Asian Openbills at Nelpattu

Lining a bund enroute to Nelappatu

I had written about the Pelicans at Nelapattu earlier, but had ignored the OBS, or Asian openbills for some reason... i was obviously more excited by the pelicans than the OBS.

I remember that early December morning when we saw these OBS sitting on a bund, looking rather morose and meditative.  They reminded me of old fishermen sitting by the pier, each lost in their thoughts and memories but drawing on the comfort of each other's silent company!

Around the corner in the fields, we had a closer encounter with these birds.  They were more busy than their bund counterparts, actively looking for snails - that's what they are fond of - in the marshy soil.  

The bills dont quite close, and it is obviously an adaptation to help their feeding.  Like  a set of pliers, the gap helps them to clamp on to their prey maybe?

The grey plumage of their upper body indicates that they are in non-breeding mode.  Those feather become whiter during breeding.

On reaching Nelapattu, we saw them nesting there, along with the pelicans.  They are rather prolific it appears, and they are classified as "birds of least concern" - not endangered by any means!

I hope that status doesn't change for these long-legged, serious birds!

Green.view | Staying the courser | Economist.com

Indian conservationists strive to convince politicians of a small bird’s existence

Green.view | Staying the courser | Economist.com

 AP Forest Dept picture

The article is about the Jerdon's Courser, a small, brown wader that comes out in the night, is very, very  rarely seen and every Indian birdwatcher of repute and age has a story to tell about trying to see one or having seen one!

Considered extinct for a while, then "rediscovered" in 2003,  by Bharat Bhushan, who is an MNS and BNHS member,  the little bird's cause has been taken up by the BNHS - kudos to them - who seem to have successfully changed the course of the planned Telegu-Ganga canal, to avoid this bird's territory.

The paragraph from the article which I like best is this -

With many troublesome conservationists—and righteous judges—India has guarded its magnificent wildlife perhaps surprisingly well. Though poor, densely populated and home to many threatened species, it has lost only a handful of animals in recent decades: for example, the Asiatic cheetah, Javanese rhinoceros and Sikkim stag. And it has lost only two species of bird: the pink-headed duck and Himalayan mountain quail. Like the Jerdon’s courser, the forest owlet was also ruled extinct before it was rediscovered. A fish, the Ladakh snow trout, may have similarly have re-emerged from the abyss.

This gives India a better record in conservation than many countries. Yet its wildlife is nonetheless in dreadful jeopardy: from a poor and fast-growing population, eating into India’s remaining forests and marshes; and also, increasingly, from infrastructure projects, fuelled by strong economic growth. The IUCN now groups India with China, Brazil and Indonesia, as countries with the highest number of species facing extinction. Many will no doubt slip more quietly into that long night than the Jerdon’s courser.

A pat on the back for all the hardworking  environmentalists?  

Listen to the call of the courser

The Pulicat Flamingoes

The Pulicat dance troupe!

Yes, there are flamingoes, thousands of them, just north of Madras, and I am quite ashamed to say that I saw them in a New York zoo before seeing them at Pulicat.  I have lived for more than twenty years in this city, blissfully unaware that these lovely birds lived and bred in our backyard.

Strange looking birds.  Light pink, long graceful legs, huge flocks, a sinuous movement as they walk across the shallow waters, so ballerina-like.  But that beak...... there's nothing graceful about it, according to me anyway.  Its large and bulky, and seems to be just added on, like one of those Photoshopped oddities!

They are useful to them, though, the beaks I mean.  Since they feed on saltwater shrimp and such like and use their beaks to filter-feed.  They will be in the "pink" of health the more shrimp they eat.  That's what they get the beta-carotene from, which keeps them pink!  So if you think the ones in the zoo are always pinker, you're probably right - they get more pink food in their diet.

Dec 2007.  We took a boat from SHAR road to get a closer look, but the closer we got, the faster they edged away from us, making sure that we couldn't get any closer.  At first they walked away, in a slow deliberate fashion, then some nervous ones spread their wings. At one point, they decided enough was enough and took to the skies, and what a lovely sight it was!

My husband clicked away, and came up with these lovely pictures.  It was a dull day with the sun well hidden, the water a bleak grey, but dont these birds really stand out in the dullness?

(You can click on any of these pictures to get a full-page view.)

Dont come any Closer!
OK, we're off!My mother opined that a flying flamingo is much more beautiful than a walking one, and I have to agree.  Where are those colours of dark pink and black when they just stand? Their long necks and legs form a lovely line in the sky, and even their beaks kind of fit in, giving a curve to their silhouettes!

An early flier is high up in the sky.  Take a look at the beauty of the airborne trio in the right foreground
The flying flamingoes bump into a flock of duck

Balaji by some coincidence seems to have also visited the flamingoes in December, though he and his friends were lucky with a  bright, sunny day.  There are some lovely pictures on his blog as well!

My son filmed the flamingoes on our handycam, and if you are willing to take a look at some footage that shakes and kind of goes off in all sorts of directions, see the video below!  You will also get an idea of what lots of flamingoes means really.  The whirr you hear is the sound of the strong wind that day, and if you have sharp ears you will also pick up the calls of the flamingoes.  They make quite a racket - well there are a lot of them.

Why do I like to go and see these and other birds in their habitat I wonder.  My brother (as a typical older brother), thinks I am a touch insane.  Why dont you just go to a zoo, or better still watch them on Nat Geo or Discovery, he grumbles.  

Is it the uncertainty of not knowing what I am likely to see?  Or the joy at seeing them free and unrestricted?

Another visit to SHAR road  and Annamalaicheri is overdue I think...  What say?  I should also write about Annamalaicheri, that fishing village on Pulicat, from where we took many a sortie and even had a Delhi birder traipse across the flatlands holding the hands of one of the fishermen, much to the latter's delight I'm sure, since the birder in question was a lovely lady!!

Mamandur revisited

Not by me, unfortunately, but by other lucky MNS members, who went off to the Bungalow on the hill.

The Bungalow (thankfully) looks in good shape, though a dorm seems to have also been added. The rate seems to be Rs 500 per head per bead for "fooding and lodging"!

In these days of vanishing forests, good to hear that the forest still continues to exist and flourish.  Mamandur is not a mammal/cat kind of place, but more a birding and nice-quiet-place-to-enjoy-nature type place.  From all accounts that continues to be the best description.

 The undisturbed huge anthills

 Iora I think

Rat snake!

This group seems to have had several snake encounters, which we didn't!  This rat snake was in a stagnant pool of water in the dry riverbed, and was after frogs.

Here's Sripad's description:

Then for a second I thought I had seen a head come out of the water I looked through my camera got a shot and immediately zoomed in to have a look, it was a Rat Snake!!! There was a Rat Snake in the small pond filled with Toads……after I alerted everyone about my find we waited for everyone to give their comments the snake by this time interrupted by our load voices and ugly faces went into the water and came out only after a ten minute wait. When we waited for the snake to come out the second time we watched the ecosystem around the pond there were Damsel flies and butterflies sucking up minerals from the wet soil around. As we waited for the snake to show its head we watched the pond for entertainment and we got to see nice toads with lots of character.
When we thought the snake won't show up again the snake resurfaced and as though watching an alien from another planet all of us watched the snake with awe and me being a great fan of the snake clicked away like crazy. I did manage to get a few nice shots of the snake.

Damsel butterflies

Angel and Sunshine in Delaware

Angel
Sunshine
Chitra - you know the one who went to Orang - well, she's flown the coop - left her "responsibilities" in Chennai and gone like a migrant winter bird, to Delaware.

No, I'm not envious of her vamoosing like this, and no I'm not drooling at the banana muffins and buttered croissants!!

She is leading a rather interesting life right now, staying with an aunt and uncle who are part of the Tristate Bird Rescue.They look after rescued birds and seem to have several in their own home. Here is a description in Chitra's words:

Its warm in the 70s/80s and you'd think the windows will be open to let in the warmth and breeze, but no, we are couped up in the closed a/coned atmosphere as neither the birds nor the orchids can stand the outside temps! We humans don't count!
There are two parrots, one cockatoo and one parakeet, all flighted and allowed to come out of their cages during the day. Angel, the African grey, can talk, whistle and sing. He is the only one that recognises me, and whistles cheekily when ever he sees me and allows me to feed him. Beaker, the cockatoo and Sunshine the Sengal parrot have so far repulsed all my efforts to befriend them and have gone so far as to bite my fingers!
There is an old age home (a bay window with a net) where a number of old and decrepit finches live along with a bourke's parakeet, and one budgie. Yesterday Angel decided to hang upside down on the net, frightened one poor doddering old finch which escaped from the cage and flew into the kitchen. It took me and my brother the better part of 15 minutes to catch it, but not before we crawled under tables, between legs.... etc! There are two white doves and three more parakeets down in the basement.

Then, the other day they had to bird sit some chimney swifts..... They fell through the chimney (well where else did I expect chimney swifts to be?!), and were thus orphaned.

They have to be fed mealworms every hour. My aunt and I had our first feeding session about 15 minutes back. I think it would be easier to eat the mealworms ourselves even though they are such gross creatures than feed a bunch of stubborn swallows. Unlike their names some of them absolutely refused to open their mouths and here we were holding juicy worms to their mouths and making cajoling sounds.
But the smallest of disturbance to their tranquil clinging and they set up a chorus of (difficult to describe) cries - a bit like the cicadas going of in the Nilgiris - only much closer and ringng in your ears.
I think I am going to dream of mealworms tonight.
They are terrribly soft and cuddly now though they have very sharp claws /nails (I don't think they are called talons!) Swifts can only cling.. swallows can perch too. One jumped out of the basket yesterday and tried to cling to my kurta, didn't get a hold and started to slide down when I caught it. It dug all 8 nails into my palm and wouldn't let go. Had a hard time putting it back into the box.

... More updates as they come.

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Bugs on my mind

I came across an article in The Economist on Bugs as a great source of protein.  

The article reports that insects, are the best converters of feed into protein

So, are you facing inflation and food shortages? Well, eat those bugs! They already do in 113 countries. Insect farming is also on the agenda.

Can you imagine the change in the menus - Cricket 65, Roach Manchurian, Tandoori Ants...? Sorry, it doesn't sound appetising does it?

Just when I was "digesting" that piece of news, came further news putting insects in the spotlight. An Insect heist was reported! A Czech scientist (entomologist to be precise) was arrested for happily collecting beetles and bugs without permission, and as far as I can make out, is still languishing with his associate in a jail in Darjeeling. To add to his woes, Darjeeling has been shut down in the Gorkha agitation, and so there are no courts working to even grant him bail.

I really wonder what Dr Petr Svacha was doing? Do you think he would've gone around collecting insects in a wildlife park, without permission, in any other country? He cannot, not know the rules, can he? I mean, its not like a tourist going and seeing a fascinating shell or bug or butterfly and taking it home is it? Or is it that he was taken for a ride by the famous Indian bureaucracy? All very mysterious, if you ask me.

And his associate Kucera seems to have a website where insects are for sale! According to The Himalaya Beacon, he was not here officially.

Jan Šula is the head of the Entomology Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in České Budějovice, Petr Švácha’s employer:
“Petr Švácha is a world-recognised specialist on sawyer beetle larvae and I think that explains what he was doing there. He does everything for science, even investing his own time and money. I think intentional wrong-doing is out of the question. Of course, if they had been there officially this kind of thing could never have happened. On official trips you have cooperation from local specialists and so on. If they had been there officially this could never have happened.”

Hmmm...

I got this!

My in-laws brought this book for us, from the US!  I almost whooped with joy on seeing it.  The bird sketches are large and dramatic.  There's a little write-up about each bird.  And the bird calls are fabulous.The bird songs have been compiled by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. There's more about North American birds on their site.

There are birds from all the continents.  For Asia, there are several of the birds I've seen - Brahminy Kite, Crested serpent eagle, Mynah.  And my favourite is the fantail flycatcher. I had heard it in Melghat, and now I can hear its lovely musical call anytime I want to!

So, what is a "call" and what is a "song"?  The crow obviously doesnt sing, and I supppose neither does the pigeon.  But the oriole sings and so does the pheasant and even the brown-faced owl.  Get it?

Lucky me, huh?!

Ants!

Coinciciding with my picking up the "Ants" book, from Bhanu at the MNS AGM, I returned home and came across this colony of ants in my bathroom door, making further inroads into the masonry, and looking like they were under mass migration.

Fire ants are they?  I was so intrigued that I ran off, got my handycam, and took a quick movie (rather shaky), as I'm no good at this.

Apologies for the amateurish clip - I am no pro - and I was just so intrigued by these ants.  (Never mind, that they probably will end up in my clothes and I will get bitten for my troubles....

The book is fascinating in a horrible way, if you know what I mean. Great pictures, and the writing is so readable. Amazing creatures from all accounts, though I dont know if I "like" them.  They take slaves, kill off any other female ant beside the queen who goes and lays eggs....

The book is definitely worth it, and reads like a gory story of colonial rule!  Its called On A Trail With Ants:A Handbook of the Ants of Peninsular India. You can check out excerpts from the book here.

And the authors are Ajay Narendra and Sunil Kumar M.

Istanbul Diary - Bosphorus views

Depending upon the weather, the waters around Istanbul take on different shades of blue or grey.

Luckily for us, the day we took the cruise on the straits was a lovely sunny day, with the waters that beautiful blue that stays in your memory.

Subsequently, we took a couple of ferry rides across to the Asian side, but then it was a cloudy day, and everything was tinged in grey, like this picture, at the southern end of the Bosphorus, at the mouth of the Golden Horn, where you can see the Topkapi watch tower, poking out of the trees.
This picture is in the Golden Horn actually, with the Eminonu waterfront drawing up.

Below, is a panoramic view of the Golden Horn,and if you click on the image and see it in full size, you will see all the suspects - the Topkapi, the Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque to the left, and the Sulemaniye mosque in the background to the right.  The tower in the centre of the picture is the Tower of Constantine (under renovaton during our visit), and the mosque in the foreground on the waterfront is the Yeni Camii.  The Galata bridge is right in front.  To the left, around the Seraglio hill, and in the background, is the Sea of Marmara.  So, the Bosphorus straits would begin from the left foreground

We took a tourist "cruise" down the Bosphorus - no, not a fancy one with gourmet food and wine, but one of those boats with an enclosed cabin, and an upper deck, and a guide who points out the sights.  I think our guide was somewhat left-leaning, as he pointed out the playfields of the rich, with some sarcasm.

In hindsight, if we had taken the local ferry boats, we would have probably managed the whole ride much cheaper, and we could have probably gone much farther north.  These tourist cruises take you to the Fatih bridge and then you return.  Also, the one we took started from Karakoy, rather than Eminonu, so you dont get to see the Golden Horn at all on a tourist cruise.

Once you are in the straits, "Europe" is to your left or west, and Asia is the eastern shore.

The European sights

Dolmebahce PalaceThe new palace of the Ottomans, which probably bankrupted them.  Was also used by Ataturk I think, as a state HQ, on his visits from Ankara.  
Crumbling and neglected
As well as new and spankingThe Bosphorus has strong currents.  On the surface, the water flows from the Black Sea towards the Sea of Marmara.  But below, there is a current flowing in the opposite direction.  In ancient times, these strong currents discouraged the setting up of settlements on its banks, with populations preferring the safer Golden Horn.

The Bosphorus Bridge with the Ortakoy mosqueI read that in the 6th century the Persian armies needed to cross the Bosphorus, and tied their boats together to forma a "bridge", in order to cross over!  This modern Bosphorus bridge was built in 1973.

The Ortakoy Mosque, up-close
The club where the F1 crowd party.  Notice the curtains, which are drawn for privacy during such dos
Ataturk's Yacht - not bad for a socialist!
The lovely Rumeli HisariThis fortress has an interesting history.  Can you imagine, that the whole thing was built in 4 months in 1452?!  This was in the time of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, who took over the city from the Byzantines in 1453.  He used the fort to choke off supplies and reinforcements coming from the Black Sea to the city of Constantinople.

The fort comes just before the second Fatih bridge, across the Bosphorus.

Fatih Bridge and the Asian shore

The Asian shore

Anadolu HisariAnd adjacently opposite the Rumeli, on the Asian side is this fortress.  This is older than the Rumeli, and was built by Sultan Bayezid in 1390, to give some control of the Bosphorus.  So, after Rumeli was built, they had controls on both sides of the Bosphorus.

Florence Nightingale was here
The Beylerbeyi Palace

Semsi Pasha mosque at UskudarUskudar is one of the oldest settlements on the Asian side.  We took a ferry across one morning, and it appears that now it has developed into a posh suburb, with large, well-guarded properties lining the shore.

The picture below shows how the Uskudar hill has been built up.

The Leander tower

Back at the southern mouth of the Bosphorus. This little tower has been a watch tower, customs house and also a lighthouse at various points. Now, its just symbolic and marks the entry point into the straits.

Istanbul Diary - Day 4: Encounters with Voldemort and the Death Eaters

This has to be Voldemort...

And here are his death eaters!!

These menacing specimens, we saw at the Istanbul Archeological Museum, which is in the Topkapi palace complex, though outside the Felicity Gate.

I dont suppose they were meant to be menacing, but mutilating the face has that effect.  This museum, which is a collection of all kinds of ancient stuff - from Hammurabi's code tablets to Cuneiform writing of the Nubians to large animal friezes from Babylon - which in itself is an indication of the extent of the Ottomonian influence in those days.

The whole museum seems to have been the brainchild of Oscar Hamdy, who appears to have been a collector and cataloguer, far ahead of his times.

The only problem, for me atleast, was that room upon room of one section of the museum was filled with these statues - some faceless, many headless and the rest only heads.  I kept thinking, so many heads and bodies, why cant somebody match them?!  I think it requires somebody with a more well-developed sense of art (than me!) to appreciate these mutilated statues.   I was filled with a sense of sadness and dissatisfaction, seeing these once-lovely works in this state. This huge statue of Hercules was one that was more or less in good shape.  

The Sidon Necropolis

On the other hand, in a beautiful and complete form, were the finds from the Sidon Necropolis. Morbidly fascinating, to think that these kingdoms put their best artistic efforts into making these receptacles for the dead, and it probably was buried or entombed, away from human eyes.

There's a quaint article from the New York TImes of 1898, which talks about the finds of the Sidon Necropolis.

The Lebanese  coastal town of Sidon has had a chequered history, and I think was part of the kingdoms of Assyria, Egypt, Greece and even Rome.  Alexander also passed through in the 4th century BC.

The sarcophagus of Alexander

See, the picture above - that's Alexander in battle!

And that unfortunately, is the only reason its called the Sarcophagus of Alexander.  Its believed to be the sarcophagus of a Sidonese king called Abdalonymous, who decided that he wanted Alexander on his coffin.

Abdalonymus, a royal gardener made king by Alexander.  No wonder he wanted his mentor on the tomb!Alexander in battle against the Persians

The write-ups say that the soldiers and Alexander all would have carried swords or lances made from gold, which have been looted.  The whole frieze was probably painted, and you can still see the remnants of the red.There was this other sarcophagus, called The Sarcophagus of Mourning Women, which was also beautifully done I thought.

And so ended our stay in Sultanahmet. We then crossed the Ataturk bridge, over the Golden Horn, and moved to the Taksim area, which is the business district of istanbul, now, though in days long past it was the area where the Genoese lived.