Bring back the sparrows

During any conversation about birds, very often, I am asked, what I think of mobile phone radiations affecting  sparrows. I tell them, I don't believe in that theory. I've never believed in that theory. I have my reasons for that, which I'll talk about.

But, before that, let me tell you what I think is the biggest reason for the dwindling sparrow population:
lack of nesting space.

For centuries, sparrows have been living with humans. Knowingly or unknowingly, humans have supported sparrows. The thatched/tiled houses which gave sparrows places to build their nest, have given way to box type concrete houses. Even in older concrete houses, there were small provisions which could support sparrow nests. But, houses these days are just boxes! With this change, we've driven them out of our lives.

Now, coming back to the reasons why I don't subscribe to the mobile radiation theory:

• Sparrows are found in abundance in places where they have nesting spaces inside human houses, despite the locations being busy areas with lots of mobile phone towers. Some of the streets around Commercial Street in Bangalore, one of the busiest shopping areas of Bangalore, support several Sparrows. There are many old houses and buildings in this area which have suitable nesting sites for sparrows.
• In 2012, Sparrows were reintroduced in several suburbs of Chennai. Nest boxes were supplied free of cost to the houses in these areas. And, sparrow population started increasing there, despite mobile phones towers.
• Birds which are as small as sparrows or even smaller - say, Ashy Prinias, White Cheeked Barbets, Coppersmith Barbets, Sunbirds etc - are found in abundance in cities. So, mobile phone radiation affects only sparrows and not other birds? I don't think so. Barbets make holes in trees to build their nests. Sunbirds build protected basket type nests, hanging from tree branches. These species probably don't need our support to survive, but the sparrows do.
• In areas where sparrows are found, it is not uncommon to find sparrows perching on cellphone towers.

Even scientists are divided on the mobile phone theory, which hasn't been proved at all. The media glorified that theory, it became popular and everyone now thinks mobile phones are killing the sparrows.

"Recent studies in institutions across the world have contradicted reports of radiation from cell phones and their towers damaging the eggs of sparrows, and thereby contributing to their reducing numbers." - Arunn Narasimhan, Associate professor, IIT Madras.
https://home.iitm.ac.in/arunn/cell-phones-and-sparrows.html
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/cell-phone-radiation-may-be-harmful-but-not-lethal/article5113454.ece

It is not beyond us to bring back the sparrows. Blaming mobile phone radiation for missing sparrows and not doing anything is the biggest blow we can deal to a friendly species which depends solely on us for survival.

What can we do?

• If you can spot sparrows in your locality, you can place nest boxes in your homes for the sparrows to nest. Nest boxes are available for sale from Nature Forever. Or, you can even make one on your own. 
•  Place bird feeders and bird baths in your garden/terrace/balcony, which will help not just sparrows, but other birds too. Summers can be too taxing for the birds. Placing bird baths with water can be the biggest help you can do for birds, during summer.
• If you haven't spotted sparrows in your location in a while, get in touch with organisations like (Enviroment Foundation of India, for example) which specialise in sparrows restoration and reintroduction.

Let us stop blaming mobile phone towers based on an unproven theory, and do something useful to support the species which depend on us for survival.

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.