Andamans Day 2 - Garacharma Wetland - waders

11th Feb 2024 - afternoon.  Continued from here.

A short post-lunch snooze later, we were headed out again.  We picked up Jabili along the way from Bathi Bastu.

A twenty minute ride down south from the hotel, through little colonies interspersed with vacant plots, small patches of marsh and we were at an unimpressive mudflat/water body with a lot of humdrum human activity all around.

Garacharma wetlands - further under threat than even Pallikaranai it seems.  

"White birds" were scattered here and there - no large flocks, just a smattering of solitary waders here and there.

Binoculars and cameras emerged, and the search was on, and before you know it, we had a dozen species!

As I scanned, all the 3 egrets I could see, plus what I call the usual Pallikaranai residents - Swamp hens, moorhens and waterhens.  Then we spotted the sandpipers and the wagtails, redshanks and plovers.

We walked around the periphery to another part, sat down on some construction stones on the sides, and now the lifers (for me) began - winter migrants.

Long-toed Stints - with their pale legs and mottled bodies.  I was happy to identify one - after much instructions - "left of the small yellow bucket, behind that plastic bag, walking to the left", and such like.  Finally we had a tally of 11 of them.  

Five Red-necked stints were shown to me - no red necks or anything, just a grey little wader, with a stocky bill, smaller stint size of course but with dark legs unlike the LT cousins.  (The red necks are in breeding season up north.)

Scurrying about in the grass were Red-throated pipits - their usual upright Pipit stance, quite heavily streaked.

A White-bellied Sea Eagle glided lazily above, and then moved out of view.

Click for a video view of the wetlands here.

We moved to a more scrubby part, away from the water's edge, and a bittern flew quite literally past my nose! It vanished into the undergrowth, but we did track it, and what a lovely sight it was.  A yellow bittern, absolutely still, trying hard not to be seen, and staring at us.  It was hard to point out to the others, so well camouflaged was it, even though we had a clear line of sight.

An Andaman cow came up to say hello in the meantime.

Desigan flushed a Snipe which went shooting off, and then another and then yet another!  Five Pintailed Snipes in all.

A bunch of Rosy Starlings came to roost on a tree as the sun sank low in the horizon.

I was sad to see this dump - as usual wetlands and marshes considered wastelands, and unprotected.

We stopped at a Tamil diner, for a dosai (which was pretty ordinary - it flattered to deceive) and some even more ordinary chai.  But our waiter was a master of hyperbole and provided much amusement.

eBird Checklist - 11 Feb 2024 - Garacharma Wetland - 44 species

We were off to Rangat the next morning - it was a 4 am departure!

Andamans Day 2 - Kalatang - birds and butterflies

11th Feb 2024

Continued from here.

Up at 4am for a 5am departure to Shoal Bay. I had assumed we were going to the bay/beach.  Turns out I was mistaken and we were headed for Kalatng RV which is in the Shoal Bay Area, via a ferry ride from Chatham Jetty to Bamboo Flat jetty.

The ferry ride across the Port Blair bay saves a lot of time, when compared to taking an all-land route. The plan was to take the 530 am (first ferry) to the other side.  

Chatham jetty is actually on the little island of Chatham, which is reached by a short 100m bridge from Haddo in Port Blair.  The jetty was abuzz with activity.

The island houses the Saw Mill. The British set it up in 1883 to systematically denude the Andamans - it was a different time and ethos.  The Mill continues to work.  There is a Forest Museum within it full of wood artefacts - a kind of cruel reminder of  deforestation I would think.  We did not visit.

We drove onto the ferry.  The fisherwomen were already there, all waiting in an orderly fashion to take their fish to market.  Men on bikes, heading to work, traders with wares to sell, and a bunch of tourists like us. I loved the island vibe - everything was so calm and relaxed, but everything seemed to run on time - except the service at Shreesh!

Chatham island receded, and as I looked back I saw the hilly nature of the island, the tip of a volcanic upheaval.  

Twenty minutes later, we were at the Bamboo Flat jetty, and ready to move on to Kalatang.  Mount Harriet  National Park was somewhere on our right.  I was very fascinated by the ferry on/off as you can see in the video below.

    

Drives through the Andamans are always scenic - water bodies here and there, turn a bend and all of a sudden, the sea may be in front of you, and of course the forest trees.  But increasing pressures of human habitation and agriculture are here as well.

Wimberlygunj is on the way - and our drivers stopped at Fathima stores for much needed morning chai.

Such delight on Ravi's face on spying Pazhampozhi at Fatima stores!! The group fell upon them as if there was no tomorrow, and everyone was immediately awake, cheerful, alert and garrulous.  Bring the birds on!

The mist was still hanging in the air.

A few large bungalows lined the road, before we reached the mangroves of Wright Myo Creek.

Tall Stilt Mangroves grew besides the road, probably the end of the creek.  Low tide left a lot of mud and silt, and sadly, plastic too.

Click here to see the drive besides the Wright Myo creek mangroves.  We drove slowly looking for the ruddy kingfisher, but all was quiet, not a single bird call did I hear in this stretch.  

We arrived at our destination - a bus stop, a culvert over some water run off, a mud track going to the right past a dump yard, and a graveyard!  As we alighted, we could hear bird calls from all sides.  

The mud track along which we birded.

The forest path was lined with these shrubs, which I identified upon return as Malabar Melastome, commonly called Indian rhododendrons though no relation of the actual Rhodos.  You can see the 3 main veins, the red stems and the beautiful pink/violet flowers. 

The shrubs were probably planted/brought in by the British - flowersofindia.net notes that 

"In Southeast Asia and elsewhere it is a widespread weed of industrial forest plantation crops (such as rubber and mahogany), orchards, and rice fields."

As we walked, every few steps Jabili would point to something - Long Tailed Parakeets, Minivets, Glossy Starlings and Black-naped Orioles - high up in the canopy.  The birds were all catching the morning sun.  

Somewhere up there was a Violet Cukooo too.  It was backlit and looked like a black cuckoo to me.  With a name like that I expected a nice brightly coloured bird that matched those flowers above!  So, this was most unsatisfactory.

The Green Imperial Pigeons were well behaved.  They sat still and long enough for me to get a good look, though the dull day did not do justice to their colours, as also those of the Asian Emerald Doves.  They were too high and too far away and we did not bother taking pictures - the others did.  

It was nice to see an older English birdwatching couple too, on the road.  

 

The doctor "twins" Ravi and Gasper chose this beautiful spot to just sit and watch the birds in the Ficus tree opposite - there were Ornate sunbirds, White Eyes, Andaman bulbuls, Andaman Flowerpeckers, Red Whiskered bulbuls, mynas and doves flitting through the tree.  They would not sit still and it was a great game trying to spy what I knew was definitely there but still could not be seen.

Jabili heard a Mangrove Whistler too, but I did not, sadly.  

Chestnut-headed bee eaters hawked and swooped over the gravestones, and kingfishers sat on the wire watching.

White Bellied Sea Eagles soared above - we were not far from the bay, after all.

We halted for breakfast at around 815, using the bus stop as our picnic spot.  No bus came, no passengers alighted, and it was all very peaceful.  breakfast was heavy - 4 idlies and sambar!

More wandering after breakfast - the doctors and Sekar decided to have a short snooze in the car (the idlies were asking for a post prandial siesta), while I chased butterflies.  

The dump yard - of which I refused to take a picture - was a favourite for the Andaman Crake I believe.  Jabili waited patiently for it, as did some others.  I think it made a fleeting and hurried scoot across the road - and I did not see it.  Desigan gave a vivid and animated description of its scoot across in the blink of an eye.  He managed a picture, if I'm not mistaken.

The Andaman Glassy Tigers flitted about in the undergrowth, and this one sat still for a minute.

Parantica aglea ssp. melanoleuca

The endemic Andaman Clippers were also quite common, and  delightful to watch.  They were polite and gracious enough to allow me to photograph them.

There were a lot of Common Ceruleans around - this one sat on a Hyptis (bush mint) plant

I thought this was a Common Leopard, but on return I learnt it was Phalanta alcippe, the Small Leopard.  The markings at the edge are different. 

A grey Pansy rested in the shrubbery.

We took the 1130 ferry back to Port Blair, via Chatham island.  But there was still one more treat.  Jabili asked us to watch the mango trees on the shore at the Chatham jetty.  This was the tree where the Pied Imperial Pigeon hung around. 

As we approached the shore, I scanned the tree with my binoculars, whilst Umesh, Desigan and Srinivas looked through their cameras.  We spotted a head here, a rump there, some movement from one branch to the other.  As we neared the shore, I finally did manage a glimpse of the whole bird.  How magnificent it was!  A lifer for me - this large white and black pigeon.  What a regal beauty I thought!  I learnt that it mainly seen in small islands and in coastal areas.  How fascinating - why would a tree-dwelling pigeon choose to/need to live close to the coast?  I came back and checked the call - and this was deep and magnificent too!

Photo by Desigan of the Pied Imperial pigeon in the mango tree.

We returned to high tide, and I marvelled at the brilliance of Phoenix Bay, shimmering blue and silver.

Back to Shreesh, and the comical struggle for some fresh lime soda refreshments.

Umesh requested a newbie waiter for 8 Fresh Lime sodas, and the chap looked distinctly unhappy.  First he said "No English", then when Umesh lapsed into Hindi, he desperately said "No Hindi" and then even there "no soda, soda finished" at Umesh.  Umesh was quite indignant at this, and seeing his ire, the said waiter disappeared!

Shreesh has a strange system where the dining room has a pantry attached, but the kitchen was one level down... so food came up from below.  So while we waited for our dal roti sabzi, we investigated the pantry, but found no signs of any human nor of the fresh-lime drinks...After a while, the "senior" waiter sauntered in.  Umesh repeated the order to him and said we had ordered but it had not showed up and neither had lunch. This waiter looked pityingly at us, and asked "whom did you order from?"  And then said airily, "Oh he doesn't know anything, I will get you."  it was all very Fawlty Towers and Manuelesque.

The fresh lime eventually did come - but after we finished our lunch!   An oh yes, the rice would come before the rotis, making Umesh even more grumpy - since he wanted the rotis and not the rice...we all merrily chowed whatever came first!

eBird Checklist - 11 Feb 2024 - Kalatang - 40 species

 

Garacharma wetlands awaited us, in the evening.

Andaman Diary Day 1 - Burmanallah beach and beyond

 Continued from here.

Feb 10th 2024

Post lunch, we piled into the cars and picked up our birder guide Jabili Rao.  She is a young birder from the Andaman.  I wonder now, what first impression we made on her.  One group of seniors, all of us perhaps twice her age! Or maybe she's used to it, since many seniors love to bird and love to photograph with their respective bazookas.

Off we went to Burmanullah beach, with Jabili in our car, along with Umesh, Srinivas, Sekar and me.  Umesh was focussed with target species list and locations.  I was busy looking out of the window and exclaiming at the views!

 

 Driving along Burmanullah coast.  Click here.

We stopped, to admire and photograph the Pacific Reef Heron, and oh there was a Collared kingfisher on the line.

Pacific Reef heron - Egretta sacra -  I love their salty grey colours, and how well they camouflaged with the rocks.

Pacific Reef heron - we saw them nesting at the top of the Chidiya Tapu cliffs last time as well.

This Photo by Desigan.  There were several on the beach, here and there, walking around with usual egret slow-motion intent.

In order to confuse matters, there is a "white morph", which looks like the Little Egrets, except they have quite a thick bill, greenish legs and a little squatter.  Why would they display this dimorphism?  And can the two morphs inter-breed - and will you get pied coloured variants then?  Seems not, but why not?

As I pondered these deep "existential" questions, the others were more gainfully occupied.

I found a piece of dead coral in the grasses.

There were crabs and mudskippers in the tidal pools at the edge.  If I am not mistaken this is a Mottled Lightfoot Crab. (Grapsus albolineatus) a coral-dwelling crab.

There were people wandering the shores collecting crabs as well.  A common sandpiper landed on a rock nearby.  

And this Collared Kingfisher also had found a crab.  Photo by Desigan.  

I marvelled at the towering trees and the winding lianas.

A red-collared dove sunbathed.

The hunt for the  Amur Stonechat (Stejneger's Stonechat) Saxicola stejnegeri 

We veered off the tar road and stopped before a little footbridge over a rivulet and entered what looked like  fallow and overgrown agricultural land.  We were tracking the Stejneger's Stonechat - a target species for our trip, I was told.  It is a species seen in east Asia - but not in mainland India, only in Andamans.  It breeds somewhere up in Siberia, and comes down to winter in the Andamans.  (In itself, that fact renders the bird magical!)

It was a subspecies of Common Stonechat, and now it has been separated after genetic testing.  And Stejneger was Nordic Steineger and decided he liked Stejneger better, went off to the Smithsonian and this little stonechat we were trying to see was named after him and now the common name has changed.  

Jabili warned us that it was very shy, and we were to be very quiet.  A farmer passed us in the opposite direction, and airily said oh you should come in the mornings for the birds.  It was close to sunset, and the air was filled with bird call.  Now and then one faint zitting cisticola-like call was heard, which was the Stonechat I believe.  A flash here, a sudden appearance there.  The photographers were frustrated.  "See, near the fence, that pole!", "Which pole, there are so many" - came the retort.  ""Arre, that short one, 12 o'clock." "The one below the tree with green leaves?" "All the trees have green leaves!"  Such was the conversation.  Srinivas' 6ft plus visual perspective quite different from Umesh's did not help matters.  I wonder if they did manage to photograph the bird.

In the midst of all of this, for a change, I actually spotted the said pole and saw the bird quite clearly with my 10x binoculars for about 5 seconds, before it vanished into the undergrowth again! I registered a chestnut brown,  "little brown job", with a little darker tail.  This was the female.  

Desigan took this great picture - how he managed in the midst of all the flitting and the instructions, one never knows!

Anyways, I was happy, kind of thrilled to catch this little messenger from Siberia.  We did not see the male.   I wandered on to see the other sights of the scrub.

There were a whole bunch of goats, feeding quite blissfully and happily, unmindful and uncurious about us. 

I think this is Simpleleaf Chaste tree - a Vitex

And this false ironwort, we see in our city undergrowth as well.  

There were very few butterflies for some reason, but many a dragonfly, including this Crimson Marsh Glider

We retraced our steps across the stream, and the sun gave the leaves such a lovely translucence.  I wonder if this is Macaranga peltata - the parasol tree - the leaf arrangement seemed that way.  It could be.

Back into the cars, and we went up along the road to Chidiyatapu.  The scenery changed, as tall trees sped by on either side.

Stop!  was the cry from Jabili - and we saw the Andaman woodpecker! (Dryocopus hodgei) silhouetted by the evening sun, high up on the tree stump.

Photo by Desigan.  It was a beautiful 15-20 minutes, as we watched it make its way up the stump, its red head giving it a crown of fire almost.  

What a stunning bird!  We saw it a couple more times across the week, and each time it was a joy to watch.  The bird is in on the IUCN "Vulnerable" list, threatened by loss of habitat.

"Little is recorded about the behaviour of the Andaman woodpecker. It lives in pairs, but also associates in small flocks. It forages on large trunks and branches, but has also been recorded foraging on the ground for ants. It has been recorded breeding between January and March, and breeds in a nest hole 6–14 m (20–46 ft) off the forest floor, in a dead tree. Two eggs are laid" - Wikipedia

We made our way back to the Chidiyatapu beach shacks for some welcome chai.  We fell upon the vadais and bajjis and ordered strong chai from the Tamil tea-shop owner who did not waste time on small talk, as the tourists ebbed and flowed like the tide through his shop.  

We saw foreigners, backpackers, middle-aged  Indians from the north, scuba divers packing up for the day, and even a group of trainees from NIOT.  

As we finished our tea...the sky was even more magical.

One more surprise by the roadside.  Andaman Coucal!  What a show we had.  Quite bold, and unlike its mainland counterpart.  It didn't seem to be bothered by us at all.  

The fawn brown feathers were displayed, this way and that.  The head is a duller colour.  The Coucal was busy foraging among the leaves.  I did not see any berries, it was probably on the hunt for insects.  The foliage was a mix of short shrubby bushes.  I could not identify from this.

The crickets and other night insects were out as the light  faded.  Some went off with Jabili to search for the owls, whilst some of us just enjoyed the night sounds around.

This cat moved from one side of the road to the next, listening to the night sounds - didn't waste time on me, but seemed intent as though listening for a particular sound.  Maybe he/she was off on a night hunt.  I did not see too many stray cats on our trip, but Port Blair was full of stray dogs, like any other Indian city.

Back to Shreesh for the night, it was good to have a shower and get out of our sweaty clothes - the humidity was high - and come down and wait for our dinner.  It was lovely to meet Madhuri as well - an "Islander", who works at ANET, and was a friend of Umesh.  She spoke about the road to Rangat being bad - and how her sister preferred to go by ferry, a conversation that made more sense when we did embark a couple of days later to Rangat!

These interesting lampshades were in our corridor, and I noticed them as we went off for the night.

It was a 5am start the next day, and I was much excited - we were to take a ferry and cross a strait and go off to Kalatang!

*******

My Ebird checklist here.  

Lifers of the day

• Plume-toed Swiftlets - Andaman special - not in mainland India.  (Supposedly has a tuft of feathers near the rear toe - which I never saw, but shall assume in good faith that it is present)
• Brown-backed Needletail
• Amur Stonechat

Swiftlets and larger Needletails were zooming around above.  The Swiftlets had white bellies and the Needletails - like this one on Umesh's camera display - were dark brown underneath.