DARTER – Vol. 1 – Issue 3 (Jul-Sep 2017)

EDITOR’S NOTE

“The third quarter of the year saw plenty of activity by several birders. Many notable records, mass awareness programs, a new organization, and much more! Few migratory species have already arrived and we wish all birders to have a great season! Sightings and records which are entered in eBird are only taken into account towards the writing of this e-magazine.” —Ganeshwar SV

AWARENESS PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS

The Salem Ornithological Foundation (SOF) in association with Tamil Nadu Science Forum (TNSF) conducted several awareness programs for school teachers during the Block-level SSA Teachers’ Training Workshop which was organized by the Department of School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu. In 42 programs, a total of 4,206 teachers participated. This is the largest, synchronized bird awareness talk conducted ever in Salem. Similar such programs were conducted in several districts by the respective birders.

S.NO.	NAME OF THE BLOCK	NAME OF THE SOF RESOURCE PERSON	DATE 2017	BATCH I	BATCH II
1	Kadayampatti	Tamil Selvan A	13 & 25 July	140	136
2	Yercaud	Tamil Selvan A	14 & 27 July	48	47
3	Ayothiyapattanam	Elavarasan M	11 & 27 July	90	90
4	Valappadi	Elavarasan M, Kalai Selvan V	12 & 26 July	90	100
5	Pethanaickenpalayam	Rajangam P	12 & 26 July	82	99
6	Attur	Rajangam P	14 & 27 July	99	99
7	Thalaivasal	Kalai Selvan V, Rajangam	13 & 27 July	76	96
8	Gangavalli	Kalai Selvan V	13 & 27 July	66	75
9	Omalur	Senthil Kumar	10 & 24 July	101	163
10	Mecheri	Senthil Kumar	10 & 25 July	91	109
11	Nangavalli	Senthil Kumar	11 & 25 July	113	117
12	Konganapuram	Senthil Kumar	12 & 26 July	66	23
13	Magudanchavadi	Senthil Kumar	12 & 26 July	71	74
14	Kolathur	Senthil Kumar	13 & 27 July	101	96
15	Edappadi	Senthil Kumar	14 & 28 July	93	100
16	Salem Urban	Ganeshwar SV	10 & 24 July	184	224
17	Salem Rural	Ganeshwar SV	10 & 25 July	134	138
18	Panamarathupatti	Ganeshwar SV	11 & 26 July	83	90
19	Veerapandi	Ganeshwar SV	11 & 26 July	106	110
20	Sankagiri	Ganeshwar SV	13 & 28 July	81	95
21	Tharamangalam	Ganeshwar SV, Elavarasan M	13 & 28 July	113	97
			Total no. of teachers in Batch 1 & 2	2028	2178
			Grand Total	4206

TWO SECOND RECORDS FOR SALEM

1. After the first sighting of the species in 1929, Dr. Thanigai Velu recorded and photographed STREAK-THROATED WOODPECKER Picus xanthopygaeus in Yercaud on August 12, 2017. This is the first known photographic record. Please see the complete checklist here.

   

2. On September 17, 2017, Venkatraman Rajamanickam recorded and photographed BROWN WOOD OWL Strix leptogrammica in Yercaud. This is the first photographic record and is one of the most amazing sightings of the district. The complete checklist can be seen here. The previous authentic record of this owl from Salem, as we know is from a statement, “Specimen from Shevroys (Madras Government Museum)” Source: Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, v0.91 (2015).

   

NOTABLE SIGHTING(S)

On September 26, 2017, Praveen Manivannan recorded 10 ALPINE SWIFTS Apus melba in Yercaud which is the High Count for the species so far.  Please see the complete checklist here.

Arrival of MIGRANTS and INLAND MIGRANTS

S.No.	COMMON NAME	OBSERVER	FIRST SEEN in migratory season 2017-18
1	Grey Wagtail	Murugesh Natesan	2 September
2	Wood Sandpiper	Murugesh Natesan	7 September
3	Common Sandpiper	Gokul Vadivel	14 September
4	Barn Swallow	Elavarasan M	17 September
5	Whiskered Tern	Elavarasan M	23 September
6, 7	Green Warbler & Greenish Warbler	Dr. Thanigai Velu	29 September
8	Booted Eagle	Gokul Vadivel	29 September
9	Green Sandpiper	Gokul Vadivel	29 September

INAUGURAL CEREMONY OF SALEM ORNITHOLOGICAL FOUNDATION

The historic inaugural ceremony of the Salem Ornithological Foundation (SOF) சேலம் பறவையியல் கழகம் was held at the Community Hall, Salem Steel Plant on September 30, 2017. It is the first and exclusive organization to be formed for bird research and conservation. The event was coordinated by the Tamil Nadu Science Forum. For more details: www.salembirds.wordpress.com

Jayamurugan T, the District President of Tamil Nadu Science Forum (TNSF) anchored the event. He wrote, composed, and sang a song on birds which contained 24 species! Lal Rk, District Secretary of TNSF and Sahasranamam Padmanabhan delivered the Welcome and Presidential Address respectively. Students of Panchayat Union Middle School, Krishnampudur performed a wonderful Short Play on the importance of birds which grabbed the attention of the audience and was widely appreciated!

The goals and vision of the Foundation were addressed by Ganeshwar SV. He especially emphasized that SOF will devise its activities in such a way that visually-challenged, other differently-abled people, and Transgenders can enjoy Nature through birds! The keynote talk was delivered by the renowned writer and wildlife conservationist, S. Theodore Baskaran who spoke on several aspects of wildlife with a special focus on birds! Dr. M. Ravi (Vet) delivered the vote of thanks.

A photo Exhibition with a focus on the birds of Salem and the importance of Vultures was also organized by TNSF. Beautiful photographs and posters were displayed by S. Bharathidasan, Secretary of Arulagam, C. Subramanian, Wildlife photographer, Venkatraman Rajamanickam, V. Kalaiselvan, and S. Subramania Siva from their hard-earned collection.

After lunch, SOF’s inaugural ceremony Bird Walk was conducted at Nehru Park in which more than 50 people participated. Please see the complete and shared checklist here.

Happy BIRDING!

SAVE BIRDS… SAVE NATURE… SAVE THE HUMAN RACE!