Mumbai Diaries - Karvi blooms and butterflies galore

October 3rd 2024

I was excited to learn that I was not too far from BNHS CEC.  

Various friends urged me to go - "it's a beautiful drive through the Aarey forests", said one. Another said, there are lovely bird trails  inside.  And then I saw that the Karvi flower was blooming there, and that sealed the deal, and I decided to go on the 3rd (and not the 2nd which was a public holiday and bound to see many a tourist.)

This was the scenic route I was looking forward to, as I hopped into the auto around 730 am.

This was the actual route taken by the speeding auto, who kept insisting that his map said this was faster.

It was around 9am by the time I got dropped off at the supposed gate, with not a soul in sight, after speeding on the expressway, standing still at innumerable traffic signals, winding our way through Film City, its various guards, potholes and vanity trucks.  The auto driver asked me if I was sure this was the place, and I confidently and cheerily told him so, and sent him off.

(It did cross my mind as to how would I make my way back from here...but at that point, just getting out of the rattling auto, away from the highway, and into bird call - it seemed like paradise.)

This was my first glimpse, as I crossed an empty school bus - whose kids must be wandering around the trails I surmised.  Sunbirds and Tailorbirds called incessantly.

A family of macaques observed me from the canopy above, sitting quite peaceably and grooming one another.  

And then, just like that both sides of the path were filled with these purple blooms!  Oh is this the Karvi flower, I thought and looked more closely, and yes it was.  Initially I must admit I was a bit underwhelmed - I mean one has to undergo some hardship and search high and low for rare one-in-8-year-blooms I thought - but here they were strewn on both sides of the path, in wild higgledy piggledy fashion!

I did warm up to them, eventually.  They reminded me of the Railway Creeper flowers, Morning Glories.  

I loved the buds more than the flowers, eventually.

Strobilanthes callosa - the Latin name - is an interesting shrub.  A favourite of all sorts of caterpillars and butterflies, I learnt, and is kind of brown and all dried up before the monsoons, turning all green and leafy after the rains, and then once in 8 years, it does this, bloom like there's no tomorrow.  

I learnt a new word - Plietesials - plants that flower occasionally and in synchrony.  Nature is quite amazing and marvellous.  Now if one didnt know this plant, it is quite imaginable that it will be discarded when looking all brown and shrivelled.  

Ruminating such thoughts, I walked on, and spied a building and heard some voices.  There were the kids from the school bus, with some harried looking teachers, and a very enthusiastic nature educator explaining the life cycle of butterflies.  A few children in the front were curious and eager, while those at he back had a "what am I here?" look to them.

I went to the "office", where the cheery guard asked me to sign in, pay the entrance fee of Rs 150 (only UPI please, no cash), and then I was free to wander on.

There is a Karvy trail and what's referred to as a Leopard Trail  - leopards have been seen in the park.  I did a bit of both.

Observations � iNaturalist - will give you the complete set of fungi, caterpillars, spiders and butterflies that I was able to capture on my phone camera.  Through my binoculars, I saw a huge number of chocolate pansies, Greater Orange Tips, Yellow Orange Tips, small white butterflies, Sailors, and many unidentified ones.

However, my bird list was small - the trees were quite silent for a lot of the time, was I too late for the morning chorus?  I was hoping for a sighting of the oriental dwarf kingfisher, but this is not the season I was told.

I could hear the Film City crews with their PA systems, shouting Action! Cut! etc etc.

It was a humid and hot and sweaty day.  I climbed up to the top of the Karvy Trail, and I could see a little stream below.  I think in a guided walk, they probably go down as well, but I did not venture.

As I headed back, I met one of the researchers coming up.  He was changing the card on the camera trap - they are tracking the leopards.  He said that he had just seen a rat snake.  I missed it.

Up in the skies above, there seemed to be two Oriental Honey Buzzards circling - they are not Black Kites for sure, but I could not find anyone to confirm the id.

Down below, the kids were complaining about mosquitoes and the heat - and the Guide was reassuring them that these mosquitoes did not carry dengue or malaria, and in fact were "tiger mosquitoes", with stripes.  I listened with amusement.  Another boy was hot and wanted water, a girl wanted to use the washroom - I was so glad I was not a teacher.  We really cannot thank our teachers enough.

It was time to return.  I did book an auto, who kept getting lost, but finally did show up, and was cheerful and apologetic for his lateness - he did not realise I was just grateful for a ride back!  I once again suggested Aarey road - but he told me - the "jungle road is karaab" and looking all jammed, and we came back also by the highways - more traffic and signals.  Oh well.

Sekar and Vish tried to reason that maybe the auto drivers knew something we/google did not, but I was not convinced. 

And so ended the BNHS CEC visit.

Mumbai Diaries - Kites and Sparrows, Cats and Dogs

eBird Checklist - 30 Sep 2024 - Raheja Vihar Circular Road - 16 species

I am in Mumbai, and quite close to Powai lake.  The area is wooded with exotics, but wooded nevertheless, and these are the birds seen in incidental birding - I did not have my binoculars with me, and I am sure I would have identified a few more warblers and possibly an oriole, if I did have one.

What I find interesting compared to Chennai bird-wise in this highly urbanised city is - 

# the strong presence of sparrows (I see them every time I come to Mumbai)

#  the very few crows (as compared to Thiruvanmyur) - I actually am not waking to crow caws, which is a pleasant change

# this neighbourhood also has less pigeons very interestingly

But the most heartwarming thing is the presence of small street dog kennels/shelters across the community...

and well-fed streeties, which seem to have been inoculated  - they have clipped ears and collars.  I am not a fan of random feeding without adoption, but this community seems to have adopted and care for the dogs.  Kudos!

Back to the birds and the trees.

Black Kites soar above all through the day.

The area is hilly, and I love the fact that there are some untended rather wild spaces, along with the buildings and the exotics.

One street has a lot of Australian Acacia in bloom, then there are Copper Pods, Gulmohars, Terminalia catappa (badams), and the ornamental palms.

But there is also the pink powderpuff tree, a few sarakonrai, mango and even a jackfruit tree!

A hillside that is wild - and I hope it stays that way.

"What would the world be, once bereft Of wet and of wildness?

Let them be left,

O let them be left, wildness and wet;

Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet."

Gerard Manley Hopkins, poet

7th October update

Ebird list of 7th October evening

Came across Dusky Crag Martins nesting under the eaves of the Scottish Union school this evening!

Now all I need is a Peregrine.  Come on Mumbai!  Chennai is up to 14 Peregrines incoming as of date.  

9th October

A drizzly evening and I strolled in the building.

So many sparrows I see in this neighbourhood.  Usually I find them difficult to photograph as they zip from one bush to the other. In the day, they chirp away, and somehow to my human ear, it's such a heart lifting kind of sound, gives me a feeling of cheer and hope.  They come and visit our flat windows, perching on the railings momentarily before flying off.  I see them in many window railings across the community.

I have located three favourite evening roosting trees - one a Jackfruit tree, one an overgrown bougainvillea bush, and the third an ornamental ficus bush!  I love to watch them 

Today, however, in the rain, they sat and chirped on this railing, taking shelter from the drizzle, and I managed this vide from under my umbrella!

And there are many cats too, but they thankfully do not attack/stalk the sparrows - they seem well fed!

The cats are not like Chennai cats - where they scoot and make themselves scarce when they see you.  Here, they sit in the middle of pavements, bold as brass, fix you with a stare, with their tail swishing, sizing you up - will this human feed me or not?  

More updates, as and when.

Sholinganallur/Perumbakkam Marshlands

eBird Checklist - 22 Sep 2024 - Sholinganallur/Perumbakkam Marshlands - 29 species

I did not take a single picture - kind of rare for me.  So disheartened by all the disturbance.  

Chitra and I used to bring the NIFT students here, and the birds would be so close, it would be easy to get newbie birders interested.  Whether it was a swamp hen or a cormorant, or even those flamingoes.

Now the whole habitat is disturbed.  Birds are far away, the Fulvous Whistling Ducks kept circling and whistling.  The purple and grey herons moved in their slow and deliberate manner in what looked like polluted waters.

I was gladdened by the sight of a solitary avocet, and some blue-tailed bee eaters.

I did not see a roller, nor a raptor.  

But I did meet up with friends - Sagarika, Gangapriya, Tara and Ranjani.

Fluttered by

 

Yesterday morning 

a Great Eggfly came to rest

only for a while.

This time not to die

catch her breath, escape the sun

momentarily.

It was a different feeling from 2019 - final resting place.

Hypolimnas bolina, the great eggfly - female

Typically, the Great Eggfly underside has more white...so here is another morph then.

PS:  I have to admit - I thought it was a Common Indian Crow initially - lazy dying if ever there was one - and it was Sagarika, sharp as a nail, alert as ever, who said, nooooo!  not a Crow, too big, and see the frilly edge.  

Greeted by a peacock!

eBird Checklist - 13 Sep 2024 - TTUF Nizhal - 11 species

Finally after many a month I walked over to Nizhal's TTUF today morning.

Crossing the canal, filled with water hyacinth and a whole flock of cattle get, with many in breeding plumage.  

As I stood and watched, a drongo swooped and picked an insect on the move.  On the right bank, a mongoose moved purposefully through the undergrowth.  A white-throated kingfisher, a flash of blue and a rattling call.

 
I was happy to see the trees all grown and green!  The Crepe Myrtles and Arjuna's were in fruit, the Palash was in abundant green as also the Garlic Pear tree - in March, it was in flower. the Mimusops was in fruit.  Has it been so long since I visited?

17th March 2024 - Crateva adinsonii - had dropped all its leaves, and a few flowers stood out, in full glory.

As Chitra and I walked along, a dog strolled past, followed by a peacock, if you please, - moving like a ballet dancer lightly and 'springily' into the far foliage.

Quite appropriately, the peacock flowers were in bloom

Looks like the park has an active night life - and I do not mean the snakes and other creature - which one would think would be a deterrent - but it appears not - Lust overcomes such fears I guess.

Hairy Caterpillar on the drumstick tree

9th September 540pm

I initially thought this was Metanastria hyrtaca caterpillars, but I think they are actually Eupterote mollifera caterpillars.

Seen on our drumstick tree.

They were all crowded on the bark of the tree, in the shade in the day - when I first saw them.  

8th September - Tree 1 5pm.  Not much movement seen.

9th September Tree 2 - they were alive and one the move.  Seemed smaller than the other tree caterpillars.  I could not locate the caterpillars on Tree 1.

I will keep a watch on the tree - Hopefully, the caterpillars do nt completely defoliate the tree.  According to the literature on the internet, these moths scrape and gnaw at the bark as well as the leaves.  I did not see any leaves eaten up.

More as and when I observe.

12th September

Looks like both sets of Caterpillars are on one tree now!

Subsequently, for many days I could not locate them.  Then I found some at the lower part of the tree, and some going to the base.

27th September

Hairy Caterpillars on one trunk and a bark gecko on the other.

The caterpillars looked worn and scruffy.

One liked like it was making its way down to the soil?

Pupal stage is in the soil, I read.

Some more close to the soil.

24 Aug 2024 - Muttukadu Backwaters morning

eBird Checklist - 24 Aug 2024 - Muttukadu Backwaters - 56 species

eBird Checklist - 24 Aug 2024 - Muttukadu Backwaters - 33 species ( 3 other taxa)

Click on this link for all the biodiversity that we saw.

Stop at the main bridge 

A house crow showering

An egret in plumage breeding

Two wagtails hurrying 

Three spoonbills flypasting

Four Painted Storks huddling

Five Pelicans swimming

Six terns a-turning 

A cloud of cormorants moving 

And four birders in a very good mood!

On to the small bridge

As we arrived - 

Hordes of cormorants fishing
Sanjiv and Chitra birding
Umesh joins and does the wowing
Whimbrels and Curlews stalking
Sagarika Thick Knee Spotting
Cat's Claw flowers dazzling
Fiddler Crabs emerging
White browed bulbuls calling

And six birders in a very jolly mood!

On to Ajwa Cafe side

Walls and boards, alarming

A sandpiper scurrying

Curlew - meditating

We - a tidal pool discovering

Girdled Horn Snails in slow motion moving

A HUGE Brown Land Crab side-stepping

Many barnacles rock clinging

Other crabs just scooting

Sandwiches a-chomping

And nine birders in a very happy mood!

The Brown Land Crab - Umesh's photo.

Women in the wild - book review

I overlooked storing this on the blog.

Viji, the Turtle Girl from Chennai and other Women in the Wild � Madras Musings | We Care for Madras that is Chennai

Viji, the Turtle Girl from Chennai and other Women in the Wild

I discovered the pleasures of birdwatching quite late in life, and through birds I experienced trees, flowers, nature and the outdoors in a rather different way – I learnt to observe, I marvelled at all that I had missed and have new respect for all those who work so hard to protect, preserve and document all that binds us in this completely interconnected web of life on earth.

It was but natural, therefore, that I picked up Womenin the Wild to read. Edited by Anita Mani, this book is compelling both for the astonishing work done by the profiled scientists and the delightfully smooth and empathetic storytelling of the various essayists. In her introduction, Anita says of the women portrayed: “they are here because they have either had substantial impact on species/landscape conservation or because their work has contributed to the resolution of environmental challenges confronting wildlife in India.” In the same vein she mentions that, as an editor, she aimed to find authors who knew their subjects personally. 

Editor Anita Mani with the Indian Pitta collection.

The Madras/Chennai connections to many of the women field biologists featured in the book made my reading experience more personal.

Anita herself grew up in Chennai. Schooled at Rosary and a graduate of Stella Maris, she trained and worked as a journalist, moved into the corporate sector and tech writing for a while, before going back to writing and publishing. She worked with a children’s newspaper before launching Indian Pitta, India’s first bird book imprint under Juggernaut. Anita says that learning about Vijaya’s remarkable journey and experiences seeded the inspiration for the book and the rediscovery of the sadly long forgotten birdwoman, Jamal Ara. 

There are a trio of women from Chennai featured in the book: Vijaya, in The Turtle Girl, Divya Mudappa in the Canopy Crusader and Divya Karnad in Like a Fish to Water. India’s Wildlife Detective Uma Ramakrishnan’s family hails from TN and Vidya Athreya and Ghazala Shahabuddin studied at Salim Ali School of Ecology (SAS) in Pondy. Anita Mani observes in her Introduction that SAS and the Bangalore based National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) created a channel for women field biologists in a big way and helped them build a mutual network and support system.

The Turtle Girl J. Vijaya, Viji as she was called, is part of the history of herpetology in India, and one only has to search “cane turtle” to learn about the impact of Viji on the species, their study and conservation. She cut her teeth at the Crocodile Bank with the legendary Rom Whitaker, and who better to write her profile than Zai Whitaker? Viji “discovered” the Crocodile Bank via the Snake Park one summer as a student at Ethiraj College, writes Zai, who was her senior by a few years, and came to know her closely as a colleague and friend. Escapades while trying to discover the mouth of the Cooum with her sister Prabha, collecting crocodile dung, dealing with men acting “fresh” on the Chennai buses, and the onset of the schizophrenia that brought a cruel end to a much too short life: Zai describes all this and more in a personal and poignant recollection of Viji’s life and work. Zai recounts in an interview that Viji was different, the key word was her passion. She loved the animals around her – the cats, dogs, monkeys and squirrels and also had a balanced scientific approach to her field work. 

Divya radio tracks a brown palm civet in Sengaltheri, KMTR (1999). Photo by Dr. AJT Johnsingh.

Divya Mudappa’s journey towards understanding the historical and cultural context of landscapes in order to better and more effectively conserve them effectively is well told by Shweta Taneja, who was fascinated by her deep commitment to the terrain of Valparai. Divya spent her childhood in Madikeri and came to Chennai for her Bachelor’s in Zoology at Stella Maris. It was her volunteering with the Chennai Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSCTCN), that probably set her on a path to wildlife research that included moving on to a master’s degree from SAS Pondicherry, interning with Raghupathy Kannan and going through the heartbreak of experiencing degraded rainforests in the Western Ghats. Setting up Nature Conservation Foundation NCF with her life partner, working on the Stanmore patch first and then tying up with Parry Agro to restore the rainforest at Lower Paralai – every step brought learnings about the complexities of rainforests and their interdependencies. Shweta does full justice to the tribulations faced in this journey and the frustrations that almost drove Divya to give up. 

Anita Mani herself chose to profile Divya Karnad, the Zoology graduate from WCC, who spent her childhood dreaming of a career in wildlife in 1990s Chennai, when STEM was the only respectable thing to do. She also volunteered with SSTCN, and then went on to National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore for her Masters, stayed with the turtles, working in the now famous Rushikulya beaches of Odisha, where her experiences with the fishermen brought home the truth that successful conservation has to include and involve the local communities. Anita evocatively describes the coastal ecosystems and fishing communities of Chennai, the social habits of seafood consumption and the genesis of Divya’s website-based intervention “In Season Fish”. Divya’s focus on sustainability in seafood is unique and remarkable and also very relevant to our city.

The Oaks Call her Home is one of my personal favourite essays. Neha Sinha writes about Ghazala Shahabuddin and the oak trees of Uttarakhand. Neha’s descriptions of Ghazala’s work with the oak forests and the diversity they carry in terms of bird life is a story of love, of a woman finding her voice in a patriarchal society even as she discovered her passion and stuck with it.

Much has been written and said about Raza Kazmi’s sensitive and detailed portrait of Jamal Ara, the forgotten birdwoman of India. Raza writes about his chance rediscovery of Jamal Ara via Jamal’s daughter Madhuca. Madhuca movingly recounts her mother’s struggles in marriage, her joys while in the forests and doing her wildlife research and her final battles with mental illness towards the end of her life. “A strict mother, a very private person, who loved to be in the forest. She wore green trousers and a green shirt in the forest, and at that time for a married lady and a mother to wear that was out of the question!” How a person with so much impact on government policy, protection and documentation of the biodiversity of the Chota Nagpur area besides being a gifted translator and short story writer, could have been so utterly and completely forgotten is disappointing and sad to say the least. As I discussed this with Anita, she wondered whether Jamal Ara’s gender and accompanying lack of self-promotion had led to her erasure from memory. Was it that she hailed from and worked in small town India? This anthology should be the start of the re-discovery and celebration of Jamal Ara.

The compiled portraits and profiles are a tribute to the successes of these women, a description of their journeys including some of their gender-based struggles. I also found appealing the generous sprinkling of tips for young women who may wish to follow their paths in wildlife biology. Divya Mudappa speaks of resilience in the face of challenges, Ghazala of the importance of sisterhood, Usha Ganguli of learning to be bold and Uma of believing in one’s self without guilt.

A common thread that will strike the reader is that women field biologists seem to bring empathy and emotion to their work. This helps them engage positively with communities which, in turn, positively impacts conservation and sustainability at the ground level. This is a book I will dip into time and again.

A crow's nest at our feet

eBird Checklist - 17 Aug 2024 - Madras Boat Club, Chennai - 11 species

When we backbenchers meet, it is usually a cheery and noisy affair and this was no different.  After ingesting the omelettes and dosais and coffee, we strolled out into the Boat Club lawns,  only to have a crow's nest fall out of the tree and at the feet of Gayathree and Sagarika.

A set of crows cawed in consternation (I assumed) from the Neem tree above, staring at the nest which was thankfully without egg, and therefore we were in no ethical dilemma.

I admired the inner neat cup - I did not think the crow made a neat nest inside, having only seen the messy exterior so far..  I was quite taken in by the little cup with the thinner lighter twigs.

The stagnant Adyar river had many pairs of Ditch jewels, which is really not good news - they are usually around polluted waters - why I do not know, but they seem to love hanging around.

A Clubtail too, I spied.  (I was quite pleased with my mobile phone via binoculars camera work.)

As we all dispersed to leave, we saw not one, not two, but a trio of Flamebacks going up a coconut tree. Such an unexpected delight, our Bhai was also exhilarated!  Flamebacks are busy always, digging, drilling and hopping up in their odd two-footed fashion.  May we never lose the joy of seeing these beautiful birds, and keep the sense of wonder in us always alive.

The Divi divi along the road was in full bloom, and I enjoyed standing under the tree and inhaling the fragrance and enjoying the "greenness" of the fresh leaves". Sagarika was busy with camera, muttering to herself - oh Tailed Jay, see there Swift, Pansy, I am not able to get a click...so many bees..."  She was in full incantation mode.  I was in Inner Peace state.

Friends and Nature make for a good therapeutic start to the day.

Chafers and Scarabs, Weevils and Jewels

It is Beetle Week and I attended an online talk by the inimitable Geetha Iyer, whose breadth and depth of insights on biodiversity in general and insects in particular are pretty awesome, to say the least.

I learnt that 40% of insects are beetles, and these include those weevils that ate up my Kabuli channa last week - so well did they burrow and munch that all that was left was skeletal remains.  (Never mind that I was banking on the said channa to feed some guests, and alternate emergency Plan B menus had to be thought of.)

Beetles are prehistoric survivors, crawling around even before dinosaurs stomped the earth, and from what I understood one of the secrets to their longevity on the planet is the hard elytra which keeps them safe from fungal and other attacks.  

Geetha shared some fiction with beetles that I now have to read - The Gold Bug by Edgar Allan Poe with a scarab beetle in it.  This one sounded astonishing - The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals - EP Evans,  lists a total of 191 animal trials, and it all seems quite bewildering. In one of the cases, weevils were taken to trial in 16th century France by winemakers.

And then there are flesh eating beetles - Dermestids - that are used by those who need to clean skeletons in their cupboards - no not politicians, but scientists and researchers!  Geetha mentioned that these little creatures can industriously eat upto 5 times their body weight each day, and they are "efficient workers, do not damage the bones" and go about their business quite thoroughly.

This Tiger Beetle (Lophyra catena) was scurrying around in the sand in my mother's garden last year. They run real fast (so fast that they have to stop and reorient themselves every now and then, I read) and are quite difficult to photograph, so I am rather pleased at this picture with a mobile camera of these little carnivores.

This Leaf Chafer scarab beetle had sought the safety of the indoors to breathe its last.  I am guessing they chafe leaves in plenty and are not a friend of the farmer.

This beauty I spied on a milkweed many years ago, in the TTUF park at Taramani peaceably chomping away.  Leaf beetle of the genus Platycorynus

The Indian Green Tortoise Beetle was seen after a spell of rain in the same TTUF campus.

A Rhinoceros Beetle met its end, probably crushed underfoot.  

Rhino beetles are kept as pets I believe.  And in Thailand and Japan, Rhino beetle fights are a thing.  I did not know this.  there is even a card game called Mushiking.  Rhino beetle fights are legendary - they are herbivores and harmless, but the males, push shove and throw each other in their fight for a male!

And then just to confuse people like me there are Jewel Bugs which look like beetles but are not, as against the true Jewel beetles.

This is a Jewel Beetle (

This is a Jewel Bug, it sucks and does not chomp and that is not an elytra - it is a scutellum.  And see - there is no division in the middle, so it cannot split open, when they fly.

Sternocera chrysis), chomping leaves at TTUF, its hard elytra in full glory.

Another road kill.  A gorgeous Flower Chafer Beetle did not make it across the road.  

"In terms of movement, adults are considered some of the best flyers among beetles. They can hover above and land on flowers or fruit. When threatened by predators, they escape by either performing a rush take off or by falling toward the ground and then flying before impact. " Wikipedia

And now I am off - need to restock on kabuli channa, remember?  (And next time those weevils come to feast, I shall take some pictures before subjecting them to capital punishment.)

Update

Sternocera chrysis - seen on September 7th.  A Jewel Beetle