Bird of passage

IF you want to observe the dramatic spectacle of bird migration, there are few arenas in India that can rival Gujarat, particularly the western part. One explanation is that this area is exactly on one of the major flyways of migratory birds. The large number of lakes and marshes that dot the countryside, the Great Rann of Kutch, parts of which are inundated after the monsoon, the vast mud flats of the Gulfs of Kutch and Cambay, and the long coastline, are the features that attract the migrants. Add to this the abiding Gujarati tradition of not harming birds. Nearly 14 per cent of waterfowl migrating to India winter in Gujarat. At the beginning of the migratory season - September and October - you could observe these birds quite easily and from much closer quarters than anywhere else I have seen. A journey across the Gujarat countryside in winter can hold surprises for a birdwatcher.

Four of us committed twitchers, left Jamnagar one early October morning and headed towards Bhet Dwaraka, to sight Oystercatchers that congregate there in the mud flats. About 30 km ahead of our destination we passed through a stretch of salt pans. The impounded water had attracted a bewildering variety of birds. There were pelicans, gulls, flamingos, terns, herons and egrets. The birds of passage and the residents mingled in one joyous, noisy concourse.

Among these, a flock of black and brown plumaged birds swimming in a pond by the roadside caught our eyes. The flock was touchingly trusting and we could observe it from close quarters. Like a little buoyant flotilla, the birds were sitting so lightly on the water surface and nonchalantly riding the small waves created by the chill wind that blew across the bare landscape. By the shape of the body and the slightly upturned beak, we could make out that they were grebes. But which variety? The coral red eyes and their size, that of a pigeon, revealed them to be Black- necked Grebes. It is a rare visitor seen only in North Western Indian during winter. Its home range is Western Europe and in winter, these birds head south to warmer climes. Of the four varieties of grebes we see in India, only the Black-necked is gregarious.

The more common grebe we see all over India in ponds and lakes is the Little Grebe, one of the smallest aquatic birds of India. The late Salim Ali said that this bird's reflexes are so quick, that when shot at, it would dive underwater before the charge could reach it. Grebes are aquatic diving birds, with short wings and almost no tail. The largest grebe we have in India is the Crested Grebe known for its spectacular courtship movements. I have seen that display only once, in Barapani lake near Shillong. Though I visited many wetlands in Gujarat looking for birds, I never saw the Black-necked Grebe anywhere again.

Another bird that I have sighted only on one occasion is the Peacock pheasant. Driving to Mawsyndram, the wettest place on earth, in Meghalaya one evening, I negotiated a hairpin bend and there they were, by the edge of the road, a pair of Peacock pheasants. As they scurried into the underbrush, the iridescent green spots on the plumage glistened against the mellowed rays of the evening sun.

On our return fro Bhet Dwaraka, we stopped at the same place on noticing a dead Grey pelican beneath a high-tension wire. Presumably it had been electrocuted. We saw that one of its legs bore a ring, with a number and a code. The Bombay Natural History Society identified it as having been ringed in Kazakhstan.

Text by S. THEODORE BASKARAN

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