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India 2013: Going back to basics...

It seems fitting that I should be writing up my Indian trip as flurries of snow are settling on London’s clean, grey, boring streets. Back a week now and this icy blast has me clinging to the thread of holiday memories like a jumper snagged on a nail. In short, it was incredible; my first taste of Asia and India, a place where everyone (possibly) wants to fleece you and shake your hand, a place of smiles and sweat and noise, jeez the noise...gutters filled with trash on roads that go to some incredible wilderness and HEAT that has you permanently wiping sun lotion out of your eyes. It was also my first taste of birding outside Europe, something I was really looking forward to, with good reason.

In the short time I was there, I was knocked out by the diversity, of both birds as a whole and the variety within their forms. Even though I whiled away the hours in transfer at Delhi airport scanning my Helm field guide, it was exciting to be a total beginner again, mostly having to break down birds into families and go from there. Those kinds of lessons are important to remember I think. But birds were not what the whole trip was about as I was travelling with my sister and her boyfriend, for whom my interest is more a source of amusement and, possibly, concern. That said, a weird highlight of the trip for me came on the last day as I pointed out some birds calling over our heads and before I could say anything they both called out “Bee-eaters!” in unison! But we planned it so I could have a few days of indulgence at my chosen destination, Thattekad, in amongst our shared adventures. I’ll get to that, but it was inevitable from the moment I touched down in Chennai that birds would be on my radar most hours of the day, wherever we found ourselves. That explains why in literally every photo from the first few days I’m either holding my bins or squinting distractedly into the distance at some unknown avian beauty. It was brilliant.

Pondicherry, a few hours drive south of Chennai on India’s south east coast, was our first stop, or rather my first stop as Sal has been staying there recently while she conducts her PhD field research into normative somethings (far, far more impressive than I can coherently describe). As introductions to India go, Pondicherry was mercifully easy on my sleep-deprived body and I enjoyed that first afternoon walking round the oddly familiar French Quarter (it’s a former French-Indian enclave), it’s pretty streets largely free of crowds and traffic. In fact the only crowds I encountered were those of House Crows – hundreds of them swooping and squawking over the piles of rubbish strewn everywhere. On that point, I guess this was one of the hardest and strangest things my ‘western’ eyes came to terms with over the trip. Apart from our remotest excursions, litter was evident everywhere and although my visit was brief, there were few signs, that I could tell, of remorse. It was no wonder that crows and kites were the most abundant birds by far. I guess some things are just different and stuff we take for granted is a big deal elsewhere. 

House Crow (Corvus splendens) of the nominate Indian race and appearing much like an over-sized 'hooded' Jackdaw, or a slimmed down Carrion Crow

Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) from the roof of the homestay, Pondicherry, India

Sticking to urban birding, a walk along the scruffy, beach-less promenade brought my first views of a soon-to-be ubiquitous Brahminy Kite drifting by; it’s rich, chestnut-brown wings contrasting with its pale, white head even in the evening sun. Smart. The next morning I woke up to a text from Dave telling me there were 35 waxwings in Nunhead, but after much deliberating I decided against going for them and took an early walk back down the front. This took me to Government Square Park where I found distinctive Common Myna’s scurrying around and singing in the trees, their repetitive song almost Song Thrush-like. This was followed by my first close-up views of bulbuls, Red-vented and Red-whiskered, with both sporting enviable punkish crown feathers. The latter, I would learn, has an equally beautiful song. Later, a Rufous Treepie glimpsed through the trees in the botanical gardens put a colourful spin on our common Magpie. It was a nice few days in Pondicherry, getting a grip on the basics before we headed west... 

Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) looking much like a crime-fighter with its distinct yellow 'mask'

Brahminy Kite (haliastur indus)
A small, common  Kite- I got so used to seeing them soaring about, I instinctively looked for them when I got home!

Penduline Tit, Stodmarsh

It is a sign of how things have changed that even before the wheels of the plane had graced the tarmac at Heathrow last weekend, I was wondering what might have turned up in the few weeks I was away! While longing for a situation to transpire that would result in the plane turning around and heading back to India and wishing I could summon the strength to turn off the Ashton Kutcher movie that was playing, it was comforting to know that while I was leaving an exotic landscape for a much more familiar one, there was still plenty to look forward to at home. Thus, with my head still full of bulbuls and minivets and sunbirds and bee-eaters, I found myself heading down the A2 on Wednesday without a rickshaw in sight, to check out the showy Penduline Tit that has been present at Stodmarsh for a few weeks.

I've wanted to see this tricky species for a while and after a short wait it eventually emerged to give fantastic views in its favoured patch of bulrush, wobbling back and forth contentedly in the pleasant March sunshine. Although defined as one in name and indeed, tit-sized, penduline tits inhabit a realm of taxonomic uncertainty and are generally treated as a sub-family of the 'true' tits. Their name comes from the incredible bulbous, hanging nests they construct - currently confined in the most part to south and eastern mainland Europe, I wonder how long it is until we see these amazing structures appearing in UK reedbeds?

More on my Indian odyssey to come but for now enjoy an absolutely knock-out bird a bit closer to home...

Swing woah...Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus), Stodmarsh NNR, Kent 6/3/13

Gone birding...

No updates for a while...see you in March!

Ruff crossing

Colour-ringed Ruff at Elmley Marshes, Kent, 27/1/13

As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the highlights of a trip to Elmley Marshes recently were the great views of a flock of Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) feeding along the entrance track. Scanning through the birds, I spotted two colour-ringed individuals - the photo above is a record shot of the one nearest me. It's not a great shot but you can make out some detail of the rings, in this case: yellow-top/white?-below (left tarsus) and blue-top/white-below (right tarsus). I'd heard about wader ringing programmes in northern Europe before and a quick check online, via the excellent www.cr-birding.org, pointed me in the direction of Jos Hooijmeijer at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. I sent him this photo and he was good enough to fire an email straight back.

Jos instantly recognised this bird as being from an affiliated ringing programme and this is the information he sent. This is a 3cy male Ruff, first caught and ringed on the 3rd April 2012 in Gaastmeer, Fiskersbuorren (Netherlands) in the vicinity of Lake IJsselmeer. It subsequently moved south west to Gent in Belgium to what looks like an area of well-drained arable land, where it was first spotted in December 2012 before travelling due west across the channel to Sheppey:

 30-12-2012 Gent, Bourgoyen
Belgium 51.03.50 N 03.40.30 E
3-1-2013 Gent, Bourgoyen
Belgium 51.03.50 N 03.40.30 E
5-1-2013 Gent, Bourgoyen
Belgium 51.03.50 N 03.40.30 E
27-1-2013 Isle of Sheppey, Elmley
Marshes United Kingdom 51.22.31 N 00.47.15 E

The arrival on Sheppey seems to correspond with freezing conditions across north eastern Europe and south eastern England has thawed nicely since then so Sheppey would seem a good destination.

Anyway, always interesting to find out where birds have been - looks like another cold snap this week, so keep an eye out for more continental arrivals.

A ghost on the Moor...

Silent, searching

a Barn Owl yesterday:

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Staines Moor, 3/2/13

Or a good example of how not to be a wildlife photographer.

This Barn Owl that appeared on Staines Moor yesterday was just one of many highlights on a memorable trip out to West London for our 'Office Patch Swap'.

The only rule of Patch Swap is, there are no rules! Only that everyone has a great day birding around someone else's local area. Our first stop yesterday was South Ealing tube station, Richard's manor, to pay a visit to London’s most reliable and thus most papped waxwings. True to form, they were there – 14 birds loitering conspicuously in a tree by the bus stop as they have done for 35 days now. Are they waiting for the bus back to Scandinavia perhaps?

 At Staines Reservoir we were exposed to the elements but rewarded with excellent views of a Great Northern Diver. It was an evasive bird but a wonderful brute. Doing what a diver does best, it would come up for five seconds and then disappear under the choppy waters for twenty, popping up 100m away. That is some strength. It kept us fit but it was worth it.

From there it was to Staines Moor - a truly unexpected and undisturbed slice of wilderness, a precious alluvial grassland, a  SSSI, hemmed in on all sides by Heathrow and the M25. It was a strange feeling, heart and mind wanting to surrender to it but prevented from doing so by the constant hum. Nevertheless, as we wandered among the ancient anthills all afternoon, its nature slowly unfolded and the noise was easier to forget. We had wonderful views of a another wandering spirit, a Short-eared Owl, quartering the moor at dusk until it alighted on a bramble perch - its fiery eyes so weary and watchful. I shared this view through my scope with a passing dog walker who was thrilled. I think she'll remember that day she saw an owl.

There was more of course, that afternoon, but the story is much the same. The next office patch swap has a lot to live up to!

Some footage here (courtesy Daniel Greenwood):

Owl

Diver

A ghost in a tree: Short-eared Owl, Staines Moor, 3/2/13

Thanks to Rich, Vicki and Dan

World Wetlands Day

Water Street, East Lambrook, Somerset, Jan 2013 (Photo by M Werkmeister)

This photo was sent to me by a family friend recently, apparently the road is called 'Water Street'...I know!

So today is World Wetlands Day - a virtual hands up who knew that? Ah maybe you did, maybe you didn't...the main thing is you do now. It marks the day in 1971 when the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was signed in the city of Ramsar in Iran. What we now know as the Ramsar Convention has since taken massive strides in highlighting the importance of wetlands and shaping how they are conserved around the world. This year the theme is water management.

Writing this now from a hilly and residential South London suburb, wetlands seem far removed from everyday life. But those marshes and mudflats at the mouth of the Thames and those rivers and reservoirs threading through the wider landscape, allow us to live much as we do. They are alternately a sponge, soaking up the power of the high-energy waves and the vagaries of inclement weather; they are a fundamental and free-flowing source of hygiene and survival, they are simultaneously a natural drainage and storage system. They are many other things too.

As well as our reliance on them, wetlands are also unique and fantastically biodiverse habitats, home to a bewildering number of flora and fauna species and used by many more. I spent today doing my best to share the joys of one such place in West London, or at least, giving the punters what they wanted and showing off some pretty birds.

Kempton Nature Reserve is a relatively new reserve, created in the last decade of so by Thames Water. As a former working reservoir, water is the influencing force here and through time and careful management, a charming, rich mosaic of habitats has formed. Today we saw Reed Buntings flitting over a reedbed and a handsome Gadwall bobbing like a cork as it dabbled in the velvety blue pools. A Snipe did nothing save cast a shadow as it froze on an island to avoid detection. A Kestrel flew in and began hovering over one of the muddy banks, keen eyes looking for invisible trails or the twitch of a mousy tail. At one point the hide was full of kids and I asked them what they could see, "SWANS!!", "FISH!", "DUCKS!" were the answers yelled back at me. It was cold and overcast and February, but the place was still full of life...and I guess that's ultimately what World Wetlands Day is about. As photos like that at the top and recent news articles show, it is vital that sensitive wetland management is taken seriously by politicians - so much depends on it.

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) North London, Jan 2013