Gaurav Bhatnagar has posted three photographs of Caspial Plover, seen at Tal Chhapar, Rajasthan first by Mr Surat Singh Poonia a few days before, and then by Gaurav Bhatnagar and Harkirat Singh Sangha on 25 August 09. 
I arrived in Jaipur at
On arrival at TC, found Shri Poonia waiting for me. Without further ado, we proceeded to the sanctuary and immediately encountered a group of Blue-cheeked Bee-Eaters who are summer visitors to
Within 100 metres of Shri Poonia’s office, we started seeing the White-Eyed Buzzards which had gathered in large numbers in Tal Chhapar prior to migration. On the ground and on tops of Khejri trees that dot the TC grasslands. In a matter of few minutes, we saw atleast fifty ! All the birds were juveniles, with pale heads, dark streaking on rufous breasts and dark iris. During my stay at Tal Chhapar, I did not see a single adult which was somewhat disappointing. Later we saw a pair of Lagger Falcons, both juvenile. Encouraged by the sighting of the Laggars, we drove past an area of salt mounds and scrubby vegetation where a pair of Isabelline Wheatears and a Southern Gray Shrike were birds of interest. Further on, a lone Desert fox and a family of Indian foxes were notable ‘finds’. As the light was failing, we returned to Base.
Next morning, I left for the sanctuary at
Four Chesnut-Bellied Sandgrouse sitting pretty on the sandy ground were the birds seen later along with many, many White-Eyed Buzzards. By now the sun was shining furiously from a relentless, blue sky and the Buzzards were busy making quick meals of Spiny Lizards who happened to venture out from their burrows.
It was time to turn back and we returned by way of the salt mounds. The bird with the red cocked tail was again perched on the barbed wire and this time I got a distant shot and lo and behold it turned out to be the Rufous-Tailed Scrub Robin. Going through Grimmett, I learnt that the RTSR is passage migrant through North-West
Rufous-Tailed Larks, Ashy crowned Sparrow Larks, Crested Larks, a Pipit which I thought was a Richard’s Pipit due to its longer hind claws, Blue-Cheeked Bee-Eaters, Southern Grey Shrikes and Isabelline Wheatears were the other occupants of the by now ‘famous’ barbed wire fence.
I had read about sighting of a Tawny Eagle in Tal Chhapar by Koshyji and I badly wanted to see one. Perseverance pays and near a water-body which had many Woolly-Necked storks was a magnificent adult Tawny in pale cream morph, sitting proudly on top of a tall tree.
After a delicious meal of parathas and curds in Shri Poonia’s house, I decided to try one last time for a photograph of the elusive RTST. It was almost
The Great Indian Bustards seen recently by
Images of the birds including Rufous-Tailed Scrub Robin are being uploaded separately.
1. Indian Roller
2. Eurasian Collared Dove
3. Red Collared Dove
4. Rosy Starlings
5. Common Mynah
6. Brahminy Starling
7. Common Babbler
8. Spotted Owlet
9. Brown Rock Chat
10. Ashy Crowned Sparrow Lark
11. Rufous-tailed Lark
12. Crested Lark
13. Isabelline Wheatear
14. Southern Grey Shrike
15. Coppersmith Barbet
16. Chesnut-bellied Sandgrouse
17. Black Drongo
18. White-throated Kingfisher
19. White eyed Buzzard
20. Laggar Falcon
21. Egyptian Vulture
22. Tawny Eagle
23. Wooly-necked Stork
24. Richard’s Pipit?
25. Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin
26. House Swift
27. Cattle Egret
28. Red-wattled Lapwing
29. Indian Pea-Fowl
30. Indian Crow
31. Green Bee-Eater
32. Blue-Cheeked Bee-Eater
33. Black Kite
34. Black Ibis
Manjula Mathur
I have read and heard of Black Drongos (Dicrurus macrocercus) having a
ferocious temper. Over the past couple of decades I have seen them
chasing off all kind of birds, once even a Brahminy Kite (Haliastur
indus) which is also known for its daring nature.
But in the last two months I have witnessed incidents of them being at
heights of pugnaciousness.
On 2 Aug '09, I sighted a pair guarding a small (apx. 20 feet tall)
dead acacia tree in Sultanpur Jheel National Park near Gurgaon,
Haryana. They were attacking all birds that dared to fly in the
vicinity. But I was taken aback when one of these pecked the crown of
a big peafowl that dared passed below their perch. The peafowl,
though, was unfazed and walked away at the same pace.
The other incident was a real shocker for me as I saw two of these
birds being very serious about their physical fight with each other.
On 25 June 2009, in Ranthambore National Park, on a game ride in a
Gypsy vehicle besides Raj Bagh Talao lake, I observed a pair of these
in a ferocious beak to beak bout. They were right in the middle of the
game road. For nearly 6 minutes we watched these two birds lock their
beaks, roll repeatedly side ways over the path and scream at the top
of their voice. Many safari vehicles had to take a detour off the game
road as these determined fighters refused to budge. This was a very
intense battle, the likes of which I have rarely witnessed in any two
birds of the same species. We had to leave the place as my co-tourists
were non-birders. But looking back at the intensity of this combat, I
some how feel this fight might have ended with one of them being
fatally wounded by the other. Please see the images of this incident
at http://tumkurameen.blogspot.com/2009/07/rolls-of-death.html
I would like to hear similar observations if any.
Best regards,
Ameen Ahmed
New Delhi/ Tumkur
INDIA
Kakdagad (~1000m), near Keadrnath, Uttarakhand,
YS Negi and I, a month back on 4 Jul 09.
"It's
"How far is it?"
"Just 300 m away."
Construction of a bridge on the mouth of a narrow river (at best a
small tributary stream now, with scanty rains and all) which merges
with the main river Mandakini, was creating a commotion. However, 100
m on we lost sight of the workers as we walked along the abundant
boulders down below to our left with water flowing by. The rock
beehives were now visible on the other side of the river at the same
level, a steep hillside with a few intact and a few broken bee combs
abandoned by the wild bees.
Negi looked over the valley through his binoculars, "Can't see the
Honeyguide, let's wait for it."
"When were you here last?"
"Three days back; it's sure to come."
"There it is", he whispers in muted excitement, his enthusiasm as
fresh as someone on a lifer. We suddenly see a dark finch like bird
with a clear yellow rump circle the area and fly back towards the
cover of the jungle ahead.
"It will come back, it likes to wait in the nearby trees and then
finally goes to the hive."
An hour passes by and we see no sign of the Honeyguide. Nor of any
other bird, I think of the Cheer Pheasant, but on a local report,
higher elevations of Madmaheshwar may hold them. No sign of Kalij
either, which normally is barely happy far away from the din of
humans. Monal I knew I would find at Tunganath and one hardly expects
a Koklass at lower, shallower and disturbed forest.
"It's getting dark now and I am afraid, we might not get a shot." I
sounded meditative if not altogether dispirited.
"It's because of these noisy Ashy Drongos that our bird is not coming
near. I can also see a Blue Whistling Thrush nest just two meters from
the combs." He finds a reason.
Stealthy Blue Whistling Thrush, not a raptor, yet a slayer of young
birds, not sparing even a large juvenile Long-billed Thrush. Once,
however, on a quiet morning, after a stormy night, I saw it whistle by
the
melodious whistle.
Just then, our Honeyguide flew in and perched right next to the
Drongos on the other side. A casual look would not have revealed the
bird now resting quietly in the dark woods, the likeness of the bird
being much like the stem of its choice. The compact flash cards of the
camera worked overtime to record clicks of the bird, which was nothing
more than a speck.
After a while, the Honeyguide rose and at the same time, by chance, a
pair of quarrelling Ashy Drongos created a commotion which made the
bird divert its flight to a tree just meters away from me. Now I could
see the ruffled bird in breezy surroundings and magnified proximity,
much more clearly. The dark bird in the green umbrella of the trees,
the creepers, the mossy sheaths on the tree trunks; magical moments
held forever.
The bird playing hide-and-seek behind the swaying leaves threw a lot
of challenge to my camera. Shoot as you will and be overwhelmed as
much, but the expectation of a better shot never goes away.
The impassive but alert Honeyguide, secure in the knowledge of
available food, soon flew to a bee nest attached to the mossy reddish
grey rocks and remained hidden from view. After ten minutes or so, it
flew back to the jungle.
It soon was dark and I walked back in an unusually warm evening in the
---
Cheerio
Devashish Deb
It is nice to have a discussion on Vulture Restaurants on the birds-chandigarh google group. I have garnered the following from the Internet for sharing with all interested in this subject.
FACTS
1. Vulture population in the Indian subcontinent of the Gyps indicus and Gyps bengalensis, gfyps tenuirostris was found to be declining in fact the vulture population in Nepal is estimated to have fallen to a mere 500 nesting pairs from at least 50,000 pairs in 1990.
2. In 2004 researchers working in
3.
4. The use of diclofenac is prohibited in
5. Out of them the Gyps bengalensis is a bird found as a non common resident species of Punjab both East and west Punjab(Pakistan)
6.a special feeding centre set up by the conservation group at Kawasoti, about 100 km (60 miles) southwest of the capital, Kathmandu, is trying to ensure vultures get a chance to eat chemical-free cattle carcasses. (
7. A vulture restaurant was established at the Oriental White-backed Vulture Gyps bengalensis colony at Toawala, in the
8.Six male vultures were fitted with satellite transmitters to describe variation in movement and home-range during periods when safe food was alternately available and withheld at the vulture restaurant. There was considerable variation in individual home-range size (minimum convex polygons, MCP, of 1,824 km2 to 68,930 km2), with birds occupying smaller home-ranges centered closer to the restaurant being more successful in locating the reliable source of food. Fixes showed that 3 of the tagged vultures fed at the vulture restaurant and the home-range of each bird declined following their initial visit, with a 23–59% reduction in MCP.
9.Effectiveness Of Restraunts was measured as indicated bellow:
Mean daily mortality during provisioning was 0.072 birds per day (8 birds in 111 days), compared with 0.387 birds per day (41 birds in 106 days) during non-provisioning control periods.
10. Vultures tended to occupy greater home-ranges, cover greater distances each day and spend proportionately more time in the air during the late brooding and post-breeding seasons. Attendance at the vulture restaurant also declined during this period with fewer birds visiting less often and no tagged vultures visiting the vulture restaurant at all.
CONCLUSION:
These findings indicate that vulture restaurants can reduce, but not eliminate, vulture mortality through diclofenac exposure and represent a valuable interim measure in slowing vulture population decline locally until diclofenac can be withdrawn from veterinary use.
To prevent extinction, captive breeding efforts have been initiated in
Here too there are problems:
1. Given the overall decline, it is not known to what extent levels of genetic diversity currently exist in the remaining populations.
2. A much larger captive population size is required than currently maintained to prevent further loss of genetic diversity. Before this species is extinct in the wild, it is crucial that additional individuals are included in the captive population.
3. Purchasing meat safe for vultures poses a problem. One has to be very careful to purchase meat that is safe to feed the birds. A veterinary doctor at the post gets the history of each animal before buying, to ascertain whether it has been vaccinated or not. They prefer to buy animals from the areas where farmers usually avoid vaccinating their cattle and goats and utilize traditional methods of treatment.
4. A large captive population is required as gestation period for attaining maturity and breeding status is very long. A single chick is normaly born so the process of creating a viable population is very slow.
Dr. Vibhu prakash who has been running the Program at Pinjore, has sucessfully bred the vultures in captivity. His dedication and knowledge on the subject is far beyond the comprehension of a birder like myself.
Last year the Pinjore Center had 8 eggs laid, a small but positive step in the right direction. Re-introduction and development of a seizeable self sustaining population with enough genetic diversity is yet a long way ahead we wish him all the best.
Haryana Govt along with BNHS at Pinjore is following a scientific approach through captive breeding. The Punjab Govt has also pitched in with a plan for establishing a Vulture Restaurant since there is a sizeable population still in existence there; these are all steps in the right direction and deserve every members support.
Vulture Restaurants slow the decline in Poppulation whereas Captive breeding with the intention to re-introduce a species helps to prevent Extinction.
Regards.
Narbir Kahlon
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