EDITOR’S NOTE
“Right from the beginning of the migratory season, birders are not only exploring new locations but also they are dedicated to monitor old ones to catch some new and rare birds. The tremendous efforts by our birders have resulted in some excellent records and high counts in the last quarter of 2018. As usual, outreach works are going strong and steady. With this 8th issue, DARTER successfully completes two years of online publication. Full credits to birders, readers, seniors and all well-wishers for their continued support. Sightings and records which are entered in eBird are only taken into account towards the writing of this e-magazine.” —Ganeshwar SV.
OCTOBER BIG DAY
During the October Big Day on October 6, 2018, birders collectively recorded 96 species and submitted 209 checklists in total. The participants were Subramania Siva, Senthil Kumar, Vadivukkarasi, Angeline Mano, Pradeepa Sudhakar, Jayalalitha Pagadala and students of Krishnampudur. At the State-level, Salem district was ranked 2nd and 3rd place in terms of number of checklists and number of species respectively. The interesting sighting of the day was OSPREY Pandion haliaetus by Subramania Siva. Please see the complete checklist here.
NOTABLE SIGHTING
On October 28, 2018, Kasiviswanathan A photographed a Fork-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo Surniculus dicruroides near Kurumbapatti which happens to be the second record for Salem. Please see the complete checklist here.
OUTREACH (1)
On November 2, 2018, Rajangam P gave an interesting introductory talk on ‘Birding and Common Birds’ at Jayam Academy CBSE Campus and encouraged the students to a short session of Campus Bird Count.
NEW RECORD (1)
On November 4, 2018, Senthil Kumar and Vadivukkarasi A photographed COMMON CUCKOO Cuculus canorus (is actually not common but rare) at Pannavadi, Mettur which is the first record for Salem. They sighted five individuals of the species. Please see the complete checklist here.
SÁLIM ALI BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
To commemorate the birth anniversary of legendary ornithologist, Dr. Salim Ali, several programs such as classroom presentations with songs and games, drawing competitions, bird walks were conducted at many schools including Panchayat Union Primary School, Neermullikuttai (conducted by Kalaiselvan V), Panchayat Union Middle School, Krishnampudur (Senthil Kumar S) and Panchayat Union Middle School, Thalavaipatty (Rajangam P).
YERCAUD EXPERIENCE
During the last week of November, school teacher and a well-known birder Selvaganesh K visited Yercaud with his friends. Though he says it was a non-birding trip, his experience tells us a different story. Please have a read about it, here.
5TH TAMIL BIRDERS MEET
With more than 160 participants from many parts of Tamil Nadu and neighboring states, the 5th Tamil Birders Meet was the best so far. It was organized by Wildlife Association of Rajapalayam (WAR) in association with TamilBirds. WAR deserves a huge and special appreciation for their stellar efforts in organizing this memorable meet in a wonderful manner.
Nineteen members from Salem Ornithological Foundation participated in the event which was the second largest representation from a district after SACON, Coimbatore.
NEW CALL RECORD
Inspired by one of Kerala’s senior birders, Namassivayan Lakshmanan’s talk on Tips for Bird Call Recordings, many Salem birders started to record bird calls. That resulted in a fantastic record recently. On December 7, 2018, Ganeshwar SV and Divya Subramani recorded the call of STRIATED HERON Butorides striata at Kannankurichi Mookaneri Lake. This is the first call record of the bird to be entered in eBird India. To hear the call, please see the complete checklist here.
eBIRD HIGH COUNTS
|
S.No. |
COMMON NAME | HIGH COUNT | OBSERVER | DATE 2018 |
| 1 | Black-winged Kite | 5 | Senthil Kumar | |
|
2 |
Barn Swallow | 2500 | Vadivukkarasi A | October 6 |
| 3 | Red-wattled Lapwing | 42 | Rajangam P | |
|
4 |
Common Cuckoo | 5 | Vadivukkarasi A | November 4 |
|
5 |
Rufous Babbler | 5 | Selvaganesh K | November 21 |
|
6 |
Crested Treeswift | 30 | Selvaganesh K | |
|
7 |
White-bellied Drongo | 9 | Karthick VS | November 25 |
|
8 |
Small Pratincole | 32 | Subramania Siva | December 9 |
|
9 |
Tree Pipit |
10 | Senthil Kumar | |
| 10 | Common Myna | 150 | Elavarasan M |
NEW RECORD (2)
On December 9, 2018, Kasiviswanathan A spotted and photographed the juvenile of EGYPTIAN VULTURE Neophron percnopterus at Kannankurichi (Mookaneri) Lake. Please see the complete checklist here.
The other and only evidence for previous published sighting of the Egyptian Vulture around Salem comes from a statement in the Vernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern Ghats, conducted in 1929—“on the eastern side (of Madras Presidency), there is very little information. The Survey reported a single bird on the Chitteri plateau.” Today, most of the Chitteri range falls outside Salem’s political boundaries. Hence, this sighting by Kasiviswanathan A is the first record with a photograph and carries much significance. This is also the one and only sighting of Egyptian Vulture in the entire Tamil Nadu for the year 2018. (Source: Tamil Nadu eBird)
OUTREACH (2)
On December 13, 2018, Rajangam P gave a talk about several aspects of birding as well as his experience and learning from the 5th Tamil Birders Meet in the Thursday weekly meeting of Tamil Nadu Science Forum, Salem.
BIRD WALK (1)
Inspired by P Rajangam’s talk, Bharath Kumar K and Suresh G coordinated several members from Tamil Nadu Science Forum (Gugai branch) with the help of Shanmugasundaram to participate in a Bird Walk at Kannankurichi Mookaneri Lake on December 15, 2018. The bird walk was led by members of Salem Ornithological Foundation in which twelve people participated.
A FAMILY’S EFFORTS
It is well-known that the family of Senthil Kumar S, Vadivukkarasi A and Subramania Siva S are birders. Since their first sighting of White-naped Tit Machlolophus nuchalis, they have been monitoring the species throughout this year. On December 15, 2018, they saw the bird for the 12th time! Please see the complete checklist here. However, the sightings haven’t come that easy. Senthil Kumar S says that he and his family visited the location for more than 75 times this year. Salem Ornithological Foundation applauds and salutes the family for their consistent efforts in bird monitoring.
This also the only place in the entire Southern India where the bird has been sighted eleven times in the same spot. In Tamil Nadu, the White-naped Tit is known to occur only in Salem district till date. (Source: eBird India)
OUTREACH (3)
On December 30, 2018, one of our members, Tamil Selvan A was invited to give a talk on birds in the General Body meeting of Civic EXNORA. The program was coordinated by Shanmugasundaram of Tamil Nadu Science Forum (Gugai) in which 42 people participated.
BEGIN YOUR NEW YEAR WITH BIRDS
Are you a bird lover looking to begin your New Year with birds? Don’t know where to start? We have got several New Year Birding Resolutions for both amateurs and veterans. An article written by one of our members was published on December 29, 2018 in ‘The Hindu Tamil’ under ‘Uyir Moochu’ section. Do give a read here. To know more and to participate in the monthly and yearlong eBirding challenges by BirdCount India, please click here.
The following photographs are from the last three months, clicked by Salem birders and each of it has be uploaded to eBird by the respective observers. May your life be as colorful as birds!
Salem Ornithological Foundation heartily wishes a Happy New Year 2019 to everyone to have a peaceful and prosperous life with more memorable moments in the wild!
Wonderful!
Fine Article. The hard work of birders is seen through this article. Thanks to all birders.
Excellent article. All credits goes to SOF. Thanks to all birders for their great work. I’m sure that this new year also we (SOF) will rock and do our best for birds and birding. This historical article has its own value and says about our salem birds after many years . Making history is very important. Please keep doing guys. Thank you!