Annual Delhi Bird Race, 27th March, 2016

                           East Delhi Birders took part in the Annual Delhi Bird race conducted by the famous Indian Birds (fb group , started by Kanwar B Singh). At the crack of dawn we were at the banks of River Yamuna in Wazirabad area. we birded from Wazirabad to Jagatpur Khader around 3.5 km. Our decision to bird in Yamuna Khader area turned out to be wonderful, around 104 birds were spotted, including Long legged buzzard common kestrel. Next stop was at Sanjay Jheel, here interalia we spotted gray headed canary flycatcher, red breasted flycatcher and comb duck. We then headed to Okhla Bird Sanctuary, with Tapas Misra reporting short eared owl from there we were eagerly looking for it but could not find it. Next stop was at police lines behind surajpur bird sanctuary . plenty of waders awaited us there. Booted eagle made a kill before us, it was so fast that none of use take a snap of the action. On the way to Dhanuri, 2 brahminy kites appeared out of the blue , sudden breaks were applied and all of us jumped out of the cars to take snap of not so common bird in Delhi NCR, we reached Dhanuri around 5 pm when we realized that we have to have lunch too, after lunch we had around 1 hour of sunlight left Bonelli's eagle and northern lapwing were the highlights there. I personally thank all the team members for their co-operation and enthusiasm without which our target of 150 bird would not have been achieved. The list is given below;with Rajesh Kalra Nitin Tomer Hemant Kirola Sunil Kumar Meghna Joshi Himansh Pahwa Jaswinder Singh Waraich Ritesh Sharma and Rajouli Gosh
1. Greylag Goose, Anser anser 
2. Bar-headed Goose, Anser indicu 
3. Ruddy Shelduck, Tadorna ferruginea
4. Comb Duck, Sarkidiornis melanotos
5. Gadwall, Anas strepera
6. Eurasian Wigeon, Anas penelope, Widgeon
7. Spot-billed Duck, Anas poecilorhyncha
8. Common Teal, Anas crecca
9. Garganey, Anas querquedula
10. Northern Pintail, Anas acuta
11. Northern Shoveler, Anas clypeata
12. Common Pochard, Aythya ferina
13. Black Francolin, Francolinus francolinus 
14. Grey Francolin, Francolinus pondicerianus,
15. Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus
16. Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis
17. Painted Stork, Mycteria leucocephala
18. Asian Openbill, Anastomus oscitans
19. Woolly-necked Stork, Ciconia episcopus
20. Black-necked Stork, Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus
21. Darter, Anhinga melanogaster
22. Little Cormorant, Phalacrocorax niger
23. Indian Cormorant, Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
24. Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo
25. Great White Pelican, Pelecanus onocrotalus
26. Great Egret, Casmerodius albus
27. Intermediate Egret, Mesophoyx intermedia
28. Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis
29. Little Egret, Egretta garzetta
30. Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea
31. Purple Heron, Ardea purpurea
32. Black-crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax
33. Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus
34. Black-headed Ibis, Threskiornis melanocephalus,
35. Black Ibis, Pseudibis papillosa
36. Eurasian Spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia
37. Black-shouldered Kite, Elanus caeruleus
38. Black Kite, Milvus migrans
39. Brahminy Kite, Haliastur indus
40. Egyptian Vulture, Neophron percnopterus
41. Western Marsh Harrier, Circus aeruginosus 
42. Shikra, Accipiter badius
43. Long-legged Buzzard, Buteo rufinus
44. Bonelli’s Eagle, Hieraaetus fasciatus
45. Booted Eagle, Hieraaetus pennatus
46. Common Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus
47. Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus
48. Brown Crake, Amaurornis akool
49. White-breasted Waterhen, Amaurornis phoenicurus
50. Purple Swamphen, Porphyrio porphyrio
51. Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
52. Common Coot, Fulica atra
53. Sarus Crane, Grus antigone
54. Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus
55. Pied Avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta
56. Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Hydrophasianus chirurgus
57. Bronze-winged Jacana, Metopidius indicus
58. Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus
59. River Lapwing, Vanellus duvaucelii
60. Red-wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus
61. White-tailed Lapwing, Vanellus leucurus
62. Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago, 
63. Jack Snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus
64. Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa
65. Spotted Redshank, Tringa erythropus
66. Common Redshank, Tringa totanus
67. Marsh Sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis
68. Common Greenshank, Tringa nebularia
69. Green Sandpiper, Tringa ochropus
70. Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola
71. Common Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos
72. Little Stint, Calidris minuta
73. Temminck’s Stint, Calidris temminckii
74. Ruff, Philomachus pugnax
75. Pallas’s Gull, Larus ichthyaetus
76. Brown-headed Gull, Larus brunnicephalus
77. Black-headed Gull, Larus ridibundus
78. River Tern, Sterna aurantia
79. Whiskered Tern, Chlidonias hybridus
80. Rock Pigeon, Columba livia
81. Laughing Dove, Streptopelia senegalensis
82. Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto
83. Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, Treron phoenicoptera
84. Greater Coucal, Centropus sinensis
85. Spotted Owlet, Athene brama
86. Common Hoopoe, Upupa epops,
87. Indian Grey Hornbill, Ocyceros birostris
88. White-throated Kingfisher, Halcyon smyrnensis
89. Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis
90. Indian Roller, Coracias benghalensis
91. Brown-headed Barbet, Megalaima zeylanica
92. Coppersmith Barbet, Megalaima haemacephala
93. Lesser Goldenback(Black-rumped Flameback),
94. Alexandrine Parakeet, Psittacula eupatria
95. Rose-ringed Parakeet, Psittacula krameri
96. Long-tailed Shrike, Lanius schach
97. Southern Grey Shrike, Lanius meridionalis
98. Black Drongo, Dicrurus macrocercus
99. Rufous Treepie, Dendrocitta vagabunda
100. House Crow, Corvus splendens
101. Large-billed Crow, Corvus macrorhynchos
102. Indian Bushlark, Mirafra erythroptera
103. Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark, Eremopterix grisea
104. Crested Lark, Galerida cristata
105. Oriental Skylark, Alauda gulgula
106. Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, Swallow
107. Wire-tailed Swallow, Hirundo smithii
108. Red-whiskered Bulbul, Pycnonotus jocosus
109. Red-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus cafer
110. Common Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita
111. Hume’s Warbler, Phylloscopus humei
112. Lesser Whitethroat, Sylvia curruca
113. Zitting Cisticola, Cisticola juncidis
114. Graceful Prinia, Prinia gracilis
115. Yellow-bellied Prinia, Prinia flaviventris
116. Ashy Prinia, Prinia socialis
117. Plain Prinia, Prinia inornata
118. Oriental White-eye, Zosterops palpebrosus
119. Common Tailorbird, Orthotomus sutorius
120. Yellow-eyed Babbler, Chrysomma sinense
121. Striated Babbler, Turdoides earlei
122. Large Grey Babbler, Turdoides malcolmi
123. Jungle Babbler, Turdoides striatus
124. Red-breasted Flycatcher, Ficedula parva
125. Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, Culicicapa ceylonensis
126. Bluethroat, Luscinia svecica
127. Oriental Magpie Robin, Copsychus saularis
128. Indian Robin, Saxicoloides fulicata
129. Black Redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros
130. Siberian Stonechat, Saxicola maura
131. Pied Bushchat, Saxicola caprata
132. Brown Rock-chat, Cercomela fusca
133. Rosy Starling, Sturnus roseus
134. Common Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
135. Asian Pied Starling, Sturnus contra
136. Common Myna, Acridotheres tristis
137. Bank Myna, Acridotheres ginginianus
138. Purple Sunbird, Nectarinia asiatica
139. White Wagtail, Motacilla alba
140. White-browed Wagtail, Motacilla maderaspatensis
141. Citrine Wagtail, Motacilla citreola
142. Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava 
143. Grey Wagtail, Motacilla cinerea
144. Paddyfield Pipit, Anthus rufulus
145. Tawny Pipit, Anthus campestris
146. Rosy Pipit, Anthus roseatus
147. House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
148. Black-breasted Weaver, Ploceus benghalensis
149. Baya Weaver, Ploceus philippinus
150. Indian Silverbill, Lonchura malabarica
151. Black Eared Kite
152 Indian Pond Heron



Subramaniam Venkatramani

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/.

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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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