Spider!!!

I wonder if this is a Huntsman Spider. Those large, hairy spiders that are relatively harmless, but can give you quite a fright when they come scurrying out of a corner.

This one was in my parents' home, in the garden cupboard.

Spiders !!! - a set on Flickr - for different spidey types.

Waders on OMR

Dunlin - Photo by Skandan

Skandan wrote in -

"31st July 2010 we were on our regular birding ride and spotted atleast 15 different waders on OMR. Most of them still holding their *Breeding Plumage*. It was very very surprising to see most them at this time of the year."

More waders - Skandan's gallery.

The PWD park get a new "patron" - good or bad?

The Times Of India reports that the "Nizhal" park is to become a walkers' paradise

Chennai:The Chennai Corporation is planning to convert 6.1 acres on the southern bank of Adyar river near Kotturpuram into a park — the biggest in south Chennai — that will be a walkers’ paradise.
The elected council of the corporation unanimously passed a resolution approving the proposal to use the land that belongs to the water resources department, a wing of the Public Works Department. The area, the biggest open space in south Chennai, will be given a new look with lawns, seating, lengthy walkways, children’s play area, ornamental lights and parking for two-wheelers and four-wheelers.
According to officials, the consultancy firm engaged by the local body has already submitted the blueprint for the project. “A sum of Rs 70 lakh will be pooled to develop this area. It will provide a breathing space for residents of south Chennai, who now have to go to the Marina or the Elliot’s Beach,” a corporation official said. The adjoining River View Road, near Gandhi Mandapam Road, will also be widened by 7m.
The Saidapet zone of the corporation will soon float the high-cost tender, inviting bidders to transform the river embankment. The area, which was once a dumping site, was cleaned up and fenced by the PWD a couple of years ago with the objective of setting up an eco-park. With the support of Nizhal, a non-government organisation, as many as 250 saplings were planted.
Volunteers and students have been helping Nizhal maintain the park for the past two years. “We will continue to support the corporation in maintaining this special tree park, which is also a tree learning centre for students and the comunity,” said Shoba Menon of Nizhal. The majority of the saplings were sourced from Auroville nurseries and other nurseries in the suburbs. Volunteers remove weeds and water the plants every week.
The corporation also has plans to pull down a dilapidated school building near Greams Road in Nungambakkam and install nets for cricket practice.

julie.mariappan@timesgroup.com

Asian Koel population on the rise in Chennai

Asian Koel population on the rise in Chennai is the headline of an article in The Hindu, and yes we can vouch for that.

I rhymed about it here, remember?

The article by P Oppili, says,

Are you finding the short, sweet song of Koels replacing the annoying tone of your morning alarm lately?

The population of Asian Koels in the city is on the rise this time around, according to ornithologists and naturalists. Observations by the ornithologists have revealed that one of the main reasons for the increase in Koel population is the increase in the number of crows in the city.

Koels are brood-parasitic, that is, they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. The only hosts they find within the city are nests of crows. Moreover, the breeding season of Koels coincides exactly with that of crows, between April and August, they say.

V. Guruswamy, a naturalist who is pursuing research on Asian Koels in the city for the past seven years, observes that the bird's breeding season is divided into two.

The first being the pre-breeding season between February and April, and the second being the trans-breeding season between May and August. Members of the Madras Naturalists' Society also confirmed that singing birds' population was currently on the rise in the city.

He observes that as many as 6,000 ‘Koel calls' can be heard regularly, depending upon the number of birds found in a wooded residential locality. The month of July is the peak season for Koels breeding and the number of calls will come down by September, when the crow's breeding also comes to an end, he says.

Raja Annamalaipuram, Simpsons Estate in Sembium, Radhakrishnan Salai in Mylapore and Perambur Railway Colony are some of the areas that Mr Guruswamy has observed. He has recorded the population of Koels in these localities.

Talking about the recording of ‘Koel calls', Mr Guruswamy says that they sing as early as 4.45 a.m. and their last call is recorded around 6.15 in the evening. With more and more crows occupying various trees in the city, the Koels stand a better chance to breed well and thrive in the city, add the naturalists.

The garbage has increased in Nanmangalam

Nanmangalam reserve forest - the landmark hill within

Yesterday, we revisited Nanmangalam, with the same bunch of school kids from last week. They were armed with some tree knowledge from last week, and the idea was to take them into the forest, help them understand the web of life, the importance of a forest, and the need to make sure that these treasures are protected.

I was all brave about taking them along as I assumed that DCF, Mr Ashokan would be around, but he wasn't. Thankfully, Sheila came along or I would have been stuck with 60 kids, and one binocular, trying to show them birds as I don't know much about trees anyways! The kids were really happy to be on the walk and enthusiastic, and the teachers too. so we meandered along the fringes of the forest I think, because the vegetation was sparse.

Its been more than a year, I reflected since I visited Nanmangalam. I remembered crossing this large maidan on the way to the bubo bubo quarry. But instead of heading to the quarry, we walked towards a temple, led by the helpers at the extension centre.

We saw too much eucalyptus for our liking and explained why it's not such a good idea to have too much of this fast growing tree. We also saw another colourful weed - lantana - in plenty. As we crossed the maidan, there was a movement in the bushes and a snake came slithering across the open ground, with a bunch of crows circling its head. The reason for the crow's interest was a fat frog caught in the mouth of the snake! I have never seen a snake slither on the ground with it's head held aloft like this, and it moved purposefully into the next clump of bushes and vanished from sight. It had the markings of a rat snake, Sara pambu. That was excitement enough for the group!

We saw drongoes, bulbuls, sunbirds, doves, and could we have seen a black-headed munia? I thought there was a whole bunch of them. White browed bulbuls called agitatedly from the trees, but I didn't see one. A lapwing flew across, calling in al,arm at this bunch of people descending on the forest.

I was saddened to see the increase of litter in the forest, as we walked on to the quarry. There are obviously favourite spots, where groups sit, marked by plastic water bags, cigarette packs and pan parag sachets. Empty PET bottles too. I spied a large bag among the bushes, and picked it up, and we rallied e kids into picking up any litter that we could easily remove. The children were most cooperative, and we had to prevent them from putting their hands too deep into the bushes as they spied a sachets pack glinting among the greenery.

I hope our sermon on not throwing litter, improving our civic sense and reducing the use of plastic, had some influence.

At the quarry, more pain. The water's surface was filled with thermocol. I had not seen this earlier. What is the forest department doing to clear this? I was appalled.

I plan to send these photos to the Assistant Conservator of Forests, Chennai.
The quarry - filled with rain water, but look at the floating thermocol

Maybe we (Nizhal), along with tree sensitizing can get the visiting children to make boards in English and Tamil requesting people not to litter.

I wonder if it would help if there were dustbins, with lids, in the park area. Maybe some "trails" could be laid out, with some interesting facts on trees?
Clcik on the pcture, and you will see that the white floating substance at the far end on the water is more thermocol

The bags of garbage we cleared in one hour...there is much more.