- Ashy Drongo
- Ashy Prinia
- Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark
- Asian Barred Owlet
- Asian Koel
- Asian Openbill
- Bank Myna
- Barn Swallow
- Black Drongo
- Black Ibis
- Black Kite
- Black Redstart
- Black-headed Ibis
- Black-headed Munia
- Black-headed Oriole
- Black-shouldered Kite
- Black-winged Cuckooshrike
- Black-winged Stilt
- Blue Rock Pigeon
- Bluethroat
- Blue-winged Leafbird
- Bonelli's Eagle
- Booted Warbler
- Brahminy Starling
- Bronze-winged Jacana
- Brown Hawk Owl
- Brown Rock-Chat
- Brown-headed Barbet
- Cattle Egret
- Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch
- Chestnut-shouldered Petronia
- Chiffchaff
- Citrine Wagtail
- Common Coot
- Common Flameback
- Common Iora
- Common Kestrel
- Common Kingfisher
- Common Moorhen
- Common Myna
- Common Peafowl
- Common Pochard
- Common Redshank
- Common Sandpiper
- Common Stone Chat
- Common Tailorbird
- Common Teal
- Coppersmith Barbet
- Cotton Pygmy Goose
- Coucal
- Crested Lark
- Crested Pochard
- Darter
- Egyptian Vulture
- Eurasian Collared Dove
- Eurasian Spoonbill
- Gadwall
- Graceful Prinia
- Great Egret
- Greater Whitethroat
- Green Bee Eater
- Green Sandpiper
- Greenish warbler
- Greenshank
- Grey Francolin
- Grey Heron
- Grey Hornbill
- Grey Wagtail
- Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
- Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher
- Grey-headed Lapwing
- Hoopoe (Eurasian and Indian subspecies)
- House Crow
- House Sparrow
- House Swift
- Hume's warbler
- Imperial Eagle
- Indian cormorant
- Indian Robin
- Indian Roller
- Indian Silverbill
- Intermediate Egret
- Jungle Babbler
- Jungle Prinia
- Large Grey Babbler
- Large-billed Crow
- Large-billed Pipit
- Laughing Dove
- Lesser Whistling Duck
- Lesser Whitethroat
- Little Egret
- Little Grebe
- Little Ringed Plover
- Little Stint
- Long-tailed Minivet
- Long-tailed Shrike
- Marsh Harrier
- Marsh Sandpiper
- Northern Shoveller
- Oriental Honey Buzzard
- Oriental Magpie-Robin
- Oriental Skylark
- Oriental White-eye
- Paddyfield Pipit
- Paddyfield Warbler
- Painted Stork
- Peregrine Falcon
- Pheasant-tailed Jacana
- Pied Bushchat
- Pied Kingfisher
- Pied Starling
- Plain Prinia
- Plum-headed Parakeet
- Pond Heron
- Purple Heron
- Purple Sunbird
- Purple Swamphen
- Red Avadavat
- Red-necked Falcon
- Red-necked Grebe
- Red-throated Flycatcher
- Red-vented Bulbul
- Red-wattled Lapwing
- Red-whiskered Bulbul
- Richard's Pipit
- River Lapwing
- Rose-ringed Parakeet
- Ruff
- Rufous Treepie
- Rufous-tailed Shrike
- Sand Lark
- Sarus Crane
- Scaly-breasted Munia
- Sind Sparrow
- Small cormorant
- Spotbill Duck
- Spotted Dove
- Spotted Owlet
- Steppe Eagle
- Streak-throated Weaver
- Striated Grassbird
- Tawny Pipit
- Temminck's Stint
- Verditer Flycatcher
- White-breasted Waterhen
- White-browed Wagtail
- White-tailed Lapwing
- White-throated Kingfisher
- Wire-tailed Swallow
- Wood Sandpiper
- Woolly-necked Stork
- Wryneck
- Yellow-crowned Woodpecker
- Zitting Cisticola
In Sarus Crane country, a bushel full of lifers
Between November 21 and 25, I was in Rae Bareli, a place whose name most of us remember only during the elections (it happens to be the constituency of the Gandhi family).
Rae Bareli and Unnao districts are in the heart of the Gangetic plain. The countryside is characterised by flat, dusty terrain: thickets of thorn scrub and acacia, marshes and reed beds, saline mudflats, occasional orchards and a great abundance of wetlands and foodgrain cultivation - wheat, bajra, lentils, paddy, sugarcane and water chestnuts among others. The soil is a fine, powdery yellowish dust, which motor vehicles whip up into enormous clouds. Trapped in the mist, it lingers, hindering both visibility and breathing. But there is no doubt that it is fertile soil, being rich in silt washed down by the rivers.
We birded every day, sometimes rising as early as 4:30 AM to be earlier than the earliest bird. Winter has set in nice and firm over northern India, and the mercury hovered around 10 degrees C on some days. We covered many of the wetlands of the districts as well as a sampling of orchards. In the reed beds and alkaline scrublands of Samaspur Bird Sanctuary, we went looking for winter arrivals.
Since my trek to the Garhwal Himalayas, I have not added so many lifers on a single birding trip. Of these, our standout sightings are the Red-necked Grebe at Samaspur, the Richard's Pipit at a very disturbed wetland near Khiron and the Steppe, Imperial and Bonelli's Eagles. We got a very good look at a Red-necked Falcon, and an obliging Wryneck posed for my video camera.
Among the grass stalks and reed beds, Bluethroats displayed their painted chests with aplomb. Prinias - Jungle, Plain and Graceful - joined Zitting Cisticolas and Common Stonechats in creating that ever-mellifluous marsh chorus. At Samaspur, the Striated Grassbird announced his territorial claim with a pretty little song, and much fluttering and displaying. Warblers were alive in every bush. We had a couple of excellent views of the Greater Whitethroat. Wagtails - Grey, Yellow, White and Citrine - were everywhere. And our resident White-Browed felt a little edged out, methinks.
The migrant waders fed busily. There were Storks and Ibises, Little Ringed Plovers, Little and Temminck's Stints, Sandpipers (Common, Green, Marsh and Wood), flocks of Ruff, Redshanks and Greenshanks, as well as visiting White-tailed and Grey-headed Lapwings. We detoured to the banks of the Ganga at Dalmau to catch a glimpse of a handsome resident - the River Lapwing.
The little guys were at their best. I had the best look I have ever had of the Red Avadavat, picking seeds off the ground only feet away from my feet.
But most of all, I acquainted myself with the reigning monarch of these wetlands - the enchanting Sarus Crane. We counted (as part of a census) over a hundred Sarus cranes.
This is a sentient creature - let me tell you that. No bird can inspire so much respect. Several times, as I stood watching a pair of Sarus (often less than 50 feet away), I have been struck by the dignity with which this bird carries itself. There's a certain indulgence and aloofness about the Sarus that can only come with immense power and pedigree. Mostly, they mate for life and bring up one or two chicks every year. I was lucky to see plenty of chicks - from downy, tottering ones a few days old to some that were as tall as their parents. More on that later in a separate post.
Enough said. Here's the species list:
Labels:
birding,
Rae Bareli,
red-necked grebe,
samaspur,
sarus crane,
Semri,
unnao,
Uttar Pradesh,
wetland,
wryneck