Raptors of Tal Chhapar

 October - November 2012.
As the sun sets over the grasslands of Tal Chhapar, the harriers begin their thrilling show.
This is the famous harrier roost.
For a few days (or weeks in a season) at the most, this daily spectacle has enthralled visiting birders over the years.
 The monsoon has nurtured a sudden explosion of grasses in these arid flatlands at the edge of the Thar Desert. Tens of harriers, mainly on passage migration, hunt the plethora of grasshoppers, crickets and locusts, during the day. At dusk they roost on the ground.
I have deliberately put away the camera, determined to just experience this with the binoculars.
These elegant, long-winged raptors glide low over the ground, checking suddenly with splayed tail-feathers and dangling talons, the narrow supple wings arching to arrest momentum. In mid-flight they abruptly dive to the ground, sometimes flushing another harrier already at roost.
Magical.

Sunset at Tal Chhapar ...

A large proportion of the harriers are Montagu's - a few males, but most females or juveniles.
The larger Eurasian Marsh Harriers are easily distinguishable in this swirling vortex, but I struggle with the Pallid Harriers. Only one male is clearly identifiable by its unmarked pale grey plumage.
The rare Hen Harrier (rare for Rajasthan that is) has also been reported from here.

Earlier in the day we had observed a Long-legged Buzzard from close quarters. This is a juvenile...

Long-legged Buzzard

Long-legged indeed in full stride ... the rufous capri pants swirling in the breeze !

The much smaller and widespread White-eyed Buzzard, in my experience, is surprisingly uncommon here .
Here is a juvenile, hence without the tell-tale white iris of the adult ...

White-eyed Buzzard

Photographs of the Common Buzzard have been appearing from here, including those of a dark morph, so we are really happy to find it perched obligingly in plain sight, but not allowing close approach. A lifer for me ...

Common Buzzard

Flapping its wings at perch to swat-off a pesky Black Drongo ...

To many birders, probably what is really unique about Tal Chhapar is the variety of falcons.
The list is superb - Laggar Falcon, Merlin, Red-necked Falcon, Common Kestrel, the rare Lesser Kestrel, and the diminutive Eurasian Hobby.
Here the hobby hunts right through the day as we have seen, though in my experience this species is rather crepuscular in other areas.

Eurasian Hobby

Larger numbers of Common Kestrel can be observed right through the day, hovering above the grasslands.

Common Kestrel, female ...

We were lucky to notch-up the rare Lesser Kestrel, sometimes observed on migration through here. The male was distinctive in  flight with its bluish-grey wing panel. My birding companion was even luckier to have a Lesser Kestrel come and perch almost on top of his head on a electricity pole towards the west of the park near the salt pans.

One of my favourite raptors is almost a certainty if you visit here.
 The Laggar Falcon.
This large falcon, the size of a Peregrine, loves to show-off its aerial prowess.
Actually a pair of them, that we have seen over other visits. They will suddenly appear out of nowhere. Powerful, narrow falcon wings scything through the air as they spar with the other raptors in the air. They love to harass the kestrels, while the harriers are contemptuously swept past.

Montagu's Harrier ...

Pallid Harrier ...

When this male Pallid Harrier, with its languid, yet buoyant, flight overflew us from close, we were quite sure of the ID from its underwing pattern. Yet, at perch it showed a contrastingly darker upper grey breast, compared to its white belly, confusingly like the Hen Harrier ??

The Tal Chhapar checklist of eagles is impressive.
My personal observations only include - Steppe, Imperial, Tawny, Short-toed Snake Eagle and Bonelli's.
But photographs have appeared recently of the White-tailed Eagle !
 This huge 'sea-eagle' or 'fishing-eagle' perches on the ground for hours next to the tiny water-bodies in the park. Remember, this is hundreds of kilometers from a large river or lake !

From what I know, all the species of vulture from India (except the Lammergeier), have been observed here. So tick marks for the Red-headed, Eurasian and Himalayan Griffon, White-backed, Long-billed, Egyptian and Cinereous Vultures.
Over the rubbish tip at Sujangarh nearby, we thought that the larger vultures were mainly Long-billed, but later analysis of some  record photos I took, suggest that this could be a Eurasian Griffon ...

The hawks are represented by the Eurasian Sparrowhawk and the Shikra.

The erstwhile rulers of the Rajputana State of Bikaner built this hunting lodge ( now mostly derelict) here overlooking the grasslands to hunt Black-buck and Chinkara in years gone by. Now it is a sanctuary and a raptor paradise....

And not only raptors, this special place also harbours other rarities.
Sociable Lapwing, Stoliczka's Bushchat, Yellow-eyed Pigeon, Spotted Creeper among others.

Hope to see you again when we talk of those creatures next time ...

Bhainsrorgarh - Part 2

We are being very well fed-and-watered by our hosts Rajvir and Hemendra of Bhainsrorgarh, Rajasthan at a private location outside the forest.

 The picnic is a rare chance for the younger generation (represented today by 7 cousins) to experience a 'camp' meal. Everyone pitches in. Essential cooking ingredients have been brought from the Fort. This includes the mutton and flour for the 'battis'. The menfolk are in charge of the 'maas' which is cooked in a large handi over a open wood fire. The ladies are adept at creating 'katoris' from the tender leaves of the 'Flame of the forest' (Butea monosperma), woven into cup-like shape with pliant stems. At this time of the year the fresh leaves have a soft furry texture.

Soon the meat is simmering away and the rest of the prep is left to the staff. 

We drive a few miles into the forest to Lohariya-ka-talab. A covey of Jungle Bush-Quail cross the track  

between our vehicles. It is now late in the morning so our chances of seeing any game is slender. These forests once sported plentiful cheetal, sambhar, wild boar, sloth bear and leopard.

  

As we approach the lake through the surrounding forest, a pair of courting White-eyed Buzzards are dwarfed by a pair of Crested Serpent Eagles in flight. Another large Eagle makes cameo appearances through the densely-packed mature trees of Tendu, Arjun, Churail, Dhokra, Siris and others. This individual has not taken kindly to our intrusion. And we soon discover why. It appears to have built not one but two nests in a stately Arjun tree. We are careful to allow it some space. I manage a hurried record shot of this handsome creature.

Changeable Hawk Eagle

This is not a commonly encountered raptor in Rajasthan. One would possibly chance upon it in a mature forest - but several visits to Rajasthan's Sanctuaries has not thrown up even a single record for me over the years, so this is special.

The forest abutting the lake is green and vibrant, almost like a mirage in this harsh, sun-bleached rocky terrain. It is now almost noon and the heat is enervating. Yet the water and the leafy trees have attracted a multitude of birds. The forest rings with their calls and they are quite unaffected by our presence in their midst. 

Male Paradise Flycatchers, both adults (above - white) and juveniles (below - rufous) dodge and twist through the thick foliage. They are vying for the attentions of the few females in this part of the forest.

Trusting White-browed Fantail Flycatchers,Common Woodshrikes and Oriental White-eyes are mixed in with comparatively wary Golden Orioles.  White-bellied Drongos make graceful sallies after insects. I had recently seen web-posted pictures from a nearby forest of Chestnut-tailed Starlings so am not surprised to see a small group of them here, high up in the trees. Another unusual bird to find in Rajasthan.

 Now that the senses have tuned out the commoner birds like the Petronias, the different Mynas, Silverbills and others, I become more aware of a relatively friendly, yet unfamiliar flycatcher. 

This individual keeps peering at us shyly from close quarters, and I am able to get good views, but no bells are ringing ! So, the best is to take a few shots and see if one can ID it later ...

Spotted Flycatcher (... ID corrected later to Asian Brown Flycatcher)

This is a lifer for me.  The Spotted Flycatcher is usually sighted during Passage Migration in March and October - and most of the photographs are from Kutchh (Gujarat) ; so this is an unusual record to find one here in the peak of summer (21st May 2012).

This oasis at the parched edge of the forest has naturally drawn the kingfishers. 

Pied Kingfisher

Common Kingfisher

Happy has picked up the calls of Crested Tree Swift. He points out their distinctive flying profiles above, but I am only able to catch glimpses through the binoculars - a lifer for me, but dissatisfying since they don't actually perch today.

Oriental White-eye on Flame of the Forest

The lake is full of amphibians. Both times that thunder from a dust-storm rumbled in the distance, with an answering chorus of calls, scores of bullfrogs would suddenly appear on the surface.

And if you walked down to the lake's edge, the smaller frogs would jump anxiously at the last instant from almost underfoot and go skittering away into the water. 

The lake itself shrinks to a fraction of its size in the summer. The vegetation and feed in and around the water have drawn the usual suspects including River Terns, Egrets, Ibis ( White and Black), Storks ( Painted and Open-billed), and Lesser Whistling Ducks. Also a pair of Sarus Cranes - always a lovely sight.

We now have word from Camp that lunch is ready. So we move away from this enchanted forest, leaving the languorous langurs to their daydreams ...

A mongoose scurries away after a furtive drink of water. The lake and forest are left to their rightful denizens.

sahdevsingh2004@yahoo.co.in

Sambhar and the sea of pink

Our first sighting of the Lesser Flamingo from the main road.

Neither of us has a wide-angle lens, so this photo probably captures just about a fraction of the flock. Sambhar lake is literally a sea of pink.
 It is my first sighting of Lesser Flamingo in Rajasthan - though small numbers occasionally mixed in with Greater Flamingo do have an erratic distribution across our lakes and jheels in the monsoon and winter months.

We are in Sambhar, a non-descript town between Jaipur and Ajmer, better known for the record quantities of salt that is extracted from geometrical pans that have been carved out from a vast expanse of shallow brackish water. 

We estimate the Lesser Flamingo to be at least 20,000. There are also a smaller number of Greater Flamingo - probably 1,000.

The rectangular salt pans are criss-crossed by narrow railway lines.

Tiny locomotives once used to pull the wooden wagons laden with salt.

Blue-cheeked Bee Eater

A short distance from Sambhar, near the Railway Junction of Phulera, the recent rains have flooded several low-lying areas, creating shallow jheels and reedy ponds.

Greater Flamingo - juveniles

Interestingly some of the Greater Flamingo were dabbling like ducks ...

Three species of Terns were actively hunting and then resting on pebbly sand bars.

Gull- billed Terns

River Terns

Whiskered Terns were the third Tern species, distinctive by their size difference and plumage compared to the two larger terns above.

Waders were already plentiful. Mainly Ruff and Black-tailed Godwits as pictured below. Also Pied Avocets, Common Greenshanks, Redshanks, Green and Wood Sandpipers, (both) Stints, (both) Plovers. ...

Several islands and sandy banks had small numbers of Small Pranticole - standing about in the mid-day sun.

Nilgai, Common Coot and Eurasian Spoonbill

Ducks were represented by Gadwall, Shovellers and a few Spotbills.

One juvenile Eurasian Marsh Harrier was observed; as also a 'ringtail' flying uncharacteristically high - appeared to be Mantagu's Harrier, perhaps on passage.

Four Eurasian Curlew flew low overhead, but we only saw them when they called, and failed to get a photo as both had greasy sandwiches in hand then ! 

Amongst other birds - Crested Larks were plentiful.

Many thanks to Mr. Devendra Bhardwaj for this trip on 16th September 2012.

Bhainsrorgarh - Part 1

It is late May 2012 and Rajasthan is baking.

 We are in Bhainsrorgarh, a short distance upstream of Kota along the Chambal river in Rajasthan. Rajvir and Hemendra have invited us for the weekend, and the boys have brought their fishing rods.

Bhainsrorgarh

In the dry summer months, the Chambal still has plenty of water making it one of the few perennial rivers of Rajsthan. Of course now, there are a succession of dams which have created these large lakes swamping the original boulder-strewn watercourse.  Fish are plentiful, though the apex predator the Gharial is now relatively rare, most having moved further downstream. Yet, Mugger Crocodiles abound.

By daybreak, many Muggers are already active. One of the largest is patrolling the deep waters just below the Fort as we gaze down the cliff. Appendages held motionless by its sides, the powerful tail propels it forward effortlessly.

Anxious to get our lines wet, we clamber down the bridle-path to the Chhatris and the reedy shore below the Fort. Quickly, several baits are cast from a narrow stony ledge below the cliff. Small fish follow the lures being reeled in, but no bites. From previous fishing expeditions on the Chambal Happy and I know that it is a bit of a hit-and-miss affair. We have had wonderful days when mahseer, silund, lanchi and other fish have been caught easily, and others when nothing happens. Looks like the first morning will be the latter. As the sun gets hotter, the youngsters' enthusiasm wanes. Just then someone notices a large mugger moving away from us, not 30 yards away ! It had been lying submerged in the dense reed-beds even closer to us at the water's edge all this while. That prompts a hasty retreat for the moment. I can hear someone recounting stories of how a mugger can launch itself out of the water to attack prey.

A group of Small Minivets listens attentively ...

Small Minivet

The movement of the Mugger has alerted a pair of Great Thick-knees. They are obviously protectings their eggs laid on the rocky ground. A few perfunctory raising of the wings in display and a couple of alarm calls are all that are merited in this case.

                                      

                                              Great Thick-knee

                   
 Later in the morning we have a chance to go boating on the river. The boat itself is a large, flat-bottomed affair made from sturdy timber. A couple of oarsmen have to row with much effort as we are fully laden and the craft itself is heavy. Our route skirts the true left bank of the river and then around 'The Island'.                    

The 'Island'.

   



As we glide closer and then slowly around, my appetite is whetted for another visit, perhaps even getting off the boat to explore it more fully. Because there are just so many birds here - and there is a continuous chorus of calls.

Hemendra says that Crocodiles lay eggs on the sandy banks of this island.
 And since it is summer, many species of birds are also nesting here. We rest the oars and spend a few minutes motionless, only yards away from a pair of courting Stork-billed Kingfishers on a tree overhanging the water. Paradise Flycatchers and Golden Orioles flash through the dense foliage. Large Cuckoo-Shrikes vie with Blue-cheeked Bee-Eaters for favoured perches. Amongst the relatively common Herons and Egrets, there are a few Little Herons and Indian Darters.

The tallest trees on the island feature roosting White-backed Vultures.

.

Of all the Vulture species, in my experience, this is the one which has been decimated the most over the past few decades, pushing it to the brink of extinction. But that is another story; we are just glad to see good numbers of them here.


In the evening, a dust storm is brewing in the West.



 Shafts of sunlight pierce the angry clouds, reflecting off the placid surface of the Brahminy river, which joins the Chambal just below the Fort. In this tricky light, an unfamiliar dragonfly perches on the tangly creeper just below the parapet pictured above. Excitedly I lean well over the low wall to click some pictures of this small yet brilliant insect just a few yards below me. Later we identify this dragonfly as Rhyothemis triangularis - and from what I have been told by some experts it is fairly rare in India - especially in Rajasthan

Rhyothemis triangularis

 Butterflies are relatively scarce at this time of the year. The dry heat proving a deterrent to most except a few species - Plain Tigers, Common Gulls, Orange Tips and Grass Yellows. But one fast-flying species flashing a superb purple-blue, gives me a run-around. When it does perch the wings are closed showing only drab colours and indifferent markings on the underwing. The Large Oakblue - a lifer for me. Frustratingly, the brilliant upperwing is only visible when it is on the wing.

Tomorrow our hosts have planned an elaborate picnic at 'Lohariya-ka-talab'. From an earlier visit many years before in winter I well remember this wonderful spot by a lake deep inside the forest, so we are all excited. ( this merits another blog posting by itself, so that will follow soon..)

 For the moment we just explore the Fort.

Disused stables happily retain their feudal charm.

Hidden amongst the cracks and crevices are several creatures of this shadowy undisturbed world. I surprise this lizard camouflaged just above an arch, and it uncoils to its full length reluctantly, peering at me in some surprise.

A view from the balcony of  one of the Guest Rooms across the river to the green orchards and the rolling dustplains beyond ....

This is the outer wall which encircles the Fort and the village. Several kms in length it is as many feet thick as it is metres tall.

Till the next post then....