A wood spider at Dandeli

Find the giant wood spider in the enormous web that spanned a couple of trees.

Clue:  It is in the middle of the picture with a backdrop of a teak tree trunk.

And it is the female.  The males are tiny and inconspicuous.

You can also find a picture of it at Thattekad and Rishi Valley.  

Sholinganallur through the lens of Mr Ramanan

Sholinganallur in southern Madras is home to wetlands that are an extension of Pallikaranai.  Now known more for being part of the IT corridor, the area is in urgent need of preserving of the remaining grasslands, scrub, water bodies and wetlands.

These are the soak pits and groundwater charging areas for the city and support an important ecosystem.  Here are a few glimpses of that.

A beautiful capture of the conical silver bill, black tail and white breast of the White Throated Munia (Euodice malabarica), by Mr Ramanan.  These birds move around in large flocks and feed on grass seeds found in scrub and grasslands.  They are found usually in the winter months in south India.

A Black Shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris) stares menacingly, just before taking off on its hunt for mice.  Its feet are usually clutch the perch from opposite sides.  These smaller kites live on a diet of mice, and it is amazing to see them hover in the sky as they hunt for lunch, dropping silently and speedily onto their prey.  Photo by Mr Ramanan 

The streaked fantail warbler (Cisticola juncidis) displays its fantail.  I prefer to call them Zitting Cisticola which is apt, as their call is a "zit, zit", as they zip past from reed to reed.  They are easily hard, but difficult to spot through the binoculars as they are always on the move.  Photo by Mr Ramanan

In the lake, Mr Ramanan's lens captured a winter visitor, the black tailed godwit, (Limosa limosa) a large wader, with the characteristic pink bill with the black tip.  The bar-tailed goodwill is more streaked 

Meanwhile on the shores, Mr Ramanan finds the brilliant colours of a yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava) in breeding plumage.  The wagtails, well, wag their tails quite incessantly and can be found on the dry periphery of lakes and other water bodies looking for insects.  This one seems to be a male with its olive upper parts.

Another species found in the dry scrub is the ashy-crowned sparrow-lark (Eremopterix griseus).  They look like sparrows.  This is a male with the well marked black collar, while the female is sandy brown.  They have an interesting courtship display with the male kind of shooting up vertically into the air, and then descending also with a whistle.  These are ground birds, foraging for seed and insect and also spending the night on the ground.  We need to leave enough undisturbed ground for these birds to survive and propagate.

The Kulagi Nature Camp

Our station from October 7th to the 11th.  A lovely place.

Nestled among the teak trees, south of Dandeli, is the little village of Kulgi, where the Foret dept has located the Kulgi Nature Camp.                    A delightful set of cottages that unobtrusively  exist, their brown colour and thatched roofs looking like camouflage!

The row of cottages that we occupied.  At the far end, is a large open lunch patio, and a good place to hang out since it has a view across a meadow where herds of chital commonly graze.

Our cottage, with the little verandah we used a lot, and where the cats would linger.

The rooms were clean and neat as also the bathrooms.  Hot water was available all the time at a central boiler from where we could fetch steaming buckets!

A wonderfully real tableau that was part of the Interpretation Centre

There was also a little tribal hut.....

....where a grandma sat with a her grandson

....while the mother churned buttermilk.

No TV, minimal night lighting and the lack of cellular networks meant a really blissful existence for a few days when I lost track of the day of the week and the time of the day.  Well not really time of the day, since we all knew our mealtimes well!

I eagerly awaited the food, with the daily round of podis and the interesting payasams, hot chapatis and fresh vegetables.  And our own Mr Shankarnarayan had a second treat for us from Grand Sweets, at every meal!

Rain!

Kulagi camp. Cottage Shiroli verandah, Oct 10th 2016

Its been so long since I enjoyed the rain, just sitting in a chair, in good company, and watching the rain drops fall, and listening to the constant murmur and the leaves whooshing.

The lovely Slo Mo feature of the iPhone made it even more magical.  All through the day, in my head and on my lips was my childhood song, Listen to the falling rain.

I haven't been able to find the composer, but the version I heard was by Jose Feliciano

Listen to the pouring rain Listen to it run,
And with every drop of rain  You know I love you more
Let it rain all night long, Let my love for you go strong,
As long as we're together Who cares about the weather?
Listen to the falling rain, Listen to it run
, ……. And I'm here among the puddles, You and I together huddle.
Listen to the falling rain, Listen to it fall.

It's raining, It's pouring, The old man is snoring, Went to bad And he bumped his head, And He couldn't get up in the morning,

Listen to the falling rain, listen to the rain

Fluttered by

Junonia lemonias, the lemon pansy

fluttered by our home

“Come, butterfly
It's late-
We've miles to go together.” 
― Bashō Matsuo, 

In my kitchen, Selvi stirs in 
curry leaves...a butterfly
floats and balances
― with apologies to Basho Matsuo,

Mamandur sightings

I saw the Blue-faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris) after a gap of some nine years, skulking silently in the foliage at the side of the road, its long cuckoo-like tail, and its blue eye patch visible through the branches.

Crimson Rose butterflies (Pachliopta hector) everywhere

A Crested Serpent Eagle stared at us, across the farmlands in the evening twilight.

And the Shikra looked a little moody, one morning, feathers all ruffled.  Maybe breakfast was delayed?

What was this LBJ we saw?  it called merrily and noisily.

Ashy Woodswallows (Artamus fuscus), sunning themselves.  Sharp sorties for insect tidbits, interspersed with glides back to their perch.

Sweat-filled walks and sharp sun, but I was happy with these sightings.

The Common Flameback

Photo by Mr Ramanan - A STILL FROM 4K VIDEO-FZ300 + 1.7 TC=1020MM,ISO 125,F/2.8,-1/3 EV,AT 1/125 OF SECONDS

This Flameback (Dinopium javanense) was seen by Mr Ramanan outside his home.  What a beautiful capture of its moustachial stripe, the three toes, and its golden back!

For the last two months, there is one that visits the Terminalia catappa tree outside our bedroom window, and its rattling morning greeting unfailingly improves my mood.  

The tree is so thickly grown that most days I am unable to spot it, so I'm happy for this picture.

The Flameback has now replaced the White Breasted Kingfisher, who stopped visiting when the Millingtonia was uprooted in the storm a few monsoons ago.

Hornbills, Dandeli, conservation

Looking forward to Dandeli.



A Classic Story of Hornbill Conservation | JLR Explore

The woods of Dandeli are home to four different types of hornbills: Common Grey Hornbill (Tockus birostris), Malabar Grey Hornbill (Tockus griseus), Malabar Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus) and Great Indian Hornbill (Buceros bicornis). Of all the four, Malabar Pied Hornbill is found in good numbers in the vicinity of Dandeli.  However, the study done by Reddy and Basalingappa (1990) revealed that this particular population will dwindle if the habitat is not maintained and conserved. According to Kemp (1973), food supply is one of the main proximate factors to trigger breeding in hornbills.  After making detailed studies, Kemp (1976) emphasised the importance of food, particularly during the breeding period of hornbills, and came to the conclusion that food supply determines the clutch size and the duration and timing of egg-laying. The reports of Stonor (1937), Moreau and Moreau (1941), Kilham (1956) in Bycanistes hornbills regarding inadequate food supply are alarming, as it affects the breeding so much that females come out of their nests without laying eggs.

Since the planting of tree species supporting Malabar Pied Hornbills is not a priority of the Forest Department, coupled with hunting by local forest dwelling communities, it is believed that over a period of time, we may lose this species from the region. Hence, there was a need for greater emphasis on the protection of the habitat and also creation of much-needed awareness amongst locals as well as visitors.

A Malabar Pied Hornbill

In June 2006, I came to Dandeli as Deputy Conservator of Forests, Dandeli Wildlife Division, and was staying in a forest guest-house located on the banks of River Kali.  The next morning, I was awoken by a call; I rushed out, only to see a very beautiful Malabar Pied Hornbill.  There were many of them sitting on a Melia composite tree.  It was truly love at first sight. I started reading about this bird and observing its behaviour very closely.  This led me to the PhD thesis of Dr Sanjeev Reddy and interestingly, Sneha came to study this bird for her M. Phil during the same period.  As my interest and knowledge about this bird grew, I also came across information about its hunting by local communities, with a belief that the meat of the bird has medicinal value and can cure stomach ailments, which set me thinking on how to sensitise people to the significance of hornbills for the conservation of the forests of the Western Ghats.

One fine morning, a group of around 50 higher-primary school children from Tangal School of Jamakhandi Taluka, Bijapur District, came to Kulgi Nature Camp at Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve, for a week’s camp.  I was asked to address the children on the inaugural day of their camp.  While addressing the children, I took the opportunity to narrate the life-cycle of hornbills:

“Once hornbills decide to make a family, the male and female court each other for a while, during February- April, and once the time for laying eggs comes, both search for a nest hole deep in the jungle, together.  Then, the female enters the nest hole and seals the opening, leaving a slit just enough for its beak to receive food from the male.  As the space inside the nest hole is quite small, the female bird sheds all its feathers, practically becoming naked, and makes a cushion with those feathers for the young ones.  She remains inside for 38 to 40 days.  During this time, the male goes in search of food for himself as well as for the female and chicks.  Being summer, the availability of food is quite scarce and hence, he has to travel long distances in search of food.  Furthermore, the forests of Dandeli being tropical deciduous, trees would have shed their leaves, making the bird quite visible.  As the forest dwelling communities do not have any agricultural activities during this period, they spend most of their time idling.  An idle mind being the devil’s workshop, the hornbill becomes quite vulnerable, and is killed easily by these people.  Once the male bird is killed, its entire family gets buried in the nest hole.  Not only this, this nest hole is never used by any other hornbill. This is the primary reason for dwindling hornbill populations.  We need to educate people to conserve hornbills.”

After this inaugural address, I left the children to themselves.  I didn’t realise the impact of my address until I was called three days later, to watch the children enact a play based on a story written by them, about hornbills.  After I had left the camp, one of the teachers who had accompanied the students asked them to develop a story based on my address, to conserve hornbills.  The children had got together for an entire night and day, coming up with a very comical yet touching story. 

 “A woman emerges from a hut, asking her husband sitting outside and chewing tobacco to go to the forest and fetch some firewood.  The husband refuses to oblige, saying it is her job to get the firewood.  The wife says that the forest guard has warned her of dire consequences if she ventures into the forest to collect firewood, and refuses to cook food in case he does not get it; left with no choice, the husband ventures out. While collecting firewood, he hears the flight of a hornbill.  He follows the sound only to find the bird sitting on a tree just above his head.  He instantly shoots the bird with a catapult, killing it.  With a sense of pride he enters the house and taunts his wife that she refused to go to the forest, while he brought not just the firewood, but also some meat.  This entire episode is being observed by an elephant.”

“The elephant tells the couple that they do not know the mistake he has committed by killing the bird.  The elephant then takes the couple to a tree and calls out to the female hornbill sitting inside the nest hole, asking what she was doing.  The female replies that she is waiting for her husband, who has gone to fetch food for her and the kids.  The elephant then tells her that it was already too late for lunch, and asks if she was sure that her husband was going to get the food for their family.  She replies confidently that her husband is quite loyal to her, and will surely bring the food.  The elephant asks again why she thought the male was so late today.  The female innocently replies that being summer, getting ripe fruits is very difficult, so he has to fly long distances in search of the food.”

“This conversation between the elephant and the female hornbill is being heard by the couple.  By now, they start realising that the dead bird in his hands is none other than the husband of the female sitting inside the nest hole. They hear the elephant tell the female hornbill that her husband wasn’t going to return.  She denies the elephant’s statement and insists that he will surely come, though it may take some time.  The elephant then reveals that her husband has been killed by a man, at which, the female hornbill starts crying inconsolably.  The man then tries to reassure the hornbill that she need not cry, as he will open the nest and get her out.  The female hornbill replies that she has shed all her feathers and cannot fly; there is no use taking her out of the nest hole.  The man then tells her that he can fetch food for her and her kids.  The female replies that he won’t be able to get the food she feeds upon, and therefore, it is an end of her life as well as the life of the newborn babies.  The female hornbill then says that the man has killed not just her husband but the entire family.”

The children enacted this story so well, that many of us were just spell-bound.  It was truly beautiful and heartening, as they had designed masks of the man, the woman, and the elephant, besides models of the tree and the hornbill. They played the roles to the best of their abilities, in the serene settings of the nature camp.

I gave this story to a group of volunteers working with me in the Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve, and asked them convert the same into a street play, using local dialect.  The troupe has performed not less than 100 shows in and around the tiger reserve so far.  On one occasion, I witnessed one of the shows at a remote village, Kegdal.  Many forest dwellers, especially Gowlis, were witnessing the play with rapt attention.  I could see tears in some people’s eyes when the conversation between the female hornbill and the elephant was taking place.  At the end of the play, a 60 year old man walked towards the play and held the hand of a lead artist.  What he said that day was truly touching – with tears in his eyes, he admitted that he had killed hornbills, and that he never knew about the life of the bird and had never realised his mistake.  He promised us that he would never kill hornbills hereafter, and also that he would never allow anybody else to kill the bird.

Today, all of Dandeli is aware of the story of hornbills, and people from across Karnataka as well as the neighbouring states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh come to Dandeli to see this bird. 

One of the editors of a leading Kannada daily, upon hearing the story, carried an article in the paper and then influenced the Chief Minister of Karnataka upon my request, to declare the area adjoining the Dandeli–Anshi Tiger Reserve as a Hornbill Conservation Reserve, under section 36A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. The area comprises of the banks of Kali River from IPM (erstwhile) to the bridge on Dandeli–Kulgi road, the Riverview Bungalow, Govt. Timber Depot, Dandakaranya Park and the areas around Ganeshgudi.

A Great Indian Hornbill

The Forest Department also developed a Hornbill Trail to educate visitors and to narrate the story of hornbills.  Almost all the naturalists and guides of the region are trained in this aspect.  On 31st December 2011, almost five years after I had left Dandeli, I boarded a bus in Hubli to go to Hyderabad.  Two middle-aged men just behind my seat were discussing hornbills and the Hornbill Trail.  One of them said that he could not get a good photograph of the bird and was told by the locals that he should return in February, when Ficus mysorensis trees are fruiting, for getting a good image of the bird.  This gave me tremendous satisfaction: what we started in a humble way in 2006 came back to me after five years.  The circle was complete. 

Today, Dandeli talks about hornbills with a lot of pride, and recently celebrated a Hornbill Festival in which people from all walks of life participated.  On many occasions, locals and volunteers called me to inform that many hornbills were being spotted that year.  This is a classic case of protecting an endangered species of a bird and its habitat.

• 

  Manojkumar

  Manojkumar is a post-graduate in Forest Genetics and did his PG Diploma in Wildlife Management from WII, Deharadun. He belongs to 1997 batch of Indian Forest Service. His work has taken him all across Karnataka. He served as Executive Director of Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, Mysore, and as Director of Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve. His area of interest is conservation education and he has been involved in creating awareness amongst school children, teachers, bureaucrats, politicians and media persons.

  Currently, he is serving as Chief Conservator of Forests, Kodagu Circle, Madikeri.
  View all stories by this author

Stone and root at Mamandur

Sri Venkateswara National Park

August 2016.

While at Mamandur, one of our excursions was in to the forest to see one of the smaller water falls and pools that dot the Park.  The large and significant ones are Talakona and Penchalakona, but this one was a smaller one, to be accessed from one of the forest roads that you see being opened up for us.

Overhead is the railway line that divides the sanctuary area.

We moved in, under the tracks, and soon the foliage closed in on us, on either side, the overgrown track a testament to infrequent visitors.

Bauhinia and Red Sanders aplenty, as also Drongos and bulbuls.  Our cars moved along, the gravel crunching loudly.  It was more a SUV kind of track, and our sedans made slow progress.  We could have walked, but there was a time issue, as also a matter of not walking in a national park. And so we crunched on until we reached the head of the natural quarry with the waterfall.

The stone, layered and sandwiched.

The roots moving into every crevice, in search of moisture and earth....

...dramatic formations

....supporting large ficuses

The pool with an underground exit - water was flowing in, but not visibly flowing out

The sandwich face was impressive - and between each layer there was life.

The glossy green leaves an indication of a thriving ecosystem

We picnicked on idlies and vadais, under the shade of this tree, making sure we carefully packed and removed every piece of waste.

And I mustn't forget the flasks of tea, which seemed like the proverbial akshayapatram, as we kept pouring out endless cups in an attempt to empty them!

As we headed back, the drive seemed somewhat shorter, as is usually the case.

Back under the railway track and to the rooms on the hill, and as we moved up, we saw a startled bunch of chitals cross the road in a hurry.