Great Nicobar and Central Nicobar Birding: Garima Bhatia

Back from an unforgettable trip to Nicobars. I've left the island but the islands refuse to leave me...

We spent 12 days betweenBack from an unforgettable trip to Nicobars. I've left the island but the islands refuse to leave me...

We spent 12 days between Great Nicobar and Central Nicobar enjoying the pristine, untouched beauty of the islands (a selfish thank you to Govt of India for not allowing tourists into this paradise). Amazing birding with many new birds (18 for me), great birding company, beautiful forests and beaches (mostly inaccessible with hardly any roads).

Camped out in the forest for 3 nights - 9 of us sleeping like sardines on a hard undulating wooden platform (tip: ear plugs and sleeping pills are useful!), got bitten by hundreds of mosquitos and sand flies (not to mention a leech bite that left a large red patch on my leg for several days), hiked up and down slippery slopes to finally see a Nicobar Megapode at its nest while sitting in a hide drenched from head to toe in pouring rain (3rd attempt for me - a total of 10 hours of waiting), got lashed by a choppy sea while attempting to navigate around a rocky outcrop to board our dunghi (as a result of which my camera took a salt water bath and stopped working). Whoever said birding was easy?!

It was all worth it in the end though, but more than the birds, the high point of the trip for me was the sighting of 3 leatherback turtles (+ 1 green turtle) that landed at Galatyea beach (Great Nicobar) in the middle of the night to lay their eggs. We were woken by the forest guards who were patrolling the beach (kudos to them!) and rushed there to spend 2 hours watching the turtles go through the herculean effort to crawl through the sand, dig holes to lay eggs, cover up the eggs, make fake tracks (to confuse predators) and crawl back to return to their ocean home. The experience left us humbled, awed and weak in the knees, and am not ashamed to say that I just sat down on the beach and cried copiously, it was such an intensely emotional moment.

The only regret - I forgot my trusty filter bottle in Delhi and had to drink bottled water while camping out. Managed to crush and carry back around 30 bottles back with me (which I disposed off at Chennai airport where it will hopefully be recycled) but had to leave some in the forest at Galatyea to be burnt. Have made a New Year's resolution to myself already - I will not drink any beverage that comes out of a disposable plastic or tetrapak container (water, soda, juice). I wish more people would think about the impact of their actions on this one and only planet we call home, or else be prepared to be haunted by the sight of plastic trash washed up on uninhabited pristine beaches (we found bottles from Thailand and Malaysia at Galatyea beach) and studies like the one shown inhttp://midwayfilm.com/. enjoying the pristine, untouched beauty of the islands (a selfish thank you to Govt of India for not allowing tourists into this paradise). Amazing birding with many new birds (18 for me), great birding company, beautiful forests and beaches (mostly inaccessible with hardly any roads).

Camped out in the forest for 3 nights - 9 of us sleeping like sardines on a hard undulating wooden platform (tip: ear plugs and sleeping pills are useful!), got bitten by hundreds of mosquitos and sand flies (not to mention a leech bite that left a large red patch on my leg for several days), hiked up and down slippery slopes to finally see a Nicobar Megapode at its nest while sitting in a hide drenched from head to toe in pouring rain (3rd attempt for me - a total of 10 hours of waiting), got lashed by a choppy sea while attempting to navigate around a rocky outcrop to board our dunghi (as a result of which my camera took a salt water bath and stopped working). Whoever said birding was easy?!

It was all worth it in the end though, but more than the birds, the high point of the trip for me was the sighting of 3 leatherback turtles (+ 1 green turtle) that landed at Galatyea beach (Great Nicobar) in the middle of the night to lay their eggs. We were woken by the forest guards who were patrolling the beach (kudos to them!) and rushed there to spend 2 hours watching the turtles go through the herculean effort to crawl through the sand, dig holes to lay eggs, cover up the eggs, make fake tracks (to confuse predators) and crawl back to return to their ocean home. The experience left us humbled, awed and weak in the knees, and am not ashamed to say that I just sat down on the beach and cried copiously, it was such an intensely emotional moment.

The only regret - I forgot my trusty filter bottle in Delhi and had to drink bottled water while camping out. Managed to crush and carry back around 30 bottles back with me (which I disposed off at Chennai airport where it will hopefully be recycled) but had to leave some in the forest at Galatyea to be burnt. Have made a New Year's resolution to myself already - I will not drink any beverage that comes out of a disposable plastic or tetrapak container (water, soda, juice). I wish more people would think about the impact of their actions on this one and only planet we call home, or else be prepared to be haunted by the sight of plastic trash washed up on uninhabited pristine beaches (we found bottles from Thailand and Malaysia at Galatyea beach) and studies like the one shown inhttp://midwayfilm.com/.

Great Crested Grebe-Non-breeding adult (At Yamuna Khader,Delhi)

Location: Yamuna Biodiversity Park,Part II,Delhi,India 

                                                     Date: 28 December 2015,

There is a single bird in the flock of gulls and Eurasian coot.The bird is preening mostly and diving intermittently for a meal.

Uttar Pradesh Bird Festival - Chambal | December 2015 : Saurabh Sawant

The first Uttar Pradesh bird festival held in Chambal at the birding hotspot Mela Kothi, Chambal River Lodge was a grand success on all fronts. Excellent arrangements, teams always on their toes to make sure everything happened on time - from early morning bird walks to brilliant talks by international speakers and of course very tasty dinner happening over insightful discussions with birders from all parts of India. Thanks to Mr. Nikhil Devasar, Mr. Akhilesh Yadav - UP Chief Minister, UP Forest & Eco-tourism Departments; and the whole team behind this huge endeavour.

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Brown-headed Gull

Brown-headed Gull,1st Winter in flight from above. Yamuna Khader,Wazirabad,Delhi

Spotting Cetti's Warbler- Ramit Singhal

A couple of months back, it was while reviewing eBird lists from OBP that I encountered a list with a Cetti's Warbler in it. Then, as I sat amongst reeds having just seen the Spotted and Baikal Bush Warblers in the Maguri Beel grasslands of Assam, I decided that I will try for the Cetti's whenever I get the time to bird in OBP next.

That day was not to be far and I visited OBP today morning with the aim of trying my luck with this skulking, and possibly overlooked, warbler.

I reached at 0830 but the fog did not lift at least until one and a half hours later. Despite the visibility being very low (<10m, I think - couldn't see anything at all!), I birded by the ear as much as possible and stationed myself by the Yamuna at the end of the Banyan Bund.

Once the visibility got better, I started walking back through the reeds amongst all the recognised paths, while playing the call of the target bird once every 30m or so. About 200m in, I walked on having waited 5 minutes at a spot and I had almost reached the next spot when I heard a bird sing from the previous spot. It sang its short explosive song once more but it had become quiet again by the time I reached. I waited and eventually played it's call again.

This time, I saw the bird flit through the reeds, giving brief glimpses - the broad rounded tail first, then the head and the pale throat and then a bit of the tail and body again. It didn't sing this time but gave short rattling alarm(?) calls - and I was ready to record them. Unfortunately, the Moustached Warblers nearby didn't approve and chased the bird in quickly. But I was pleased - job done smile emoticon

OBP remains, in my opinion, the best riparian grassland/reedbed habitat in NCR and the birds today were a good reminder of the same. At least 4 Striated Grassbirds, several Moustached and Paddyfield Warblers, lots of munias, several Marsh Harriers and a fair number of ducks and geese (hard to ID most with the fog and distance involved) but I did see at least 4 Ferruginous Pochards.

I also saw a White-tailed Stonechat for the first time in two years at OBP. This once-easily seen bird has become quite elusive of late and I can only hope that the population is intact and breeding successfully.

I did not walk on the metalled road along the river, but just the banyan bund and associated paths in the reeds on the left and the fields on the right. Here's the full list from the morning on eBird and the Cetti's recording has been uploaded here too:http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26163742

Good birding
Ramit Singal

Indian BIRDS

Indian BIRDS
Vol. 10 No. 6.
Date of publication: 30 November 2015
Homepage: http://www.indianbirds.in/
Subscription: http://www.indianbirds.in/subscription-india/

CONTENTS
Avifauna of Kukkarahalli Tank: Decline of species due to impact of ‘restoration’ work
M. K. Sapthagirish, Sukhprit Kaur & Honnavalli N. Kumara

Status and distribution of Broad-billed Sandpiper Calidris falcinellus in Gujarat, India
Prasad Ganpule, Maulik Varu, Kapilsinh V. Zala & Ashvin Trivedi

A monospecific colony of Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis in agricultural landscape of central Uttar Pradesh, India
Rajneesh Dwevedi, Aniket Kumar, Mahendiran Mylswamy

Recent sightings of Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus in Barak Valley, Assam
Amir Sohail Choudhury

Status of Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans in India
Prasad Ganpule

Woolly-necked Storks Ciconia episcopus nesting on mobile-towers in Pune, Maharashtra
Umesh Vaghela, Dipak Sawant & Vishwanath Bhagwat

Observations of Black-tailed Crake Zapornia bicolor in Shillong, Meghalaya
Sudhanya Ray Hajong

Occurrence of Forest Owlet Heteroglaux blewitti in Betul District, and the importance of its conservation in the Satpura landscape
Prachi Mehta, Prasanna N. S., Anil Kumar Nagar & Jayant Kulkarni

A record of Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher Ceyx erishaca from Vansda National Park, Gujarat
M. U. Jat

Black-throated Munia Lonchura kelaarti in Pune District, Maharashtra
Shruti A. Dudhane

A Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus from Banni Grasslands, Gujarat, India
Veer Vaibhav Mishra

A case of total albinism in a Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer
D. E. Gabadage, W. M. S. Botejue, A. S. Dias, T. D. Surasinghe & D. M. S. S. Karunarathna

Letters to the Editor

Review

Snapshot sightings

Birding in Uttar Pradesh

     

Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in India is bestowed with unique natural resources to cater for both resident and migratory birds besides a wide variety of animals and plants. It is one of the finest states in India in terms of variety of its bird life. The rivers like Ganges, Yamuna, Rapti and Gandak which originate in the Himalayas traverse longest distance of their journey in the state. The meandering river system, the ox bow lakes formed and other wetlands provide a magnificent natural habitat for birds. Apart from this the sub-montane regions between Himalayas and plains, the alluvial Gangetic plains and the southern hills and plateaus provide the best ecotones to sustain the birdlife. It is an ode to the resilience, benevolence, tolerance and conservation consciousness of the people of the state that such diverse plant and animal populations continue to coexist with humans. Migrating birds flying over 5000 kilometres above 8500 metres high from regions like Europe, Tibet, Siberia and China make Uttar Pradesh their home during months starting from October to February. These wetlands are covered by a layer of migratory birds in search of food. It is estimated that out of 1300 species of birds found in India, Uttar Pradesh caters to over 500 species. 13 species which are categorised as globally threatened and near threatened species like Slender Billed Vulture, Bengal Florican, Black Bellied Tern, Sarus Crane, Indian Skimmer, Black Necked Stork etc., find better habitat conditions in Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh Bird Festival 2015

http://upbirdfestival.in/