Documentary film on Chilika Lake in Odisha

Wildlife photographer and filmmaker, Mr. Shekar Dattatri has made an excellent documentary on Chilika lake restoration project carried out in early 2000's and the present challenges it faces. Play the video below.




Reference:
http://www.conservationindia.org/
http://www.conservationindia.org/videos/chilika
http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/hope-flows/article5750023.ece

Wetlands in coimbatore

 Wetlands provide us with great opportunities for bird watching. Wetlands with ample water provide sustenance for a variety of plants, insects, amphibians, mollusc fish and consequently for wetland birds which feed on them. Many wetlands are home to several resident birds and when they are full, they provide for local migrant species of birds and winter visitors from abroad. Here is alist of water bodies located in and around Coimbatore.

River Noyyal Basin Wetlands

System Tanks

There are 31 wetlands in the River Noyyal Basin fed by the river. They are also known as System Tanks in Public Works Department (PWD).

1. Ukkulam Lake
2. Sottaiyandi Kuttai Lake
3. Ganganarayananasamudharam Lake
4. Puttuvikki Lake (aka Sundakkamuttur Lake)
5. Senkulam (Kuniyamuthur Lake)
6. Kuniyamuthur Small Lake
7. Kurichi Lake
8. Coimbatore Big Lake
9. Valankulam
10. Pudukulam (Vedapatti Lake)
11. Kolarampathy Lake
12. Narasampathy Lake
13. Krishnampathy Lake
14. Selvampathy Lake
15. Muthannankulam (aka Kumarasamy Lake)
16. Selvachinthamani Lake
17. Vellalore Lake
18. Singanallur Lake
19. Pallapalayam Lake
20. Kannampalayam Lake
21. Irugur Lake
22. Achankulam (aka Neelambur Lake)
23. Sulur Big Lake
24. Sulur Small Lake
25. Samalapuram Lake
26. Semmandampalayam Lake
27. Andipalayam Lake
28. Mannarai Lake
29. Mudalipalayam Lake
30. Anaipalayam Lake
31. Kathanganni Lake

Non-System Tanks

 

There are 16 rain fed Non-system tanks in the River Noyyal Basin. Nine of them are given below.

1. Sarkarperiyapalayam Lake
2. Kunnathur Lake
3. Kavuthampalayam Lake
4. Velliraveli Lake
5. Mandrakkarai Lake
6. Athiyur Lake
7. Dhalavaipalayam Lake
8. Puthurpallapalayam Lake
9. Punjaipalatholuvu Lake

Information courtesy: http://www.coimbatorewetlands.org/

What should we do as individuals to conserve birds?

When talking about conservation, most people talk of it as something that they urge Government to do and absolve themselves of any responsibility in conservation of birds. However, there is a lot of things that individuals can do to help conserve birds. I have tried to list out a few things and I intend to expand the list as my knowledge also grows.

• Place a bowl of water outside for water. This is the simplest and most effective way people can help to save birds. Birds, particularly those living in cities and towns, find it very difficult to locate a source of water. However, one precaution you need to take while doing this is to make sure waterfowl  should be hung down or should be placed in such a way that cats can't access it to prey upon unsuspecting birds.
• Place a nest box with grains. This is yet another simple way to help birds. In fact, one of the reasons for decline in sparrow population is the inability of birds to find grains and also its inability to build nests in concrete structure which are devoid of niches and crevices previously found in tiled roof houses.
• Plant trees. Trees are essential as nesting, perching  and roosting grounds for a wide variety of bird species while also providing food by way of flowers, insects and fruits. It is also essentials to select the type of trees which are suitable for planting. Neermarathu (Terminalia arjuna or arjuna tree), Naaval (Syzygium cumini or Java plum or Jambul), and Aththi, (Ficus auriculata Lour or Elephant Ear Fig tree or Gaint Indian Fig)
• Avoid bursting crackers. Birds are very disturbed by sudden and loud noises and many abandon their nests and young ones if they are hear such noises.
• Avoid cats as pets. Feral cats which are pets or those which are abandoned, predate on the nests of many birds by destroying their eggs and eating their young chicks and in many cases preying on birds themselves. It is best to avoid cats as pets.
• Avoid caged birds. Many of the caged birds we use as pests have been hunted in the wild. Birds which are ubiquitous commonly called love birds are nothing but budgerigars of Australia. Macaws are also being overhunted in south America as they are very popular as pets world wide.

How to get started with bird wacthing?

If you are really interested in bird watching, here is how to get started. You need the following:

1. A good binoculars (I recommend 8 x 40) You will need a binocular to see the features of the bird and details about its plumage up-close.
2. A good field guide (Salim Ali's Birds of India or Birds of the Indian subcontinent by Carol Inskipp, Richard Grimmett, Tin Inskipp) This will help you in identifying the birds you are seeing by name.
3. A notebook and pen (to record your observation and make notes about the sightings)

For the initial few times, I suggest that you go with a group of birdwatchers. Their experience in birding is invaluable and can save you a lot of time and frustration in identifying birds and even in identifying birding hotspots where you have chances of spotting a lot of birds in a limited time frame. I suggest that you go bird watching in the early hours of the day (from 6-9) when it is cool and the birds are out to get the first meal of the day or to get a their first sip or dip for the day. In the afternoon hours, birds are usually resting and the activity is very low and birds can become quite difficult to spot. (This is not to mention the discomfort of the birdwatcher being out in the sun for long)
 

Critically endangered bird species in India

From about 1300 odd of birds found in India, approximately 82 species have been listed as threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals (IUCN 2006). Given below is a list of the most endangered bird species of India, some of which are in a highly critical state:

• Pink-headed Duck (Rhodonessa caryophyllacea)
• Himalayan Quail (Ophrysia superciliosa)
• Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus)
• Sarus Crane (Grus antigone)
• Jerdon's Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus)
• Forest Owlet (Athene blewitti)
• White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis)
• Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
• Greater Adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius)
• White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala)
• White-winged Duck (Cairina scutulata)
• Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps)
• Bengal Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis)
• Lesser Florican (Sypheotides indica)
• Nordmann's Greenshank (Tringa guttifer)
• Rufous-breasted Laughingthr (Garrulax cachinnans)
• Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus)
• White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis)
• Long-billed Vulture (Gyps indicus)

Photo courtesy: www.kolkatabirds.com
Information courtesy: http://www.iucnredlist.org/

Why do male and female birds look so different?

Sexual dimorphism is a term used to explain the differences seen between male and female birds seen in the same species. There might be differences in size, plumage, colouration, physiological and in some cases, behavioural differences.  In general, male birds are bigger (this rule is not without exception as in Jacaunas, the females are bigger and in some hawks, the females are twice the size of males). Males in general are more colourful.

Nowhere is sexual dimorphism in birds more apparent than in Indian peacock and a pea fowl

Sexual dimorphism in a little understood phenomenon. In some cases, as in House finches, the male breeding plumage is an indication of the health of the bird. (In this case, darker the male, the healthier it is.) In some species, the male's contribution to reproduction ends at mating, while in other species the male takes care of the eggs and chicks.

Sexual dimorphism is maintained by the counteracting pressures of natural selection and sexual selection. In other words, the more colourful or conspicuous a bird is, the more prone it is to be attacked by birds of prey. Other than this, the exaggerated colours and plumages sometimes come at the cost of immunity.

Sexual Dimorphism may also influence differences in parental investment during times of food scarcity. For example, in the Blue-footed Booby, the female chicks grow faster than the males, resulting in booby parents producing the smaller sex, the males, during times of food shortage. This them results in the maximization of parental lifetime reproductive success.

Some extreme examples of sexual dimorphism in birds:

•  Huia (Heteralocha acutirostris), Now a an extinct bird of New zealand)  was remarkable for having the most pronounced sexual dimorphism in bill shape of any bird species in the world. The female's beak was long, thin and arched downward, while the male's was short and stout, like that of a crow. The sexes were otherwise similar, with orange wattles and predominantly black plumage with a green sheen.



Huia (Male) & Female (Below)

• The Great Bustard (Otis tarda) is one of the heaviest flying birds and the most sexually dimorphic living bird. Adult males weighed 2.48× more than females, and their linear measurements were 18–30% larger. 

Great Bustard Male (Above) and Female (below)

 References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_bustard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_dimorphism#Birds
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huia

How are birds becoming endangered?

A species becomes extinct or endangered because of any one or a combination of five human activities:

1. Over-harvesting
2. Introduction of Invasive species
3. Loss of habitat
4. Islandisation
5. Pollution

Over harvesting:

Over harvesting refers to the hunting of a species in a sustained manner beyond the natural regenerative capacity of the species. A recent case in point is the hunting of the Houbara bustard, a desert bird by the Arab royalty and sheiks. They believe that the bird is a aphrodisiac. The bird population has really declined alarmingly. A team of researchers found that, from 1998 to 2001, Houbara numbers dropped 63% in China, 60% in Kazakhstan, and 50% in Oman.

Introduction of Invasive species:

Some species of birds and animals become endangered and eventually become extinct when humans unintentionally introduce invasive species in their habitats. Island birds are particularly prone to this problem. After living and thriving on Islands without any natural enemies, some species of birds loose their capacity of flight. Over thousands of years, they also loose their fear of predators. Most of them nest in conspicuous locations. When humans arrive on the island, they unintentionally introduces mammals like mice, cats, monkeys and dogs. These animals hunt these defenceless birds and consume their eggs in such great numbers that after a point, it becomes difficult to save a species from brink of extinction. The dodos of Mauritius, the Moas & Kheas of Newzealand are all cases in point.

Loss of Habitat:

Most birds are dependant on the environment for their sustenance either for their food, finding mates, building of their nests and raising of their young. When the environment is disturbed in some manner, birds become threated as a consequence. In the recent years, many of the wetlands have been destroyed to make way for construction projects. Many forests have been felled to make way for agricultural lands. The great Indian bustard is endangered because of the decline in the extent of grasslands. It is also the case with Indian courser.

Islandisation:

This refers to the creation of islands or pockets of forests, wetlands in previously continuous stretches of habitats. Creating Islands is a big threat to birds because the populations become increasingly isolated from one another and in a drought year, one population can get completely destroyed in one area without being replenished from another. A simple act of laying a road across a forest can serve to create islands. Ant-eaters  in Brazil used to flying in the dark canopy do not cross over to the other side of the road and become increasingly isolated.


Pollution:

Many water bodies become the dumping ground for construction debris. The water bodies are also places where sewage water is let into. Many industries use rivers and lakes to dump their waste chemicals. These chemicals are extremely toxic to all forms of life and kills the fish, amphibians and other aquatic species. They also poison the birds which depend on the aquatic life for food. On a much larger scale, human activity causes global warming which increases the global temperatures that change some environments to such an extant that many species including plants shift their locations to a temperature zone that they are accustomed to and with it the birds. Sometimes it becomes difficult or impossible for forests to advance because of the cities, villages and towns which infringe upon them.