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.

Adyar Poonga from the outside

 11th to 13th February 2022

Day 1

Morning walks in a different neighbourhood bring different joys and delights.  A little peek through the gap in the shrubbery revealed the waters of the Adyar Poonga, as I walked down the western sidewalk of Greenways road, towards Santhome.

No Binoculars and myopia meant I saw the Pelican swimming serenely, but what were those little waders?  They stood still and seemed rather lethargic.  Too big and inactive for sandpipers, too plump for Black-Winged Stilts.  

I enjoyed the breeze, the call of the white-browed bulbuls, the flight of the little egret over the water's surface, instead.

Tried to wheedle my way in to the Poonga via the side gates, but no luck - watchman were pretty firm about not letting anyone in.  I walked through one eastward cul-de-sac, which ended in the Fisheries Office, alongside Quibble Island cemetery.  A nice walk but for the smell of well, fish.  

On going back home, Sekar casually says there is a pedestrian bridge across the Poonga, from the road next to the India Cements building - How does he know these things, seriously?  I am very sceptical - first of all where is this road next to IC office, and how can there be a bridge across the Poonga, I mean, how??

Day 2

Next morning, I retraced my steps, armed with binoculars, and lo and behold, those gundu stock still birds were revealed - Grey-headed Lapwings.  I was very happy to come across them - after a few years.  Winter migrants, they are rather different from the busy resident Red Wattled Lapwings.  Striking looking with their black breast band.  There was also a large flock of BWS, with their pink legs, mirrored in the water too.

A couple of Night Herons were busy in their own focussed worlds.

I had another goal from the previous day - finding that bridge - which I was quite sure didn't exist.  So I retraced my steps, back to the Indian Cements building....and there was the road going west...Karpagam Gardens...ok Sekar, I found it!  Nice tree-lined avenue, with the regular morning sounds.    

And there at the end of the road, was Karpagam Bridge!!! Across the Poonga, yes indeed, Sekar.  I loved the way it was designed, with the trellis to allow a look-see into the Poonga, and little wider alcoves, to sit in the evenings, if you so desired.  

The view through the trellis, looking west. One of the Poonga workers was picking up trash - bottles carelessly chucked over the bridge (Why, people?)  I thanked him for doing his job, and commiserated with him.

I spied the Poonga walking paths

And the workers going about their work, sweeping and cleaning the paths.  Squirrels enjoyed the trellis racing up and down, and getting startled seeing my face suddenly.

The view on the other side.  The Portea tree was full of the sound of white-browed bulbuls.  A lady passing by with her shopping told me that I should come earlier to find the birds (It was after 8am), as she hurried back home.

At the edge, I could hear the loud cackling of white-breasted waterhens, among the reeds at the water's edge, while a pelican paddled away from me.

As I crossed the kalyana mangalam, I saw this sewage truck that had the Made in India lion - a recycling sewage tank is it?

Day 3

I followed the lady's tip and started with Karpagam bridge, but no luck there.

I walked back via Quibble cemetery, wandered through the ancient graves, and saw a large blooming Kapok

14th Feb saw the BWS on the backwaters, and I managed to get on decent binocs-phone-cam shot

That evening, the sunset over the Adyar, brought gold to the waters - I could see the wader flocks near the bridge take to the air, but they were too far for me to figure out whether they were plovers or sandpipers, stints or shanks.

The interconnectedness of it all

Exactly a year ago, to the day, we did a trip to take part in the MNS Intertidal survey toYedianthittu and Kaliveli, and now this year, these are the development plans that are underfoot.

Twin harbours cement crisis in Kaliveli: Expert- The New Indian Express

Project launched by fisheries dept poses threat to Olive Ridley nesting ground and bird sanctuary, say environmentalists

SV Krishna Chaitanya

Yedayanthittu island, where migratory birds congregate in large numbers. (Photo | Express)

Yedayanthittu island, where migratory birds congregate in large numbers. (Photo | Express)

VILLUPURAM: The State fisheries department has begun work on the controversial twin fishing harbours inside the Kaliveli estuary bordering Chengalpattu and Villupuram districts. Multiple access roads are being laid on the nesting grounds of Olive Ridley sea turtles to facilitate the movement of men and machinery. 

The pristine white sandy beaches on either side of the Kaliveli and Yedayanthittu estuary are frequented by Olive Ridleys for nesting. As on Saturday, community volunteers engaged with turtle conservation said, there were around 120 live nests in Paramankeni, Thaluthaliyur, Panayur Chinna Kuppam, Alamparai and Thandu Mariamman Alamparai beaches and the number is expected to peak in the coming days as the nesting season extends up to April.    

Roads being built across the tidal waterbody in preparation for constructing fishing harbour.

TNIE visited Alamparai Kuppam and Azhagan Kuppam, where the twin fishing harbours were proposed, each designed to park 110 mechanised boats and 300 motorised boats at a combined cost of Rs 235 crore. Work is going on at a brisk pace. Tonnes of construction debris has been dumped on the Alamparai beach for laying a motorable road to bring boulder stones for the construction of groynes. An area of five hectares of sandbar would be dredged to develop a 100 meters wide navigation channel connecting the Bay of Bengal and the Kaliveli backwaters. 

A fisheries department official, who was on the spot supervising the works, told TNIE the road work will be completed within a week and heavy vehicles will be deployed to transport the stones. The fishing harbour at Azhagan Kuppam is coming up near Yedayanthittu island, where migratory birds congregate in large numbers. Here, a road has been already built and a container ‘work-station’ cabin set up. Red flag posts were erected for about 1 km marking the navigation channel route, where dredging work will shortly commence.         

A view of a large expanse of Kaliveli backwaters where two fishing harbours are proposed. 

The irony is that the majority of fishermen in the surrounding villages are against the harbour project. Based on the information gathered by TNIE, there are hardly any mechanised vessels in Chengalpattu and Villupuram districts. In Chengalpattu, there are only four vessels and in Villupuram 24.

Athiyar, a motorised boat owner from Kottaikadu, said there is no demand for such large jetties or harbours. The few mechanised vessels are currently using either Kasimedu harbour in Chennai or Puducherry harbour.“The project will displace hundreds of small-scale and marginalised fishers, who depend on abundant fish, oysters, clams and other shellfish. Once the harbours are built, the water will get polluted with oil spills and other discharges,” he said. 

Saralan, one of the very few graduates from Muttukadu village, alleged that only a few big fishing villages like Kadapakkam, Azhangankuppam, and Alamparaikuppam will benefit from the harbour, while over 20 small coastal villages dependent on backwaters will be affected.

However, M Murugesan, executive engineer, Department of Fisheries, claimed there will be no adverse impact on the ecosystem or livelihood of small fishers. “The navigation channel inside the estuary will be just 40 meters wide, while the width of the lake is about 500 meters. There will be a dedicated committee, composed of officials and experts, who will monitor the disposal of waste. Chances of oil spills are minimal. Besides, we are receiving a lot of applications from the fishermen in the area for tuna longliners and conversion of boats into deepsea vessels for which the government offers 50 per cent subsidy.”

‘Protect bird sanctuary’

The recently declared Kaliveli bird sanctuary is contiguous with the estuary. Both are connected by a tidal channel. Any pollution in the estuarial waters will cause irreversible damage to the bird sanctuary, which recorded one of the highest migratory bird pollution in the State during the recent bird census carried out by the State forest department. 

"We urge you to take measures to protect Kaliveli bird sanctuary and its high biodiversity by increasing its Eco-Sensitive Zone to include the creek and estuary, since they are ecologically contiguous and single hydrological system. We also urge you to appeal to the fisheries department to relocate the fishing harbours," said Madras Naturalists' Society president KV Sudhakar and its honorary secretary G Vijaya Kumar in the letter addressed to Chief Wildlife Warden Shekhar Kumar Niraj. 

The proposed harbours at their present location will block and destroy the connectivity of Kaliveli lake to the ocean, which is bound to affect the food availability for both migrant and resident bird species. Moreover, fuel leaks, oil spills, wash-water, sewage and other effluents from the harbour sites, as mentioned in the EIA, are bound to pollute the Bird Sanctuary, the letter reads. 

An aerial view of  Yedayanthittu island where large congregations of migratory birds are found.   

Also, the nearshore waters off Kaliveli and the inshore coastal waters in the region host a considerable diversity of whales and dolphins given the complex bathymetry of trenches and canyons close to shore. Some cetaceans recorded year around (resident populations), live or stranded, include Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin, Finless Porpoise, Spinner Dolphin, Pan-tropical Spotted Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin, Blue Whale, Bryde’s Whale and Sperm Whale.

The presence of Sperm Whales has been reported by local people, and the area is perceived to be an important calving ground for these species. All of these species are Schedule I species and facing different levels of threat on the IUCN Red List. 

The presence of mechanised fishing will threaten cetacean populations causing death due to bycatch and ship strikes. While the Bird Sanctuary is a rich habitat, so is the creek and estuary of Kaliveli where the project is proposed. 163 species of birds have been recorded at the Kaliveli estuary as compared to the low number of 49 species stated in the EIA, of which several are Near Threatened, or come under the Convention of the Conservation of Migratory

species. 

"Birds like the Whiskered Terns, Northern Pintail, Little Stint and others have been recorded in their thousands during Asian Waterfowl Censuses. This is also the location where the threatened Grey Tailed Tattler is sighted commonly, the only other place in Tamil Nadu other than Pulicat," said bird expert M Yuvan. 

He said the 5,151.60 hectares Kaliveli bird sanctuary was declared after the studies for the proposed harbours were conducted. Therefore, new studies by qualified ecological scientists are required to investigate their impact on the sanctuary and its wildlife.  

A Jacana start to my birding year

 5th January 2022

My first birding outing of the year with Umesh and Srinivas.  They picked me up before 6 am, and with masks, binoculars and water, we went down OMR to explore(for me first time ) the rear of the Perumbakkam water body, close to where the International Village School is located.

As we wound through the roads of the colony that is well, developing in marshland, there was much muttering and exclaiming from Srinivas and Umesh, as they remarked how even more plots have gone, and walls have come up where there was none before.  Habitat loss in front of our eyes.

We reached the border of the lake at around 615, and dawn was just breaking.  

There was nothing much by way of water bird life here - the water was deep - and so we moved further west, where we could see the edge of the marsh.

We walked through an (as yet) empty plot, with a bunch of these puppies following us.  A couple of them took a great fancy to my sandals and pants, tugging at them, in mock play, before losing interest and then chasing each other!

Srinivas then went even further west, on a road with large craters, and mountains for manholes - some motocross GP skills on his part - which was the local facility for the construction workers, who were involved in their morning ablutions and were quite startled by this strange threesome, who had cameras but were not taking selfies.

This part of the marsh had less water and so the waders and jacanas were out in full force.  I have never seen so many jacanas at one go!  Hundreds upon hundreds.  
 

Open-billed storks also were in plenty, flying overhead in formation

As we scanned the marsh, Umesh and I argued about the difference between a pylon, post and pillar.  If you are wondering why, he grumbled that I was misdirecting him by wrongly misidentifying these important markers, here he was staring at the pillar when I  should have been saying post, etc etc.  (Not that he missed anything, he was "just saying". )

A purple heron greatly improved the drab concrete scenery

The complete list from this Classic Farms side is here, compiled methodically by Srinivas, down to the last wagtail.

We drove back to the familiar northern side of the lake after this.  A road that was familiar to me two years ago, when we used to bring the NIFT students on a nature walk.

This was a favourite spot, always, with cormorants, kingfishers and pelicans, which would usually delight the students.  This time also, the shrub was full of activity.

There were Northern Pintails everywhere - swimming in the waters, preening on the edge of the lake and sunning and sleeping further up on the banks.

We drove a bit further down and caught a meditating purple heron, and a Pipit walking on the wall/bund.  

Blue-tailed bee-eaters delighted us with their aerial swoops as they caught insects and came back to their perch.

Look at the colours!

Complete list of the lake northern front here.

We then drove into the ELCOT area, where more surprises awaited me.  Last time during the bird race, we had walked in, only to be stopped by the guards, who were not very impressed with our birding activity.  However, going in, in a car, is perfectly acceptable it seems. So in we went, and stopped near the water-filled plot, which I hope will not be developed.

 A Little Egret seemed to pose for us, its breeding plumage fluttering in the breeze, its yellow feet clearly seen

A bunch of Fulvous Whistling Ducks first caught our eye, paddling in the water, behind the egret.

And as we scanned the banks we saw Wigeons and Shovelers a plenty.

And just as we were about to leave, a group of Garganeys came swimming to the bank.  

I was seeing migratory ducks after a couple of years of Covid-lack-of-birding.  I am hoping this year is an improvement on the last!  The Elcot list is here.  

Many thanks to Umesh and Srinivas for this little outing, and hoping for many more.  Some dragonflies later, we headed back.  A customary stop for samosas - my offer of digestive biscuits was sneered at - and tea resulted in babblers being added to the list! 

An article in The Hindu

Wetland bursting at the seams with jacanas?

The water levels have dropped in the northern and southern extremities of the Perumbakkam wetland, and both the pheasant-tailed and the bronze-winged are making the most of it

Pheasant-tailed and bronze winged jacanas at the Perumbakkam wetland on December 24, 2021. Photos: Prince Frederick

Prince Frederick

When a family member tends towards corpulence, it hardly registers in the mind till their drapes start bursting, the buttons flying with the muzzle velocity of a firearm. Equating resident birds with the close-of-kin, birders are beginning to notice that the Perumbakkam wetland is bursting at the seams with jacanas.

On the southern and northern extremities of the wetland, water has drained hugely and noticeably — respectively — exposing vegetation the pheasant-tailed and bronze-winged jacanas take to, with their never-ending jacanidae toes. They are making the most of it — particularly the pheasant-tailed jacana.

Not many days ago, when birder Gnanaskandan Keshavabharathi scanned the expanse, mumbling numbers, his tally of pheasant-tailed jacanas stood somewhere around 200. He had also counted nearly a dozen bronze-winged jacanas. Counting independently on another day, birder Sundaravel Palanivel’s arrived at a guesstimate: a whopping 400 jacanas with much of that number being racked up by the pheasant-tailed jacanas.

Either way, the jacana presence is monstrously high. Juveniles, particularly of the pheasant-tailed, make up a neat percentage of the gathering. There are also pheasant-tailed togged in their delectable breeding colours and extended sickle.

A stray thought enters the frame, altering the picture. Having guzzled water through November, the Perumbakkam is now somewhat akin to a lung whose fluid build-up is being cleared slowly. The draining is massively incomplete, with the central sections of the wetland still retaining pools of water.

Ornithologist V Santharam notes that this could be a temporary phenomenon resulting from cramped lodgings. Once the water recedes from the other parts, and the wetland gets more accessible to them, the jacanas would be more spread out. When that happens, the sense of mammoth presence would also diminish.

It could well be that the jacanas had been present earlier too in such impressive numbers, but were never shoehorned into small spaces with favourable vegetation.

The ornithologist brings yet another perspective to the jacana-dominated picture. “Congregations of jacanas are not unusual. If they have juveniles now, they must have finished their breeding a little earlier. They probably have different breeding schedules. May be post-breeding, they are congregating at a place that is relatively safe and they have enough food.”

Among the many things that stand out in the tightly-congregations of pheasant-tailed jacanas is cantankerous infighting. Every other second, two jacanas would go up in a flurry of quarrelsome and unruly feathers.

Santharam explains: “They defend small territories within which they can enjoy exclusive feeding rights. I have seen this with rails and coots — they also have a strong territorial instinct. In contrast, waders are migratory; they come here and find the food to be abundant and they go about their business quietly. These resident birds are more specialised in their feeding, looking for things in vegetation, and it is not an easy kind of food to access, and probably, they need to have some space to themselves.”

The original jacana congregation point

V Santharam, ornithologist and director of the Institute of Bird Studies at Rishi Valley, recalls how jacanas ruled the roost at two jheels in North Chennai — back then, North Madras.

“In the 1980s, we used to go to the Manali and Madhavaram jheels (famously known as the twin jheels). we used to access it from the Manali side. I do not remember the bus route — we used to take that bus from Burma Bazaar and it will drop us right at the village, and from there, we would walk about 200 metres and we would reach this place. We used to go through the village and then go into a mango orchard. There would be the shallow waters in front of us, full of lotus leaves — we used to count, most of time, 150 to 200 jacanas. And together, these jheels would be just one-tenth the size of the Perumbakkam wetland.”

A morning at the estuary

Early start today!  Went off to Adyar Estuary to bird - part of AWC.  Arrived at 630, to find a huge gaggle of bikers, all headed to the Broken Bridge, uhh!  Syed, Sagarika, Gayathree, Gowtham, Rohith - two spotting scopes.  Ran into Yuvan and Aswathi as well - and as a result got myself a copy of the Coastal Fauna of Chennai, put together by them - 160 species that you would commonly find.

The walk on the sand was filled with land mines - defecation free my foot - sigh!  

Some beach combing before arriving at the estuary.  Besides all the human waste (literally), and flotsam, that included slippers, cartons, thermocol, flower garlands and what not, were various fragments of creatures.  Many dead OR turtles too - I saw 3! I believe the SSTCN has suspended their public walks due to COVID.  I hope they are still collecting those eggs.  Now there is only a TN hatchery.  

 

A washed up Spiral Babylon snail shell - A marine gastropod mollusc once lived in it

Another sea snail - Murex tribulus, with all its spines that protect it from other predators, while it happily feeds on other molluscs.

The Common Moon Crab that has no Wiki page, goodness! I love their paddle like feet, supposedly helps them disappear into the sand in a trice.

Japanese sponge crab, with the pink pincers

And then we arrived at the estuary mouth

Regular recreation spot is the broken bridge

Magical morning, with the sun shimmering off the water

Pelicans, egrets, crows and humans a plenty.  Smaller flocks of plovers that were too far away for me to see well.  Spotting scopes very much needed.

While Rohith counted the Redshanks, I admired the waves of sand left behind at low tide.

The crow kept an eye on me while pretending not to, as it fed on a fish. 

This Little Egret balanced on this water weed endlessly meditating on the waters.    Fishermen fished, and shoals of small silver fished jumped in the air.

I was fascinated by the little egrets fishing on the water’s edge.  New behaviour seen in 2022 for me.  I couldn't get enough of them.  As they kind of squawked at each other and the crows - seemed rather grumpy, though they kept feeding!!

Many of them had their breeding headgear kudumis, flapping in the wind, quite cutely. 

A Caspian Tern flew overhead, Pond Herons skulked in the mangroves, and cormorants alternated between drying themselves and periscoping in the water.  And then it was time to head back, and as we walked back, there was a lot more to see in the undergrowth just outside the TS walls!

My first hoopoe of the year, busy ferreting in the mud, with its long beak, White-browed bulbuls in pairs, calling loudly, reminding me of a gurgling stream, bee eaters gliding across, Prinia occupying the high perches and singing, a purple sunbird glinting in the sun, parakeets and spotted doves.  The butterflies were beginning to sun themselves, tawny fosters, a blue tiger, and large Crimson Rose fluttered by.

Sagarika and I malingered as usual and were the last to wind up and head home.  Sun, sea and sand, and I had worked up a good appetite - a Mysore masala dosai was a good way to end it.

Parakeets

 

Rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri) - female and a juvenile, judging by their lack of the rose-ring.

The one on the right was feeding the scruffy one on the left

Rose-ringed parakeet
but they were not ringed,

mother and chick, my gaze they meet.

Everyday they screech and whizz by

a green flypast,

red strong beak, my oh my.

Excitable and grumpy, scrumpy and plumpy,

they gather together

on badam tree, colours funky.

Bulbuls and munias, barbets I see

mynahs and crows, more than twenty three.

And now a peacock has been added to the mix

My balcony birding

gives me quite a kick and a fix!

The Peacock of New Beach Road

Intermittently through the summer of '21, through lockdown, sightings of a young peacock yet to grow his elaborate tail feathers, have been reported up and down our road.  A solitary vagrant (?) that has taken a liking to the neighbourhood?

13th Dec 2021 was my close encounter.

The morning starts with a light drizzle, hmm, terrace walk, to go or not, tussle between my id (relax!) and my overactive superego (no you must go, don't be lazy)...sigh, superego wins, and off I go to our terrace. 

Emerging from the door, I gasped, there was the peacock just beyond the door, and not in the least perturbed or shocked at seeing me!  I stood stock still and watched as he strolled across the terrace to the wall and hopped up.

My first of several pictures of the young chap. Pavo cristatus - Indian peafowl

I moved slowly and kept my distance, took a few video clips and many pictures as it strolled and explored our terrace, at leisure, in the jerky fashion that many of these big birds have.

I admired the brilliant "peacock blue" of his neck.  Got a close look at the leg spurs.

I later read that,  that spur on the leg comes when they are around 2 years and tail feathers begin developing around 4.  So then was this chap between 2-4 years of age?  Why was he on his own like this?  I have always seen them in small groups, when I have seen them in India's sanctuaries, be it Kanha or Kaziranga.  I remember in Manas how there was a congregation of them at the entrance of the park.  Our first "Darshan" everyday before we headed in.  

All through the stroll, the house crows of the neighbourhood made their displeasure known, swooping close to his head, hopping closely with loud caws.  

The crows seemed bemused, not knowing what to make of this large bird, something new in the neighbourhood.  I remember when we spotted the Grey Hornbills, the crows behaved in the same manner. In that case, they successfully chased the pair of hornbills away, but our friend the peacock was not too bothered.

Finally, after a complete stroll around, with crows constantly swooping around, he hopped onto the eastern wall, before he launched off.

I peered over the wall, but lost sight of it.  Saw the beautiful reddening leaves of the jungli badam instead.

And then I spied him, across the road on the neighbour's roof!

It was an amazingly rewarding morning - I saw these 4 blue-tailed bee-eaters, as well and enjoyed their insect-hunting sorties and acrobatics.  Initially I wondered if they were chestnut-headed, but their long streamer tail made me conclude that they were Blue-tailed.  Here for the winter.

I also saw scaly-breasted munias, and this beautiful tree.

And here's the complete video.

21st December

An alert neighbour found the peacock once again - in the trees. And Sekar took these pictures through one of our bedroom windows.

We were able to admire the crest on his head, and the beautifully descriptive eyes.  That blue.... I had some sarees in that colour....silk, gorgeous.

He was feeding on the little berries and the young shoots...peck, peck, look, look, duck from the crow, peck again, neck in, neck up...we observed his motions.

And then he did something interesting...he lifted his undeveloped train of feathers, and quivered them, did a pirouette on the branch, showed us his rear.  Did this a couple of times, to a disinterested couple of crows as audience!  (Besides us of course!)

Getting ready for the breeding season?  Or is he immature still?  I wondered.

Further encounters ensued.

23rd December - on our car - seems like a photoshoot - blue on blue.  
Picture taken by our neighbour.

27th December evening - on the coconut tree, surrounded by crows, who were behaving in an indignant fashion - I mean, the coconut tree, this is the limit, I could almost imagine them muttering among themselves.

This was today - 28th December - on our neighbour's tank.  He was there for a good length of time.  Seemed to survey things around, and kept gobbling something - maybe ants - from around that brick he's standing on.

Wishing him a happy 2022, when he finds some other birds of his own feather - and maybe we will see his trail developing? And hear that characteristic peacock call, which has been completely absent.  Very quiet for an adolescent!

3rd January update

Spied this morning too, on the neighbour's fence, eating berries.  His neck caught the morning sun and I gasped with delight watching the shimmering colours through the binoculars.

A dog barked, and he was all alert.  A crow swooped close to its head and settled on the fence too, and immediately this chap put up his yet-to-fully-grow tail, and did his kathakali moves to the crow. So was that an act of aggression or is he (Heaven forbid) thinking he has to woo the crow?!

The neighbour's dog came bounding to the fence, and with a roll of its eyes, the peacock hopped across to the other side and vanished.

5th January - further update

Peacock evening it was!  My friend was on the neighbour's roof once again, and once again being heckled by the crow.  This time, I was able to catch its offensive actions on camera.

Up went its unformed tail, and it faced the crow - was it as a threat or in courtship?  The crow like the peahens, looked totally disinterested, looking the other way.

The crow hopped around on the wall, seemingly trying to deflect this attention, but the peacock moved in true kathakali style, quivering its feathers and also kind of rattling its beak, giving the crow his full attention.

In what felt like a slow-mo, the peacock swivelled as the crow moved.  

As i watched this scene in total rapt fascination, the crow decided it had had enough, and took off, (I like to think), when faced with the rear end of the peacock.

Immediately the tail came down and the peacock kind of peered over to see where the crow had gone off to.  

14th January

After a long hiatus, he was sighted this morning again.  Was it the overnight rain that brought him into view? on the roof of the bungalow across the road, once again in conversation with the crow.

I want to give him a name.  No inspiration at the moment.