yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

Cut that call:   Ethics and Misuse of Artificial Birdcalls This piece finds place on Round Glass here Thanks are due to the team at Round Glass A few years ago, I was in Nagaland working on a community conservation project in the Mokokchung- Zunheboto area. In addition to project work, other members of the team and I would go on birdwatching walks at dawn, braving the early morning chill for sightings of grey sibia and mountain bamboo partridge. On one of these walks, I remember one of my companions playing the call of the Naga wren babbler ( Spelaeornis chocolatinus ) for so long that the poor bird came and sat on the blessed phone. When I asked him if this was wise, he argued that he was one of the more serious bird watchers in the country, and could tell that the bird was not disturbed. I asked what would happen if people from the surrounding landscape (including those who hunt) picked up this practice, but he was confident that they could not. The basis for thi...

The ‘festival’ and bird ‘season’ in our parts appears to overlap, as we get ready for both – place below list of species we have come across during our ‘bird walks’, Many a time I have slowed down my cycle on spotting a bird but then been unable to identify the ‘exact species’; these   moments too have been fun – especially in the drizzle,   Thanks are due to students and colleagues for joining on many of these walks, Binoculars for Charity for equipment and to Kumar Radhakrishnan for the images,  Ashy Prinia Asian Koel Bank Myna Barn Swallow Baya Weaver Black Drongo Black Kite Black Redstart Black-crowned Night Heron Black-eared Kite Black-headed Gull Black-winged Kite Black-winged Stilt Bluethroat Blyth's Reed Warbler Booted Eagle Brahminy Starling Brown Shrike Brown-headed Barbet Brown-headed Gull Cattle Egret Common Hawk Cuckoo Common Hoopoe Common Iora Common Myna Common Pigeon Common Quail Commo...

Bird by Bird ( With respects to Anne Lamott ) Published in the April 2018 issue of Palash.  Thanks are due to the Editorial Team of Palash. We are also indebted to Binoculars for Charity for the support with equipment. The location of the Rajghat campus and the vegetation it boasts of made the decision to take up bird watching very easy. The crux lay in moving around and enjoying with the birds; there was little to plan. We began with 1 pair of binoculars and 6 species on the first day. Design was to discuss birds, talk about their colours, size, actions and else, and not bestow inordinate attention on names and lists. 7 sisters or noisy birds after a while became babblers and some weeks later we were in a position to determine whether they were the Large Grey Babblers or the Jungle Babblers; 2 babbler species occur on campus. Time put in with the bird book ( or the field guide ) to figure out what they saw also allowed the group to get familiar with sp...

Treks in GHNP are to be undertaken to be believed. Absence of roads (and even khachhars) makes it, well uncommon. Sheer Himalayas, if one has to be succinct. This list has been put in place over 2 trips and a lot of fun. Image Credit: Nirlep Dhutwalia Alpine Chough Ashy Drongo Ashy-throated Warbler Bar-tailed Treecreeper Bearded Vulture Black Bulbul Black-chinned Babbler Black-lored Tit Blue Whistling Thrush Booted Eagle Brown Dipper Chestnut Thrush Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush Chestnut-eared Bunting Citrine Wagtail Coal Tit Common Hoopoe Common Kestrel Common Myna Common Pigeon Crested Kingfisher Previous Pieces Sanctuary Asia Deccan Herald Dark-sided Flycatcher Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker Grandala Great Barbet Great Cormorant Great Tit Green Bee-eater Green-backed Tit Grey Bushchat Grey Treepie Grey Wagtail Grey-backed Shrike Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher Grey-hooded W...

Walking up and down in Dampa Tiger Reserve is rewarding for sure ~ This list is compiled over multiple trips, long chats, sessions at tea-stalls, rides in pick-ups and many kua’s including few times with the nut of the oil palm! Image Credit: Pu Zakhuma Ashy Bulbul Ashy Drongo Ashy headed Green Pigeon Ashy Woodswallow Asian Barred Owlet Asian Fairy Bluebird Asian Koel Asian Paradise-flycatcher Barred Cuckoo Dove Black Bulbul Black Drongo Black Eagle Black Kite Black Shouldered Kite Black-backed Forktail Black-crested Bulbul Black-hooded Oriole Black-naped Monarch Black-rumped Flameback Black-winged Cuckooshrike Blue Rock Thrush Blue Whistling Thrush Blue-bearded Bee-eater Blue-eared Barbet Blue-throated Barbet Blue-winged Leafbird Bronzed Drongo Brown Shrike Brown-throated Treecreeper Previous pieces on Dampa Frontier Despatch National Geographic Traveller Sanctuary Asia Cattle Egre...