote CSK off saying that Pune would thrash us. This was playing on all the CSK fans' minds as they nervously checked for updates on the phones that had internet. Finally, the train arrived and we boarded. Mummy, Ramanan sir and his family and Me were in the same enclosure, which lent a slight sense of relief that we had at least another set of fellow MNSians for company. The ticket collector came by, vastly amused, as he had gone from compartment to compartment, and all the tickets he was checking at Viramgam seemed to be Madrasis going to Veraval!!

Listening to the trains rattling along, I dozed off to the thought of another long day.

Day 3: On to Sasan Gir!

A Kutchi summer - Day 1 - Of broken down jeeps and the fashion king of Dasada

2011-05-21T08:58:00.021+05:30

I wrote about searching for the wild asses here. Now read Day 1 "retold" by my teenage son!

**********************************************

After cheerily wishing my friends an enjoyable and unenviable last week at school, I finished my packing for the MNS trip to the LRK and Gir. The next morning, I was duly awoken by Dave Mustaine singing about death and annihilation, reminding me of the long two day long train journey ahead of me. Excitedly, Me and mother were dropped off at the train station by a noticeably subdued daddy.

We then made our way to the Navjivan Express where along the way to the oven-like bogie we met the fellow eccentrics who would be our companions for the next week. Some avid naturalists with a dead serious streak and a young birding prodigy, mixed with those who were along just for the fun. (I say this in the hope that I was not the only one!!)

The journey started, I realized that a certain set of headphones of mine had been left at home and I was soon scrounging, much to my mother's amusement, for another pair. A very kind Prasanna aunty loaned me a pair for the trip and I remain eternally grateful for that. The rest of the train journey thankfully passed in a blur, punctuated only by frequent visits from the local motormouth Roshan and a hilarious Malayalam movie.

On reaching Ahmedabad at 7.30, two buses carried the luggage and us towards our destination: Dasada. A half hour detour was made to nourish the group as we made good time and reached by about 11.30. The first order of business for some of us was relieving ourselves of the nitrogenous burden that unsanitary train toilets had brought about. For those who had braved the loos, it was bed, only to be woken up 4 hours later for tea and the morning safari!

One of the jeeps, kicking up dust at the LRK

The LRK in the summer felt almost like a desert and wildlife seemed to be sparse other than the Wild Ass and the Nilgai. Bird life was also somewhat absent other than near the watering holes, where it is abundant. So off we trotted to some god forsaken place in 4 jeeps and a big Tata vandi to carry the others that didn’t fit.

One jeep conked even before we reached the destination. So that jeep’s occupants, me included, dispersed ourselves between the other jeeps and the "elephant" (Tata vandi). So finally, we were on our way and as I was in child prodigy Vikas’ jeep, the first birds were spotted:Rosy Pastors. Two of them. So everyone suitably pleased, we headed on, to spot the famous Wild Ass we had come to see.

The Tata vandi

Far from the moviestar we were expecting, “it looked just like a donkey” as someone later said. Of course, my mother finds all these things so adorable; it just had to be coochie-cooed. Moving on, our jeep saw a herd of wild Nilgai, the blue bull, which thankfully not many others had seen.

The herd of Nilgai. With the Nikon 8008 analog.

We soon hit an old salt plain, with the last remnants of a drying water body, where truckloads of flamingoes were spotted, along with a pair of shrieking lapwings, whose newly hatched chicks we had disturbed. All bird enthusiasts suitably excited about the spotting, it took everyone a while to get back into the jeeps.

Click on the picture to see two fledgling lapwings. One of them was in the process of hatching, so we left quickly so that the shrieking parent could return to her nest.
The Shrieking parent
The same lapwing waits morosely in the distance for us to clear out

Much exhilarated at our finds, we headed back to our resort to enjoy a break from constant movement after so long and a well-earned breakfast!

The dining area at Rann Riders where we spent a good portion of our time finishing off all the food!

After breakfast, the resort's resident peacock was found posing for pictures (and probably fishing for some food) on the dining room sofa and everybody was agog at its boldness. The following shots are with the digital camera.

The "star" poses, complete with backdrop and fancy setting

He obliged for a close-up.

And a frontal as well. My mother posed with him as well. Imagine!

This mild excitement notwithstanding, there was pretty much nothing to do except go to our rooms and do……nothing! I was sharing with Vijay uncle and Pritam uncle and they both hit the sack with the AC on, and were soon sound asleep. I read about the misadventures of Fletch and his fiancé, whatever her name was. Upon being groggily shaken from our respective reveries, we made our way unsteadily down for a nice north lunch.

Feet up, my mom contemplating the ceiling!

Another nap later, we headed out for the evening ride which was more agonizing as the temperatures were in the high forties and everybody was wrapped up like a mummy to keep out the dust! Young Sanjana joined us on this trip as we headed into the true Rann of Kutch and across the numerous salt plains. Although the dust slightly dampened our spirits, we soon caught sight of the asses and spirits were lifted again. We spent the rest of the evening whizzing around the Kutch and passed many a lorry piled high with salt crystals.

Once again, one of the jeeps broke down and so we stopped as the sun went down on another day spent. The issue resolved, the jeep’s occupants relocated and we were on our way to Dasada again, just in time for a delicious and sumptuous meal that knocked everybody out for the next 8 hours, till the next morning safari.

This one was out in the wild, in Gir. He had just finished his dance I think.

LOOK OUT FOR THE NEXT INSTALMENT!

Flamingoes - Experiences in the Kutch and at Pulicat

2011-05-19T09:00:00.009+05:30

The Kutch adventure began with the wild asses.
Laurel & Hardy shadows

In 2008, I saw flamingoes in the wild for the first time at Pulicat. Later that year, Mr Ramanan, took some lovely photos of these ballerinas in pink.

But still, it was a thrill to see them at the Little Rann, in April this year. The LRK is a breeding ground for them, and we saw little ones without their pink, and we saw both Lesser and Greater flamingoes. We saw them near the salt pans, we saw them in the last remaining waters in the wetlands.

They fed, and called noisily and took off in large groups, filling the skies with pink.

LRK. In formation! Junior captures them in flight with his analog camera.
LRK. Photo by Mr Ramanan, caught in a rare moment when they were not feeding!
LRK. The rest of his buddies had taken to the skies, protesting against our getting too close to them. But this one stayed back and stalked proudly up and down, posing for us. Photo by Mr Ramanan

The same fellow.
A juvenile, feeding single-mindedly.

We returned home with our stories and pictures, only to be bested by Skandan and company's experiences, right here at Pulicat!

They were privileged to witness the Flamingo March! I had not heard of this, until I saw these videos. They are the ritualised courtship breeding displays of the flamingoes, and generally precede breeding.

So then, does that mean these flamingoes are breeding in Pulicat in the middle of summer? Maybe not.

Adeesh Shivkar writes, in his post on the flamingoes of Mumbai that,

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…

So does that mean these flamingoes of Pulicat will now leave? I am hoping that Skandan and friends will keep me informed!

The Kutch encounter with the fashion king of Dasada continues here.

A tree bank in Chennai

2011-05-17T13:08:00.001+05:30

Nice to read about other tree help organisations, along with Nizhal.

Get your birthday saplings from Tree Banker | tree banker | | Indian Express

CHENNAI: What began as a small eccentric idea has now reached at least 3,500 people all over the country.
And the result is for all of us to see. G Mullaivanam of Velachery has created a silent revolution of sorts planting hundreds of trees across Chennai and its suburbs.
His little crusade has even earned him the sobriquet of a tree banker, for Mullaivanam sources hundreds of saplings and distributes them for free.
Mullaivanam, who now commands a 3,500 strong volunteer force of IT professionals and college students across the country, says, “There are blood banks for giving blood and eye banks for donating eyes. But there was no bank for tress that give us air to breathe and shade when we are in the hot sun.”
This activity which he started as a hobby now easily takes up most of his time while his vocation, farming, takes a backseat.
Free saplings are given to people who approach the tree bank on auspicious days like their birthdays and wedding days.
“Before a tree is planted at any place, we look into various aspects, like the Metro line, cables and overhead livewires that may harm the trees at a later stage. We also ensure that the trees have enough space to spread when it grows,” Mullaivanam said.
The calculation is, in fact, simple: for a plant of three metres height, a one-and-a half-foot pit should be dug.
The Tree Bank has distributed 20 lakh saplings throughout India, including 11,500 saplings this month.
Surya Narayanan, an active volunteer and a college student, said that he and other students have planted at least 15,000 saplings at the Anna University, Alpha College and other campuses in the city. The saplings are also being maintained by the students.
Apart from this, they also distribute medicinal plants as much as they do, avenue trees.
The student volunteers help maintain a forest near Tambaram where they have planted avenue trees, neem trees, sandalwood trees and many other medicinal plants and herbs. Mullaivanam said that the volunteers have also helped plant trees in burial grounds in 17 districts of the state on May 1, his birthday.
He believes that potted plants are like birds in a cage, which are dying for freedom. The Metro Rail project in the city has eaten up nearly 200 trees, laments Mullaivanam.
Apart from contributions by the people, the Tree Bank also receives occasional donations from philanthropists that helps it survive.
Tamil comedian Vivek, for example, had gifted a truck to the organisation for transporting the saplings.
It even has a sticker on it that says ‘I love trees’.
Celebrities like S Ve Sekhar, volunteer for the organisation occasionally. Mullaivanam feels the toughest part is not planting saplings but to rear up the tree.
If only the authorities thought of the painstaking work, they would perhaps stop cutting down trees, he hopes.

I see the slender loris for the first time

2011-05-16T22:06:00.003+05:30

Last night, along with my son and other members of the MNS, I sighted the slender loris for the first time!

The MNS is doing a project to track the slender loris, which I had written about here. It was in this connection that we set out at 9:30 at night, with head torches, covered with a film of red paper.

It was a lovely night, with the moon almost at paurnami (full moon is on the 18th I think), a strong breeze and clear skies. This summer has been mild by Madras standards. We walked as a group, as quietly as we could, shining our torches and scanning the branches for any sign of those large eyes. The loris-spotting technique is to look for the "eye-shine" in the trees, as you beam the torch.

This was our first time, while the others had already been on this exploration earlier. Within the first half hour, we had heard the characteristic screech, and seen our first set of eyes as well.

We saw many more, but the one I liked the best was closer to midnight, on an Indian Ash tree, bare in this season, just with the stringy flowers that make for good sightings. I first heard a loud call and quickened my pace down the road.

I caught it in the light of my torch high up on the tree, and upon seeing us, it made its way cautiously down looking for a place to hide. So we had a good sighting of it, and as we tracked it moving downwards, we saw another one too!

Mr Ramanan's photos from his spotting at Ayyalur are here.

A Kutchi summer - Day 1 - Searching for the wild ass

2011-05-15T11:12:00.008+05:30

Seen on the wall of our room at Rann Riders

From Chennai to Ahmedabad by the Navjeevan Express ...two whole days on the train, when will we have faster trains in India? Junior is armed with ipod...without headphones. Just as I have a good laugh, Pritam also sheepishly announces he has left his behind too. Prasanna saves the day...she has a set and Vish is mightily relieved. (He took ownership of those headphones for the next whole week I should add. Thanks Prasanna!)

Arrive at Ahmedabad at 7:30 at night, to the heat and dust of Gujarat in the last week of April. 36 of us from MNS. Board our buses for Dasada (Point B on the map) stopping for dinner at a wayside Dhaba, where there is no Gujarati meal - only a Punjabi thali!

View Larger Map

SH18 takes us past lorries and more lorries. Going where? Mundra port? Its past midnight when we trundle into Rann Riders, which would be our home for the next few days. I am sharing with Prasanna and my "little loris" Vikas. Junior is off with Vijay and Pritam.

We are to be up at 5:30 the next morning, (actually the same morning, isnt it?), and i was sure that there would be many absentees for the morning ride. How wrong I was, even Junior was up and ready!!

The Little Rann of Kutch is a salt marsh and when I was in high school, I remember being fascinated by the markings we had to do over the Kutch peninsula, those dotted lines symbolising the area being under water for certain periods of the year, post-monsoon. I learnt that more than half of India's salt comes from here.

When we went, it was bone dry, as is typical of the summer months, and it was hard for me to imagine this whole stretch under shallow waters! What a treat that must be, and no wonder its a paradise for migratory birds! We do need to go back post-monsoon, I tell myself.

Here's a clip of the landscape, and some wild ass and a nilgai we saw.

The lunar landscape is the only home to the Indian Wild Ass, called khur. As I jolted along under the Kutchi sun, I could not help but be amazed at this strange country I live in, grinding poverty all around, and yet a safe home for the wild ass.

Here are some absolutely wonderful photos taken by Mr Ramanan

Photo by Mr Ramanan. With the sun back-lighting them, this herd provided ample photo ops for all the shutter bugs!
Photo by Mr Ramanan. Notice the little black patch where the leg joins the body

Photo by Mr Ramanan - They run quite fast, we saw them gallop along with the jeep, and were doing a fair pace.

I wondered where they would reside during the rains. It seems they stay on the little elevated sandy scrub parts, called bets locally.

Next, the Flamingo experience.

Let the lions roar

2011-04-21T09:48:00.000+05:30

Its lion season for me! Come on CSK!

Lion on the march, reclaims lost kingdom - The Times of India

New plan to move Maldharis out of Gir

The countdown begins

2011-04-20T10:28:00.001+05:30

'The Great Rann'- album sample by Listening Earth on SoundCloud

By the Navjeevan express

Anticipation suppress

Let it not be late

The Rann awaits.

Wetlands, endearing wild asses

moonscapes, wide open spaces.

Dusk falls as the Francolins call

Will we see Banni grasslands tall?

Across the Kutch we shall ride

to catch the roar of the pride.

Asiatic lions, the only den remains

protected by the Nawab of Junagadh on the Gir plains.

Excitement!

2011-04-18T11:37:00.006+05:30

Wild wonder: Slender lorises sleeping on a tree on the Kalakshetra campus. — Photo: Tara Gandhi

Mr Ramanan had taken some lovely pictures of the endangered loris, which I wrote about here.

But here they are, in my own backyard!!

Slender lorises sighted on Kalakshetra campus

By P Oppilli

Naturalists are excited after sighting a good number of slender lorises, rare and endangered arboreal primates, inside the Kalakshetra campus. A detailed study on the primates has been taken up by members of the Madras Naturalists' Society (MNS).

G. Vijay Kumar, Secretary of the MNS, said in July last year students of Kalakshetra saw the movement of some animals on the tree. They then sought the help of MNS members to identify the animal. When the members visited Kalakshetra campus, they were taken by surprise by the presence of a large number of the arboreal primates.

Following the sighting, they approached ATREE, a Bangalore-based nature research organisation to fund a study inside the campus. The organisation had provided financial assistance to the tune of Rs.70,000 to take up the study. The six month study began in middle of January this year and will be completed by July.

A total of 20 lorises, including infants, were sighted by the MNS members, who went around the campus between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. The habitat in which they managed to survive needed to be protected and the lorises in Kalakshetra were wild ones, he said.

The MNS members used head lights covered with red cellophane papers, while studying them. As they were very sensitive to light, shining lights directly on to their face would stun them and they would be unable to feed due to this. Hence, the members have tied a paper around the lights to avoid disturbance to them, he said.

K.V. Sudhakar, member of the MNS, said there were not many records of sighting of lorises in and around the scrub jungles in Chennai. One had to travel to Mamandur near Renigunta in Andhra Pradesh to sight them. Similarly, not much information was available about this arboreal primate, except a detailed study by P.J. Sanjeva Raj of the Madras Christian College during 1950s.

Not many records of sighting of lorises in and around the scrub jungles in Chennai are available

So here's another account from Sheila, who was in another group, looking for this creature, (I wont tell you where!), and the excitement of a midnight search!

"About half an hour later, Shreekumar gesticulated wildly, but I guess we couldn't see in the dark, so the gesticulations were lost on us!! Finally Vikas realised he was calling us, and we all went to have a look. Shreekumar shone the torch on a tree on the other side of the road. He was absolutely certain he saw a pair of red eyes. He was very excited. He said he had no doubt about it - he's been a naturalist the last 20 years, and had been good at tracking snakes, etc and he was positive it was a slender loris, not a cat or owl or civet cat!!

We all trooped out onto the road and scanned the branches overhead and in the neighbour's garden. There is a continuous canopy over the road, as the branches from our trees and the neighbours' trees merge over the road. Tara says the slender loris will go from canopy to canopy, and must have gone from through the branches of the trees over the road, and into another garden. But try as we might we couldn't spot it. A couple of motocyclists passing by looked on curiously at us. Thankfully the flashes from the torches did not wake up the neighbours! Nor did they call the police to report the nocturnal activites happening in their backyard.

Vikas was thrilled that finally we were lending credence to his sightings!! "Amma, I told you, but you wouldn't believe me!!" Prasanna mentioned how they went all the way to Ariyalur (or someplace) near Madurai, spent 2 hours in the night 8pm to 10pm, looking for the slender loris, but all in vain!!

Shone our torches all over. Disturbed a barn owl which went screeching by. Vikas pointed out where he saw a bronze backed snake(!) (thankfully some days earlier and not last night!)

12.10am -

Again Shreekumar who was scanning the trees in a methodical way, gestured to us. He had spotted it! Vikas went quickly and saw it too. The next second when I went there, it had already gone. We spent a few minutes scanning the trees, but no sight of it.

This time we distinctly heard the call. 3 times, if I remember correctly. Shreekumar feels it was an alarm call. Also he feels the alram call is a means of communicating with each other about the presence of intruders, so this shows the presence of more than one slender loris.

The call had possibly come from a different direction too, one from a tree nearby and one from the western side, but I can't be sure of this.

We broke up aorund 12.30-12.45, all of us very excited and satisfied at the confirmation of sightings! Its difficult to believe that such a small patch of land has provided refuge to this animal.

Amazing, isn't it? Hope to see it sometime soon..."

I hope so too, Sheila!

A few of my favourite wings - I and the Bird #148

2011-04-13T12:28:00.014+05:30

(With due apologies to Hammerstein, Julie Andrews and Sound of Music!)

Red Northern Flickers and Himalayan Griffons

Pale blue eggs and nest-building herons
Brown Lincoln Sparrows and a Snail Kite in wing
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the Stints limp
and the vultures die
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite wings
And then I don't feel...so bad

Red vented bulbuls and Coppersmith barbets
Birding with children
And wagtails with stonechats
Idying birds with beaks, crests and things
These are a few of my confusing wings!

Woodpeckers in forests with streaks and white patches
Sri Lankan Frogmouth with lovely eyelashes
A warbler singing with the coming of spring
These are a few of my favorite wings

When the poachers kill
When the trees fall
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite wings
And then I don't feel...sooooo baaad.

**************

List of Contributors

IATB # 149 will be hosted by Kirk Mona at Twin Cities Naturalist on 28/4/11. Send in your entries by the 22nd!

Twisting terns at Kelambakkam

2011-03-26T17:15:00.004+05:30

Skandan and Mr Shivakumar have photographed and reported the several terns that they have been sighting in the backwaters of Kelambakkam to the south of Madras.

And then there was the matter of gulls - brown-headed and black-headed - also reported. And Ruddy Turnstone. And Curlews.

So off we went today morning in Sheila's car armed with driving instructions and precise directions on which bund to walk on, etc etc.

It was a most rewarding morning - many gulls and terns I was seeing for the first time, plus of course the usual greenshank to madden us, before we id it.

Little terns
River tern
Whiskered tern in bleeding plumage, which I thought was a black-bellied tern
Sandwich tern and/or gull-billed tern?
Caspian tern

These we saw just off the road, as they went about the business of catching their breakfast with single-minded focus. I found it quite confusing to figure out which was which, and did that yellow beak have a black-tip, is the black cap "rakish", was that a yellow-tipped black beak, and so many more permutations and combinations!

Off the road, down by the broken bridge, walking along the bunds, and we saw the gulls. Brown-headed and black-headed in a mixed bunch....they were a huge flock in the distance, and without Chitra's spotting scope, and Preston's idying guidance, "look for the white mirrors on the wings", I would not have spotted them.

And there was a Eurasian Curlew too!
A few more visits needed.

The maddening world of wader identification

2011-03-24T18:44:00.005+05:30

Madras is blessed with a lot of water bodies big and small, brackish and fresh. Any self-respecting birder in the city has to know their waders.

Now, if you are as bad as me at this, you will benefit from this "Waders 101" or "Waders for Dummies"!

There's a young man in MNS by the name of Gnanaskandan, (aka GK aka Skandan!), who has patiently put these pictures and the idying tips together. The original pictures can be found on Facebook here.

He has also designed a google map on Birding places around Chennai, which is definitely worth a look-see.

Shanks

1) Common Greenshank (Top) - Grey above - Foreneck & underparts white with Streakes - Greenish legs - Long , stout bill slightly Curved upwards - Prefers : Freshwater & Saltwater wetlands

2) Common Redshank (Bottom) - Variable brown to Grey above - Grey breast - Orange Red at base of bill - Orange Red legs - Prefers : Fresh & coastal waters

Red Shank - Prefers shallow fresh & Coastal waters

2 Species:

1) Spotted Redshank (Pic 1) - Has longer,slightly down curved Red bill., very conspicuous white supercillium (line above the eyes) and less streaks in neck & ear-coverts - Widespred winter visitor - Taken @ Pulicat

2) Common Redshank (Pic 2) - Has shorter bill compared to Spotted Redshank., lacks the white supercillium and more streaks down the neck - slightly smaller than Spotted Redshank - very timid and gives out an alarm call in flight - Taken @ Pulicat

Sandpipers - Size : Bigger than a Little Riged Plover - Prefers Freshwater & Costal wetlands and sandbanks

1) Common Sandpiper (Top left) - Distinct White Shoulder line - White Supercillium extends till nape(Not extending after eyes in Green Sandpiper) - Constantly bobs its head - Greenish yellow legs

2) Green Sandpiper (Top right) - Distinct White Supercillium not extending after eyes(extends till nape in Common Sandpiper) - Dark wings compared to Wood Sandpiper - Greenish Yellow legs

3) Wood Sandpiper (Bottom left) - Heavily Spotted Upperparts - Dark Yelllow legs - Prominent white supercillium

4) Marsh Sandpiper (Botton Right) - Fine Stilt like bill - Foreneck and underparts more whitish compared to other sandpipers - Greenish Yellow legs

Stints - Size : Slightly smaller than a Little Ringed Plover - Prefers shallow fresh & Coastal waters

1) Temminck's Stint (Pic 1) - Yellow legs - Lacks Supercillium - Complete grey Breast band - Uniform grey wing pattern - Widespred winter visitor - Taken at Pulicat

2) Little Stint (Pic 2) - Dark legs - Prominent White Supercillium - Rufous to Grey streaks in neck & breast - Black to Rufous wing pattern - Widespred winter visitor - Taken at Pulicat

I am off to Kelambakkam this weekend, and lets hope my wader idying improves from the abysmal level it is currently at!

The Pallikaranai fire - TOI reports

2011-03-23T19:52:00.003+05:30

PRECIOUS WETLAND IN NO MAN’S ZONE
No Inquiry Into Pallikaranai Blaze As Agencies Pass Buck
Julie Mariappan | TNN

Chennai: It is more than three days since a mysterious fire ravaged several patches of the Pallikaranai marsh but no government agency seems to be taking responsibility to initiate an inquiry into the cause. Several birds are reported to have died in the fire.
While the Kancheepuram forest office says the fire broke out on a few grounds of land belonging to the Corporation of Chennai, the latter says it has little knowledge about how to maintain the area. “The area is not yet notified under Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Forest Act, 1882. It is still owned by the local body. Our staff took pains to douse the flames. The fire and rescue services personnel could do nothing due to the characteristics of the wetland,” Kancheepuram district forest officer P Jayabalan said.
Almost 20 cases had been filed before the Madras high court, laying claim to the lands already notified on the southern side of the marsh. Only eight were disposed of and the forest department is still waging a battle. “It is likely that the patches were set afire by outsiders in a bid to grab the land,” sources said. The forest department is yet to take air samples from the area for testing, due to the confusion over the jurisdiction.
Corporation commissioner D Karthikeyan said that the land was being maintained by the forest department, though informally, based on a decision taken at a higher level. “The title of the ownership is still vested with the corporation,” he said, adding that the civic agency didn’t have the expertise to take care of the wetland. Saturday’s fire is a reminder that immediate steps have to be taken to protect the wetland.
One of the last remaining natural wetlands in south India, the Pallikaranai marsh sprawled over more than 8,000 hectares till 30 years ago.
Today, indiscriminate dumping of solid waste and the discharge of sewage combined with construction of high-rise structures and laying of roads in the surrounding areas have seen the marsh reduced to 800 hectares.
A recent study by Anna University revealed that a large quantity of metallic sedimentation from the corporation dumpyard in nearby Perungudi had been deposited in the marshland, affecting the biodiversity. The forest department was able to build an 870-metre-long boundary wall on the Sholinganallur side only recently.
Forest ranger Ramadoss said plans to set up a flood bund and provide walkways with necessary drainage facilities on the eastern, southern and western boundaries were awaiting the government’s nod. While the bunds will stretch for about 9.5 km, the walkway will be 2 m wide, a blessing for fitness freaks,
ornithologists
and patrolling staff. “The formation of a green belt and an earthern bund, without disturbing the marsh, is a good idea. Or else birds like waders and ducks will not roost in the wetland,” said KVRK Thirunaranan, founder of The Nature Trust.

Marshland yet to be notified as reserve forest
Julie Mariappan | TNN

Chennai: An ambitious plan to notify 150 hectares of the Pallikaranai marsh as a reserve forest area, announced over a year ago by the DMK-led government, is yet to see the light of day. The ecologically sensitive wetland, adjoining the Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam Radial Road, remains with the Corporation of Chennai.
The forest department is said to have taken up the issue with the civic body. “It is a significant site to ensure the contiguity of habitat and bio-diversity in the marsh. Desilting and cleaning operations and monitoring can be conducted at the site,” said Jayashree Vencatesan of Care Earth, a non-government organisation.
A 317-hectare area was notified as a reserve forest area in April 2007, under Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Forest Act 1882, thanks to sustained efforts of nature lovers, environmentalists, activists and volunteers. It was brought under a separate range in Chengalpet Forest Division at Kancheepuram with headquarters at Pallikaranai. The forest department is still chasing revenue officials to demarcate the notified site.
Care Earth, along with City Connect, in a recent report recommended an “adaptive management plan,” including establishment of a coordinating agency to enable multistakeholder engagement, for the conservation of the marsh. One of the key elements was to prepare a detailed strategy, including ground demarcation, soil and water assessment, ecological profiling, habitat zonation, sedimentation studies, biodiversity assessments.
The Pallikaranai marsh supports over 100 birds species, five of them in the endangered list for Indian birds, and a number of fish and amphibians making it a potential candidate for inclusion as a site under Ramsar Convention, of which India is a signatory. “It is a legally bound mechanism to protect marshlands. The Pallikaranai marsh is certainly qualified for inclusion,” said V Srinivasan of the Save Pallikaranai Marshland Forum. The Wular lake in Jammu and Kashmir and the Chilika lake in Orissa are among such sites in the country.
Care Earth managing trustee RJ Ranjit Daniels said: “The rise in number of species is a sign the marsh is improving. It could also be due to the deterioration of other wetlands near Chennai.” The White-Spotted Garden Skink was recently spotted in the marsh, the first time in the state, as was the Russell’s Viper, the largest and the most widespread of Asian vipers. Fish such as the Dwarf Gourami and Chromide, bred and traded worldwide for aquaria, occur naturally in Pallikaranai. Also, Windowpane Oyster, Mud Crab, Mullet, Half Beak and Green Chromide are some of the estuarine fauna present in the marsh.
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MNS members have documented so much avian life at Pallikaranai. Some of the recent ones:

Rosy Starling
Spot-billed ducks

Purple swamp hen

The hornbills that I did not see

2011-03-21T18:19:00.003+05:30

The hornbills eluded us on our January trip to Parambikulam. According to this article, in The Hindu, Hornbills are now nesting at karian shola. However, if we go now, we wont be allowed into the shola itself, the article says, and since I enjoyed those forests so much, its ok that we didnt see the hornbills, in retrospect!

After cleaning up the traditional nests in January, hornbills have, since February, started nesting eggs in tree cavities deep inside the jungles in Karian Shola near Top Slip in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR).

The chicks are expected to hatch out by the end of May or June.

While there is sustained focus on conservation of tigers and protection of herbivores that serve as a prey base for the carnivores, the multiplying of hornbills is also happening within the ATR.

Two species of hornbills found in this part of Western Ghats are Great Pied Hornbill (Buceros Bicornis) and Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus).

“We have spotted close to 25 nests in the thick forests of Karian Shola,” Range Officer of Ulandy– Top Slip range S. Thangaraj Panneerselvam said.

Shy bird

Since the hornbill is a very shy bird, forest officials have denied trekking permission for tourists and access to Karian Shola even for naturalists.

“We do not want the nesting or the feeding of the female bird by the male bird to be disturbed. There is instruction to this effect from Field Director of ATR H. Basavaraju,” the Range Officer said.

Any disturbance will result in the male bird keeping away from the nest and this may cause the death of the female and the chicks as it is the male that brings them food.

Traditional nests

When it comes to nesting, the hornbills occupy only the traditional nests, which are typical hollows in tall trees in rainforests.

The same hollow is the nest year after year. It is abandoned only if the trees fall or any form of severe disturbance.

If barks grow and cover the nests used last year, look for another nesting place. The one with a narrow opening is taken over by the Malabar Grey Hornbill, which is smaller than the Great Pied Hornbill.

The nests are cleaned after surveillance for nearly a day to ascertain the presence of predators. It is done in January and nesting begins in February. The incubation period is 90 days.

Creates a quilt

Once the female bird gets into the nest, it sheds its feathers to create a quilt and on nesting the eggs, it covers the cavity with a paste made of its excrement and mud.

Hornbills normally hatch one or two eggs. To ward off ant threat to the eggs, it will keep its beak at the opening.

It is a rare sight to spot the male feeding the nesting female. The male passes food to the female through the slit that allows space only for the beak to pass.

The male bird will keep feeding the female with ficus fruits. A fortnight after hatching the eggs, the female will come out breaking the covering made of excrement and mud.

The chicks then cover the cavity and bring down the size of the opening. Male and female Hornbills then feed them with food such as snakes and lizards.

No open flying

Subsequently, for three or four days, the male and female hornbills will engage themselves in teaching flying to the chicks. The hornbills will never allow the chicks to fly in the open owing to the threat from black eagles, hawk eagles, black owl and hawk owl.

Despite such protective delivery and post-natal care, the survival rate of the hornbills is hardly 10 per cent to 15 per cent. However, of late, the population is healthy in the ATR areas.

Karian Shola was proving to be one of the best breeding sites for the hornbills, Mr. Panneerselvam said.

Forest officials have denied trekking permission for tourists
The incubation period is 90 days

Tree-spotting!

2011-03-19T10:01:00.005+05:30

Are these cherry blossoms in Chennai?!

The afternoon sky was ablaze with the light hue of pink and the road below strewn with these flowers, as they dropped, light as rain, twirling as they came down.

And you thought Madras has no flowers?

The pinkish white flowers of the Tabebuia roseo-alba

Seen on St Mary's Road, Raja Annamalai Puram

Remembering Japan

2011-03-16T14:30:00.006+05:30

March 16th, 2007

We were there. Happier times.

Lake Kawaguchiko, at the base of Mt Fuji
The retro bus that took us on a tour of the five lakes
The volcanic mountains around
Lake Saiko, (I think)
Varied Tit (Cyanistes varius) at the ticket counter

The Lava forests. (Aokigahara). Grows on the lava outflow. A little creepy, easy to get lost
Lake Sai?
Common Coot in Kawaguchiko
Shinto shrine archway at the edge of the lake
Fugaku lava caves. Fossils and ice inside. Also very cold.

Volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. These pictures reminded me of how vulnerable they are to the elements.

A Calote on the tree

2011-03-15T19:07:00.001+05:30