Mumbai Biodiversity Group had arranged a trail to Karnala on
4th march, a Sunday. The 12 sq. km. Sanctuary just off the
Mumbai-Goa Highway is home to 150 resident and 37 migratory birds. Karnala in
the rains and in the summer are two different experiences, in rains it is
filled with the noise of water, the gurgling of streams, and the footsteps of
trekkers, in summer with birdsong and the rustling of leaves. It is famous for
the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher that nests here in monsoon, its nesting sites are
now all dried up, the stream beds just a collection of pebbles of all sizes and
shapes, smoothed by countless monsoon rains.
Karnala is still in
the grasp of a crisp and cool winter and the early morning air was
invigorating. The recent sighting of Ashy Minivet drew birders and
photographers from miles around like bees to honey. We had a glimpse of the Ashy Minivet and much
much more.
As we reached by 7:00 a.m., we could take full advantage of the
early morning bird activity. The forest in the morning was like a grand old
painting painted by one of the old masters but hidden under a layer of dust and
as the sun rose higher in the sky, it started adding colour to the drab and the
dull. Nothing could hide from its golden rays and every leaf, every bird shone
as if freshly painted. The Black- hooded Oriole was the brightest yellow I’ve
ever seen, no wonder it’s called as “Haldya” in the local language. The
sunbirds true to their name were active as soon as the first rays came up, in
pairs they flew around the forest, searching for the flowers of the Red Silk
Cotton, Palash and Mango for nectar.
Every bird has put on a new coat of feathers, the better to
attract a mate in this mating season. Many of the birds have already set up
homes; we saw a Flowerpecker’s beautifully camouflaged purse like nest and also
a Common Woodshrike on its cup shaped nest.
An Asian Paradise-flycatcher with his ribbon like tail flew
among the branches with acrobatic finesse; he held our attention for a long
time as he put on a display fit for Cirque du soleil. The Black-naped Blue Monarch
with a little black cap on his head and his azure wings gave us a fantastic
sighting, as did a Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, while a pair of Red Spurfowl
ran for cover. Along the Mortakka trail we walked in search of more feathered
beauties and were rewarded with a lone Pompadour Pigeon, through a Swarowski
spotting scope we could see its bright blue eyes, in complete contrast with its
yellow green body and maroon wings. Just like our last visit to Tungareshwar,
here we could see lots of Ashy Drongos flocking together, in preparation of
their journey northward.
Near mid-day the birdsong had not subsided but the sun had
made us forget the cool of the morning, we sat and had a delicious breakfast of
Pulao, bread-omlette and shira, as Crested Serpent Eagles circled above our
head piercing the air with their loud calls. After our very satisfying and much
needed break we walked towards the tar road leading out and suddenly saw a
small bird fly into the dry grasses near our feet, we searched in vain, as the
wily bird kept quiet and before we knew it had flown out a little distance away
and into more dry grass. Saurabh, Ameya, Rujuta, Pradnyawant and I led a small
search party while Dr. Vaibhav and his friend Mr. Pravin Kawale watched from
above. We dug in the grass to flush out the little guy but he was wily, he was
stubborn, but we were not willing to give up and continued our efforts. Finally
as we were about to give up, he rose out of the grass, sat on a stalk for a
split second and then flew off, but not a good enough look for an ID. During
the course of this search we came also across a Bltyh’s Reed and a Sulphur-bellied
Warbler.
As it continued to get hotter we decided to head out home
and near the cages we had a good sighting of the Blue-capped Rock Thrush. And
thus we ended the day and headed back to Mumbai having a day well spent.
Note: As a recent initiative
the forest department has started charging Rs. 200 as deposit against every
plastic bottle that you carry inside, which you can get back once you exit the
sanctuary. They have also put up a board with names of people who have broken
park rules and the fines they have incurred, littering can attract a fine of up
to Rs. 1200, feeding monkeys has a fine of Rs. 5000 and drinking inside the
sanctuary Rs. 1200. I hope that this practice continues strictly, the results
of which can be seen in the sanctuary in the form of much cleaner surroundings.
Here’s a complete list of the birds seen
1)
Cattle Egret
2)
Oriental Honey-buzzard
3)
Shikra
4)
White-eyed Buzzard
5)
Crested Serpent Eagle
6)
Red Spurfowl
7)
Pompadour Green Pigeon
8)
Plum-headed Parakeet
9)
Rose-ringed Parakeet
10)
Jungle Owlet (Heard)
11)
Green Bee-eater
12)
Brown-headed Barbet
13)
Coppersmith Barbet
14)
Rufous Woodpecker
15)
White-naped Woodpecker (Heard)
16)
Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
17)
Common Iora
18)
Golden-fronted Leafbird
19)
Black-naped Oriole
20)
Black-hooded Oriole
21)
Black Drongo
22)
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
23)
Ashy Drongo
24)
Common Woodshrike
25)
Common Myna
26)
Rufous Treepie
27)
House Crow
28)
Large-billed Crow
29)
Large Cuckooshrike
30)
Small Minivet
31)
Ashy Minivet
32)
Red-vented Bulbul
33)
Red-whiskered Bulbul
34)
Puff-throated Babbler
35)
Yellow-eyed Babbler
36)
Red-throated Flycatcher
37)
Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher
38)
Asian Paradise-flycatcher
39)
Black-naped Blue Monarch
40)
Ashy Prinia
41)
Blyth’s Reed Warbler
42)
Common Tailorbird
43)
Sulphur-bellied Warbler
44)
Greenish Warbler
45)
Green Warbler (P. nitidus)
46)
Magpie Robin
47)
White-rumped Shama (Heard)
48)
Indian Robin
49)
Blue-capped Rock Thrush
50)
Small Sunbird
51)
Purple Sunbird
52)
Crimson Sunbird
53)
Thick-billed Flowerpecker
54)
Pale-billed Flowerpecker
55)
White-rumped Munia
56)
Chestnut-shouldered Petronia
No comments:
Post a Comment