nature rambles

Nature Notes/Birds at Pobitora

2012-03-01T16:16:00.000+05:30

Ducks in flight at Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary

I'm a day late in posting. With the marriage season in full swing there are quite a few social commitments. Hence the delay. I'm sharing two pictures from our Sunday trip (details in my last post). I've never seen so many birds at any point anywhere. This was my first so you can imagine the excitement. The first picture shows ducks in flight. There were hundreds of them. The wetlands surrounding this nature park is a haven for migratory birds. This year's census was conducted in January by the Assam Forest Department and an environmental organisation. The week-long survey ended on January 29, 2012. According to the survey there were 12,000 birds of 26 species at Pobitora. The second photo shows a kingfisher on the wires, and beyond that are hundreds of ducks, herons, egrets, water hens, and storks. The migratory birds stay on till it gets warm. The last of them leave by March. I'm glad we made that trip. This is surely a sight that I'll remember for a long time.

To see more in the world of nature, visit Michelle at Rambling Woods.

WBW/ Birds On The Silk Cotton Trees

2012-02-28T22:25:00.000+05:30

For this week's post I headed to Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary to see the birds and the Silk Cotton trees in bloom. Although we see these trees in the city, seeing them in the wild without the posts, pylons, and the wires of human habitation, makes it extra special. The drive (my husband was at the wheel) is beautiful. We passed through small villages and rice fields. In the distance were the low hills that's a feature of this area. Nearly every kilometre stretch had either the Coral Tree/Erythrina stricta var. suberosa or the Silk Cotton trees/Bombax ceiba in bloom. In some places there were several clumps all in full bloom. Ideally I'd have loved to spend the entire day under those gorgeous trees but we had another commitment...But it was a morning well spent. The distance was about 45 kms but it was at such a leisurely pace that we went, stopping wherever there were birds and blooming trees.

I'm afraid I haven't been able to identify the birds in the first two photos. The same birds are seen in my seventh photo also. The bill is blue. I think I'll need to spend more time with my latest buy, The Book Of Indian Birds by Salim Ali.

The Jungle Myna

Although the Jungle Myna doesn't look very different from the Common Myna, it's most prominent feature is the tuft of feathers on its forehead. These birds usually keep away from human habitation. They are largely omnivorous feeding on grasshoppers, other insects, wild figs, berries, and nectar.

Silk Cotton tree in full bloom

I would like to quote from Salim Ali's book regarding birds in connection with these trees.

Some of the most charming and enjoyable venues for bird watching are certainly afforded by the Silk Cotton, Coral Flower, or Flame of the Forest(Butea) trees in bloom. Their particular attractiveness lies in the fact that the trees, or the branches bearing the gorgeous flowers, are bare and leafless at this season, allowing a clear and unobstructed view of the visitors. Almost every small bird of the surrounding countryside flocks to the blossoms for the sake of the sugary nectar which they produce in such abundance.

Wonderfully sweet moments for the Asian Pied Starling

Pobitora is most famous for its rhinos and the periphery of the park is low-lying. In our region, the low-lying areas are usually flooded during the rainy season. But in the dry season there are stretches of water with dense growth of aquatic plants in between. So hundreds of birds are always seen here. We had a field day watching the ducks, the storks, and several other aquatic species. I'll be posting those pictures next week.

A blurry picture of the Red-vented bulbul feeding on the blooms of the Corky Coral tree in our neighbourhood.

I hope you've enjoyed going through the pictures. Although there were several other species, they were too fast for me!:( Who knows what I might be able to capture on the blooms of the Silk Cotton trees next year?! It's a thought that makes me feel really g-o-o-d!

To see more of our feathered friends, click here.

Nature Notes/ A New Find!

2012-02-22T16:29:00.000+05:30

It's not every morning that you wake up to see this kind of news on the pages of our newspapers.The Telegraph had this picture on its front page this morning. These leg-less amphibians are known as Caecilians.

Caecilians (pronounced seh-SILL-yens) are tropical amphibians that look like large worms or slick snakes. They have no arms or legs, and sometimes it’s hard to tell which end is the head and which is the tail! Their shiny skin is ringed with skin folds called annuli, and they usually come in shades of gray, brown, black, orange, or yellow. Some species have tiny, fish-like scales within the rings. Source.

Some excerpts from the newspaper.

The scientists from the University of Delhi and their counterparts from Belgium and the UK have announced their discovery in a paper that appears today in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The new family of Caecilians, given the name Chikilidae, is genetically closer to African caecilians than to other legless amphibians found so far across peninsular India.

S.D. Biju, India's leading amphibian researcher, and his PhD student Rachunliu Kamei, discovered the new family during a search for amphibians in the northeast between 2006 to 2010. The search yielded more than five hundred caecilians at 58 sites among the 238 localities surveyed.

The scientists classified the Chiklidae as a new family after studies revealed that these creatures have a distinctive morphology and a unique position on the genetic tree of amphibians.

Looking up the internet I came across more pictures and details. You might like to take a look here and here.

And in other news I'm happy to see bees and butterflies around my flowers.

Looks like this one's in a drunken stupor!:)

Butterfly on a calendula

Dahlias and an Orchid tree blooming in a garden attached to a local Cultural Centre.

The flowering trees of Spring are just beginning to put on a show. Soon our landscape will be ablaze with fiery reds and oranges. Here's a closer look at the bloom of the Orchid tree (below).

This is my contribution to Michelle's Nature Notes. Check out the signs of the season by clicking on the link. I wish all nature lovers a wonderful week!!

WBW/ White-breasted kingfisher

2012-02-21T23:17:00.000+05:30

Although I haven't been posting I had taken quite a few shots of birds over the past few weeks. A White-breasted kingfisher often comes and sits on the wires close to our house. Usually I manage a blurry blue with my camera but the other day I happened to be on the balcony upstairs and as luck would have it the kingfisher landed on the wires. I got enough time to get these shots. It's amazing to see the beak from close quarters despite knowing that kingfishers are meant to be that way....

To see more of our feathered friends, click here.

A Tiny Spider for Nature Notes

2012-01-18T23:14:00.000+05:30

I often come across spiders of all sizes amid my plants But some time ago as I was about to pluck some basil leaves, this small black and white spider jumped on a leaf giving me a few seconds to take this shot. This image has been cropped because the creature was so tiny. I was startled to see this shiny black spider...I'm more used to seeing the grey ones. It's a good feeling to see or notice anything new in one's surroundings. A garden, no matter how small, brings so much joy in these little discoveries.

Check out other Nature Notes posts at Michelle's Rambling Woods.

The Red-vented Bulbul

2012-01-18T12:05:00.000+05:30

The Red-vented Bulbul /Pycnonotus cafer is another bird that we see on a daily basis. You can see how it gets its name--from the small but very prominent crimson patch at the base of its tail.

In India, bulbuls are seen as cute little birds. Bulbul and Bulbuli are common names here. But despite its size, the bird can be aggressive. Wherever it has been introduced outside India, it has damaged crops and caused a major drop in the native bird population.

A cloudy afternoon shot of a lone bulbul in July last year.

This photo was taken last year on an early morning walk in my hometown. It was a misty morning in January and the only birds around were these two.

I'm linking up to World Bird Wednesday.

Nature Notes/Stray Dragonfly

2012-01-12T00:17:00.001+05:30

The area I live in has plenty of dragonflies in summer but once it starts to get cooler, they are rarely seen. The other day while I was in the kitchen I heard the unmistakable whirring of dragonfly wings from the tiny ledge near the ventilator. Most probably it must have been stuck in a piece of cobweb and couldn't fly away. When I rescued it, it seemed fine so I took it outside and placed it on this cluster of blooms. I didn't think I'd be successful but it stayed there for a few minutes even after I had clicked this picture. I'd have taken more shots but a pair of flycatchers landed on the coconut tree....

Linking up to Michelle's Nature Notes.

The Spotted Dove for WBW

2012-01-10T22:12:00.000+05:30

High up on the tallest of trees, on the electrical wires or on the ground, the Spotted Dove makes its presence known by its gentle and soothing calls. Last year a pair built a nest on our mango tree but the crows did let them have a moment's peace. The pleasure of having doves nesting on one the few trees in our compound seems to be dim. But not the sight of these pretty birds. These photos were taken in the last couple of days. I found one preening on a cloudy day, one perched on a tree and the last one was foraging on the ground.

To see the most amazing birds head over to World Bird Wednesday.

Nature Notes/Loss Of Habitat

2012-01-04T21:30:00.000+05:30

Recently I had posted pictures of egrets seen in the marshy plot of land near our house. Yesterday there was this lone bird foraging amid the vegetation and I realized with a pang that this could well be the last year I'll be seeing them here. This patch will soon have a structure coming up. The trucks have been coming and one side of the land is already filled with tons of soil. Since New Year's day we have had light showers and cloudy days and the droplets of rain on the colocasia leaves are the first thing that catch my eye as I look down from our balcony. Otherwise this season is usually very dusty.But these birds are not the only ones who will be deprived of their feeding ground. The white-breasted water hen is another and the worst affected might be the marsh mongoose.

This photo of this small Indian mongoose was taken at the local zoo today. Although we see the marsh mongoose in our yard, it moves very fast and it's near impossible to get a decent shot. In only a few months' time our landscape will change and another habitat, will be destroyed forever.

I'm linking up to Michelle's meme, Nature Notes.

The Asian Pied Starling

2012-01-03T23:01:00.000+05:30

Welcome back to my blog in 2012!:) Hope you all had a wonderful New Year's celebration with family/friends. Continuing with my posts of backyard birds, prominent on that list, is the Asian Pied Starling. They usually come here in pairs or in small groups and forage on the ground. They also keep calling so you never really miss them. The photo (above) was taken last year when my neighbour's Corky Coral tree was blooming in March. Right now, the medium-sized tree is covered with large rough leaves but the leaves will soon fall and the tree will be covered with blooms. These red spiky flowers attract many insects and birds.

I found this one on a vacant plot near our house. Wiki says that these starlings are usually found in small groups,foraging mainly on the ground but perching on trees and buildings. Birds in a group call frequently with a wide repertoire that includes whistles, trills, buzzes, clicks, and warbling calls. They forage in the open ground on grains, fruit, insects, earthworms and molluscs. Like many other starlings, they often use a prying action in order to dislodge the food from the ground.

This post is for World Bird Wednesday. Click on the link to see the most amazing photos of birds from across the world. Happy blogging, happy birding, and of course, have a wonderful 2012!

Nature Notes/Looking Back

2011-12-29T00:08:00.000+05:30

When I look back on 2011 it makes me think about the mental nature notes that I made....

What a joy to see these blue-banded bees clustering for the night. Dead or leafless branches of shrubs are where they gather when they call it a day. Surely something I would have missed if I didn't blog!

I had never seen this kind of beetle before and getting a chance to photograph it recently was most satisfying.

The other day on a picnic that we had been to, I was surprised to see that these leaves still held dew. Our temperatures never go below 9* C when it's at its coldest and dew vanishes as soon as the sun is out.

And although I've photographed the Peacock Pansy butterfly several times, I can't resist another shot if it happens to choose to sit on one of my plants!

The sandy stretch of the Brahmaputra was filled with the prints of webbed feet. As the year ends I am thankful that I can connect/have connected with so many of my blogging friends. It's such a blessing to belong to this wonderful community. May our tribe increase!

This post is for Michelle's meme Nature Notes.

World Bird Wednesday/From The Archives

2011-12-27T22:18:00.000+05:30

Today's post is a selection of some of the birds that are not from my backyard but taken in nature reserves and while on a picnic. Our backyard birds come in three basic colours: black, white, and grey!!:) This Golden Oriole was taken at a resort in the outskirts of our city. I have posted some of these photos before but that was all before I joined Springman's meme. The photos also say...don't you think it's time you changed to a better camera? Hmm...I'm listening...I'm listening!

This Crimson Sunbird was spotted on a drumstick tree last year. We were out on a picnic near a river and was I glad I saw this!

The Indian Roller was photographed in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary on one of our day trips there.

A winter scene...pigeons peck at some of the remaining grains in a rice field. After the harvest these are how the fields look in this season.

And a flock of pelicans that I photographed at the local zoo.

To see more posts, head over to World Bird Wednesday.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T17:43:00.000+05:30

I wish all my blog friends and visitors a Merry Christmas! May this season be filled with peace and joy for you!

Nature Notes/ The End Too Soon

2011-12-21T18:55:00.000+05:30

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.~ Rabindranath Tagore

But some do not make it. Like these tiny eggs...On recent bird watching trip I was hoping to get some butterfly shots. But with the day being cloudy I only saw a few flying about as we were about to return. My friend Mitali noticed a butterfly on the ground. It looked like a Lime butterfly (one of the most commonly seen swallowtails here) but the coloration was slightly different. It was sad to see some of the eggs still attached to the body. Back home I looked up my Book of Indian Butterflies and it looked similar to the Common Yellow swallowtail. The photo below was taken with these coloured stones on the wings to hold them in place. It's a butterfly I have never seen in my yard nor photographed. Maybe on my next trip to the same place I may be able to photograph this beautiful butterfly- alive.

This post is for Michelle's Nature Notes. Click on the link and check out posts on nature by other participants.

The Cattle Egret

2011-12-20T22:21:00.001+05:30

Now that the water in the marshy patch near our house is drying up, the sight of egrets feeding on the ground will greet us most mornings. Just like dew on the grass and the tomato re-seeders that somehow manage to make their way through the soil at this time of the year, it's a seasonal occurence. For the rest of the year it's as if the egrets understand that they remain in the outskirts of the city where the low-lying rice fields and water bodies with their innumerable flora and fauna provide enough for them. Marshy plots of land near residential areas are to be visited only in December!:) This is the fourth year that I've observed this. Maybe I'd have forgotten the month but for the photos I have taken....

To peck or not to peck seems to be the question for these birds. In summer the colocasia grows as high as six feet and you can barely see the other side. Swarms of dragonflies hover above them and the bee-eaters and the drongos are always around to feast on them. Families of marsh mongoose are seen scurrying in all that luxuriant growth. Only small clumps of colocasia plants remain at this time of the year.

Cattle egrets feed on grasshoppers, crickets, flies, moths, spiders, frogs, and earthworms. Wiki says that the cattle egret has attracted many common names. These mostly relate to the habit of following cattle and other large animals, and it is known as cow crane, cow bird, and cow heron, or even elephant bird, and rhinocerous egret. The cattle egret is a popular bird with cattle ranchers for its perceived role as a biocontrol of cattle parasites such as ticks and flies.

Take a look at our feathered friends from around the world by visiting Springman at World Bird Wednesday.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by. May you have a wonderful Christmas!

Biodiversity on a Bush Morning Glory

2011-12-15T21:58:00.001+05:30

The other day on a bird-watching trip I came across a few Bush Morning Glory plants. As we passed by one such bush, the insects caught my eye. A few months ago I had been thrilled to find out that it was the host plant of tortoise beetles but here was biodiversity! There were several caterpillars feeding on the leaves, blue damselflies (the ones I had never photographed before) were hovering on the plant, iridescent green polka-dotted beetles were on the underside of the leaves and I also noticed a green spider. If I had stayed there longer I might have seen more but then I saw an eagle....

Bush Morning Glory/Ipomoea carnea grows on the edge of rice fields and other low-lying areas. They grow to a height of 1.5 m. Throughout spring and summer they bloom in clusters of pink.The flowers close as the sun grows stronger just like other kinds of morning glory blooms. A native of tropical America it is widely naturalized. Its Hindi name is besharam meaning shameless due to its invasive quality. Over the years the branches spread and form a tangled mass. Then it becomes a resting/hiding place for bigger creatures such as the python (below). I took this photo at the Pobitara Wildlife Sanctuary last year where the guards showed it to me and to other park visitors. I had always meant to use this photo about how the plant's branches can be a perfect cover for animals and I'm happy to be able to include it in my post.

I am joining Michelle of Rambling Woods for her meme Nature Notes. Click on the link and see other participants' posts. It's always interesting to see what's going on around us.

Birds At Deepor Beel

2011-12-14T07:55:00.000+05:30

On Sunday, I headed off to Deepor Beel with my friend Mitali and her cousin. Deepor Beel is the largest water body in the outskirts of the city. In winter it's where all the migratory birds come.We left around 7.30 in the morning. It's an hour's drive away. As you can see from the first picture, it was foggy and the horizon could barely be seen. But there were birds galore. It was my first bird-watching trip so I was happy to see birds in great numbers. It didn't matter that I didn't get pictures of birds from colder climes, as such.

I don't know most of the names apart from the cormorant, the heron, and the eagle. Even the pylon was packed! I hope you've enjoyed the photos...despite the cloudy backdrop. I'll surely be going back to Deepor Beel. Now I'm thinking of sunny day bird pictures.....

This is my entry for World Bird Wednesday. Click on the link to see various feathered friends from across the globe.

The White-breasted Water Hen

2011-12-06T22:31:00.000+05:30

The white breasted water hen is a shy bird, ever so furtive in its movements. Years ago we could only hear them as we were surrounded by marshy land. But now that most of the rice fields have disappeared and apartments have come up, we see them in our yards now, foraging in our gardens. But they still nest in some of the marshy patches left untouched by man so far. Their call is raucous and they tend to get vocal during the breeding season around dawn and dusk.

Although the bird's colours are predominantly dark grey and white, the undertail feathers are rust brown. The beak is greenish yellow and the base is red.

I often see them pecking on the ground much like the way chickens do. Their diet includes seeds, insects and small fish. They also nibble on small snails, worms and snack on shoots and roots of marsh plants.

This is my entry for World Bird Wednesday. Click on the link and check out some of the most stunning bird photos from across the planet.

The Commander Butterfly

2011-11-28T15:09:00.000+05:30

The other day I came across this butterfly on my mussaenda plant. I recognized it as the Commander as I'd seen it two years ago in my front yard. Looking up online I found out that the Commander is found in low elevations and found all over India. It's fond of damp patches and the flowers of the Aztec marigold. Male butterflies exhibit strong territorial behaviour, often perch high on trees and pounce on other butterflies. Only time will tell whether I'll be able to document such actions in future.:)

The Black Drongo

2011-11-23T19:50:00.000+05:30

The Black Drongo is a bird found in the tropics in lightly wooded habitats from south-west Iran through India and Sri Lanka to southern China and Indonesia. Like the sparrows and the crows, the drongo is a regular visitor to our gardens. The glossy black feathers of this bird also have blue metallic hues. The tail is long and forked and both sexes look similar. Juveniles are said to have dull brown feathers but I have never seen one so far.Like the bee-eaters, drongos are also fond of sitting on the power lines and preying on insects. These pictures were taken in the gardens of the local Cultural Centre where the drongos are seen in large numbers.

Drongos are said to be fearless and aggressive. Although their length is 28 cms only they are known to attack larger birds if their young or nests are in danger. Although their call is said to be varied I often hear the sweetest ones when they perch themselves on the mango tree or on the power lines near our house.

This is my entry for World Bird Wednesday. Please click on the link to see birds of many different feathers....

The Oriental Magpie Robin

2011-11-16T00:56:00.000+05:30

Welcome to World Bird Wednesday! Today I'm posting pictures of the Oriental magpie robin/Copsychus saularis, a bird that's seen in our gardens everyday. The glossy black and white feathers and the sweetness of its call makes sure that you notice the bird! Males are black and white but the females are a dull grey. Juveniles resemble the female but they have scaly heads and upper parts.

The Oriental magpie robins are known for their song and were once popular as cagebirds. This is the national bird of Bangladesh where it is known as the doyel.

Sizing its prey, maybe? Magpie robins usually feed on the ground, foraging for insects. Their diet also includes snails, plant matter and small lizards. They are terrestrial birds and their flight is often near the ground and for short distances.

To see more posts on the wonderful world of birds, head over to
World Bird Wenesday.

Ladybird or Tortoise Beetle?

2011-11-14T18:20:00.000+05:30

I came across this ladybird-like insect on the underside of the Ixora leaf (first photo in the collage). It looked like a ladybird but a closer inspection revealed that it was a tortoise beetle. I've photographed quite a few tortoise beetles but never like this one. To see the kinds of patterns on them you might like to visit this site.
http://richardpeters.typepad.com/blog/2011/05/tortoise-beetles.html

Commonly seen ladybirds that I photographed a few months ago. To see more details of tortoise beetles check out my post here.

Weekend Reflections/Chennai Sky

2011-11-11T23:02:00.000+05:30

Wispy clouds reflected on the glass front at Express Avenue Mall in Chennai.

For more reflection photos head over to

http://weekendreflection.blogspot.com/

My thanks to James for hosting this wonderful meme.

The Blue-banded Bees

2011-11-10T16:32:00.000+05:30

Now that I have posted about the birds, let me talk about the bees!! One of my favourite bees in the garden is the blue-banded bee. They are really tiny, about 7-15mm average and make a sound that sounds louder than most bees. Also they are hard to photograph because they are constantly moving, and never still.

The blue-banded bees are native to Australia but their close relations can be found throughout the Asia-Pacific region. They are members of the genus Amegilla. the most conspicuous thing about them is the pale blue or bright blue bands on a mainly black abdomen. Females have four bands, and males, five. These bees are buzz pollinators. They use a special technique to get pollen from flowers. They hold on to the flower and vibrate with a loud buzzing sound. The vibration causes the flower to drop the pollen on the bees' bodies. Despite the sounds they make they are not at all aggressive and will sting only if threatened.

One unique thing about these bees that I've noticed is that they cluster at night by clinging to twigs or stems. Looking up online I learnt that the males cluster on twigs but the females build nests in shallow burrows in the ground or in the soft mortar of houses. I happened to be photographing a pretty dragonfly yesterday when I noticed this bee getting ready to call it a day. Even here it was not still.

Another bee comes to rest on the same twig. That electric blue is no longer prominent now that the wings are closed.

The cluster forms...All these images of garden wildlife has taught me a n important lesson in watering. Years ago, during hot summer evenings, I used to splash water on my plants at night too. Now I know better. How many moths, butterflies, lizards, and bees I must have disturbed then. I didn't really think about garden wildlife then, the way I do now.

All quiet now...maybe the cluster grew larger after this shot. But I knew I had to leave them catching up on their much-needed beauty sleep:) for first light will see them heading for their immediate neighbour...the coleus in full bloom.

Tree Kingfisher

2011-11-09T13:21:00.001+05:30

We often see kingfishers on the electrical wires but they are too far away to be photographed with the kind of camera that I have. The other day as I was busy with some weeding and re-potting, I sensed a presence and looked up the mango tree . This pretty kingfisher sat there seemingly oblivious to my activity. I tiptoed back to the house for the camera and got these shots.

I was surprised to find out online later that the White-throated Kingfisher is a tree kingfisher and often lives away from water. Their diet includes amphibians, small rodents, and other birds. According to Wiki, they are widely distributed in Eurasia from Bulgaria, Turkey, east through south-east Asia.

This is my contribution to World Bird Wednesday. I don't know much about birds but I love observing them. I'd like to share the birds that I see on a regular basis in my garden.