Water birds at the Kanchipuram lake are heaving a sigh of relief. A fearsome predator, that stalked them over the past few months, has finally gone home. For now, things are back to normal at the grassland.
A Shaheen falcon, a sub-species of the fastest predator on earth, the Peregrine falcon, had visited the region from its home in the hills for the monsoon.
“I first spotted the bird, a juvenile female, towards the end of June,” says Chennai birder Karthik Ramamurthy. Karthik, who takes birding enthusiasts along with him on his expeditions, kept visiting the grassland the following months to see, photograph, and consequently, fall in love with the bird. “I witnessed 44 of her kills,” says Karthik, who cannot stop raving about the “bold and gutsy” beauty.
Expert hunter The Shaheen falcon near Kanchipuram lake; (below) Karthik Ramamurthy special arrangement
News of her arrival near Chennai was enough to draw several local birders to the location. Among them, was K Gnanaskandan. “What makes this sighting precious is that this bird is a monsoon visitor,” says Gnanaskandan. “And that it put up a prolonged show, displaying effortless hunting techniques. It is not a rare sighting, but the bird’s skills make it rather special.”
Karthik spent as much time as he could with the bird. “Sixty-six days to be precise,” he says. Tracking the raptor, he recalls, was tough. “Out of the 40 plus hunts I mentioned, except one black drongo, cattle egret, and Indian roller, the rest were all Indian pond herons,” he explains, adding how on some days, the entire grassland got emptied of pond herons.
“She hunted with ease and grace and did stoops and level flight chasing at lightning speed,” he adds. At one instance, Karthik remembers a pond heron taking cover underneath his car. But the Shaheen pursued the bird and in the end, won her meal.
Shaheen falcons are mountain birds, explains Karthik. “They breed in the Western and Eastern Ghats and visit Chennai and its surrounding regions between May and September. Sightings peak in July and August,” he points out.
When he spotted the bird towards the end of last month, Karthik knew it was the last time he was seeing her. “Another falcon coming from Europe was there and I was sure it will chase her away,” he says.
Now that she is back home, Karthik does feel sad that he cannot see the bird any more, having spent so many hours in her company. “I named her Jhansi Rani,” he says. “Perhaps I will see her next year.”
