Contd...
16th October 2010, CEC Time: 7:25am This Saturday I reached CEC marginally early, in a desperate attempt to manage to spot more birds than before. I guess I was successful, but only partially. Even before I could reach the SGNP gates, I caught sight of a dove sitting on an exposed branch some yards away. A closer look with my binoculars showed a brown body with distinct green wings. Being accustomed to misidentifying the laughing/spotted doves, I first looked for the spots on it's neck and having been satisfied that there were none, I continued with my inspection. I am assuming that it must have been an emerald dove, for the other characteristics match it's description in books, except for the white bands on it's tail. I walked along, noting the absence of the orange tips on the road and attributing it to the early hour of my visit. On entering the national park- CEC land, I was greeted by the Common Iora calling lustily from amongst the dense trees. The Oriental Magpie Robin, always seen at the gates, seems to have moved inside and the pair flew about from tree to tree with harsh grating calls. The Black-naped Monarch family was also present and this time I noticed more than non male member (I haven't yet been able to find the description of it's juvenile- so I can't decide for sure whether it's a female or it's juvenile). The Psyche butterfly was up early and accompanied me as I spotted the Red Whiskered Bulbul give out it's metallic call from a bamboo shoot nearby. I also noticed the 'foam insect' as I call it, which builds it's nest by it's spittle on the leaves of bushes. There were plenty of Black Drongos in the forest and once I think I even spotted the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, but it disappeared before I could have the satisfaction of having identified the magnificent bird properly. Again, the forest floor was crawling with crabs. The Blue Tiger and the Common Mormon butterflies had started coming out. I reached the patch near the Gliricidia trees and I must have approached rather clumsily for in a split second,a pair of fowl darted into the undergrowth. They must have been foraging nearby and I guess I gave them quite a start. For my part, I could just notice that they were brown in colour, the size of hens, and their calls were something similar to ' krakaka krakaka krakakakaka'. I saw one of the pair again as it flew into a tree, crossing the forest road in it's flight. Thus, I identified my first pair of Red Spurfowl. Later the bushes lining the forest road began playing host to a number o butterflies- Chocolate Pansy, Orange Tips, Grass yellow, Common Hedge Blue, ceruleans, Lemon Pansy, Common Gull, Common Rose and the Glassy Tiger. I made another foray into the Temple Trail and though I was greeted with mosquito stings and thorny shrubs, I spotted the male Shikra perched on a leafless branch in the quarry. As I approached the clearing, it flew off, but I still managed to get a look at it for identification- crow sized, buff brown wings and yellow legs, alongwith the shape of it's wings. And I finally manage to spot the Common Iora this weekend. The bird teases you continuously with a range of calls starting with a high whistle (which i recently learned is its alarm call) then a trilling song and of course, the favorite of the iora on the Cec land- a perfect imitation of the puff throated babbler's 'i will beat you'. This species can get very well camouflaged in the trees and it took me quite a bit of patience before I could spot the male- complete with the yellow body, black striped wings and a white patch on those wings. Needless to mention, the Brown headed Barbet kept up it's calls throughout the morning. The Green Bee Eaters too seemed to be up early, launching sallies into the air and adding to the morning orchestra with their cheerful chirping. There is a patch of three to four bushes near the gates blocking the forested road at CEC that always has plenty of butterlfies hovering around. Those most commonly seen are the Chocolate Pansies and the Common Gulls. I saw the Common Pierrot outside the gate. I also identified the Common Small Flat- a tiny brown butterfly with two minute white ribbons and two more minute white spots on boh wings. It is found to visit bird droppings, and indeed, when I saw it, it was resting on a leaf with a dropping on it. On my way out I spotted a Great Orange Tip hanging down from the web of a giant spider. (around 6cm in length, body 3 cm, 2 white dots on each of it's front and back legs). There was no distinctive 'signature' of the signature spider on the web. The Orange Tip looked quite amusing hanging down by a wisp of a thread. The antenna of this butterfly was curled inwards. All in all it was a rewarding one and a half hours- plenty to learn and lots more to enjoy!
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When Parth Bapat (sir) gifted me the 'Birds of Bombay' book- a bird identification
guide by Sunjoy Monga, he pointed to the cover and said-" you can even see this bird in the city". I had been a non-believer then, for it seemed that the white tailed beauty depicted on the front of the book would choose habitats too pure- pristine forests filled with song birds, instead of the dirt and grime of a city like Mumbai. I was to be proved wrong within a mere year. It was late September- the heavy showers had stopped and inermitent rains greened the surroundings. This is when I noticed a brown bird with a black head that would flit around endlessly from one branch to another- ever on the prowl for the (I assumed) myriad insects that monsoons throw up! A variety of creatures participate in this feeding frenzy- drongos diving behind emigrant butterflies, white breasted kingfishers beating geckos against tree barks, Garden lizards lapping up countless insects, or a striped keelback swallowing up an unsuspecting frog- and they all add to the colors of India's monsoon. So anyways, I looked at this bird for a while and then rushed for my bird book and my pair of binocs. The orange brown body, a flight like the drongo's, the agility of the white browed fantail and the enthusiasm of a pimpled teen while pursuing that odd butterfly- had me hooked. It took me a while to believe that I was looking at the female of an Asian Paradise Flycatcher! And then, I was ecstatic! I remember wishing that a male would appear to court the female and in an almost human way identified this bird as the ' Most Eligible Bachelor' of the birding world. I made a few unsuccessful attempts to capture it in all it's glory on my camera, but I am just not good enough with it. So I gave up on that and focused more on enjoying the dull saffron magnificence of the female. A few weeks after spotting the female, I'd reason to be overjoyed again. For perched saintly on a branch of a Siam Cassia, ensconced comfortably among the flaring yellow flowers, I saw the male Asian Paradise Flycatcher... The bird might have been smaller in size, but for the tail streamers that lend to it a majestic appearance. The black crowned head and the delicate, pure body of the bird had me mesmerized. And I just stood there, staring open mouthed at this beauty, for never in my life had I seen such grace in any creature of the earth. That was in October,2006. Today, as on 6th October,2010, the paradise flycatcher still had the same effect on me. I stood transfixed as the bird flitted from branch to branch, tree to tree, chasing insects, getting chased by a crow, all the while it's long tail trailing behind it, left wisps of beauty and grace in it's path. P.S: The birds continue to visit the Siam Cassia |
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