Urban wildlife

Featured in IATB #110.
Yess! Finally, some rain! The skies have turned cloudy, and we have begun to get some serious showers. Its been one extended and long summer, here in Madras, with no respite as the south-west monsoon completely passed us by. Oh, for a good north-east monsoon now!

Photo by Mr Ramanan

So besides navaratri kolus, sundal and payasam, its also been some rain, wind, thunder and lightning, this last fortnight..

There have also been rambles around Madras - taking kids to Pallikaranai marsh, walking around Guindy National Park, checking out tree saplings at the PWD park.

The rains have made the PWD park thick with undergrowth. The grounds are buzzing with busy little pollinators - bees, butterflies and even this moth that I found.

Crimson-speckled Flunkey (Utetheisa pulchella), a rather pretty moth, dont you think?

At Pallikaranai, we saw all the usual suspects. We had gone with a group of rather small kids, who were unamused at the smell, garbage and general unsalubrious conditions! Hopefully, by the time they grow up, Pallikaranai will be well restored.

Also, the new bird in town seems to have become a permanent resident! These Fulvous whistling ducks that created quite a stir in July when they were first spotted, continue to hang on in the marsh, and Mr Ramanan got some good pictures of them.

The Fab Four! - Photo by Mr Ramanan
Fulvous whistling ducks - Photo by Mr RamananPheasant-tailed jacana- Photo by Sekar

A very ruffled purple heron - Photo by Mr Ramanan

On to GNP then.

Narasimhan's got some great photos from the GNP walk.

We saw common crows and blue tigers in plenty. A group of leopards as well. Emigrants, grass yellows and emigrants.

Over the last couple of GNP visits, I've found it a lovely walk for butterflies, bugs and flora...but I dont find the birds there. The white-browed bulbul was calling away, but I did not see it.
We saw parakeets and red-whiskered bulbuls, some palm swifts and mynahs.

And we saw this "butterfly grave". A whole host of common emigrants maybe, all caught in a spider's web. All that was left were their pretty wings.

As Kamraj, the forest officer explained, the spiders would have sucked out the juices from their bodies, even as they struggled to free themselves form the sticky webs.

There was a kind of sympathetic silence for the butterflies, but this is just another moment in the web of life is it not?

Asian Bushbeech - Gmelina asiatica. If I remember right, Bhanu said this bush has medicinal properties.
Social spiders at work

Chital - completely unperturbed? Its nose and ears twitched all the while, ready for action if it senseed any kind of threat from us.

Pretty coral vine. My son discovered that even our Cybershot has a macro function! Thank you Dr Alaganandan!
Another macro shot - seven-spotted cockroach

We saw many squirrels like this, but this candid shot is by Mr Ramanan, around his neighbourhood.
Mr Ramanan's spectacular shot of a purple-rumped sunbird. Check out its beak as it feeds, and see the way its legs cling on to the leaf.

I end with this beautiful picture of the Indian roller bird, caught in flight by Mr Ramanan, during his Vedanthangal visit, recently.
The Indian roller - Photo by Mr Ramanan

Pallikaranai is the marshy wetland now very much a part of the city, encroached upon by development, and spoiled by garbage disposal.

Guindy National Park, is an urban wildlife reserve, a somewhat unique concept in the region.

Vedanthangal is a bird park to the south of the city, with nesting water birds.

The PWD park mentioned in this post is along the banks of the Adyar estuary where Nizhal is attempting to develop a tree park with native species of trees and where volunteers take turns to monitor the saplings, and plant even more!

Reading, learning, birding, blogging - I and the Bird #109

I and the Bird is a carnival celebrating the interaction of human and avian, an ongoing exploration of the endless fascination with birdlife all around the world. It is also a biweekly showcase of the best bird writing on the web published on alternating Thursday.

Its my pleasure to host this fortnight's IATB.

IATB I was to host
For which I received many a post.
With virtual wonder I did embark
to mountains, deserts and nature parks.
I share with you now all that I learned
As from one blog to another I turned.

Close to home, on the outskirts of Bangalore
T&S discovered a treasure.
Streaked Weavers they found
And their joys knew no bound.
They clicked away at leisure,

for all our viewing pleasure.

Ashwin, further north, was wandering the deserts of Thar
Looking for Raptors and Agamids near and far.
Falcons and eagles a plenty he did find
Uromastyx hardwickii, they did not mind.


A pair of Black Drongos, Ameen did see
As he drove along Ranthambore in his Gypsy.
They screamed and duelled and rolled about,
Is this war or love? Read and find out!

Over the oceans, to a place called Mull

Where Ian
Saw Dunlins,
Sanderlings and plovers,
Godwits and even an Otter!

Across the Atlantic, GrrlScientist's in NYC,
Birding and educating,

Travelling and teaching.
Check out her mystery bird from South Dakota,
Of which I had no inkling, not even an iota.


Larry is in California
Writing about Athene cunicularia.
This Burrowing Owl
Has him concerned
Can we give homes to these fowls?

Connie in nearby Colorado
Had a sunny interlude with a Junco.
While it bathed in the sun
She had so much fun
That she has written all about it!



Up at the Idaho Bird Observatory,
Rob tells this story.
Hawk trapping -
netting and banding
raptors attracted to lures.
And then came the Peregrine
In a stoop, dive-bombing,
Roaring,
Putting a jetplane to shame!

The Peregrine was also spied in Arctic bay

By Clare on a snow day.

The hungry fellow wanted a raven.

The latter definitely not craven.

Ravens, though common in the concrete jungles of Mumbai,
Is not among Sunita’s favourites which fly.
She prefers Oriole and Weaver
Bulbul and Flycatcher
And even that thieving parakeet is better!

Amila, these days is making excuses.
The dSLR that he uses
Is attracted to dragonflies and spiders
Butterflies and grasshoppers.
Between Macros and Skywatches
Frogs and such obsessions,
There is no digiscoping,
And acute paucity of birding!

But Nate loves his mudflats, shorebirds and digiscoping.

On the shores of Jordan lake in NC, he was hoping

to sight a Ruff.

But though the going was not tough,

the American Golden Plover was real enough!

Rooster Sunny was not amused
To see a Sharp Shinned Hawk peruse
Summer Foovay’s chicken and hens
Early one morning, out in the pen.

Down in Bukit Tinggi in Malaysia
A cicada of the genus Dundubia,
BESG found, clamped in the bill of a Trogon.
It sucked on the plant sap
and urinated from the back
before ending up as bird food and a goner.

Science on Tap has two book reviews
And here I am giving you a clue.
Alex and Wesley evoke many smiles and tears
The parrot and owl, such lovely creatures.

Duncan went to Peach Flat Phoenix
To see if Latham’s Snipe he could fix.
There was a first sighting of the season,
But to visit, an even better reason
Were the Flame Robins, spectacular in pics.

Jo at J M Oudesluys
Sketches all the birdies
This time its Ovenbirds she spied
And drew, as her they eyed.

At Potter County, the grosbeaks blushed

Chickadees roamed

and the yellow rumped was actually a Cape May Warbler!

And Mike was amply rewarded

as Ruffed Grouse his path crossed,

and a hen allowed him to photograph her!

In India, our vultures are now scarce

Felled by disease and diclofenac.
More scavengers we need
And for this I do plead
Lets rehabilitate
Before its too late.

Liza Lee Miller at Egret's Nest

also wishes these scavengers all the best.

With a link to IVAD

So please drop by and see.

And so I round-up my verse
Which I hope was better, not worse!
And see you next time
In a different clime
At Foovay's Cauldron, a blog so diverse!

IATB 110 to be hosted by Summer Foovay at Foovay's Cauldron on October 1st 2009. Come join the celebrations!

{All Photos are from the respective blogs..}

A belated salute to the vulture

http://www.ivad09.org/wp/

Sept 5th was Vulture Awareness Day, worldwide. I missed that date, but better late than never.

My previous posts on the vulture highlighted the crisis that this scavenger species face in India. A depressing situation to say the least. And to think that at one point in time not so long ago, there were plenty of them even in the cities!

Egyptian vulture seen at Bharatpur - Photo by Carthic
Egyptian vulture seen at Bharatpur - Photo by Carthic
Egyptian vulture seen at Bharatpur - Photo by Sripad

Why the worry, they are just scavengers aren't they?

Well yes, of the most efficient type. They feed on dead carcasses, and rid us of carrion and rotting meat. Their stomachs have some kind of special chemicals that do not make them sick when they feed on putrid meat.

Just imagine, if our garbage collectors did not visit even for a couple of days. Now that's the situation - piles of uneaten, rotting meat, spread of disease and the growth of feral dogs and rabies.

The BNHS (Bombay Natural History Society) gives the whole background and status of vultures in India and Vulture Rescue works throughout Asia to help this species.

An Action Plan for Vulture Conservation was announced by the Central Government in 2006. Captive breeding centres in some zoos, Non-diclofenac carcasses in special feeding sites, are being attempted along with the ban on diclofenac.

There's been some success reported in the captive breeding programmes.

The Reconciliation Ecology blog has a nicely written opinion piece on the success of the condor programme in the US, and what lessons we in India can lean from this.

I only hope that these pictures I have posted of vultures are not my last sighting of them.

Tree guards, bagworms and argiopes

Its been an interesting fortnight.

# Went on tree walks with toddlers and teenagers.

# Rambled at the PWD park, with the sun, bees and butterflies for company.

# Saw pictures from Chandrika of a creature that looked like it had come from some alien land.

# Learnt that cycle tires can make good and cheap tree-guards.

# Discovered an argiope inside one of those tree guards.

# Saw scores of black kites all of a sudden.

# Have been tracking an ugly little "crowling" grow into a handsome large-billed crow, all set to fly.

The tree walks and the PWD park ramble were courtesy Nizhal, that wonderful, enthusiastic band of tree lovers of Chennai. Their volunteers go around, in different localities and parks of the city, with different groups, taking young and old on walks to familiarise us with the trees of the neighbourhood, and hoping to spread awareness and commitment for saving our trees.

May their tribe grow.

One of the projects which is currently consuming their time, energy and attention is the PWD land/park in Kotturpuram on the southern bank of the Adyar river. Local species are being planted in order to make a tree park - no lawns or concrete walkways, is what I've understood it.

It was here that a bunch of toddlers came, to plant a few saplings and get sensitised about the need for trees.

The planting was done with much enthusiasm, as also the chasing of butterflies and mynahs. The high point was finding an earthworm in the soil as they planted, and there was many a "ewww" from the girls, while the boys fell strangely silent, taking a tentative step backwards, as Deepika extended her earthworm-filled hand to display it better!

It was here that I learnt that discarded tires make cheap and quick tree guards.

Nizhal volunteers come on Sundays, and quickly put these together, through some clever entwining of binding tape. There had been a couple of showers and so the ground was covered with green undergrowth, and I quite enjoyed hanging out there, never mind the sun.

So it was that I volunteered to go and check on the saplings one Tuesday morning - the saplings do need to be tended - and made an interesting "discovery. More about that later.

The case of the Bagworm moth

On returning home, I found a strange email in my inbox, titled "strange flower feeder". Chandrika of MNS posted these pictures:

An ant trying to get at the larvae

You can see more such pictures at her Picassa gallery here.

See the head poking out
Well, it was my turn to go "eww", as I stared at my computer screen! It turns out, that Chandrika was testing her new macro lens, and found this in her own garden in Thiruvanmyur! Talk about urban wildlife! I was sure that no one would know what this strange creature was.

I had obviously under-estimated the "pros" of MNS. Quick came the replies - thats a bagworm moth larva, dear, go look it up! And so I did. It turns out that larvae of this moth family build their cases out of any old debris they find around - twigs, soil, leaves - as soon as they hatch. The binding is a kind of silk they secrete.

Now, as it grows, it carries this case and moves along, and the caterpillar pokes it heads out to feed on the leaves of the host plant, like any hungry caterpillar. When it is fully grown, it anchors the case to a branch and seals the opening. It then develops into a moth. If its a male, its lucky, it grows wings supposedly and then flies off to find a mate.

But if you are born a female bagworm moth, then life cannot be much fun - you are stuck in that case, you lay your eggs in it and then you die!

If that was not interesting enough, my next visit to the PWD park revealed yet another mystery.

St Andrew's Cross

It had rained insistently for a couple of days, and so the park looked even greener. The undergrowth was wet, the little meadow flowers were buzzing with bees, and as the sun was up already, the butterflies were going crazy chasing each other.

My visit was supposedly to take a look at all the saplings and report back on their state. So I dutifully, stuck my head into every tree guard, to make sure the sapling was alive and well.

And I was rewarded with this!

I stopped short and stared. I have never seen such a large and complete web in my life. I swear, it was atleast 2ft by 2ft.

Hmmm, but it seemed to have only four legs, and as far as I knew all self-respecting spiders have eight.

Oh look, its actually taken some of the binding tape and woven it into its web! ( or so I thought.)
I came home, and my first spider image hit was this. And I had identified my spider!

Not four legs, but eight, held together in an "x" cross. And so the reference to St Andrew who was crucified on a cross like this and not the standard crucifying cross.

Here's some more interesting stuff about Argiope:

Besides their standard orb-web, Argiope spiders build additional white opaque zig zag lines on their webs, called stabilimentum.

Sometimes the zig-zag lines match their leg positions, which lead some people to suggest that this helps give the appearance of longer legs. Some spiders build a single vertical line, yet others a patch of zig zags in the centre of the web. No matter the design, the spider sits right smack in the middle. We do not know the purpose of these lines, but some of the explanations put forward include:
They stabilise the web (hence their name!)
They warn larger animals in the same way that safety strips on glass doors warn people from walking into them. Thus the web is protected from damage by flying birds.
Research has shown that the silk in the stabilimentum reflects ultraviolet well, unlike the silk used in the rest of the web. Thus, the designs may mimic flowers, which also reflect ultraviolet light well, and often have lines to guide insects to honey like airport lights do for airplanes. Instead, the insects are guided to the spider which sits in the centre!!

Source: The Mangrove and Wildlife at Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve.

And I had thought that stabilimentum was the twining tape!! According to this website, Argiope mangal puts out two stabilimentum, and Argiope versicolor puts out four. This one has three!

I also discovered that there is a site on South Indian Spiders.

And guess what. I could not find this chappie there. (Actually, its a lady - only lady spiders build webs...So what do the male ones do for food? I need to find out.)

I cannot find any India mentions of this spider. So, is my id wrong then? or is this some stray imported spider which shouldn't be here?

Somebody help!

The Madras Club cupola above the grand trees, on the opposite bank of the estuary.

Look under those leaves and rocks, folks, you never know what you will find!

Neolithic aesthetics

At the Jordan museum, I came across these lime plaster statues. Hmmm, interesting, I thought, and decided to take a closer look, and did a double take.

8th Milennium BC?! Neolithic period??!!

I could not believe my eyes, and I was a bit sceptical of the claims being made until I returned and did some background reading - which meant that I googled, basically.

Statues of Ain Ghazal, that's what these models below are called.

They were found in the settlement of Ain Ghazal, a Neolithic settlement quite close to modern-day Amman in Jordan. I was very fascinated by those eyes.

Even now when I look at these pictures, the age of these statues just boggles my mind. 9,000 years ago, our ancestors were already into statue-making, isn't that amazing!

And the face proportions are much better than anything I have ever achieved in my various attempts at drawing. (Maybe my side of the family did not come from this branch of Neoliths!)

These statues are from the second Cache that was discovered, I have since learnt. The first cache seems to have had statues that were a bit more shapely, but the faces were more grotesque.

This second cache of statues typically had these large-eyed statues, but with these feature-less torsos, and where are the arms? Interestingly, the toes and feet are well-carved.

This two-headed statue has thrown all the historians and archaeologists into a tizzy. What could it possibly mean? Was it some God of theirs?

By the way, they were discovered by a road-laying crew in 1974! In a strange coincidence, a Neolithic site in the Indian subcontinent was also discovered in 1974 - Mehrgarh in Pakistan.

In South India, it seems that 7,000BC and we were still in the stone age. Neolithic culture came here only in 3,000BC or so. Burial urns from that time period have been found here.

I have always maintained that the large potholes and trenches in Madras are actually archaeological digs!