Visual Quotient

A winter most anticipated…when did it come…where did it go

These were my thoughts when the idea of birding in Gujarat popped up. Again, it was Sharad to the rescue. The lure of the Rann was too good to withstand! I landed in Ahmedabad within a couple of days of my lazy thoughts. The roads to Zainabad were not only awesome for the cab; they proved to be great for birding too.

Along with some fairly confiding White-throated Kingfishers and Asian Openbills, we also came across a pair of Sarus Cranes displaying at a distance.

The lakes on the way were also very productive for birding. Ibises, Black-winged Stilts, Ruffs, Black-tailed Godwits and numerous Sandpipers and Stints dotted the shorelines. Comb Ducks, Common Snipes and the aforementioned waders made up the islands.

Desert Coursers at Zainabad welcomed us with some great food. We set off for evening birding along Nava Talab after lunch.

Nava Talab was a sea of pink. Lesser and Greater Flamingos (both lifers for me) were in huge numbers filter-feeding all over the lake. It was a spectacle, enhanced by the presence of Great White and Dalmatian Pelicans (again lifers).

We spotted a lone raptor on an electric pole. Turned out to be an osprey. Meanwhile, chasing the waders, we almost got stuck in the lake-bed. A wonderful sunset followed, with Common and Damoiselle Cranes crooning away…

Back at the camp, a mega-lifer revealed itself. A Pallid Scops-Owl was roosting on the boundaries of the camp. The first Scops-owl that I’ve ever seen, it managed to keep me spell-bound by its camouflage. And the way it slowly re-adjusted its head so that its eyes were consistently fixed on me through a minute opening in the eye-lid.

In the following days, the Rann showed its multiple facets. From scrub jungles to vast open spaces, the natural landscapes extended into human cultivation. These different habitats supported different aspects of their inhabitants’ lives.

The Rann – A flat open desert
The Rann itself was sparsely populated during the day. An occasional group of Greater Short-toed Larks and Indian Wild Asses aside, wildlife was few and far in between. We learnt from our interactions with Mr. Dhanraj Malik (owner of Desert Coursers) that the Rann only served as a resting place for wildlife.

This turned out to be absolutely true. Early morning drives into the Rann revealed huge groups of Great White Pelicans.

A Peregrine Falcon was waiting for the Sun to be sufficiently high.

We spent a couple of days trying to track down the Macqueen’s Bustard. On both the occasions that we saw it, it was flying away from us really far away.

Harriers used the Rann as an effective roosting place. More on the spectacle in tomorrow’s post….

Scrub Jungles
The grasslands that merge into the scrub jungles were a very different ball-game though. Huge flocks of Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouses were all over the place, waiting to be discovered.

The shrubbery provided ideal perches for a host of birds, including shrikes, kestrels and Shikras.

Hidden in some of the shrubs were the Short-eared Owls. They were hard to spot and harder to photograph.

Lakes and Streams
This was where the maximum bird-life could be spotted. Flamingoes, cranes, pelicans, waders, terns, larks, egrets….the list is endless. We visited Nava Talab, Creek and a small lake near Zainabad.

Common Cranes were in large numbers. Most of them were in groups of 3 – 2 adults and a juvenile.

A small lake near Zainabad provided some awesome views of Great White Pelicans.

This Little Egret was dancing for them

Gull-billed Terns (lifers again) turned out to be fairly common at all the water-bodies.

Greater Flamingos were also found at the Creek in large numbers.

Isabelline, Desert and Variable Wheatears were fairly common too.

Where there is prey, predators are bound to loom. Greater Spotted Eagles, Steppe Eagles and Imperial Eagles made numerous appearances near Nava Talab and the Creek.

Farms
The farms threw up a lot of surprises too. Like this Montagu’s Harrier flying out to hunt for food

We spotted Desert Coursers and Indian Coursers in a farm one evening. They seemed to be associating with each other and behaved as a single flock.

While Greater Short-toed Larks were fairly common, a small water body in a dry field showed up a wonder – the Bimaculated Lark.

We were very lucky to spot this Booted Eagle (pale morph) on a Great Egret kill at the edge of a farm.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and Yellow-wattled Lapwings were also fairly common in the farms.

The Camp
In addition to all this, the cool shade of the camp provided great views of Black Redstarts, Hume’s Lesser Whitethroats, Red-breasted Flycatchers and loads of White-eared Bulbuls.

LIST OF BIRDS: The complete list of birds seen is updated here.

Will return tomorrow with an experience of a lifetime – Sunset with the harriers.