Birdielog - 260307

Well, well, well.

Sometimes we all go to Siberia, right ?? !!!! How often does that happen?

I have at least one really cherished experience to share as a birdwatcher (at least two, after today). If I count each experience watching a great tit as a cherished one (and why not!) then that number would swell to at least a dozen.

Today the spectacle was a strange one. There was no possible way I could have been prepared for it.

Today, what I believe to be either an Ashy Drongo or a White-Bellied Drongo (most probably the latter) was being chased around, over and over, by a Eurasian Golden Oriole. Now Golden Orioles and Black Drongos nest pretty much in close proximity - actually, the accurate thing to say is that Golden Orioles like to nest as close to a Black Drongo nest as possible, because the Black Drongo is not a bird to be trifled with as far as fighting off predators are concerned.

But this was a slightly different thing. White-Bellied Drongos are not city-dwellers (neither is the Ashy Drongo)...and the first thing I noticed this morning was what I thought was a Black Drongo (which is black all over) with white underparts (!!!). And this was an expertly agile bird - more than twice, I saw bugs flying up really close and this chap just swivelled on his perch, turned in an instant and swallowed up the bug out of thin air. He didn't even need to leave the perch - he had his food come to him on wings :) I've seen Black Drongos hunt bugs, and the bird I saw this morning was far more of an expert than a Black Drongo.

The call was also different - much more musical and cheery than the harsh sounds the Black Drongo makes. Then came the spectacle. A Golden Oriole began chasing this chap around. I witnessed an extremely agile, high-speed flight duet that went on for about 15 minutes. The Oriole just wouldn't leave this Drongo alone. And get this - all along, the Drongo just kept feeding.

I won't attempt to explain this behaviour because I don't know too much about Orioles or Drongos to sustain my theories. But I was convinced that this was no ordinary Black Drongo - the white underparts were unmistakeable. I think this was the White-Bellied Drongo....considerably outside its normal environs. Such sights happen once a year, or perhaps twice if you're lucky......and I certainly was, this morning.

Later, there was another treat in store - the OTHER call of the Golden Oriole - so musical and so pleasant. The Eurasian Golden Oriole is not a very vocal bird - there is one really harsh scream somewhat like a broken piano string, and there are also horrible sounds which make you think the bird is in painful agony. But there is also this clear, fluty, liquid, musical whistle, much is more pure and breathy than the Red-Whiskered Bulbul's, which I heard today. When I heard it for the first time, I thought it indeed must be a Red-Whiskered Bulbul....but just more soft and musical. I was more than pleasantly surprised to see that it was an Oriole :)

I always thought that a splendidly colourful bird like the Oriole should also have a call to match - and now I know.

Only God could have put golden yellow, black and orange together so masterfully....the Oriole is a vision of beauty. Then, what do you know, God even puts rose-pink and black together so expertly - you have the Rosy Starling!

Well, on to the roster then....

Range : Richmond Town, Richmond Park
Time : 0745 - 0930

"The Cold Reading"

Sighted for sure:

• Spotted Dove (what a lovely, lovely bird this is!!!)
• Eurasian Golden Oriole
• White-Bellied Drongo ? (:):):):)) or the Ashy Drongo
• Rosy Starling (flock)
• Grey-Headed Starling (flock)
• Oriental Magpie-Robin
• Oriental White-Eye
• Tickell's Flowerpecker

Heard for sure:

• Common Tailorbird
• Booted Warbler ?

Other incidental sightings:

Sighted what looked to me to be a Barn Owl, flying noiselessly through the trees by the side of Langford Road, around 8:00 P.M. on 25th March. It's like watching a ghost......can be a bit scary.

Hmmmmm......let's see what tomorrow brings!!!

Birdielog - 24/250307

Some really interesting sightings these two days......it seems like there is always something new every day. This is a good thing!

The Roster :

Range : Richmond Town, Richmond Park
Time : 0745 - 0930 (on 25th, 0730 - 0830)

"The Cold Reading"

Sighted for sure:

• Spotted Dove
• Eurasian Golden Oriole (only 25th)
• Black Drongo (only 24th)
• Rosy Starling (flock)
• Oriental Magpie-Robin
• Great Tit (Only on 24th - this is the best treat of them all. This beauty was around for hardly a minute but it was a great minute in my life as a birdwatcher. It is one of life's joys to watch these fascinating birds!)
• Purple-rumped Sunbird
• Oriental White-eye (my suspicions for so many years actually, confirmed now by a bonafide sighting)
• Tickell's Flowerpecker (could have also been a Plain Flowerpecker)

Heard for sure:

• Common Tailorbird
• Blyth's Reed Warbler or Booted Warbler (this is one mystery still to be solved; it is very possible both are around, because I heard two distinct calls)

Suspected:

Red-whiskered Bulbul

The high points of the day, of course, were the Great Tit, the White-eye and the Tickell's Flowerpecker (in that order). Watching a great tit is a fascinating experience because the bird is so active, so vocal, and so dextrous - up to something all the time. The whole experience is one of unfettered joy.

The white-eye were always suspected...for many years. But because they are so tiny and expert at keeping out of sight (a lot of arboreal birds are), and also because of their really feeble, difficult-to-pin-down jingling call, they are extremely difficult to sight. Of course, the best way to identify a white-eye is to look for that white ring round the eyes - a dead giveaway.

The Tickell's flowerpecker is such a tiny bird, only about 8 centimetres long. It is also extremely active, whizzing around all the time, "chit"ting excitedly. Look for a clump of parasitic plants on a branch....and you can be sure the flowerpecker has been there.

Other Incidental Sightings:

Eurasian Golden Oriole, on 24th March, at around 4:45 P.M., on Museum Road. Tree-felling is going on on a greedy scale out there, but this chap was chasing away some other bigger bird that I could not see too well.

Birdielog - 230307

Hmmm.
First, the roster.

Range - Richmond Town, Richmond Park
Time - 0815 - 0930 hours
March 23, 2007

"The Cold Reading"

Sighted for sure:

• Spotted Dove
• Eurasian Golden Oriole
• Rosy Starling (flock)
• Grey-headed Starling (flock) - these have not headed North yet :):)
• Purple-rumped Sunbird OR Small Sunbird (very probably both!!)
• Blyth's Reed Warbler ? (I suspect this could easily also be the Booted Warbler. There was a flock moving silently through a fig tree. Very difficult to tell...this could as easily be the Oriental White-Eye.)

Heard for sure but not sighted:

• Oriental Magpie-Robin
• Red-whiskered Bulbul
• Common Tailorbird

Hmmmm indeed. There were any number of sounds to which I could not attach culprits :) Nesting sites being so limited in a crowded city, these creatures need to make the best of what they get.

The Heard for sure but not sighted category are as good as actual sightings; they are not merely suspects. The calls are unmistakeable and cannot be confused with other birds.

The reed warblers are the most difficult to identify (me and a million other birdlovers will testify !!!) - because they can look so easily like other warblers and also because a lot many times, they are silent. The dull metallic "chit" or "chuck" is almost always associated with the "tdrrrr"... compounded by the fact that Booted Warblers resemble leaf warblers a lot.

Birdielog - 220307

Some of these birds are always around, so I won't mention them from the next time on unless they are unusually absent for a long period of time. Let's call these "The Cold Reading" - that is, you don't actually have to TRY to spot them - you will encounter these without too much actual birdwatching. In order of descending size,

• Black Kite
• Jungle Crow (Large-Billed Crow)
• House Crow
• Asian Koel
• Blue Rock Pigeon (the 'synthetic' urban breed - I have my misgivings actually attributing the name)
• Rose-Ringed Parakeet
• White-Cheeked Barbet - not the Brown-Headed Barbet, confirmed almost positively as of June 2007
• Common Myna
• Jungle Myna

Range : Richmond Town, Richmond Park
Time : 0800 - 0915 hrs
March 22, 2007

Sighted for sure:

• Spotted Dove
• Rosy Starling (flock)
• Oriental Magpie-Robin
• Black Drongo
• Common Tailorbird
• Purple-Rumped Sunbird or Small Sunbird (difficult to tell)
• Blyth's Reed Warbler or Booted Warbler (difficult to tell again...behaviour and call was more like the Booted Warbler)

Heard for sure but not sighted:

• Red-Whiskered Bulbul
• Greenish Leaf Warbler or Large-Billed Leaf Warbler (most probably the former)

Suspected:

• Grey-Headed Starling (don't know if the flocks have gone up North already, since they are always with the Rosy Starling flocks and are difficult to actually see)
• Tickell's Flowerpecker (so tiny that it's almost impossible to spot; only the call gives it away)
• At least one or two small species up in the canopy which cannot be identified without field glasses ....

Memo to me : Get myself some field glasses !!!

My roster above is not comprehensive; any number of other skulking birds could be present. A lot of these are expert at losing themselves in the foliage so you don't even suspect they are there. For instance, yesterday (21st March) I did sight a couple of Eurasian Golden Orioles. Now that doesn't mean they weren't around today; it could mean that they silently managed to keep out of sight today; or that they could show up if I had stayed longer, etc.

Among the birds I always suspect are around, that I haven't yet actually been able to sight are the following:

• Common Iora
• Oriental White-Eye

Again, there are birds that pass by and sometimes stay awhile for no apparent rhyme or reason, that I did not see today, however....the foremost of these is the Great Tit.

Ok....we'll need to wait for tomorrow to see who else turns up :):)

Ripple

This place is being put together. Even so, you will not see any construction equipment here.....you might see a chap with a painter's palette, who might seem just a bit preoccupied. Perhaps you must wait. Meanwhile, look around...and kick off your shoes and take off your watch (next time, leave them behind when you come :))

This is a bit like Lindisfarne.....
"Will I be in time to catch the 5:39 at Beal?"
"And just what time might that be?"