One cuckoo flew out of the nest

Eudynamys scolopaceus

raucous and  rapacious

uninvited eggs were deposited

she emerged  brown and spotted

And the crows found her appetite quite capacious.

Through August and September

Her loud demands I remember

The crows found her rude

But kept her in the brood

Until she fledged in October.

14th August 2022 - the first time I spotted the Koel fledgling in the neighbour's teak tree.

Most days I would see her tail and hear her insistent rattling call

15th August - and she flew from one branch to the other, first flight, but no proud parents to watch or guide.

25th August 2022  - and she flew to our terrace! My attention drawn by the ballyhoo of her calls and the rattling of the clothesline.                                               

From then on, she was a regular up there, getting strength into her wings and begging for food.  Every time there was the shadow of a crow passing, her calls would be more frantic.  The crows ignored for the most part.  Every now and then one crow would desultorily feed her.

And then one day, she was not there.  Flew off!

The mystery to me is that crows and koels don't mate, so they do recognise them as different species, then why do they feed the fledglings?  is there altruism here, that we cannot even begin to fathom?

The videos 

Koel learning to fly and balancing on a wire

Trying her luck with the crows

The crows are unimpressed

 

Breakfast at Mayudia Pass


I was all excited that we were going to Mayudia Pass. The views would be gorgeous, I imagined, and Probin assured us that the birding would be exciting.

It was a 4 am departure from the camp and we were to assemble at the 'new petrol bunk' spot.

The day was cloudy and a
Slight drizzle greeted us when we awoke. The mountains were under
Cloud cover. The sparrows on the Yatri Nivas roof were not even awake. Our first departure before dawn!

We started our ascent in darkness and soon I was dropping off. Shamim our driver did not have that luxury. Rain steadily increased as we ascended. Past a completely shut Tiwarigaon. Visibility reduced and we slowed to a crawl.

We reached and crossed the board announcing our arrival and it was pouring. Now what? 😀 we sat huddled in our cars while the birds huddled out of sight. In fact there was no sight of anything.

Out of the mist, the toilet emerged magically and soon we were all darting in and out. Amazingly clean and well ventilated and at the same time non leak proof.

And then the tea shop emerged and 21 MNS members were quickly crowded in, dripping rain ponchos and all. Much hilarity and leg pulling. A black hen and a colourful cock clucked disapprovingly at this intrusion on their space.

The conversation about breakfast of course popped up and then Vijay says it's in Dhananjay's car. Where is dhananjay, he asks. And then remembers the members of the missing car - ay where is Elu and Suresh and doc? Pritam goes looking outside bracing the rain - breakfast is important you see - to see the car go by and everyone waving and smiling at him. Breakfast gone with the wind.

Then the penny dropped for the breakfast car occupants. Oh these others are somewhere dry maybe we should check. And then they also tripped in to the already crowded room. Soon we were all breathing carbon dioxide along with plastic fumes. Like death eaters we had sucked out all the oxygen.

Somehow in a Houdini act breakfast was laid out in this crowded room and even more magically the members got into a-line in this space! Poha egg fried rice and kesari filled our stomachs and cheered us up.

Vijay was optimistic that the rain would stop and we should wait for a bit. I wandered into the warm kitchen, where the locals told us to leave sooner than later to avoid the risk of landslides. Maybe they wanted to be rid of us but we left with alacrity.

The drive back was a bit nervy. Small rocks on the road and water gushing down any possible slope. At one point we had to drive through a 'waterfall'.

The first picture is a waterfall we saw the previous day and the last one is the same one after the rains. Chekopani bridge.

The drizzle continued all day. We wandered into town, bought bamboo baskets and then went for lunch.

Drive for breakfast to myodia. 😀

Speed dialling and identity confusions

When 25 MNS members travel together there is bound to be some hilarity and nonsense.

It is raining fish and frogs right now and it is a good time to put some of these stories down as I sit on the verandah of the Camp watching the rain pelt down on the orange orchard below. The river below is completely covered with mist and cloud.

A group are playing the Wilderness game indoors and some Male Elders are discussing politics in the verandah. Arjun had managed the feat of sleeping in an upright chair.

The incident of the Speed Dial buddies

When we went into the CCA only Jio was functioning and if you remember our car was 'lost' and we connected to the others from Arjun's phone to Pritam's Jio number. This sets the context to the story as they now had each other on speed dial more or less.

After the walk, in usual MNS fashion the 25 were spread across a km and progressing at snails pace. The group had to be got together! Arjun called Pritam to talk him that boss we need to hurry up, Jibi Palu says it will get very hot and we have to return. Pritam agreed and at the same time wondered what was going on as he thought Jibi ji was next to him. Hmm maybe Palu is a clan name and so there are several around. The ladies around were smirking making the two highly suspicious. They turned and discovered that they were within 10 steps of each other. Loud laughter chased away any of the remaining birds and sheepish looks of the two gents was quite priceless I am told. So in an area with no or minimal signal they managed this feat.

Doc Ravi and his identity crisis

Now doc has a confusion between Arjun and Ramesh. He nattered away in Tamil leaving Arjun bemused. Next, he looked at Gapi and asked her courteously who her husband was while Arjun stood next to her. I guess he once again thought Arjun was Ramesh!

Adding to the confusions was Latha who kept calling Suresh Ravi much to the former's annoyance.

Thankfully, Sheila was fixed in Doc's memory as his Tirunelveli 'cousin' and I (thanks to Raja's mirch masala) am the fast bowler. So no confusions there.

Hollong and hoolocks

Dipterocarpus retusus, commonly known as hollong. State tree of Assam. Favoured by the Hoolocks. These lovely specimens were in the farms adjoining the Jia grasslands. 

Yuvan mentioned another name Tweminalia myriocarpa. I need to cross check on this. 

Probin shared many interesting aspects of these primates with us. Revered by the Assamese, he told us that if a gibbon dies in Assam, funeral rites are performed for the gibbon. 

They love to eat the leaves of the hoolong which collects dew water They feed only in the mornings, before 9, after which they rest and do not feed!  The male gibbon allows the female to feed first and will eat only after she is done. 

https://roundglasssustain.com/species/hoolock-gibbons-canopy-hollongapar

Jia grasslands and the missing parrotbills

I woke up to find that Sekar was not very well and seemed to be feverish.  He said he would not come

In the morning. It was not a good start, but yes better he takes it easy  And so Probin came in our car as we had one spare 'seat'.

Our visit to Jia grasslands was interesting indeed. Situated in the village of Jia, next to Roing, the major tribe here is the Adi. 

We turned off the main highway and we're on a narrow road with rice fields on both sides.  Pacchai pacchai, green green! 😄 drongos in the wire. Interesting lack of any kind of egret in the fields. Hmmm. 

We rumble along this straight road and arrive at a motorable dead end, from where we were to walk. 

As we walked through a narrow path, we arrived at the grasslands!  Probin our guide, asked for silence - very challenging for the large group we were but we did manage it. 

The grasslands were quiet. A Stonechat zipped by and settled on the reeds at a distance. We moved in single file, with the grass taller than us, and in bloom, the flower stalks swaying in the breeze. A beautiful sight!  we arrived at a little clearing and waited. 

As we waited, Probin gave us an understanding of the grasses. The main one is  Khans grasses also called kahua.  flower and fruit parrotbill this is eaten by the parrotbill. Fruit name is kaguri.  Saccharum spontaneum (wild sugarcane,) 

Nol is elephant grass and Madhuri (Typha) is bulrush. The cotton of the typha is used by parrotbills for nesting. Used as nesting by all birds 

I earned that Black throated Parrotbill needs all 3. They feed o the Khans, make nests inthe Typha, using the flower of the Madhuri as nesting material. 

This whole habitat of about 5 sq kms supports 3-4 black throated parrot bills!!  These birds mate for life, are poor breeders and seem to be under stress from habitat loss. With such a low population, it was no surprise that we didn't see or hear them. We insisted on no playback to attar t these already stressed birds. 

Marsh babbler - these we heard. very shy - laju ki dhap in Assamese.  Walks on the bunds aka dhap. 

We tramped back out to the cars, saw spiders, dragonflies and butterflies along the way. 

Checked in on Sekar who seemed to be doing ok with one paracetamol inside. 

As we headed back, Probin pointed out the long houses of the Adi tribe, with their sloping roofs and also the side prayer room. 

More soon. 

Food exploration

There's a profusion of local greens and herbs In the cooking here. Sekar is aghast at what looks like the garden leaves and weeds in a dish. 😄

But I am enjoying the production of greens in the menu. Wild dhania and mint has a different flavour from what I use.

Last evening was a bamboo shot keerai dish that I liked. As also the potato and herbs.

Then today we tried bhoot jolakhia - small bits, I at one of those little pieces. And survived.

Dinner - banana flower poriyal- all chopped and tender. No removal of those stamens, no removal of the bracts. Now that is convenient. Selvi would approve.

Cow Point

Returning from Dibang camp to Yatri Nivas, this is what we cross every night. The Cow Point - a barrier like no other. And next morning, the dung shows they were there.

Mishmi Day 2 - a walk like no other

Setting off into the CCA area on a walk like nothing I have been on. Every step, every turn brought some marvel in the form of insects, trees, flowers and fun.

My MNS walks are a ramble usually but this one was quite epic. I saw butterflies in every colour and size. From the large and spectacular Golden Birdwing to the Yeomans that were everywhere. It was hit and sweaty, and the butterflies decided to puddle on our shoes, hands, hats….everywhere. Where else will you have butterflies come and sit on you. We were one with the habitat, it felt, accepted by the butterflies, quite magical. There was a rush of delight that I couldn't explain to see them alight on my finger or knee or shoe. And they did so on everyone. Interesting how I delighted in this, but would not have been so inclined if they were leeches.

And then the day belonged to the Wood Spiders. The females hung magnificent and large in webs that were the typical spiralled ones. They were all over. Above, left and right. Sometime we had to duck under them. How Undisturbed they were!

And the trees… up an up into the sky. I didn't know them but they were
Magnificent.

It was not a day for bird sightings. But really who cared.

We reached the edge of the grasslands to find the leading bunch had reached quite sometime back, and we were greeted by the amazing sight of mixed bunch of mud puddling butterflies.

More soon.

Mithun encounters at Mishmi. Day 3

Look like gaur and behave like cattle. Mithun are a sign of prestige and wealth and owned by families here. They are given by the groom in marriage to the bride's family.

A status symbol. Rather endearing looking, and product huge gignormous pile of poop.

Mishmi Day 3 - guess who came to dinner

These cicadas called through the day - a ringing temple bell like call, which I am unable to upload here.

Green cicada which calls through the day in the forests here. Landed on our dinner table. Seemed to want the tomato soup.

It proabably got startled at its reflection in the water glass and buzzed off!

Oh and the soup was good. As was the local keerai side dish. Had a lemon grass flavour. Mild and delicate. Sekar was aghast at how I could possibly enjoy it.

Day 2 Mishmi river crossings.

The sun was up and so was I by 430. It was a bit cooler in the morning. I had tried to organise our back packs last night before going to bed.

Sandals or shoes
Last night's confusion
Which one to choose
With leech socks,
Inside- A definite inclusion.

I chose shoes
And didn't regret it.
No rocky blues
No bites
Despite the tight fit.

The plan was to drive to Chidu camp where we were to meet Jibi Pulu the Mishmi elder. The four of us and our driver Shamim followed the entourage of cars. What a beautiful sunrise over the hills I saw!

And as we wound our way around the hill, the views of the Dibang Valley were beautiful. Grass flowers on the river bed, clear blue water streams, rounded river stones.

We pass the Cow Point, a point on the road where a huge bunch of cattle spend the nights. We move off the main road and then our innovas handled the road bravely and with Josh. 😄 cars started stopping to photograph wildflowers and roadside 'weeds' and ofcourse we straggled and then we reached a flowing river. No car in sight and no car in sight either. 😂 our driver Shamim looked bemused and got down, and then realised that he was busy taking selfie pictures in this scenic spot. We all got down and also took our pictures. I picked up a small stone for Sagarika, and we loitered. Arjun suddenly got Signal and then a call to Pritam who told us like yeah you have to come through the river, simple.

So we did, with a nervous Shamim, and then there was sudden tar road of good quality. One more river, and here there was a bridge which was half done! So we had to go down on to he river bed again!

We reached Jibi Palu's CCA camp at Chidu. I had heard and read so much about him. A Mishmi elder who has come back and got his community together to protect and preserve. Seeing him with shorts and a lovely smile it was nice to see him and his team.

MNS style breakfast- puris were yummy and a large pig reminiscent of Empress of Blandings was snuffling through a bowl of some gruel.

More soon.