The nesting sunbirds!

My grandparents from Vellore called and told me about a new nest that a couple of Purple rumped Sunbirds had built in our house. I immediately traveled there, as this was a rare opportunity! When I went there and saw the nest, I was elated. The nest was hanging from Bougainvilla tree within our compound. I spent almost 3 whole days camping just a few feet away from the nest, observing them and clicking a lot of pics!

The nest itself was so beautiful. I kept admiring the intelligence of these tiny birds. The nest had windows and a tiny little shade above the entrance (to prevent rain water from falling in to the nest). The windows were covered with translucent plastic sheets which wouldn't allow direct sunlight into the nest, but would still enable proper heat and lighting! The nest was built hanging from a tender branch, away from any walls or solid branches. This would prevent the threat from Predators like cats, as the branch wouldn't support the cat's weight, and the distance would prevent a cat from leaping and attacking the fledgelings!

The male and female sunbirds kept visiting the nest with bits of plastic, coir etc. Though the eggs were already laid in the nest, they kept improving the nest. The birds which were uncomfortable with my presence, got used to me within just an hour or so. After that, they just didn't bother though I was sitting very close to the nest. They kept flying in and out of the nest, carrying building materials and improving the nest. At around 6pm everyday, the female sunbird returned to the nest and stayed there till dawn. The male, I think stayed somewhere else, as there wouldn't have been enough space for the two of them ;)

I was there just at the right time, I guess, as I started hearing very different kind of calls on the third day. The eggs had hatched. Both the parents kept bringing in food for their kids and kept feeding them. They also kept removing the excreta from the nest from time to time. What's really interesting was the calls that they made. I never knew Sunbirds had so many different calling patterns as I'd only heard the short tweet that they usually make. After the eggs hatched, the parents made wide variety of calls at different points of time - one soft call when at the nest, one loud trilling call just before coming close to the nest, another warning call.

I didn't want to disturb the birds, especially the young ones. Hence, I don't have pics of the eggs or the fledgelings. But, here are the pics of the parents. The one on the left is the female and the one on the right is the male.

It was a wonderful experience observing these birds so closely and clicking pics!

Tree Walks!

Madras week celebrations meant, lots of events focusing on the city's awesomeness. Apart from the heritage walks, exhibitions etc, Tree walks were organised by Nizhal, the NGO which promotes concern for trees!

There were several walks. I happened to attend two of them - one at Kalakshetra and the other at St George's cathedral. Loved both the walks and learnt a lot! The volunteers from Nizhal were very knowledgeable and were keen to help us identify various species of trees. They also explained the properties and uses of each species.

Some of the trees which we I can remember from the walk are Copper pod (very commonly planted along the roads), Pungai tree, Indian Cork tree, Travelling palm, Indian Ash (Udhiyan maram in tamil) and Nuni.

Some of the common species like Peepal or Banyan tree also have very interesting stories. Apparently, the Fig, Peepal and Banyan belong to the same family and the similarity is the way in which pollination happens in these trees. A very tiny and a specific species of wasp enters the closed flowers and pollinates them. There are several species of insects, reptiles and birds are dependent on these trees and the tiny wasps for their survival. To actually know about this whole process of a fig tree's pollination, watch this spectacular documentary titled "The Queen of Trees". It's just brilliant!

Macro

Haven't been able to do any birding trips, but been clicking a lot of insects. Here are a few :)

I have no idea what these insects are. Anyone knows?

Lal Bagh!

One short trip to Bangalore, last weekend. How could I miss a chance for some birding? As soon as the train reached Bangalore in the morning, I went off to a friend's place had a quick shower and a cup of Boost and rushed to Lal Bagh! And, it was worth it.

One species I really wanted to click was the White Cheeked Barbet which is common in Bangalore butnot found in Chennai. I kept hearing several WCBs calling but couldn't spot one as they are small birds and the green colour helps them in camouflaging in the thick tree cover.

I kept walking listening to several birds calls - Greater coucals, Mynas, Crows, White cheeked barbets - they all could be heard, but I just couldn't spot them.  Saw several black kites flying by quite close. Was able to see their nests, too! Mynas were very common, and saw several of them peeking out of holes in the trees - they were probably waiting for sunshine!

And, for sometime, I started using my macro to click some bees which were busy gathering nectar!

A walk along the lake was perfect as the sun was rising as I spotted several cormorants, geese, Brahminy kites, Pied Kingfishers, Purple Moorhens, Asian Koels and Greater Coucals. But, the White cheeked barbets were elusive.

Then, I came to a part of the park which was literally owned by Black kites. Perched on the trees, the park benches, grass - they were everywhere. They were not very shy. They didn't fly away even when I was close. Spent a lot of time taking pics of the black kites, as I hadn't come this close with these birds. And, that too, such a huge flock of Black kites!

Just few minutes before I was about to give up hopes of spotting the white-cheeked barbets, and was about to leave the park, I spotted one! Couldn't get close, got these two pics - not great pics, a bit soft, but I was happy to get these shots!

For more pics, check out my G+ album - https://plus.google.com/photos/101762870962161822848/albums/5828054753418539201

Flamingo watch - Annamalaicheri

In Feb, I'd gone to Pulicat sanctuary to spot Flamingos. But, came back disappointed. (http://naturepad.blogspot.in/2012/02/nelapattu-and-pulicat.html )

Only last week, did I come across photos of Flamingos from a place named Annamalai-cheri. I was surprised. I didn't want to let go of this opportunity! Since most of Pulicat sanctuary has dried up, Flamingos don't visit the sanctuary. They've found another place in Pulicat lake, which suits them. That place is near Annamalai-cheri village. So, the very next day, we planned a trip to Annamalai-cheri.

Annamalai-cheri is a small fishing village on the banks of Pulicat lake. To reach the place from Chennai, you drive on NH16, and take a right which leads to Ponneri (State Highway 56). Once you reach Ponneri, ask for direction to Annamalai-cheri. It's best to keep confirming the route from locals till you reach the place. Please note that this is not a proper tourist spot, but a small village. So, carry food and water while you are going there, as you won't get anything there.

Once you reach the village, you'll notice that names and mobile numbers of two people are written on many walls. The thing is, the villagers have nominated 2 boatmen (both teetotallers, I was told!) to take tourists in to the lake and return them safely to the shore. 

We reached the village by about 6.30 am. We called up this guy named Selvam (Mobile number: 0 89739 42455), who turned out to be a really nice guy, who even went to the extent of committing to waive off the charges for the boat ride, if we didn't spot any Flamingos!

We started the boat ride and spotted several cormorants, a few painted storks, little egrets, median egrets, Black headed ibises and Common terns. We also spotted Pacific Golden Plovers (both male and female), Sandpipers, which were first time sightings for us :)

The boatman said there was a forest like area on the other shore, where Flamingos may assemble. But, we didn't spot the flamingos during the first one hour of travel. We then saw a group of 5 flamingos fly from North to south. Then another group, then another. 

We changed our direction and within a few minutes, we saw small white dots really far off, in the lake. Selvam, the boatman identified them as Flamingos - incredible! I clicked a pic, then zoomed it and even then, I wasn't able to confirm! But, Selvam was confident and led us towards the flamingos. On our way, we came across a large group of Spot billed pelicans, and also admired the lovely skill of Pied Kingfisher, which hovers over water for sometime and darts down suddenly to catch the fish.

After sometime we reached a place where the water was too shallow that he had to shut off the engine and he couldn't even use the oar. He got down and pushed the boat for about half an hour! Then, we reached a point beyond which the water was too shallow to even push the boat. The depth was only 2-3 inches (not 2-3 feet, but 2-3 inches) and we could travel only by foot from that point.

Selvam told us that we were unlucky, as the Flamingos were in the center of the shallow portion that day, which meant we had to walk, which meant that Flamingos will be scared and we won't be able to get closer. He mentioned that, just the day before, the Flamingos were at the edge of the shallow part of the lake. And, hence he was able to take the tourists very close to the Flamingos, by boat. They don't get scared if you are on a boat, but are scared only when you are on foot!

We got down from the boat and walked. While walking, we noticed small sacs in water. Hundreds of them. Selvam told us that Prawns' eggs are enclosed in those sacs. Natural protection :) 

After sometime, we could see them very clearly. About 500 flamingos in one big group. Selvam told us that this is about only one-tenth the number of Flamingos which visited last year. As we kept walking towards the Flamingos, we noticed that the distance kept increasing - The flamingos were walking away from us and were moving faster than us, on seeing us! We increased our speed a bit (was tough while wading through water), and managed to get a few photos!

I got a bit greedy, and started to run so that I could get very close. And, all flamingos - every single one - took to the sky that instant! It was such a glorious sight.

I kept watching them longingly as they settled in another spot in the lake, quite far away from where we were standing. They had given us one "darshan" and we were grateful for that!

(More pics in my Google plus album: https://plus.google.com/photos/101762870962161822848/albums/5743521860471003729)

The baby

Remember my post about our neighbourhood Shikras? I'd stopped going near the tree/nest of the as I didn't want them feel that the place is not secure and move their nest elsewhere. So, I had no idea whether the Shikra laid eggs or whether they hatched.

So, I was in for a big surprise when this baby turned up right in front of my apartment window, last week.

I saw it walk to and fro along the parapet wall of the neighbour's terrace, as I clicked pics. It took time for me to realise that the baby wasn't old enough to fly. I also noticed crows circling over it, and swooping down and attacking it. It just hopped, avoiding the crows and finally took shelter in a slightly dense Guava tree. I could see the mommy Shikra, perched on a coconut tree (one of it's regular spots), a few streets away. An hour or so later, while I was contemplating about calling an animal rescue office, I realised that the baby was not in the Guava tree anymore. The mommy must've rescued it's baby and moved it, because I spotted it a few hours later, on another tree.

Friendly neighbourhood Shikras!

I've been meeting several Shikras and have been writing about them too. Over the past few weeks, hearing calls of Shikras from my house. The calls have been really loud and hence, I wasl sure that the birds were pretty close. But, hadn't spotted the Shikras from my terrace. Till recently.

One morning, I finally spotted a male Shikra, snacking on a garden-lizard, on a neem tree right behind my apartment. 

Shikra (Male)

I kept spotting the male and female there over the next few days and understood that it's their favourite haunt! I'd been looking up the sky to spot the bird, when they were right behind my apartment, all along!

Shikra (Female)

There's a nest there, which I assumed to be a crow's nest, as there used to be a large flock of crows on that tree. But, later did I realise, that the crows have now shifted to another tree, giving way for the raptor! These days, I spot either of the Shikras, almost daily, perched on the nest! The Shikras, which were very shy at first and used to fly away on just seeing me, are now kinda used to me, I guess. They pose for me and fly away only when I get too close!

Shikra (Female)

Hunter or hunted!

Visited Theosophical society after many months, today. Spotted the usual friends - the spotted owlets, Sunbirds, Roufus treepies and Oriental Magpie Robins. 

Found a juvenile Rose-ringed, while walking along the usual path. At first I didn't realise it couldn't fly. I wondered what it was doing on the ground. Crows were trying to attack it. Luckily, one employee rescued it and took it to provide protection.

While walking back to the exit, heard a lot of noise - a shikra calling frantically and calls of several crows. Turned back to see a Shikra flying so low almost towards me and then changing direction, with the crows in pursuit. The next second, the Shikra was gone. The crows perched on a nearby tree looking for the Shikra, gave up after sometime, and finally left. 

All the while, the Shikra was in a branch on the same tree, though well hidden. It was sitting there silently and after sometime moved a bit, revealing the reason for the crows pursuit. The Shikra had hunted a squirrel and the crows, which are not adept at hunting, tried to snatch it from the Shikra. The hunter had ,in a way, become, the hunted! The Shikra started finishing its meal after ensuring that there was no one there to snatch it away.

Fight for survival

I happened to witness 2 amazing acts of bravery. Survival in the wild is tough and such acts are daily routine for animals, I guess! 

Another visit to Vellore meant more birding trips in the dried up river Palar, that has now become a scrub forest. Had been trying to spot a pair of Greater Coucals that reside there, but they had been evading me forever, though their calls were heard every day.

That day, I saw the couple fly across to a Palm tree in the midst of a very dense bush. There was no way I could get closer, but was observing them from there and it appeared to me that they were somewhat restless. I noticed something hanging midway in the palm tree. What I first assumed to be a dried palm leaf was a snake. It was about 9.30 in the morning and the summer sun was shining straight into my face and I couldn't make out the colour of the snake or identify it. (I've been told by the locals, that there are large Cobras, Vipers and Rattlesnakes there, but I just couldn't identify it). It was so long that I first thought there were two snakes. It was just coiling up around the tree and climbing up. This explained the reason for the restlessness of the couple.

The Coucals' nest must've been on that tree, and the snake must've tried to get the eggs. The parents put up a fight, but the snake was aggressive. Though I couldn't see the action clearly due to the distance and the sunlight in the opposite direction, I could make out what was happening. After a few mins, the Coucals gave up the fight and fled, and I saw the snake slither up the tree and vanish behind the large leaves.

As I walked back, I witnessed another incident. This one was extraordinary, though it lasted only for a few seconds. I saw a large Shikra swoop down on to a Coconut tree. And, an Asian Palm Squirrel just sprinted towards the Shikra. The Shikra was taken aback and leapt a couple of feet, still perched on the same branch. The squirrel didn't want the Shikra anywhere near that tree, I think - probably, it's nest was there. Another leap towards the Shikra was enough to chase it away. I couldn't believe what I had just seen!

I couldn't get photos of both the incidents mentioned above. It wasn't a lucky day as I didn't spot or photograph any other birds too. But, these two incidents made up for everything!

Nelapattu and Pulicat

Having read so much about flamingo spotting in Pulicat lake, I was so eager to catch a glimpse of Flamingos this season. The flamingos visit Pulicat between Dec and March every year.

So, we planned a trip - but it was much more than flamingos, as we added Nelapattu to our itenerary. Nelapattu is said to be the largest Pelicanry in South East Asia. Both Pulicat and Nelapattu are in Andhra Pradesh on either side of Sulurpet town. (see map below
A: Chennai, B: Sulurpet, C: Nelapattu, D: Sriharikota/Pulicat)

 
View Larger Map

As early mornings or late afternoons is ideal for flamingo spotting in Pulicat, our first stop was Nelapattu, with plans to go to Pulicat in post lunch. Nelapattu is about 90 km from Chennai. The closest town is Sulurpet.

We reached Nelapattu by about 9.30 am. Though Nelapattu is famous for Pelicans and other water birds, we spotted lots of other common and uncommon birds right from near the entrance. A couple of Grey Francolins were strutting along the road, and fled into the scrub bushes, with it's unmistakable 'kaa teeeeee ta' call, on seeing our car. While purchasing tickets, I noticed a Common Hawk-cuckoo (commonly knows as Brain-fever bird). This was a first time sighting of this bird, for me. I'd heard it's calls quite often - the call sounds like "Brain Fever", hence the name Brain fever bird - but was longing to see it. We walked along the pathway which leads to the lake, sighting a lot of birds like Purple sunbirds, Purple-rumped sunbirds, Green bee eaters, Blue tailed bee eaters, Bulbuls (Red-vented, Red whiskered and White browed) and Prinias.


Even before approaching the lake, we could see hundreds of Spot-billed Pelicans flying in the sky. Once we reached the view points on the lake, we saw Open bill storks, with their chicks. I learnt later from the Forest department guide there, that the chicks were about 45 days old.

There were some Open bill storks, which were just starting to build nests. It was wonderful watching them choose twigs and creepers from bushes to build their nests.

As we walked further, we spotted several more species of water birds - Little cormorants (a couple of trees just filled with Cormorants), a large group of White ibis, Spoonbills, scores of Northern pintails, Teals, Shovelers, Lesser Whistling ducks and Grebes.

Walking further down the path took us to the point from which we could see the birds which make Nelapattu famous - Pelicans. More than thousand of them. Everywhere. While I was absorbed in clicking photos of this spectacular sight, something else caught my attention. A couple of Greater coucals flew past us with. After that, focussed my attention towards the pelicans and the chicks again. The guide there told us that the chicks were more than 90 days old - they looked almost like adults!

The guide also told us that there were no Flamingos spotted this season, and even during the Flamingo festival, there were no Flamingos. We were dejected, but we wanted to try our luck anyways, and hence kept out plan to Pulicat intact.

On our way back to the exit, we found a watch tower, in the middle of the scrub forest. I climbed there, but it was past noon by then, and the birds must've taken shelter inside trees. Barring a couple of sunbirds and Red-whiskered bulbuls, we couldn't spot anything else. But, I'm sure this tower would be great for birding, early in the day.

We returned to Sulurpet, and finished our dinner in the a modest restaurant near the bus stand  - the only Vegetarian restaurant we could find. Then we proceeded towards Sriharikota.

The road to Sriharikota goes through Pulicat Bird sanctuary. There's water on both sides of the road, and we spotted a lot of birds here. We could get really close to the birds, as compared to other sanctuaries, as the birds sit perched very close to the road. Got very close shots of an Asian Open bill and a cormorant :)

As we drove down further towards Sriharikota, we gave up hope of spotting Flamingos. Enquiring with a few locals, a few of them confirmed that lots of Flamingos are usually spotted on either side of the road every year, but there were no Flamingos this year. The lake on both sides of the road is usually filled with water, but large parts of it was dry - we were told that this is the reason flamingos stayed away this year.

But, we spotted several other birds, which we hadn't spotted in Nelapattu - Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Purple herons, Median Egrets, Red-wattled Lapwings, and Lesser Ringed plovers. Watching the protective  coots and moorhens, taking their tiny chicks to safety was lovely. I also spotted a super-shy Shikra (male) and a Black shouldered kites while driving along this road.

We reached Sriharikota, and clicked pics in front of the model SLV rockets there, as public is allowed into the campus without permission. The return drive along the road was also very nice, as we spotted several more birds.

For more photos, visit my album.


(Update: A few other friends who went to Pulicat in Mid march spotted a few Flamingos. But, they had to hire a boat and go further inside, close to the sea to spot them.)

Raptors and other migrants!

Visited Vellore (my native place) again in Jan and I made the most of it visiting the dried-up Paalar river which is one of my favourite birding spots. It is said that the strength of an ecosystem is determined by the strength of the top. In case of birds, it's the raptors.

I hadn't spotted many raptors there, but this visit made up for the previous visits. One fine morning, several Black kites and Shikras were circling overhead. I've seen black kites flying all over the town, but hadn't spotted one in the river bed. The Shikras were being chased by crows. The black kites descended on to the sand. Several of them. There were this couple who were facing each other as though ready to duel. But, some noise by a passing bullock-cart was all that they needed to flee the place!

Apart from these, I was also spotted a male Common kestrel (migrant from as far as China/Japan) , several Shikras, and Black shouldered kites. Was a good visit for a raptor lover like me :)

Apart from Raptors, I was also lucky to spot several migrants - winter is when several birds migrate to South India. So, this time, several birds from the Himalayas and a few from neighboring hill ranges.

Some of the migrants which got me excited were:

Black Headed Cuckoo-shrike - Resident of Himalayan foothills.

Blyth's Reed Warbler - Resident of Eastern Europe and Asia, the rosy starlings migrate to India and Sri Lanka during winters. I loved the lighting in this photo :D

Black headed Cuckoo-shrike and Blyth's Reed Warbler

Chestnut tailed Starling - Resident of Himalayan foothills, and some parts of North India. A sub-species of this, the Malabar starling, is found in the Western Ghats.

Rosy Starling - Resident of Europe and Asia, the rosy starlings migrate to India and Sri Lanka during winters. The sheer number of these birds sitting in groups, is overwhelming!

Chestnut Tailed Starling and Rosy Starling.