Dusky Crag Martin

A dark muddy-brown colored bird, almost always found alongside the swift and swallow. 

It is very agile and swift in flight and quite difficult to photograph, hovering around buildings and rocky cliff sides and constantly chirping - a muted chii, chii…

Smaller in size than the common sparrow, the head and upper body resembles the barn swallow. Its throat, abdomen and under parts are dull grey. The tail is squarish, with a slight fork; it has long wings extending beyond its small body, noticeable when perched on pipelines or telephone / electricity cables.
Sexes are alike.

Name	Dusky Crag Martin
Alternate name(s)	Not known
Size	Smaller than sparrow
Occurrence	Near tall buildings and rocky cliffs
Status	Fairly common
Distinct features	Dark muddy-brown head and upper neck; grey throat, abdomen and lower parts, with long wings.
Sexes	Alike

Common City Birds

Birds in the city (urban environment)

 

Very often, we tend to overlook common birds in the urban environment - here are some them (in the order in which they appear in this post):

 

Sparrow, Crow, Jungle Crow, Common Myna, Grey Pigeon, Pariah Kite, Plain Prinia, Fantail, Cattle Egret, Koel, Golden Oriole male & female, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Crow Pheasant (bharadwaj), Magpie-robin, Indian Robin. 

 

There are many other birds seen in cities in different regions of the country; the species and their numbers depends on the geographic location, topography, density & type of green cover in that region.

I would love to include pictures of birds from any of you readers. Thank you for reading and your interest in birds and the environment.

 

Go green, save the environment

Night Heron

A nocturnal bird, can be spotted at dusk, near water bodies. Its habits make it quite difficult to spot, as it spends most of the day crouching in shady undergrowth near marshy areas or wetlands.

It is of the size of the common crow, with long yellow legs, white throat, abdomen and lower body parts. A white band runs across its forehead, over the eyes and connects behind the head. It has black wings and upper part of the head is black, with long white plumes of feathers.  Sexes are alike.

Name	Night Heron
Alternate name(s)	Black Crowned Night Heron
Size	Pond Heron
Occurrence	Near wetlands, at dusk
Status	Fairly common
Distinct features	White throat, abdomen and lower parts, with black crown and wings. 2-3 long white plumes of feathers projecting outward from its head.
Sexes	Alike

White-breasted Waterhen

A white and black bird with white face, breast and abdomen. Its upper head and body parts are dark-black. 

It has a small stubby tail - the portions beneath its tail conspicuously rust-colored - and long, slender yellow legs. The tail is carried erect and upturned, as it moves through tall grass and reeds. 

It is easily alarmed and quickly scoots into the undergrowth if it detects any threat.

Occasionally, it may be observed on tree branches surrounding water bodies.

Very noisy during the monsoon, between June and September. 

It can be recognized from its guttural squawks and loud, monotonous kuak, kuak, kuak…., especially when alarmed. 

Name	White-breasted Waterhen
Alternate name(s)	Jal murgi (Hindi)
Size	Common crow
Occurrence	Near wetlands grasslands and marshy areas
Status	Common
Distinct features	Overall white and black, conspicuously white breasted, with a small, stubby tail and with long yellow legs.
Male/Female	Alike

Monsoon without rain

It is been about a month since the first spells of rain covered this region. The continued dry spell in the weather is certainly cause for alarm, as we are almost entirely dependent on the rains for our water requirements. The levels of water in the lakes is disturbingly low and a 10% water cut has been initiated from July 01. The authorities also mentioned that the situation is being monitored and if the rains continue to keep away, additional water cuts may be imposed.

For many of us used to 24-hour water supply, reduced water supply - may be once every two days - is unimaginable. Many years of normal rainfall and adequate water in the lakes has lead to a false sense of complacency that nature takes care of everything and everyone, no matter how we (ill) treat it. There have been no efforts by the authorities to efficiently harvest water in the bountiful years and to have a contingency plan during periods of drought. Hope the government comes up with a long-term plan for tackling this issue.

However, what can immediately be done? I share my thoughts of some measures that I feel, ought to be taken. 

Individual water meters: 

The government should use this opportunity to compulsorily install individual water meters in all homes. This will take care of the immediate situation of utter wastage by some of our knuckle-headed compatriots, who care a damn for environment and frivolously waste water. The moment they need to pay for all that wastage, realization of water conservation will automatically kick in. The logic is simple, you pay for as much as you use, as for electricity.

I understand that something on these lines is being considered in Pune.

Rainwater harvesting:

When the quantity of potable water used for flushing in WCs is taken into consideration, it dawns on you that this water is literally wasted down the drain. Local government bodies and municipal corporations should make it mandatory for all large housing societies to create rainwater harvesting facilities and use this water for WCs.

Afforestation:  

The role of forests in inducing the clouds to precipitate rain is underestimated. Large tracts of forests and mangroves in Thane, Gorai and Navi Mumbai are being destroyed under the garb of development, while the wily builders and unscrupulous politicians are raking it in millions. The proposed Mangrove Cell of the forest department needs to be set-up on a war footing. Afforestation and greening of barren lands needs to be done on a massive scale, which is beyond the capacity of small, dedicated team of NGOs like Thane based Haryali.  The government should consider extending support to NGOs in their afforestation efforts.

Seeding: 

Every trekker is, in his/her heart an environmentalist, and can be expected to do the best for the environment. All trekking groups should be consulted and enrolled by the environment ministry in this endeavour. Each group shall be given about 100 seeds of local plants, endemic to the region. During the course of the treks in the monsoon, the seeds can be suitably dispersed. According to a study conducted during an aerial seeding exercise a few years ago, the seeds had a survival rate of 1%. Accordingly, one can expect a similar, or even better, survival rate during seeding by trekkers.

Artificial rainfall: 

The technology for artificial rain induction is available for a long time, with proven positive results. The government should seriously consider inducing rainfall by artificial seeding of rain-bearing clouds. May be we should consult the Chinese for their expertise, or call upon our own rain-man, Shantilal Mackoni of Mackoni Enterprises, but it should be done right now, rather waiting until August to initiate efforts.

Solar & wind energy:

India is blessed with bright sunshine for about 8 months in a year. Efforts should be made to reduce our dependency on hydro-power/ thermal-power / gas-power, with greater emphasis on sustainable sources like solar and wind energy, although, on a grid-scale it would require large investments and is not feasible. However, on the home-scale, making the best use of available energy appliances for even 1 or 2 hours in a day, will reduce grid loads and contribute towards a better environment.

  

You may wish include any other measures that can save our environment. Please let me know.

Ultimately, one can only hope that conservation efforts take root in India and we start respecting nature.  Nature gives back what it gets.