Silly birds and Goal posts at Benrue

NEPED and FES’ joint actions to build on the existing Community Initiatives on Conservation across the state had us at Benrue (Peren, Nagaland). Primary objective of the week was to interact on mapping of Community Conserved Areas(CCA) boundaries.

Benrue, however, as the directory of Important Bird Areas (IBA) and experience of friends who had visited earlier suggested was a very special dot on the ornithological map of not only the state but also the region. But the time our week-long trip came to an end we had come across species ranging from the tiny Naga Wren Babbler (Spelaeornis chocolatinus) to the Grey Sibia (Heterophasia gracilis) (the numbers in which we saw it made us wonder on its being rare and a trigger species for the IBA); Black Eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis) looked down upon us as we walked the boundary while the Himalayan Griffon Vulture (Gyps himalayensis) came to have a closer look as we had tea and I understand I also saw the Yellow-throated Laughing Thrush (Garrulax galbanus) as we walked up to Mount Pauna. Minlas and Sunbirds had such stunning colours and how happy these appeared - the birds as also the colours with each other! Beauty which far exceeded my limited absorption and imagination abilities. 

The Pauna landscape as depicted by Google Earth. 

White patch at the centre-bottom is the foot-ball field. 

In the process we experienced the early morning chill which left our vehicle and grass around it frost-covered to the warmth of the people who, many a time, went out of their way to make the week memorable for us. Two experiences, however, stand out. These I share in the lines below. 

One evening as we sat around the fire (lit to keep us warm around the evening meal) conversation veered on to birds and given that we were in the hills of Nagaland to the Blyths Tragopan (Tragopan Blythii). As the conversation progressed we became party to some amazing insights to the species. And this was not with a group of old men in a remote location but a mix-age group (most of them young) at a village 3 hours drive from Dimapur – Nagaland’s business hub. They shared of the species thus

• It is a bird that sounds similar to a tiger. 
• Best time to spot it is during the month of March. 
• It has never been sighted below the NEC road which cuts through their village lands. (This road, incidentally, is also the boundary of their CCA). 
• It eats leaves and also feeds them to its young ones. 
• Lesser cats and large raptors are its predators. 
• 1991 onwards the people have banned its hunting in the village since its numbers came down 
• The bird is quite silly and as a corollary easy to hunt. If distracted when on move will come back to look it up properly! 

A dead Blyths Tragopan at the Kohima Captive Breeding Centre

The conversation reminded me, yet again, of the need to be aware to local knowledge of the species (and their habitats), learn from and engage with people who share these amazingly rich landscapes with wild species.

Second was one of the more amazing avian sightings I have savoured in recent times. The tourist lodge at Benrue, where we had put up abuts a football field. This is at the town’s edge and at an altitude higher than other habitations. 

Here, on 9th January, 2014 we saw 7 Mountain Bamboo Partridges (Bambusicola fytchii) at 6.00 in the morning for approximately 20 minutes. (The same species which scurried fast enough to scare at Blue Mountain National Park (Lawngtlai, Mizoram)). All of them – 4 males and 3 females then went back into the vegetation besides the field running - like little children in a line - below the netted-iron boundary. But before that they we got to appreciate their splendor. How stunning their demeanor was!

The Pauna Landscape as clicked by Yaranajit. 

They appeared to be closely scrutinizing the space between the goal posts and feeding on the dry grass. (Here a day earlier at 5.00 am we had encountered frost and approximately at 7.00 am Black-breasted Thrush (Turdus dissimilis)). Mark near the eyes distinguished the males and closer look also revealed their being of slightly heavier built. During this time they moved in groups of 2 or 3 and did not go further than 15 feet from the nearest group. One male in particular moved only between 2 females. More than once all of them stopped feeding and looked up towards what was our right!

This wonderful week made me appreciate the immense possibilities of generating synergies with CCA in the state and I look forward to my next trip!

Most of the bird sightings were with Arpit and Yaranajit though other colleagues from NEPED and FES too were a part of this week-long exercise! Many thanks to all of them.