BIRDWALK IN CATCHMENT SANCTUARY

Bhupesh and Savita at the entry of the Sanctuary

Himachal Birds organised its first birdwalk of the season on 26.6.2016. What could be a better venue than the Catchment Sanctuary spread over 10 sq km. Six of us, Dr Savita, Dr Bhupesh from Chandigarh, Sanjeeva Pandey, Satish Gupta, Santosh Thakur and yours truly completed the team. Early morning rain did not dampen our spirits and after exchange of a few telephone calls, we decided to take on the rain gods and assembled at the gate of the sanctuary at 6 am sharp. The Sanctuary has a beautiful gate depicting some of the fauna found in it.

Seeing our resolve, the rain gods also relented and we were greeted by a rain washed pristine forest that catchment area offers. With cameras and binos out to capture any and every feathered entity, the birders trudged along the 7 km track.

Sauntering along!

Hardly had we covered a few hundred yards that the call of a Spotted Nutcracker made us stop. We had a glimpse of the bird - a 'lifer' for Bhupesh and Savita. It obviously thrilled them. The walk had begun on a positive note.

The Cobra Plant

We had hardly gone another few hundred meters that Santosh and Bhupesh motioned us to go quiet and approach the spot they had occupied very cautiously. We all followed the instructions in anticipation of a star show. Lo and behold, in front of us was a pair of Koklass Pheasant. The female did not like the intrusion, yelled at us and flew away to the safety of thicker vegetation. The male nonchalantly moved upwards the slope hiding behind the bushes. Two prized birds in less than one kilometer of journey was extremely motivating.

The walk was made all the more interesting by Sanjeeva Pandey, Satish Gupta and Santosh Thakur who kept sharing information about the flora of the forest. Sanjeeva Pandey introduced us to the Cobra Plant or "saanp-booti" which grows only in the rainy season. One leaf of this wild plant spreads like the hood of cobra and also has a tongue. Srinivas Vashisht in The Tribune of 27.6.2016 has the following to say about the plant: "I did not know the name of ‘saanpbooti’ but thanks to my Facebook friend Subhash Gupta, a botanist, who told me that it was Arisaema Tortuosum. Its appearance is cobra-like and has a whip-like tongue that sometimes rises to 12 inches. It is native to open rhododendron or deodar forests, scrub and alpine meadows in the Himalaya from India to Western China. Its tongue called spadix in botany is generally purple but sometimes it is green too. I have not seen it growing in home-gardens here but the plant-lovers say that it occupies a place in the gardens of Scotland. It is also called Sapkanda or Bagh Jandhra in Hindustani and Jack-in-the-Pulpit or Whipcord Cobra Lily in English."

It turned out to be the Female and not the Mistle Thrush

The walk was interspersed with animated discussion about taxa and identification of various birds. One interesting debate and quite a long one was over Mistle Thrush and Chestnut - bellied Rock Thrush (F). Ultimately we all cast our votes in favour of the Female. Had it been Mistle Thrush it would have been a lifer for a few of us.

Eurasian Jay

The track is very well maintained without any littering. Benches have been placed at regular intervals for those who might like to sit and relax or reflect or both. Lovely signages and picture boards of flora, fauna and butterflies of the sanctuary are also displayed at a number of places. Good thing about all this is that these pictures have been taken by the forest staff and due credit has also been given to them. The walk leads to the Forest Rest House which almost a century old. The last km tests your stamina as it is steeper than the gentle gradient of the walk. 

Satish Gupta is the DFO in charge of the Catchment and he played a perfect host offering us sumptuous breakfast. After breakfast, Sanjeeva Pandey, Satish Gupta and Dr Savita decided to go back as they all had prior engagements. 

First time visitor - Common Greenshank

We, I, Bhupesh and Santosh decided to carry on for another 7-8 km to try our luck and see if we could see something new. we looked for the Brown Wood Owl but it decided to give us a miss. We were, however, compensated by sighting of two 'firsts' for the Sanctuary. The empty reservoir played host to a lone Common Greenshank who was foraging in the shallow pool of rain water. Common Greenshank, perhaps a vagrant, has never been reported from the Sanctuary. Santosh Thakur was overjoyed and I am sure so would be Satish and Sanjeeva Pandey. After taking a number of pictures of this prized guest, we continued further. 

Grey-winged Blackbird

We had repeat sightings and nothing new came our way till the very end of our journey. A small bird atop a tree was calling incessantly seeking our attention. As Dr Bhupesh trained his bino on him, he exclaimed : Fire Breasted Flower Pecker! Before Bhupesh and Santosh could take their cameras out, the little bird flew away. Santosh tells us that this bird is a 'first' for the sanctuary.

All in all we had great birding in the company of seasoned birders and were rewarded with the sightings of lifers and the prince of the sanctuary, the Koklass Pheasant. what else could we ask for! Thanks to Satish Gupta for the walk and all logistic support. Happy birding!

Bird List Catchment June 26, 2016

1.              Spotted Nutcracker

2.              Green-backed Tit

3.              Koklass Pheasant

4.              White-throated Laughing Thrush

5.              Straited Laughing Thrush

6.              Streaked Laughing Thrush

7.              Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush

8.              Himalayan Woodpecker

9.              Grey-headed Woodpecker

10.          Scaly-bellied Woodpecker

11.          Ultramarine Flycatcher

12.          Verditer Flycatcher

13.          Black-throated Tit

14.          Eurasian Jay

15.          Rusty-cheeked Schimitar Babbler(H)

16.          Hill Partridge (H)

17.          Black Francolin (H)

18.          Fire-breasted Flower Pecker

19.          Common Greenshank

20.          Rufous Sibia

21.          Bar-tailed Tree Creeper

22.          Chestnut –bellied Nuthatch

23.          Great Barbet

24.          Grey-winged Blackbird

25.          Himalayan Blue Tail

26.          Blue Whistling Thrush

27.          Large-billed Crow

28.          Slaty-headed Parakeet