EDITOR’S NOTE
“In this second quarter of the year, Salem Ornithological Foundation (SOF) has continued its steadfast efforts in bird conservation, research, and public engagement through various initiatives. Consistent monitoring efforts by SOF have recorded over 100 bird species at Manivilundhan Old Tank. The team has also conducted multiple educational initiatives, including the OrniSchool program, and ongoing field visits to lakes to document diverse bird populations, enhancing the ecological understanding of Salem’s Wetlands. SOF is glad to share the documentation by the team that marks the first detailed study on the breeding of River Tern in Tamil Nadu at Manivilundhan Old Tank.” – Ganeshwar S V
SYSTEMATIC BIRD MONITORING AT MANIVILUNDHAN OLD TANK
The regular systematic bird monitoring at Manivilundhan Old Tank is carried out by Angeline Mano M & Ganeshwar S V from Salem Ornithological Foundation with support from ACSEN Foundation. The tank has been a place for 100 species in the first half of the year. To view the eBird Reports, click here.
NEW RECORDS FROM MANIVILUNDHAN OLD TANK
Systematic bird monitoring has been carried out by Angeline Mano M and Ganeshwar S V of Salem Ornithological Foundation supported by Acsen Foundation. A total of 8 species including Cinnamon Bittern, Paddyfield Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Bonelli’s Eagle, White-eyed Buzzard, Greater Painted-Snipe, Indian Paradise-Flycatcher, Plum-headed Parakeet are the new set of first records for the lake during April to June 2023. To view more about this hotspot, click here.
BIRDING IN WETLANDS
On 3 May 2023, Angeline Mano M, Ganeshwar S V, and Kavitha Ramkumar took a bird walk at Chinna Punalvasal Lake and Manivilundhan Old Tank. The sighting of the resident pair of River Tern with their young ones was special.
ENDEMIC BIRD DAY 2023
The 9th Indian edition of the Endemic Bird Day was on 13 May 2023 which coincided with the Global Big Day. Birders across the district and state participated in this citizen science event. A total of 148 checklists with 92 species were submitted by the birders of Salem. To view the checklists, click here.
600+ HOUR STUDY ON RIVER TERNS
Manivilundhan Old Tank was identified as a crucial breeding ground for the River Tern, a globally threatened species listed as ‘Vulnerable‘ on the IUCN Red List. It highlights the ecological importance of the area. During the systematic bird monitoring, Angeline Mano M and Ganeshwar S V noticed a few River Terns frequenting the Manivilundhan Old Lake. River Terns are a globally threatened species, listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List. This documentation marks the first detailed study on the breeding of River Tern in Tamil Nadu. In January, there was a lot of commotion among the terns, all of them actively calling and chasing each other; it looked like a pair was probably reinforcing their territory limits. By mid-February, one pair pretty much settled, spending most of their time in and around the lake. Since it was the breeding season for the terns, we thought they might breed there but didn’t take it seriously as we were under the impression that River Terns are colonial breeders. Then one fine evening, they saw the pair involved in copulation which strengthened our suspicion of their breeding in the lake. Though River Terns aren’t sexually dimorphic, they were able to distinguish the male and female of this particular pair, primarily based on the difference in tail feathers, as the female had a molting (or injured?) tail feather throughout this breeding cycle. The male on the other hand had a perfect set of tail feathers. Besides this feature, there were some obvious differences in behaviors between the males and females. It became clear that that pair would breed at the lake as they continued to spend most of their day at the lake and searched for a suitable island to nest. As the water level slowly started decreasing, one of the man-made islands got exposed. After several times of inspections, the terns soon nested on the island, laying three eggs, one each, on the last three days of February 2023.
There was very little literature on the breeding of River Terns, which fueled their curiosity multifold. They decided to use the opportunity to conduct a detailed study on the behavior, breeding biology, and breeding ecology of River Terns. Both of them never knew what they were up to but they saw the opportunity and the decision to study the River Terns in detail will remain as one of the best and most cherished decisions in life. The pair nested in a man-made island in the middle of the lake and we set up a small tent by the roadside to monitor them closely. So, in no way the team were of any disturbance to the birds and the distance from the road to the nest was around 150 meters. The team then put chairs, fixed a tripod, and mounted a Nikon Coolpix P900 camera to monitor the terns throughout the day. The team usually reached our tent at 05:45 in the morning and left the spot only after 18:45 hours in the evening. The whole day Angeline Mano M and Ganeshwar S V were fixated on recording and writing every little detail of whatever the terns did. Both of them went home only to sleep or for a couple of bathroom breaks in a day and this schedule continued for the next 2.5 months!
All three eggs of the River Terns successfully hatched, each egg hatching on the 23rd day of incubation and it also took exactly another 23 days for the chicks to make their first flight. It was a grand success! The team celebrated it by distributing peanut candy to everyone who stopped at our mini tent to enquire about the terns. The team was also extremely lucky and privileged to witness the hatching of the first egg of the River Tern. After more than 600 hours of studying them, the team decided to stop when the chicks fledged and began to hunt fish on their own. Overall, the team got a lot of surprising information and new insights into the life of these amazing birds. The complete data on the breeding of River Terns is yet to be analyzed in full and will be published in a separate scientific report. Thanks to the ACSEN Foundation and the people of Manivilundhan Panchayat for their enthusiasm, overwhelming kindness, and incredible support throughout the study. SOF also thank everyone who encouraged us with their kind words.
RESCUE AND REHABILITATION
A juvenile Mottled Wood Owl was rescued by Forest Range Officer, Sivakumar who was taken to the Veterinary College & Research Institute for a medical check-up and was handed over to the Zoological Park for rehabilitation. A big shout out to the Forest Range Office, Gangavalli for their effort in saving the life of the endemic bird of India.
POPULAR SCIENCE ARTICLES
On 03 June 2023, a Tamil article about the biodiversity in some of the notable lakes in Salem & their conservation by SOF’s Founder & Director, Ganeshwar S V was published in Tamil The Hindu. Thanks to the ACSEN Foundation and Manithuli SMI for supporting the research at Manivilundhan Old Lake. Special thanks to Adhi Valliappan Sir for his continued support and guidance towards the publication. To read the article, please click here.
FIELD VISIT (1)
On June 2023, Angeline Mano M & Ganeshwar S V from Salem Ornithological Foundation went on a field trip to Valayamadevi Tank, Sadhasivapuram Ponneri Tank, Sarvoy Big Tank. To view the complete checklist, click here.
FIELD VISIT (2)
On June 2023, Angeline Mano M & Ganeshwar S V visited Govindampalayam Lake & Deviyakurichi Lake and documented birds. To view the complete checklist, click here.
ORNISCHOOL
As a part of Education and Public Engagement, Angeline Mano M from SOF conducted nature education programs. A PowerPoint presentation about bird watching and the uses of birds was displayed followed by an explanation. All the students were engaged in Flashcard games from Early Bird.
| S.No | School Name | No. of participants |
| 1 | Panchayat Union Primary School, Kattukottai | 26 |
| 2 | Panchayat Union Primary School, Kattukottai East | 32 |
| 3 | Panchayat Union Primary School, Manivilundhan South Pudur | 24 |
