Birdielog - Apr2007(2)

Am not able to make daily entries. So much for those - hmmmm :(

Meanwhile, today's roster includes two or three interesting birds:

1.) A couple of House Swifts, flying really high up in the Richmond Town area. I remember when I would watch birds as a child, there were so many of these within the heart of town. You never saw them perched anywhere, but always flying real high up. Numbers seem to have dwindled considerably.

2.) What I suspected to be a White-Breasted Kingfisher, flying high up right in the heart of the Richmond Town area. Two things about this - one, these birds look confusingly like mynas in flight, unless you can get close enough to see the colours; two, I heard a call like an extremely musical Black Kite, and then saw this beauty. Will confirm this in a day or two if this beauty returns to Richmond Town :)

3.) Tickell's Flowerpecker. This diminutive beauty is very difficult to actually see, because there is a call very confusingly like a sunbird's call. To say that this bird is far more heard than seen would be about 200% accurate :)

From my normal bird habitat, nothing much to report except for the fact that the Orioles, Warblers and Starlings have certainly left and gone up North.

Other than this, I need to record my birdlog for my Kerala trip this weekend. The range would be Kottayam - Tiruvalla, and in particular Vembanad Lake. I present the sightings in no specific order, and leave the reader to his own conclusions:

• Many, many, many Black Drongos. Extremely numerous.
• Lots of Cormorants, both Great and Little :)
• Quite a few Herons, Terns, Egrets and Ducks - will provide a clearer idea in the next few days if possible
• Greater Coucal (first time I ever saw one)
• White-Breasted Kingfisher (numerous)
• Common Kingfisher (first time I ever saw one)
• Lesser Pied Kingfisher (first time I ever saw one)
• Black-Shouldered Flameback? (one of the Flamebacks, anyway)
• Black-Headed Oriole (first time I ever saw one)
• Red-Vented Bulbul (first time I ever saw one)
• Oriental Magpie-Robin

Also did see:

• Lots of what I presumed to be Weaver nests on the coconut trees bordering Vembanad Lake. There were some little birds chirping about, too far away for accurate identification. Probably one of the Weavers.
• Some House Sparrows in one of the railway stations. I record this sighting because they keep getting rarer. Hmmmmm..........:):)

Birdielog - 042007(1)

Just a quick entry to record some sightings over the past few weeks, since I have not been able to make daily entries of late.

These sightings are not confined to the Richmond Town area.

"The Cold Reading "

Sighted for sure:

• Brahminy Kite
• Spotted Owlet
• Spotted Dove
• Black Drongo
• White-Breasted Kingfisher (Cubbon Park)
• Eurasian Golden Oriole (probably have gone North by now, haven't seen any in the last two weeks)
• Rosy Starling (went North this week)
• Grey-Headed Starling (went North this week)
• Oriental Magpie-Robin
• Red-Whiskered Bulbul (DaCosta Square, off Hutchins Road)
• Booted Warbler
• Asian Brown Flycatcher (the find of the last two weeks - in Richmond Town!)
• Common Tailorbird
• Great Tit
• House Sparrow (I consider myself lucky indeed!!! These will not go under the Cold Reading, sadly)
• Oriental White-Eye
• Purple-Rumped Sunbird
• Tickell's Flowerpecker (DaCosta Square, off Hutchins Road)

The Asian Brown Flycatcher had been suspected for a few months, ever since I found a bird with grey-black-brown wings and the distinctive huge eyes. The flight was typical flycatcher and the perch too, with the tail pressed down rather than held up (like some warblers). However I was hesitant because I could not get a close look. The first summer showers last week brought out this beauty, and I got a close view. Would like to hear the bird, too....but seems to be silent.

Till later.

Birds in our city - Series

Bird watching can be quite contagious. I find my friends asking me whether I can introduce a few really common birds, so that they can identify them when they sight any of them....So here it is, a really amateur and beginner-level introduction to our most common denizens of the sky in Bangalore.

I will begin with the most common birds, and then come down to some not-so-common but resident ones.

Our Commonest Bird, Surprisingly...

The commonest bird in our cities these days is, surprisingly, not the House Crow or the Black Kite.....but an urban, synthetic, "semi-feral" (as Salim Ali puts it) breed of the Blue Rock Pigeon.

The ancestor of this urban breed inhabits quite a different habitat - lonely rock faces, abandoned buildings out in the countryside. The urban breed, however, is more at home in the concrete-choked, dusty, polluted city streets. Indeed, the only birds you might get to see in many corners of our cities where no trees exist are the Blue Rock Pigeons - only they can survive there. Even the hardy House Crows and Black Kites are not as well-adapted.

For the total beginner, here's how to find them:

Where to look for them:
Almost anywhere actually, but specifically:

• Niches of any building, new or old
• Top-most branches in the tree canopies
• On the ground in shady verandahs or gardens
• In the skies, there's always some flying about all day long

What they look like:

• Heavy built, about a foot-or-so long. Fan-like tails.
• Slaty grey all over. Couple of black wing bars. Darker tails. A purple-blue-green shiny colour around the neck.

What sounds they make:

• A deep, low, mournful gurgle, almost like a person in pain. The gurgle sounds like blowing through a hukka.
• Sound of rapid wing beats in flight.

Here's a picture:

Birdielog - 040407 - Warbler Fascination :)

Hmmm.

I guess it is kind of an accomplishment to be able to tell the warblers apart. There are only three hereabouts anyway.....so it shouldn't be difficult, you say? Hmmm. Try it.

Actually it wouldn't be accurate to say there are only three - the Common Tailorbird is a wren-warbler anyway. And I also suspect an Orphean Warbler. But before this actually melts away into the foliage (like warblers often do quite expertly :))......

We have one reed-warbler - the Blyth's Reed-Warbler; one Hippolais warbler - the Booted Warbler, one leaf-warbler - the Greenish Leaf-Warbler, and one wren-warbler - the Common Tailorbird.

The Blyth's Reed-Warbler is with us from September to April. This a square-tailed tit or sparrow-sized bird, always skulking around in the bushes, olive brown in the wings, rump and tail, and white-dull-cream in the throat (usually a white throat) and belly. The distinctive call is its diagnostic - the harsh, sharp, single "tchitt" or "tchuckk" every few seconds (a lot many times, it is a silent bird). If you hear this sound, you can be sure it's coming from a nearby bush and you can be sure the bird is around (you can claim a sighting even if you don't see the bird!!!). The Blyth's Reed-Warbler is a bird very dear to my heart :) and is the proverbial "bird in the thicket".

The Booted Warbler is a bird I have identified only in the last few months. This is just a teeny bit smaller than the Blyth's Reed-Warbler, and looks like a smaller, duller Blyth's Reed-Warbler. The olive brown is not so pronounced, and neither is the whitish-cream-buff. Now this bird behaves appreciably unlike the Blyth's Reed-Warbler in that it resembles leaf-warblers, preferring low trees to bushes and thickets. It was the call that alerted me to its presence - it's still confusing, but as far as I know, it is a harsh, low "tchrrrrd". There also seems to be a "tcheck" which is feebler and not as sharp as that of the Blyth's Reed-Warbler.

Now telling the two apart would require a close-quarters sighting, because there certainly are distinguishing identifying marks. But to those who cannot manage this (that's most of us), what I've said in those two paragraphs should be sufficient. And if you can't tell them apart, listen to the calls, they are quite a give-away.

The Greenish Leaf-Warbler is a tree-dweller - Salim Ali's observation about the Large-Billed Leaf Warbler, "keeping singly to the crowns of medium-sized trees" would also be applicable. Now this makes it very difficult to see at close-quarters. But the call is distinct, and you will not see this little beauty in a low bush or a low tree - only the crowns of the trees will find this little fellow. The call is a lovely, refreshing, liquid single "chliwee" or "chisweet". Probably as large or slightly smaller than the Booted Warbler, and a lot greener. The call is a very refreshing call - and can be very comforting to know this little chap is around.

The Common Tailorbird is one of the first birds I learned to identify as a birdwatcher. Really not too difficult at all because the bird is not as skulking, secretive or uncommon as the other warblers. It is a bold bird, not flinching when sighted. The head is russet or chestnut-topped, the wings and tail are lovely light-grass-green, and the whitish-cream below. The distinguishing mark is the tail, which is sometimes long and pointed, sometimes shorter, but almost always carried jauntily cocked. This is a very industrious, busy bird, and there are a variety of lovely, cheerful, loud calls - a constant, busy-sounding "chip chip chip" is sometimes incessant. There is also a loud, endless "weechew, weechew, weechew.." as well as "weetoo, weetoo, weetoo..", etc. These latter calls can be very endless and can seem to go on forever in the summer. Very common in gardens, bushes, trees all across town....and a joy to have around. Very often, you hear the bird (surely the most vocal of the warblers) more than you can actually spot it.

So, that's the story about warblers........will have to see if the Orphean Warbler shows up. Watching them is fascinating because most of them are skulkers and very secretive....will not intrude. But when they do, it is a fascinating thing.