Demoiselle Cranes Morning Roll Call

Thar desert in Rajasthan India.
A nondescript village with centuries old history.
Birth place of Jain Tirthankars.
Sand stone havelis, intricately carved.
A small fortress, part of which still stands today.
1000-odd families in the village.
But 30,000 migratory birds!

Yes, that is Khichan a village which is home to Demoiselle Cranes which come all the way 4000 kms from Mongolia and China. Year after year.

Ghumakkad went to Khichan village in Feb 2020 to witness the grand spectacle.

Morning Roll Call - what a title for the story on Cranes? What else do you expect from a Fauzi- a Navy veteran? We relate our experiences and observations with the fauzi way of life! Naturally.

Where is Khichan?
It is 380 kms west of Jaipur. It takes 8 hours by road or train from Jaipur. See the maps below.

Demoiselle Cranes
Smallest of the cranes weighing between 2–3 kg, it has a long white neck stripe and the black on the foreneck extends down over the chest in a plume. They roost and migrate in large flocks. The birds also need water and visit a water body every day. Readers may browse eBirds for more details.

Daily Routine
What do the birds do all day? The cranes have a set routine which I could witness and photograph. See the video below.

Their day is divided into four parts as follows, quite similar to Fauzis (military personnel and veterans) like Ghumakkad:

1. Morning Roll Call and Exercise: With dawn, fly out 30 kms in waves to assemble in an open field. Limber down, greet each other and make lot of noise! See the video.
2. Breakfast: Take off from the assembly ground to 'Chugga Ghar' in waves. Feed on jawar grains collectively. Making the squeaky noise all the way. The cranes feed only once a day.
3. Afternoon Siesta and PT: From Chugga Ghar the birds fly out over the Havelis in Khichan village to congregate at one of the two village ponds. The cranes spend 4 to 5 hours at the water body till herd of sheep disturbs them.
4. Roosting for the night: As the shadows lengthen, the cranes fly 30 kms to Malar salt pans. They spend the night there. I did not visit their roosting area to respect their privacy. 

We will bring you three different stories on first three parts of their daily routine. This is the first story.

Gratitude
Spending two days in Khichan observing the cranes was a lifetime experience. Special thanks are due to my college buddy Vijay Gulechha and his son Vaibhav who not only hosted me in their Haveli but also accompanied me throughout the two days. Vijay could not join us due to Corona virus cases in Kerala where he was stuck.

Dawn at Khichan
We had to leave our Haveli- residence of village nobles- before dawn to be able to walk up to the Panchayat- village governing council- ground where the cranes assemble every morning. You can get a feel of haveli-lined village lanes early morning in the video clip below.

Dawn in a village casts an unforgettable image in your mind. See the picture blow.

Bird Hide
To be able to photograph the cranes at ground level without disturbing them, I had to crawl and take position behind a bush. 

Once in place, the birds could not see me. I could pan the camera across the horizon. 

In the video below you can see how the birds adapt to a harmless villager walking past.

Morning Roll Call
The cranes fly out from their night camp in Malar Salt pans in waves. See the pictures and three video clips below which capture wave after wave of Demoiselle Cranes coming in for morning Roll Call at an 80-acre Assembly Ground just outside Khichan Village. The first clip of 40 seconds is titled 'Nature's Delight'.

The second clip (45 seconds) shown another wave coming in to land at the Assembly Ground.

The third clip of 20 seconds shows the Cranes assembling like a 'Darbar' in an Army unit.

Wave after wave of Demoiselle Cranes kept coming in to assemble at the Panchayat Ground, Khichan.

Preening
All birds preen their feathers frequently. Demoiselle Cranes are no different. See the video clip below.

Elegance of Demoiselle Cranes
Demoiselle Cranes are known for their elegance. Whether dancing, walking, feeding or resting, these cranes are pure delight. See the pictures and a short video clip below.

Time for Breakfast
Soon it was time for breakfast for the cranes. We could see them flying away in batches. Perhaps the same waves in which they came in!

As the old proverb goes 'Birds of same feather flock together', don't we humans like to be with people having similar interests?

Live and Let Live
Khichan story is a perfect example of living in harmony with Nature. The villagers have 'adopted' the migratory cranes. The village panchayat has built two water bodies for the birds. The influx of tourists has helped the village economy. But we hope the ecological balance is maintained and tourists don't bring with them plastic and other toxic waste. 

You may read a story in Conservation India how the cranes were saved from dying through electrocution in Khichan.

When to Visit
For those who want to visit Khichan for watching the Cranes, you have to time it between end-Nov to early-Feb. We were lucky that all the cranes were still there. In fact on the 2nd day of our stay, first flock had started to return to Mongolia!

Where to Stay
A resort has come up next to the Panchayat Ground. It has 30 well appointed rooms and deluxe tents. It also arranges visits to nearby places. You may browse Kurja Resort site for details.

Saurashtra
Demoiselle Cranes visit many other sites in India during their winter sojourn. Ghumakkad first saw these cranes in a creek near Porbandar while driving through the Saurashtra Coast. Am sharing few pictures of the cranes in Saurashtra taken in 2013. 

Coming up
Our next story on Khichan will highlight the Chugga Ghar- feeding home for the cranes.

We end with a PQ- picturesque quote on learning a life lesson from birds.

Thanks for browsing.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 16th March 2020

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