BIRD WATCHING
SARASIJ MAJUMDER
We owned,
and lived in DUM DUM, in a FARM HOUSE, since 1951, with a large Water Body, a fruit
orchard, and a Vegetable garden. We have two Cows, 12 Ducks, and 6 Hen, and a
one Cock. A robust black and white male
dog decided to make our house his home. As a result, I was brought up in intimate associations with
animals. All of them were my PET, cum companions.
In above
environment, lots of birds used to come to our house, build nests, lay eggs,
groom the bridlings, and then left with the offspring. Some bird used to stay throughout
the year. I developed a good interest in watching them closely. One of my uncle
was in INA, later joined IA, and he presented me a Binocular, on my 11th
birthday. With this accessory, my interest in bird watching grew. I got interested in “ORINTHOLOGY”.
In summer, a
pair of Magpie Robin used to build a clumsy nest on a branch of our Dalim tree,
and occasionally lost their eggs due to storm. I decided to re-inforce their
nest, to avoid this calamity. After that— the pair stayed throughout the year,
occasionally disappearing, and reappearing; but never lost any more egg due to storm. The
bridlings used to fly out once they grew. The family left us middle of 1966, after I shifted to B.E.College Hostel.
Sparrows,
and Local Mynahs (Shalikhs) made their permanent nests at the building niches, inside our wall at Verandah. Crows
used to set in their nests on one particular Coconut tree. They were permanent habitants, and
fiercely protected the territory.
I had quite
a few tamed birds— Parrots, and BULBULs--mostly set them open after taming. I built
separate nests, fabricated, yet natural looking for them. Most of them stayed with us.
Ever year, I
visit at least one Bird Sanctuary—take note, and photograph. And then send my
findings to BOMBAY Natural History Society , (where I am a member). Dr. Salim Ali was president there for a long
time. Sometime in late eighties, I met
him, while I was BIRD WATCHING at Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary.
As put by Dr. Salim Ali “birds can survive without humans on
this planet, but humans may not
survive without the existence of birds”! It is true that we
need birds far more than they need
us.
Today—I will
try to inspire bird watching as a hobby in all school children. Mostly, you have to be an
early riser, and all Bird Sanctuaries are watery—Marshy lands, with shallow,
but large, mostly perennial water bodies.
What you
need:--
1.0 A pair
of High-Heel WALKING shoe, (HUNTER will
do) with long Socks.
2.0 OLIVE
GREAY/ Green ---all cotton clothing and a breathable Hat .
3.0 A pair
of good Binocular.
4.0 A good
Camera with Tele-Lens.
5.0 Some
biscuits, and Water Bottle,
6.0 And—a
pair of Sturdy Legs, with good eye sight.
7.0 Some
ointment to apply, in case of insect bites.
8.0 A bag/
Backpack to arrange all the above things to carry easily.
Bird Morphology —Explained
above—Local INDIAN Sparrow.
Birds are
very alert, intelligent, and Clean species. And they are comfortable in AIR,
Land, and water.
Birds can be
classified into two categories: -- DIURNAL, and NOCTURNAL. But, majority of the
Birds are diurnal.
In this
article, I will list the Bird
Sanctuaries (BS) I visited, and request also you to visit, when possible.
First BS I
visited was Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary—in 1981 in Haryana. Later I visited Asola,
and OKHLA. Subsequently stayed at Bharatpur, known as KEOLADEO. I visited them
many times, as those are close to my residence from 1981, till today—and taken
lots of Photographs—some of which I will share, progressively.
You can see
three types of species in INDIA---LOCAL, relocates temporarily during BREEDING
SEASON , but within India; and MIGRATING BIRDS, normally coming in winter
season. Apart from these, there are some birds, which I saw fly in daily from
Bhutan, in the early morning—and return back in the evening. Some might be
coming from Pakistan, and Nepal as well.
In West
Bengal—you have also some natural AVIARIES, developed around a marshy land,
shallow Bill, or Lake.. These are – CHUPI in Burdwan, Bill at Santragachi,
Rasik Bill in North Bengal, Raiganj Bird Sanctuary known as KULIK, Pakhibitan
near GAZALDOBA, etc. to name a few good one.
Eagle nest
wild life sanctuary is a part of KAMEONG Elephant Reserve, and a beautiful
place for sighting birds.
I have
visited all of them listed above, and more.
There are
some more bird sanctuaries I visited in
Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Kerala.
At SARISKA—JAN.2015. Early
foggy morning. © SARASIJ
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