What people should learn from rivers

(Highlighting is mine)

What people should learn from rivers

What people should learn from rivers

Robert Macfarlane and James Scott seek to understand the ways of water

May 1st 2025

Is a River Alive? By Robert Macfarlane. W.W. Norton; 384 pages; $31.99. Hamish Hamilton; £25

In Praise of Floods. By James Scott. Yale University Press; 248 pages; $28 and £20

There is an adage among journalists, known as Betteridge’s law, which holds that “Any headline which ends in a question mark can be answered by the word ‘No’.” It is gloriously broken by Robert Macfarlane’s new book, “Is a River Alive?” Yes, the book answers. Yes it is: here are stories and observations and apprehensions that show how the lives of rivers and people interact with each other. Yes, for here that life is evoked in prose so forceful, thoughtful and beautiful that it can only be speaking the truth.

Dr Macfarlane, a professor of literature and the environmental humanities at Cambridge University, has a pragmatic agenda embedded in his powerful prose. To recognise rivers as living beings, as indigenous cultures so often have, is a useful step towards providing them with personhood and rights. Those rights can be used in campaigns that protect both rivers and the life they contain and sustain, be it of humans, other fauna, flora or fungi.

Not many rivers currently enjoy such respect; most are treated in purely utilitarian ways. In “In Praise of Floods”, a posthumous book by James Scott, an anthropologist and social theorist who died in 2024, Scott recalls a conversation with a Filipino hydrologist about the fact that the Colorado river no longer reaches the Sea of Cortez. Scott suggests that it is “sad, given all our poems about rivers running down to the sea, that the Colorado was prevented from achieving its destiny”. The hydrologist has no time for such fancy. “No, no, no! It is not a sad thing at all! It is wonderful; it means that all the water in the Colorado is used for important human purposes and not a drop is wasted!” All over the world people treat rivers as a resource for the taking—of hydroelectric power or of sustenance—or for the taking-away of often noxious effluent. When they are not taking, Scott points out, they are taming. States seek to control the rivers whose past floods produced rich alluvial soils, lest future floods should flow free again.

Streams of consciousness

The first of the three explorations that make up Dr Macfarlane’s book is to a place where the rights-based approach has won a signal victory. He hikes up to the Ecuadorian source of the Río Los Cedros, a river which the country’s constitutional court has recognised as having “the greatest possible legal protection that a constitution can grant: the recognition of rights inherent to a subject”. He subsequently visits the moribund reaches of the Cooum, the Adyar and the Kosasthalaiyar as they pass through the city of Chennai before heading to Canada, where he paddles down the white waters of Mutehekau Shipu, one of only two large rivers in Quebec which remains almost completely undammed. Its right to remain so is being fought for.

Through a mixture of storytelling, argument and rhetoric, supplemented with a touch of derring-do, Dr Macfarlane makes an environmental, ethical and aesthetic case for rivers being living subjects that must be endowed with rights. The book’s true strength, though, comes from his knowledge that it is not enough. In one of his rare moments of cynicism he lays bare the bathos inherent in lawyers competing for the right to ventriloquise a river’s needs “in a kind of cosplay animism”. The life of rivers is not something to be granted to them; it is something to be learned from them. To gain such understanding means opening lines of communication. Dr Macfarlane wants this book to be just such a seemingly impossible conduit.

Rivers cannot read books. But Dr Macfarlane believes they can write them. It is by explicitly treating them as his co-authors that he makes the book theirs as well as his; they become participants in the writing of its and their and his stories. The humans he travels with—an unassuming judge, a grieving mycologist, a wounded activist and a profoundly unusual man called Wayne, among others—provide him with ways of understanding the rivers. The rivers, in turn, provide the reader with ways of understanding the humans. The sense of what life is expands.

This approach governs not just what the book says, but the wonderfully fashioned ways in which it says it. Assuredly deployed assonance and an ear for metre make the flow of individual sentences a joy; the occasional deployment of neologism and esoteric but apt vocabulary, along with a taste for anthimeria, punctuate that flow with ripples and reverses. Scales shift to sublime effect: some passages reveal the book as a whole in microcosm; others echo out to encompass vast reaches of time and space. Dr Macfarlane deploys his long-recognised formidable talent with consummate skill and also, crucially, sincerity. His mastery of technique never feels merely technical; it feels head-in-white-water-breathtakingly heartfelt. His sense of duty to his co-authors demands nothing less.

Other books provide critiques of the way that humans, through their states and corporations, use, abuse and mismanage rivers: Scott’s does so with scholarship and vigour. Dr Macfarlane’s goes further. Everyone who has ever found something to love in a river should find something to love in this book. It is a masterpiece. ■

Discovering the Adyar riverfront trail

4th April 5pm

It is April and summer is here, but not yet unbearable according to me.  The sea breeze blows and the day temps are below 35, what's to complain?

Off I went to Gandhinagar, in search of the river trail on the banks of the Adyar, more than two years old, and not visited because it is there, so close, can always be visited etc.  

Entry point near St Patrick's School main gate - https://maps.app.goo.gl/TDykuUoP5cYPbdWn8

Eastern end of trail - https://maps.app.goo.gl/y1wJ5JbzVo4FhHJ28

Western end of trail - https://maps.app.goo.gl/aJiecUxdcGxuZPqx8

I entered the gate to this sight, right in front of me!  The day was clear, the tide was high, and the Adyar river looked misleadingly blue and clean!  I could see the Thiruvika bridge in the far background.  This was the view looking east.

A pelican glided above nearer the bridge and then landed in the water.  Crow and myna calls were everywhere, and I had to listen in-between to hear the parakeets and Koel calls.

This was the view looking west - with the MRTS bridge in the background.

I walked east first, and was delighted at the loose canopy of shrubs overhead, keeping the sun out, and allowing the sea breeze through.  It was very pleasant, and I was mightily pleased at the mud track. No cement, no fountain, no over beautification. And no Exotics either!

Through a gap in the shrubbery, I spied this gang of Cormorants taking in the evening sun.  I did not see any other water birds, but I saw a lot of sunbirds and babblers.

Tecoma was flowering profusely everywhere, there was mangrove species down on the slopes towards the river.  Henna, Pongamia, Nocchi, Guazuma ulmifolia, junglee badam and Bauhinia.

People were having their evening walk, they all seemed familiar to each other, I was the outsider.  I reached the eastern end - there is a gate that goes into Malligaipoo nagar.  That gate is shut, kind of.  You have to be slim, hold your breath and squeeze your way in between the two gates.  Better for people like me to enter via St Patrick's!

I headed back and then went further west of the gate, towards the MRTS bridge.  I crossed a couple of rest rooms - wow - and then a gate to another park with benches and paved walking areas.  This trail has no benches, but is clean which is quite a change from the usual.

A train went by as I went under the bridge admiring the Bauhinias against the blue sky.

The water hyacinths were doing well this side of the bridge - the tides were not reaching here I guess - a km inland from thiruvika.

The pathway is not so crowded and you can enjoy moments of solitude which I found nice.  But there is no getting away from the sounds of the Indian city - over the waters, a loudspeaker carried some songs from a nearby temple. Silence is the biggest luxury in Indian cities.

And then I was at the Buckingham Canal "sangam". I disturbed a White throated Kingfisher as I peered between the bamboo leaves, and he/she sped away with a loud rattly call.  A Blyth's reed warbler called from the bushes as also Tailor Birds.  In the Canal hyacinth, a Swamp Hen, foraged.

Looking down the river, I could see huge numbers of Cattle Egrets in the hyacinth, many in breeding plumage.  I could see the Boat Club on the opposite side, and a sculler was making his way.

The setting sun streamed through, as I watched the children play in the adjacent playgrounds.  Women were plucking some mardani leaves for their use.

My complete bird list here:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S222832754

I am sure the scrub on the sides, near the canal will have flycatchers and maybe even Pittas in the winter.  But the waters are too high for waders.

I  headed back to Gandhinagar club - where friends and food awaited!

This rather zingy jhalmurhi, cleared our sinuses and reminded us of a missing Sunbird, as we celebrated retirements, sailing voyages and new homes.  

 

First record of Greylag in Adyar estuary

 "On 15 November evening while walking along the riverside road in the Theosophical Society at about 5.15 pm I spotted a pair of big greyish coloured long-necked birds at a distance in the Adyar Estuary. There were many other large birds there that day- at least 20 pelicans and several painted storks, but these were distinctly different. It was a hazy evening and the birds were far away beyond the small islands in the river, but through binoculars, I could identify them as Greylag geese by the bulky body, shape of the neck and bill and colouration. They were standing in shallow water and swam away after a few minutes.

Having never seen them in this location before, despite being a regular walker along the river path, and always checking the estuary for birds, I made some enquiries among MNS members and others if there are any earlier records of this species. Both V Santharam who is familiar with the Adyar estuary for the past 40 years and Dr Balachandran of BNHS who is the best bird migration expert confirmed there is no previous record here. 

However, since my observation needed to be corroborated, I requested Geetha Jaikumar to also take a look when she went there. Fortunately, one the birds was still present on 17th Nov and she photographed it with her cellphone camera. Geetha's pictures confirm the sighting as the first record of Greylag Goose in the Adyar estuary.

On 18th November, a group of us again scanned the estuary with binoculars and scope from the same spot at around the same time and Geetha also looked out for them on subsequent days, but there was no further sighting. Perhaps the geese had moved away to the opposite bank where they were not visible, or had left the area. 

Tara Gandhi "

A morning at the estuary

Early start today!  Went off to Adyar Estuary to bird - part of AWC.  Arrived at 630, to find a huge gaggle of bikers, all headed to the Broken Bridge, uhh!  Syed, Sagarika, Gayathree, Gowtham, Rohith - two spotting scopes.  Ran into Yuvan and Aswathi as well - and as a result got myself a copy of the Coastal Fauna of Chennai, put together by them - 160 species that you would commonly find.

The walk on the sand was filled with land mines - defecation free my foot - sigh!  

Some beach combing before arriving at the estuary.  Besides all the human waste (literally), and flotsam, that included slippers, cartons, thermocol, flower garlands and what not, were various fragments of creatures.  Many dead OR turtles too - I saw 3! I believe the SSTCN has suspended their public walks due to COVID.  I hope they are still collecting those eggs.  Now there is only a TN hatchery.  

 

A washed up Spiral Babylon snail shell - A marine gastropod mollusc once lived in it

Another sea snail - Murex tribulus, with all its spines that protect it from other predators, while it happily feeds on other molluscs.

The Common Moon Crab that has no Wiki page, goodness! I love their paddle like feet, supposedly helps them disappear into the sand in a trice.

Japanese sponge crab, with the pink pincers

And then we arrived at the estuary mouth

Regular recreation spot is the broken bridge

Magical morning, with the sun shimmering off the water

Pelicans, egrets, crows and humans a plenty.  Smaller flocks of plovers that were too far away for me to see well.  Spotting scopes very much needed.

While Rohith counted the Redshanks, I admired the waves of sand left behind at low tide.

The crow kept an eye on me while pretending not to, as it fed on a fish. 

This Little Egret balanced on this water weed endlessly meditating on the waters.    Fishermen fished, and shoals of small silver fished jumped in the air.

I was fascinated by the little egrets fishing on the water’s edge.  New behaviour seen in 2022 for me.  I couldn't get enough of them.  As they kind of squawked at each other and the crows - seemed rather grumpy, though they kept feeding!!

Many of them had their breeding headgear kudumis, flapping in the wind, quite cutely. 

A Caspian Tern flew overhead, Pond Herons skulked in the mangroves, and cormorants alternated between drying themselves and periscoping in the water.  And then it was time to head back, and as we walked back, there was a lot more to see in the undergrowth just outside the TS walls!

My first hoopoe of the year, busy ferreting in the mud, with its long beak, White-browed bulbuls in pairs, calling loudly, reminding me of a gurgling stream, bee eaters gliding across, Prinia occupying the high perches and singing, a purple sunbird glinting in the sun, parakeets and spotted doves.  The butterflies were beginning to sun themselves, tawny fosters, a blue tiger, and large Crimson Rose fluttered by.

Sagarika and I malingered as usual and were the last to wind up and head home.  Sun, sea and sand, and I had worked up a good appetite - a Mysore masala dosai was a good way to end it.

The excitement of the hornbill that showed up in south Madras

My first post this year celebrates an unusual event for me.

23rd Jan 2021

A rather interesting start to the morning.  As I desultorily scrolled through the MNS WhatsApp messages, I stopped.  Lakshmi, very tentatively, asks, "Is grey hornbill a usual visitor near Adyar broken bridge?"  Huh, whaaaat?  And then two pictures of pictures in their cameras!

The group was buzzing with amazement and excitement.  Rajaram called the bird Jonathon Livingston Hornbill, out exploring southern climes.  Vikas mentioned that it had not been seen south of Mamanduru maybe.

31st Jan 2021

The feathered celebrity made it to the papers, and of course e-bird.  TS has been such a sanctuary for all sorts of non-human creatures, in the heart of my city, guarded zealously by its members.  

Patagonia Picnic basket?  From Wiki -

The Patagonia picnic table effect (also known as the Patagonia rest area effect or Patagonia rest stop effect) is a phenomenon associated with birding in which an influx of birdwatchers following the discovery of a rare bird at a location results in the discovery of further rare birds at that location, and so on, with the end result being that the locality becomes well known for rare birds, even though in itself it may be little or no better than other similar localities.[1]

The name arises from the Patagonia Rest Stop in Arizona, where the phenomenon was first noted.[2] As of June, 2020, more than 220 species have been recorded there

24th Feb 2021

I am terrace-walking and listening to music, watching the sunbirds and the kingfisher, when there is a raucous frenzy among the crows, and a flash of grey into the Spathodea tree across the street.  Shikra, I think and watch it idly as I continue walking.  (A shikra had been calling loudly and insistently the fortnight before), and as I move, I suddenly stop - that beak looks way too big, and wait, that tail is too long.  

Hello, what - it is the hornbill!  I could not believe my myopic eyes were seeing right.  Call to my husband goes unanswered.  Ring Sheila - she answers, I hiss, come up immediately - bring camera and binocs - the hornbill is here!  I must say that she was up pronto (nothing else would stir us up into such quick action), and I point (without pointing, can't have the bird flying off), and she says yes.  I grab her binoculars, and her hands shake as she tries to put her camera on and focus on it, in the foliage.  The crows continue to caw blue murder all around.  I get a good look through the binoculars.

Almost immediately, it decided it had enough of the bullying crows, and took off with one call, flying east.

The Indian Grey hornbill seen on new beach road, seconds before it took off.  Photo by Sheila

What an unexpected "darshan", and I was so happy I could share the moment with atleast one more person.  I felt a bit sad as well, as to the hostility it had to face from the neighbourhood crows, let alone the lack of its favourite fruit trees.  I wished and hoped it had flown back to the TS.

Tried to upload the sighting on e-bird, but hmmm the bird did not exist or what?  Ah, tripped by Grey vs Gray.  

Soon after, it was not TS, but IIT where it was heard.  Suzy reported hearing calls, but no sightings.  And then on the 27th, Mahathi caught a glimpse.  

Indian Gray Hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) (1)

- Reported Feb 27, 2021 13:01 by Mahathi Narayanaswamy
- Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=12.9934334,80.2380896&ll=12.9934334,80.2380896
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S82408913
- Comments: "Flew into the banyan in front of stadium and disturbed 9 of the 14 koels on the tree. As a result it got startled and it flew out. I tried to look for it again, especially since a lot of banyan trees in the area are fruiting but looking at birds on the banyan tree for so long non stop caused my neck to get strained so will go home check the trees around my house take a break and come back once the sun subsides a little to look for the bird to get a record shot.
This individual has been seen in ts and thiruvanmiyur recently and we have been hearing it on campus around the stadium area for the past three days so it may be doing rounds there owing to the several fruiting banyans in the area.
As for description- Size was koel+, flight was in a sense as though it soars before it landed, colour of feathers is uniform grey, tail and wing feathers have white markings which are viable in flight, for the few seconds that I got to see it the notch like thing on the hornbills beak was also visible(dont know what its called)."

I wish you safe passage and haven, and may you make a home and family in our city, or wherever your journey takes you.  Thanks for the visit.  

Appreciating the Adyar

I love the Adyar river, and most days I cross it, closer to the mouth, where it joins the Bay of Bengal. Along with the Bay it is deeply a part of my Madras memories.

Lovely to see this piece in The Hindu.

A bend in the Adyar

It’s been a year since the floods and the city’s iconic river flows on. Arun Krishnamurthy of Environmentalist Foundation of India speaks toAKILA KANNADASAN about his photo series that tracks the river from its source

Last year this time, Chennai was reeling under a different kind of tragedy — the incessant rains and the resultant floods. Lives, livelihoods, and homes were lost. There are various theories about the cause of the floods. But one thing is clear — we had a major role to play in the catastrophe. Our callous attitude towards our water bodies has not changed since then, and it’s time we do something.

Arun Krishnamurthy, the founder of Environmentalist Foundation of India, who has involved hundreds of youngsters in protecting Tamil Nadu’s water bodies, has come up with an idea to shake us out of our smug mindsets.

He has created a photo documentary on the state of the Adyar River a year after the floods, and plans to exhibit it in schools and colleges. Arun says that it all began with a 20-minute documentary on the lakes of Chennai that he made to screen in educational institutions. “We found out that most of our lakes are feeders to our rivers. For instance, the Poondi lake is one of the feeders of the Kosasthalaiyar River, the Chembarambakkam lake for the Adyar River... lakes and rivers are interconnected,” he explains.

Arun, hence, set out to document the rivers. “We are making a documentary Rivers of Chennai and planning to bring out a booklet and digital photo blog on the same,” he says. The idea is to show people where our rivers start, flow and end. Arun says that people in Chennai aren’t even aware of the river that runs a few streets from where they live.

“A lot of negativity about our water bodies has developed over the last one year,” he observes. “The number of local volunteers has fallen. It’s shocking to listen to what the locals say. During a lake clean-up, a 21-year-old asked us what was the point in doing so. When we said that it was we who would suffer if it flooded, he laughed and said he plans to settle in Bangalore anyway.” Apart from negligence, it’s a lack of pride for Chennai’s rivers that’s saddening, says Arun.

Arun spent 48 hours tracing the Adyar from its origin in Adhanur and Malaipattu villages. He explains how multiple lakes merge to create the river that we call Adyar. “She is pristine at her origin. At Chembarambakkam, for instance, birds thrive in the clean water.”

The trouble begins at Tambaram. “It is here that she transforms from a rural fresh water stream into a polluted urban river. Urban sewage starts draining into the river. More urban waste mixes along the way. As she trickles into Thiruneermalai, she encounters a municipality-run landfill at the bund.” Industrial waste is introduced at Chrompet and the river is beyond recognition by the time it reaches Besant Nagar.

Along the Mambalam canal, Arun saw 800 urban poor families living along the river bund. “Their toilets drain into the canal,” he says. The rich are no exception. At a golf course next to the YMCA campus in Nandanam, hundreds of used paper cups were dumped into the river.

Continued on page 3

From page 1

There were even discarded golf clubs. At the point of culmination, awaited a rude surprise — “I saw sofa sets, poultry waste, religious idols, footwear...”

Arun hopes that his photos trigger some action amidst youngsters.

“They should take pride in the three rivers and the 300 lakes that make up Chennai’s ecosystem. Secondly, they should be ashamed at the condition of the water bodies.

Finally, a sense of responsibility should creep in,” he says. “A lot of schools have approached us to teach students about our lakes and rivers. The photo exhibition will be a part of our outreach programmes.”

What is the significance of the Adyar River to Chennai? “The Adyar,” explains Arun, “is Chennai’s identity. She is of hydrological, cultural, and historical importance. She is a carrier, and not a perennial river. She carries large amounts of water into the sea during the North-East monsoon.”

The 30-year-old knows the river well.

“She can be very vengeful,” warns Arun. “If we take care of her, she can prevent any amount of flooding. But, if we don’t, well, you know what happens.”

People in Chennai aren’t even aware of the river that runs a few streets from where they live

More winged visitors flock to Adyar Poonga

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.Srinivasan With 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 planted The 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.

Plenty of plovers

Madras is a warm and hospitable place. The Lonely Planet does not think much of the city, but its one of those places that creep up on you and becomes home.

It seems to have affected the birds as well. A month ago, the MNS e-group was full of distressed emails about the pittas, which were refusing to leave, and quite tragically, dying for their loyalty. (The pittas need to go back to cool climes you see.)

And now, Skandan and his buddies have been lurking around the Adyar estuary and catching these plovers, that are usually only winter visitors to the city, coming in with the music season and the rustle of silks, and leaving well before the summer, mangoes and cotton!

We are well into summer and they are still here, and in breeding plumage to boot.

Grey plover, in breeding plumage. Sighted in Kelambakkam backwaters. Photo by Skandan

The plovers are medium-sized waders - birds that live along the water's edge, with short necks and kind of stubby bills. The non-breeding grey plover is , well, grey! The striking black chest is to attract the ladies!

Lesser Sand plovers, in the sand! Photo by Skandan

The Lesser Sand Plovers were in the sand thankfully, being faithful to their name. And yes, there are Greater Sand Plovers, which are marginally bigger, with slightly longer legs and a more pointy beak.

Click on the picture above and spot the breeding males -the ones with the black mask around the eyes. The morose ones with brown upper necks are the females.

Find the lone Terek sandpiper, among the lesser sand plovers. Photo by Skandan

Its the one with the looong bill! What's it doing hanging out with the plovers, I wonder? The Terek sandpiper's bill is much longer than the common sandpiper, which is quite common. They are endearing birds to watch, slight bobbing up and down, quick stuttering darts along the ground and complete absorption in finding their food!
Pacific golden plovers. Photo by Skandan

Beautiful birds, both in flight and when they are in repose. The golden colours usually catch the evening sunlight beautifully, in the estuary. The striking white markings are prominent in the breeding males.

White-winged tern - breeding plumage. Sighted at Kelambakkam backwaters. Photo by Skandan

I love to watch tern acrobatics over the water's surface. They swoop and glide, and are constantly calling, and are fun to watch through the binoculars. This tern that Skandan has photographed, has a black head only during breeding, and its non-breeding plumage is just white and kind of dull grey or dirty white for the body!

I find the terns very confusing to distinguish during non-breeding, they all look similar!

Skandan and friends also found a Collared Pratincole at Siruthavur.

Yay!

I was on the beach last weekend, helping some youngsters clean up about a km of the beach near the mouth of the river, where the estuary meets the sea. This was organised by the SSTCN and the Lets Restore Our Beaches voluntary bodies.

This is where, if I'm not mistaken the elevated highway will come across the estuary, according to government plans, and there has been general anxiety about the government's plans among most of the city's citizens. The fishermen dont seem to want it, the residents dont want it, the environmentalists think its a completely batty idea, but no, the government is all gung-ho.

The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : CRZ nod denied again for Elevated Expressway

CRZ nod denied again for Elevated Expressway

A. Srivathsan
Chennai: For the second time, the Ministry of Environment and Forest has refused clearance for the elevated expressway from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal proposed by the Chennai Port Trust.

The Expert Appraisal Committee for Coastal Regulation Zone (Infrastructure Development and Miscellaneous Projects), convened a few weeks ago, scrutinised the project and did not recommend it for Costal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance.

This time, the Chennai Port Trust argued that the project is neither a National Highway nor an expressway but only a connecting road between the port and the existing National Highway. Hence, it claimed that the project is permissible under CRZ Notification, 1991.

However, the expert committee was not convinced and has asked Chennai Port Trust to explain the basis on which this project is now presented as a link road.

It has also directed the Port Trust to obtain a clear recommendation from the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA) that the proposed link road will be permissible under CRZ Notification.

The four-lane elevated expressway running for a length of 19 km is proposed by the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways through National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). It is to be partly constructed along the Cooum and partly over Poonamallee High Road at a cost of Rs.1,655 crore.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for this project in January 2009. About 34.58 ha of the proposed elevated road falls within the CRZ and of the 506 foundation pits proposed, 35 fall in the riverbed.

When this project was first submitted for CRZ clearance in May 2009, the expert committee refused clearance stating that part of the proposed expressway fell between High Tide and Low Tide Lines and it was against the recommendations of the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Management Authority. The proposal was retuned with the suggestion that it be revised.

Tree guards, bagworms and argiopes

Its been an interesting fortnight.

# Went on tree walks with toddlers and teenagers.

# Rambled at the PWD park, with the sun, bees and butterflies for company.

# Saw pictures from Chandrika of a creature that looked like it had come from some alien land.

# Learnt that cycle tires can make good and cheap tree-guards.

# Discovered an argiope inside one of those tree guards.

# Saw scores of black kites all of a sudden.

# Have been tracking an ugly little "crowling" grow into a handsome large-billed crow, all set to fly.

The tree walks and the PWD park ramble were courtesy Nizhal, that wonderful, enthusiastic band of tree lovers of Chennai. Their volunteers go around, in different localities and parks of the city, with different groups, taking young and old on walks to familiarise us with the trees of the neighbourhood, and hoping to spread awareness and commitment for saving our trees.

May their tribe grow.

One of the projects which is currently consuming their time, energy and attention is the PWD land/park in Kotturpuram on the southern bank of the Adyar river. Local species are being planted in order to make a tree park - no lawns or concrete walkways, is what I've understood it.

It was here that a bunch of toddlers came, to plant a few saplings and get sensitised about the need for trees.

The planting was done with much enthusiasm, as also the chasing of butterflies and mynahs. The high point was finding an earthworm in the soil as they planted, and there was many a "ewww" from the girls, while the boys fell strangely silent, taking a tentative step backwards, as Deepika extended her earthworm-filled hand to display it better!

It was here that I learnt that discarded tires make cheap and quick tree guards.

Nizhal volunteers come on Sundays, and quickly put these together, through some clever entwining of binding tape. There had been a couple of showers and so the ground was covered with green undergrowth, and I quite enjoyed hanging out there, never mind the sun.

So it was that I volunteered to go and check on the saplings one Tuesday morning - the saplings do need to be tended - and made an interesting "discovery. More about that later.

The case of the Bagworm moth

On returning home, I found a strange email in my inbox, titled "strange flower feeder". Chandrika of MNS posted these pictures:

An ant trying to get at the larvae

You can see more such pictures at her Picassa gallery here.

See the head poking out
Well, it was my turn to go "eww", as I stared at my computer screen! It turns out, that Chandrika was testing her new macro lens, and found this in her own garden in Thiruvanmyur! Talk about urban wildlife! I was sure that no one would know what this strange creature was.

I had obviously under-estimated the "pros" of MNS. Quick came the replies - thats a bagworm moth larva, dear, go look it up! And so I did. It turns out that larvae of this moth family build their cases out of any old debris they find around - twigs, soil, leaves - as soon as they hatch. The binding is a kind of silk they secrete.

Now, as it grows, it carries this case and moves along, and the caterpillar pokes it heads out to feed on the leaves of the host plant, like any hungry caterpillar. When it is fully grown, it anchors the case to a branch and seals the opening. It then develops into a moth. If its a male, its lucky, it grows wings supposedly and then flies off to find a mate.

But if you are born a female bagworm moth, then life cannot be much fun - you are stuck in that case, you lay your eggs in it and then you die!

If that was not interesting enough, my next visit to the PWD park revealed yet another mystery.

St Andrew's Cross

It had rained insistently for a couple of days, and so the park looked even greener. The undergrowth was wet, the little meadow flowers were buzzing with bees, and as the sun was up already, the butterflies were going crazy chasing each other.

My visit was supposedly to take a look at all the saplings and report back on their state. So I dutifully, stuck my head into every tree guard, to make sure the sapling was alive and well.

And I was rewarded with this!

I stopped short and stared. I have never seen such a large and complete web in my life. I swear, it was atleast 2ft by 2ft.

Hmmm, but it seemed to have only four legs, and as far as I knew all self-respecting spiders have eight.

Oh look, its actually taken some of the binding tape and woven it into its web! ( or so I thought.)
I came home, and my first spider image hit was this. And I had identified my spider!

Not four legs, but eight, held together in an "x" cross. And so the reference to St Andrew who was crucified on a cross like this and not the standard crucifying cross.

Here's some more interesting stuff about Argiope:

Besides their standard orb-web, Argiope spiders build additional white opaque zig zag lines on their webs, called stabilimentum.

Sometimes the zig-zag lines match their leg positions, which lead some people to suggest that this helps give the appearance of longer legs. Some spiders build a single vertical line, yet others a patch of zig zags in the centre of the web. No matter the design, the spider sits right smack in the middle. We do not know the purpose of these lines, but some of the explanations put forward include:
They stabilise the web (hence their name!)
They warn larger animals in the same way that safety strips on glass doors warn people from walking into them. Thus the web is protected from damage by flying birds.
Research has shown that the silk in the stabilimentum reflects ultraviolet well, unlike the silk used in the rest of the web. Thus, the designs may mimic flowers, which also reflect ultraviolet light well, and often have lines to guide insects to honey like airport lights do for airplanes. Instead, the insects are guided to the spider which sits in the centre!!

Source: The Mangrove and Wildlife at Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve.

And I had thought that stabilimentum was the twining tape!! According to this website, Argiope mangal puts out two stabilimentum, and Argiope versicolor puts out four. This one has three!

I also discovered that there is a site on South Indian Spiders.

And guess what. I could not find this chappie there. (Actually, its a lady - only lady spiders build webs...So what do the male ones do for food? I need to find out.)

I cannot find any India mentions of this spider. So, is my id wrong then? or is this some stray imported spider which shouldn't be here?

Somebody help!

The Madras Club cupola above the grand trees, on the opposite bank of the estuary.

Look under those leaves and rocks, folks, you never know what you will find!

More talented than Mr Ripley!

Thats what I thought while reading about butterfly mimicry.  The "talented" Mr Ripley. pops off his friend, and takes on his persona.  While butterflies mimic other butterflies so that they dont get popped off.

It all gets a bit confusing, but I discovered that this butterfly mimicry is a serious area of scientific research, and scientists have found the gene responsible for butterfly mimicry!!

So, if what I've understood is right, a nice tasty, colourful butterfly pretends to be a toxic, colourful butterfly, and fools the birds and reptiles to leave it alone.  Now for all of this to work, there should be enough of the original toxic butterflies around, so the pretenders can get away with their disguise.

The scientist who discovered this was somebody called Bates, and so, it seems, this whole behaviour is referred to as Batesian mimicry.

What I cant figure out is, how do we know then that it is actually butterfly A and not butterfly B which it is disguised as?!

I saw loads of these two butterflies flitting around on the meadows a couple of days ago.  I was filled with childish delight and wonder as they flitted from one little purple meadow flower to another,  alighting on a tall grass flower, and swaying with the breeze.

I had my binocs (for once!) and so had my heart's fill of  following them around.  But for a camera, I only had my 'phone.  Oh well, I shouldn't complain.  

So I came back home referred to my books, and said to myself,"Aha, an eggfly (the black, polka-dotted one), and a plain tiger (the yellow one).  Feeling very pleased at my idying abilities, I was about to move on, when my eye caught sight of an article/picture that said, "An eggfly pretending to be a plain tiger".  What?!  I took a look - several times - between the supposed difference between a plain tiger and an eggfly pretending to be a tiger, but I couldn't see the differences, in spots, border patterns, etc etc that i was supposed to look for.

So it turns out, that this pair are a male and female of the same Danaid eggfly.  Or so I think, anyway.  
As I ambled to the banks of the estuary, I saw these lovely candle bushes, all abloom and buzzing with bees, as also some Cassia.

And these purple wonders, which I cannot identify,

As also this blue tiger.  Parakeets screeched overhead, while the clouds seem to have driven away the Kites, which I usually would see circling here.

On the water, were a whole bunch of egrets, black-winged stilts and some other waders that were too far away for me to see.

But what I liked most were those barn swallows.  These birds, I believe are only winter visitors to Madras, spending the rest of the year somewhere in the Himalayas!  Their flight paths and speed are quite astonishing and I spent so much time watching them fly, dive bomb, turn on their tails....puts any fighter plane to shame!

Check out these lovely pictures from another MNS member Sripad.  He saw them at Adyar Poonga.

Swallow 1
Originally uploaded by Sripadshoots

Barn Swallow In Flight Close up
Originally uploaded by Sripadshoots

Swallow pair hunting
Originally uploaded by Sripadshoots