Slaves, 4th of July and a morning walk

 Strange are the connections one finds.

Monday morning was cool and cloudy, the roads wet and "puddly" with the overnight rain.  I walked along Besant Avenue, having no stomach to face the Monday morning human litter that I was sure to find along Bessie Beach.

There was a time when Besant Avenue was a quiet, tree-lined avenue, with an occasional car, and an even more occasional walker.  It was 7 am and there was a steady stream of cars either way, but the pavement and the trees made for a pleasant walk.  From Rajaji Bhavan, past the tamarind trees, some Copper Pods and around the bend from the Scouting camp.  The Scouting camp seems to be totally abandoned - I had camped as a pre-teen Girl Guide in that very space, but now the gate is barred and there seems to be no activity within.  Good for the urban wildlife...some peace and quiet within.

Past a couple of Banyan trees that take up the whole pavement, with their telltale red fruits all smashed on the ground, and then I see the pavement strewn with these little white snow-flake like flowers.

I look up to see a bunch of trees within the TS campus in bloom, their branches coming over the wall onto the pavement.  I stop and stare, admire them, before moving on.

I retrace my steps back on the same pavement and give the trees more admiring glances.  They ring a bell, but I am not able to identify them.

A whatsapp message to Geetha and oh yes - they are Wrightia Tinctoria trees in bloom!  Paalai or the Pale Indigo tree, called Doodhi in the north.  I remember seeing them in full glory in the forests of Gir.  The flower formation is called a "Corymb-like cyme" on Wiki - though I could not quite make out the Corymb formation here.

I idly wondered who Wright was.  William Wright, was a Scottish botanist, and the genus Wrightia was named after him by the Botanist Robert Brown.  I wonder why.  It does not appear that Brown was Wright's student.

Wright for his part was a botanist, but what caught my eye was that he was a slave owner, believe it or not, with many slaves and an estate in Jamaica.  He was also against the abolition of slavery, says the Wiki, reference.   

And for me to find this connection on the 4th of July.

Greeted by Guazuma!

 26th June 2022

I visited the Nizhal OMR Tree Park after ages.  In my absence, I heard that Urbaser had helped clean the place of plastic and there had been clearing of the subabuls and undergrowth by a machine.

How different the park looked!  The trees stood out, tall and happy, and the Guazuma was ablaze with flowers.

The picture does no justice to the sight that greeted me and filled my heart with delight.

Exotic or not, the tree was resplendent, its branches sweeping all the way to the ground, each bough laden with flowers.  Thenpuchimaram (as it is called in Tamil)  was also buzzing with active pollinators.

The flowers with their pink stamens - fooled Rashmi into thinking this was an overgrown Lantana!  The leaves are hairy, and they are a good trap for dust - quite ideal for our city.

The berries are like rudraksha beads aren't they?

I happily wandered up and down the central path with tool in hand, looking at new leaves, hovering pantalas, screeching parakeets and the little Glory vines with flowers.  One of the obsessions of the Nizhal team is the "bio-fence".  This a green fence being nurtured assiduously by the whole team, and contain two types of plants - one which looks like karvepillai and the other that has these little little glossy leaves.

Now the soil near the border of the plot is probably the worst - rocky, hard, filled with plastic dumped across the wire fence and really those poor little saplings have had a hard time to grow.

June of '21, they played host to these caterpillars. As I loosened the soil around the plants, I let these caterpillars be.

These first instars of the Common Lime needed to be nurtured too.  

And now a year later, those same little caterpillar eaten karvepille like plants have grown 

 and were even flowering!

I was rather delighted at their progress.  Many of them had tendrils of the glory vine curling around their stem.  Now, those I did not let be, I removed them firmly and sent them back onto the steel wire fence

This is the other bio fence plant.  Such lovely glossy leaves and white stars for flowers.

The fig tree was fruiting and the wasps were zitting around.

All was well with the world, it seemed, as my heart felt lighter.

What a beauty

 IIC balcony, Delhi

April 9th 2022

Nanmangalam redux

 March 12th 2022

What a lovely morning today at Nanmangalam RF.  Looking back at my blog, I realise its been years (12 years in fact!) since I went in there.  IN 2008, I went on a nature walk with MNS and Bhanu in there, and was introduced to the many wonders of the TDEF including the GHO.  I re-read with amusement trying to find my way there - (no Google Maps).

Our son (a dramatis personae in many of my visits in two Nanmangalam) has "fledged" and the years have well, fled, and to my surprise, Nanmangalam looked better - cleaner, less garbage and more forested.  

Left home at 530 am, picked up Sagarika along the way and arrived at the gates by 615, and as soon as we entered the gates there was that nice woody smell, and the air was cooler.  Almost immediately, the road noises died, and were replaced by the calls of the Brainfever bird and an Asian Koel, almost like a welcome.

At the Interpretation Centre, I looked around and was astonished at the growth of all the little saplings I had seen those many years ago.  How nice to see a tall Red Sanders, Teak trees and scrub too.  Most of us do not appreciate scrub enough - it is such a wonderful host to bird and insect life.

Companions today were the MNS Backbencher gang, with some additions - Janani whom I met for the first time and realised that she was born after I graduated, and Vidya from Stella Maris.  Srinivas it was with whom we went.  Janani, Umesh and Sagarika were the photographers with their serious equipment, Vidya was making a list, pen-on-paper, Srinivas was logging directly into his e-bird list, Kalpana was busy with flora too....and I was the one who had no agenda... no responsibility...very nice indeed.  Just binocularing and bipedding.  

Everything was still in silhouette and shadow as we started towards the quarry.

Peacock calls filled the air - they seem to have come in to the city through the lockdown, and made it home.  Janani captured this male in flight, in all its colourful glory.

There is a joy in malingering and dawdling when in a forest.  Every step brings some new delight.  Munias in large flocks sped by from east to west.  At least 200 or more, probably scaly-breasted.  The Francolins called from the scrub.   

Ashy Woodswallows swooped and dived and then went back and perched back in their characteristic huddle together, like a rugby team ready for a scrum! (Photo by Janani)

While this one seemed to be curious about the cameraperson.  (Photo by Sagarika)

Red Whiskered Bulbuls called cheerfully as I admired the different kinds of white flowers growing in the sides of the track.

Mealy bugs, whiteflies and carpenter bees, Aavaram poo, Carissa and Mallows.  Dodonea bushes reminded me of Yercaud Youreka camp.  

We even had a Spoonbill flypast.  Photo by Janani

TDEFs are filled with white flowering plants, and so it was here too.  I think this was an Ipomoea of some sort.

While this was a Carissa probably.

Lifers for me - Much excitement over a fleeting glimpse over a Forest Wagtail - which I have not seen in all these years, and that very uncommon Common Babbler.  

My fleeting glimpse of forest wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus), was all that Umesh needed to capture this beautiful image, on a leafless tree in the early morning light.  This winter visitor has eluded me all these years.  As Janani remarked, we are used to searching for wagtails on the ground, but this one is unique, a "forest" one.  And to add to that, its tail wag is also sideways supposedly.

The uncommon Common Babbler - Photo by Janani - that was spotted near one of the check dams.    

A few more pictures - here with tail seen - Photo by Sagarika - on a different branch.  I would have assumed it was a prinia, if not for Umesh's idying skills.  The white throat, and streaked brown back (and that crotchety babbler look?!) are possibly pointers.  

The common babbler (Argya caudata).  Photo by Sagarika.  The species has been moved from Laughing Thrushes (Turdoides) to Babblers.  It seems to be endemic to India.

Seed pods in black filled a shrub, 

while thorns galore protected this leafless Prosopsis cineraria, 

a Laughing Dove seemed to think the thorns of the Prosopsis were a joke,  (Photo by Sagarika)

and for these thorns, the sky was the limit. 

The quarry waters were delightfully clean.   The air was filed with birds calls - the white-browed babblers gurgled in the undergrowth, Booted Warblers and Blyth's too, a Pond Heron squawked, and  on the opposite side, a pair of Indian Robins hopped around, the reddish vent of the male flashing every now and then as it flicked its tail this way and that.

A Cormorant sat atop a bare dead tree trunk in the middle of the quarry, preening itself, in-between extreme meditation.  Photo by Umesh.

 A Common Kingfisher of absolutely brilliant blue streaked by before settling on a branch on the opposite side. The Common Kingfisher - Photo by Janani

We scanned the quarry rocks for signs of the GHO, but no luck.  The Forest Rangers said that hadn't seen them for three months now.  I hope they haven't abandoned their roost.

The forest was filled with Siris trees.  Some like this one were in flower, others were in pod.  Blue-face Malkohas were sighted in one.  

Another one seemed to have just had a dip in the quarry and was shaking the water off its feathers.  Photo by Janani

The Forest Rangers were very knowledgeable, and we enjoyed their company.  Umesh showed them pics through his camera LCD finder, and they were delighted too!  I think the best moment was the all-round delight at the Malkoha  with the ruffled, post-bath look!

The avaram bushes were like a shower of sunshine amongst the drying undergrowth.

They were all buzzing with active Carpenter bees, some with their heads looking like they were carrying a load of gold!  The (male?) bee with a load of gold,  (Photo by Janani)

..and a (female?) bee without.  (Photo by Umesh)

A Fragrant Swamp Mallow stood delicately on the side, unnoticed.

We were reluctant to leave, enjoying the Shikras in the air, the Laughing Doves and Coppersmith Barbets calling, Drongos snapping up insects on the go, and that unbelievably brilliantly coloured Green Bee-eater. Srinivas gently trying to make us get a move on - its a difficult job getting MNS sorts moving - Sekar will vouch for it.  

The Green bee-eater Photo by Janani

Now, the butterflies also began to appear, and our return was spent with Sagarika, Kalpana and Vidya trying to capture those flutterbys.  I watched them, crouch and squat, crane their necks and focus, focus.  They looked as industrious as the other creatures of the forest.  I was the indolent day dreamer, the lotus eater, rambling with my binoculars!!

Common Cerulean that is actually brown - Photo by Sagarika

Zebra Blue among the grasses - Photo by Sagarika

Srinivas completed his e-bird list on-the-go, and said 53 species at the end of the walk, as we headed home.

As we drove back through Velachery/Vijaynagar, I was also filled with other memories - of Navadisha, Montessori, yearly rain holidays, Mothi Travels, chittis. "Good old days", as my father always likes to say. 

(And I crossed 100 bird species seen this year.)

Urbaser Eco Warriors

 10th March 2022

A morning on the beach. Since it was a low tide morning.

Started with the thickets and scrub near 4th Seaward Road.  A hoopoe dug furiously in the soft sand, picking up breakfast.  Flew as I approached, only to be chased by a crow for some reason.

A couple of Plain Prinias flitted through the Calatropis, and I watched them move up and down the branch, before zooming off to the next one.  I admired their beautiful white brows, pink legs and longish tail.  Among them was a Tailorbird, a little stockier, and calling loudly.   Soon the Prinias went one way and the Tailorbird another way.

A Cattle Egret moved in slow motion among the grasses.  

I moved on the the water front, and was horrified by what I saw.

The sea had just deposited piles of waste - I had never seen anything like this.

Just piles of waste - cloth, plastic, slippers, bottles, medicine strips....a veritable tsunami of garbage.

And then suddenly - a broom, a pile of waste...hmm?

Walk a few more steps, more brooms and more signs of a clean-up, and I spied the Urbaser crew!

Hats off to the team who were methodically raking and collecting the waste, and removing them in large bags. We exchanged cheery hellos, and I thanked them for their efforts.

And this was what the beach sands looked like after they were done!  

What a joy and delight!

Today's beach combing

A Torpedo Ray(!!), Tower shells, Razor clam shells... 

Wedge clams a plenty

Sunset siliqua and Towers

White Hammer Oyster and other unknowns

And this strange piece of bone...Mammalian?  

Back on to the road, down to Sparrow Point where I was rewarded with a flock of 20 House Sparrows, chirping and arguing.  A sudden commotion from one of the homes along the wall, a man brandishing a stick and chasing a cat, that was super frisky and obviously had something in its mouth - a live squirrel!  The cat won its catch, as it escaped the man's stick.

Another Urbaser crew cleaning the beach roads.  

A line of two wheelers in queue, performing figures of eight as the RTO Inspector looked on.

Back home, hungry, and I did enjoy those dosais and coffee!

A Dugong reserve announced

Better late than never: Experts on Tamil Nadu’s decision to go ahead with dugong reserve in Palk Bay

While India may be late, a conservation step such as this one is always welcome, they said

Marine biologists have welcomed the Tamil Nadu government’s recent decision to go ahead with the establishment of a conservation reserve for the elusive dugong (Dugong dugon), a sirenian species native to parts of the Indian littoral.

The Tamil Nadu government had announced September 3, 2021 that a dugong conservation reserve would be established in the Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay between India and Sri Lanka, for the conservation of the animals.

“The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden has submitted a concept note towards establishment of a Dugong Conservation Reserve,” a note released by the Tamil Nadu government February 15, 2022, said.

“The Government, after careful examination have decided to accept the above concept note of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden for creation of Dugong Conservation Reserve in Palk Bay,” it added.

The note directed the PCCF to send the draft notification of the proposal for obtaining the concurrence of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

00:05 01:01  

The TN government also accorded administrative approval for a sum of Rs 25 lakh for the preparation of a detailed project report and carrying out baseline field studies.

Vardhan Patankar, marine biologist, Wildlife Conservation Society-India, told Down To Earth:

It is definitely a late step because dugongs are on the verge of extinction. In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, their population is less than 100. There are very few left in the Gulf of Mannar. In the Gulf of Kutch, there are very few sporadic records. They were present in Lakshadweep but now are locally extinct. We are too late in the light of all this. But it is good that we are taking steps at least now to conserve the species.

Sajan John, head of marine projects, Wildlife Trust of India, called it a heartening step as the proposal has come from the government. “Most governments are pro-development and conservation takes a backseat,” he said.

But he said one would have to wait and watch as to how this would actually translate into conserving the species.

“We have already declared dugongs as a Schedule I animal under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Legally, it was given the highest protection. It is hard to say right now as to how designating a conservation reserve just for dugongs will translate on the ground for their conservation,” he said.

Indeed, the implementation of the government’s order is going to be tough.

Declaring an area as ‘protected’ means there will be no human interference in there. “In forested landscapes, this is easy. There may be some tribal communities dependent on non-timber forest produce. But usually, fringe villages may not be that dependent,” John said.

“But in case of marine reserves, the sea is a type of commons. And coastal communities are highly dependent on it. By designating a protected marine area, you are literally denying the resources to such people. That is why there are community and conservation reserves. This will be a conservation reserve and it will be co-managed. But it still takes time for a management plan to be put in place,” he added.

Also, what next in dugong conservation in India? Patankar said massive awareness was needed about the dugong as very few people knew about them even in the Andamans where they are the state animal.

“The main cause of mortality for dugongs is accidental entanglement. They are marine mammals and have to surface every four minutes to breathe. Fishermen use gilnets and dugongs get trapped and killed in them unintentionally. This must be stopped,” he said.

This could be done through incentive programmes which many institutes already offer, Patankar said.

“For instance, if a dugong gets captured and is released by fishermen, they get Rs 5,000 if they provide photo documentation of the act. If the government ensures that every dugong release is celebrated it can work wonders,” Patankar noted.

Fishing communities should also decide to shift to other sources of food rather than hunt dugongs for meat if they want their future generations to see dugongs, he added.

“Also, dugongs are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 which means they have the highest level of legal protection under Indian law. But very few people have been arrested, imprisoned or prosecuted for poaching dugongs. The enforcement of the law needs to be strengthened if you want to conserve the species,” Patankar said.

For John, the next step in dugong conservation is the preservation of the threatened seagrass ecosystem. “Ultimately, if there is no seagrass, dugongs will perish,” he said.