Campus Birding- Experiencing Nature

How to sensitise people to preserve the Environment? How to make every citizen an eco-warrior?

Answer is simple. Let them experience Nature first hand. Walk the talk instead of some boring lectures. BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus took its first step in this direction. It organised a Birding-cum-Nature walk for the faculty, staff and their families on 30th July. Deccan Birders (formerly BSAP- Bird Watchers Society of AP) lent a helping hand. Their members guided the 40+ participants. 

BITS alumni celebrate BITSians Day every year during the first weekend of August. We decided to kick off the celebrations this year in a different way. We, few alumni of BITS helped the Hyderabad campus organise the Nature walk. So, here is an account of BITSians Day with a Difference for BITSian readers. For others, it is a tour of the campus, its greenery and its birds.

Pictures for you. Credit for close up shots of the birds goes to Adnan Uddin of Deccan Birders sine I did not carry my DSLR kit. Other pictures are from my phone camera. Thanks Adnan.

Briefing in progress- as captured in a 20-sec video:

We sighted a total of 28 species of birds in our two-hour walk around the campus. Not all were captured in the camera. But listening to their calls, observing their flight, nesting locations and basics of identification methods kept everyone engrossed. Here is a list of birds sighted by us which shows the rich avi-fauna at the campus.

1. Red-vented Bulbul 

2. Tickle's Blue Flycatcher 
3. Spotted Dove

4. Purple Sunbird
5. Common Iora
6. Common Mynah
7. House Swift
8. Swallow
9. Shikra
10. Dusty Crag Martin
11. Rock Pigeon
12. White Browed Wagtail
13. Blue tailed Bee Eater
14. Darter
15. Indian Pond Heron
16. Cattle Egret
17. Tailor Bird
18. Scaly Breasted Munia
19. Asian Koel
20. Golden Oriole
21. Red Wattled Lapwing
22. Ashy Prinia
23. Indian Robin
24. Jungle Babbler 
25. Oriental White Eye
26. Spot-billed duck (in flight)
27. Comb Duck (in flight)
28. White throated Kingfisher

29. Baya Weaver

Can you spot a nest in the picture below?

Another Munia commonly found is the Indian Silverbill. Though we did not spot it in the campus that morning, here is a picture story of earlier sighting at our home in Secunderabad.

Friendly Munias - Can the birds and dogs be friends? Read on. The picture story also has video clippings of Silverbills feeding together.

Moving on, more pictures of the campus birding follow.

Here is a 30-second video showing the campus panorama and an inquisitive question from a child.

Birding continues...

The campus is also home to Star Turtles. Though we could not spot it, one of the faculty members shared a picture on her phone taken near the pond.

My favourite line which I always tell in any environment related gathering , 'Environment is an asset which we have borrowed from our children. We have no right to degrade or destroy it!' Is it not true?

Will Nature's glory remain? Will our children or grand children continue to see the birds and flowers in future?

Talking of preservation, it is a big challenge. Like the Yapral lake which is home to a large variety of birds, is under threat because of pollution and encroachment. You may browse our earlier story linked below:

Shrinking Urban Lakes- Impending Disaster Will the Heron continue to dance like in the picture below?

For more pictures of Hyderabad campus of BITS Pilani, you may browse our earlier story:

The Campus that Rocks

Thanks for browsing. 

Every small effort to preserve our environment counts. Do volunteer whenever you can and speak up!

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Hyderabad/ 2nd Aug 2023

Postscript:

3rd August: Sujith who came for birding, has sent the following picture of Oriental White Eye or Indian White Eye. He spotted the bird in Hyderabad campus on 2nd August. The bird is perched on a crimson coloured bottle brush flower. Thanks Sujith.

#bitspilani #hyderabadcampus #campusbirding #bitsiansday2023 #nature #preservation #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadhb #ecowarriors #everypersoncounts #savetheearth #environment #pollution #encroachment

Trailing So What?

Markéta Vondroušová, the new Wimbledon Women's Champion seems to fit the title of our story.

With all odds against her, she went on to win the Final on the famous Centre Court on 15th July. And shocked her opponent Ons Jabeur from Tunisia. What were the odds against her:

• First unseeded player to reach Wimbledon Final after Billie Jean King in 1963.
• Pitted in the final against sixth seeded Ons Jabeur 
• Suffered a wrist injury which kept her off-court for seven months
• Down 0-2 in the first set

So how did Marketa overcome the odds? Those who saw the final earlier this evening, would have observed the following:

1. Keep your cool. She double faulted more than once. But bounced back. She kept her cool.
2. Fight back. Jabeur broke Marketa's serve many times. But instead of giving up, she crawled back. One shot at a time, one game at a time. Steadily. Talking about fighting back, even Jabeur mentioned that 'I will come back again to win this tournament'.
3. Play your game. Don't get unnerved by the opponent's stature or seeding. Play your game.
4. Emotional Strength does it. Keeping emotional balance is the hallmark of great players. We have seen it in Federer. We saw it in Marketa today.
5. Injured, so what? Her wrist injury did not deter her. She allowed it to heal for a season. Lost a year, so what? She came back. It shows her faith in her team.

It was an exciting match. Unpredictable to say the least. Ghumakkad enjoyed watching it. Pictures here are courtesy Star Sports and Tata Play.

Packed Centre Court

'Most painful loss of my career. But I will come back to win this', Ons Jabeur

1st Anniversary gift by Vondrousova to her husband.

The Venus Rosewater Dish- Wimbledon Women's Trophy since 1888.

On completion of the French Open Women's Final in June 23, we had brought you a story titled 'Acknowledging the Team Work'. Do browse it if you haven't.

After watching Wimbledon-22 Men's Final which Joko had won, we had shared a story titled 'Wimbledon-22 Beyond Tennis'. That story had also brought out some of the observations made tonight. Do browse if you haven't so far.

Some friends have remarked 'Do you watch the TV or the movies for fun or for writing a story?' Well, if I do observe a scene or event which brings out some life lessons, I like to share it with others. Hope such 'live' coverage does not bore you. If it does, do tell us.

I firmly believe in 'Learning Together' as depicted in my logo below.

Thanks for browsing.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ Secunderabad/ 15th July 2023

#wimbledon #womensfinal2023 #marketavondrousova #onsjabeur #lifelessons #keepingcool #fighback #playyourgame #emotionalstrength #trailingsowhat #presson #ghumakkdharsh #ghumakkadhb

Monsoon Nesting

Who hasn't seen the house sparrows building their nests in the ledges and the cups of ceiling fans. It is fascinating to watch them build their homes from scratch! From selecting a site to collecting the nesting material to making a cozy nest- the birds do it so amazingly. Yes, house sparrows may not be seen in concrete jungles. But in Ghumakkad's neighbourhood, sparrows still thrive! More on the sparrows later.

Come monsoon and the magic unfolds year after year. Loud chirping of birds, plenty of short flights across trees and frenetic activity to build nests can't be missed. This year a pair of Ashy Prinias have made a nest in our front yard using three leaves of Gudmar plant.

Ashy Prinia is a tiny bird with an upright tail. It is a resident of Indian subcontinent and neighbouring region upto Myanmar. It can be found in urban and home gardens like our front yard in Secunderabad. It is insectivorous. It's song is a repetitive tchup, tchup, tchup or zeet-zeet-zeet. Another call is a nasal tee-tee-tee. It's call gives away its presence! 

The way they stitched the leaves together to create a cozy interior, is seen to be believed. Ashy Prinias build their next close to the ground. We bring you a picture and video each to appreciate this tiny bird's talent.

After another day's waiting, Neeta could capture the bird in its nest in our yard. View the pictures in full screen.

Another bird nesting in our neighbourhood in the cable junction box is Brahminy Starling or Brahminy Mynah. The pair have selected an abandoned junction box of cable TV wires. It is mounted at a height on an electric pole. Therefore, safe from predators like stray cats. Brahminy Starlings are generally seen in pairs. See the pictures below:

Here is a two-minute video showing the Brahminy Starlings approaching the nest in a cable junction box. In case the YouTube link does not open, click here.

Earlier, we had shared the nesting pictures of other birds in the following stories (Just click the link):

Wooly-necked Storks - Nesting in colonies on road side trees in Assam - how many nests do you see in the picture below. Answer in the link above.

House Sparrow - Nesting in our house in Secunderabad. See the picture and video below.

A short 40-seconds video shows the dominance of the sparrows for a bird house! Real estate in demand! In case the YouTube video below doesn't play, click here to view the video.

Sparrows in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka

Spot-billed Pelicans - Nesting in man-made baskets in Kolleru Lake in AP

Eurasian Spoon Bill - Nesting on trees along Cauvery river, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, Karnataka

Birds and bats nest together on the same tree. No conflict. See the picture below:

As Aasheesh Pittie, a noted ornithologist and author tells the urban citizens who ask- 'Where should we go to watch birds?' - to not go anywhere. You can watch the birds in the city and its surroundings itself. But he questions them, 'But do we have the time to stand and stare?' Our above story took weeks of observation and patience. A point which Aasheesh makes in his recent book 'The Living Air'.

Special thanks to Yella Prakash Rao for sharing the portraits of Ashy Prinia and Brahminy Starling.

Thanks for browsing.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ Secunderabad/ 13th July 2023

Postscript:

14th July: Another reader Brig Rajeev Singh sent a picture of the Prinia's nest in a potted plant in his house in Secunderabad. Whereas in our yard, the Prinia had made the nest in a free standing plant in a flower bed.

Postscript 22nd July 

Our fears came true! Sadly. As pointed out by many readers, the nest was in grave danger of stray cats. And this morning, we found the nest missing. The supporting thread was still hanging. See the picture.

The birds and the nest was nowhere to be seen. Closer scrutiny of the ground beneath revealed the remains of the nest. The chicks were all gone. So sad! See the picture below.

We felt so sorry for the Prinias. After a while, Neeta sighted both the birds near the nest. One of them had a worm in its beak to feed the chicks. Poor thing. The other bird then found the nest on the ground. Kind of circled it. Waited and then flew away!

Nature's food chain I guess!

#birds #nesting #monsoon #brahminystarling #ashyprinia #EurasianSpoonbill #woolyneckedstork #housesparrow #spotbilledpelican #homegardens #secunderabad #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh