november

EDITOR’S NOTE

“Exploring one of the least visited locations has given rise to a new photo record; the special campus sighting by the the renowned P.U.M.S, Krishnampudur students and the 6th Tamil Birders Meet in a least-birded district Theni have all made this final issue of the year a great one! With this 12th issue, DARTER completes three years of online publication successfully. We are thankful to each of the contributors and our readers worldwide. Sightings and records which are entered in eBird are only taken into account towards the writing of this e-magazine.” —Ganeshwar SV.

FIRST PHOTO RECORD

On October 6, 2019, Senthil Kumar S photographed a MONTAGU’S HARRIER Circus pygarus for the first time in Salem. Please see the complete checklist here.

ECO CLUB MEET 

On October 6, 2019, the Eco Club meeting was held at Panchayat Union Middle School, Thalavaipatty to review the past and present eco activities of the school. They also planned new ways to enhance the set of activities which they were already doing. The meet was coordinated by teacher P Rajangam.

CAMPUS RECORD BY STUDENTS 

On October 12, 2019, the students of Panchayat Union Middle School, Krishnampudur recorded ASIAN BROWN FLYCATCHER Muscicapa dauurica in their school campus for the first time. Their guide and teacher Vadivukkarasi A conveyed that the students were thrilled to see a migratory bird in their school. Salem Ornithological Foundation congratulates the students and teachers for their consistent and dedicated efforts in campus bird monitoring. Please see the complete checklist here.

OCTOBER BIG DAY

During the October Big Day on October 6, 2018, birders collectively recorded 90 species and submitted 170 checklists in total. The participants were Angeline Mano, Elavarasan M, Himavat Gouresh, Pavithra Sangee, Pradeepa Sudhakar, Rajendran BE, Subramania Siva, Vadivukkarasi A and Senthil Kumar S. Notable sighting of the day was a ‘Vulnerable’ RED-NECKED FALCON Falco chicquera near Tharamangalam and a small flock of ASIAN FAIRY-BLUEBIRDS Irena puella, both sighted by Senthil Kumar S. For more details about the day’s event, please click here.

SÁLIM ALI BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

To commemorate the birth anniversary of legendary ornithologist, Dr. Salim Ali, on November 12, 2019 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).

CERTIFICATE COURSE IN BASIC ORNITHOLOGY 

India’s top prestigious research institutions IISER, Tirupati, SACON, NCBS and NCF collaborated to bring out a Certificate Course in Basic Ornithology: Research & Conservation which was held at IISER, Tirupati. It was supported by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies. Out of over 1600 applications for the course, 100 aspiring students who are pursuing or would pursue a career in wildlife or ornithology were selected after scrutiny. One among the selected lot was a member of Salem Ornithological Foundation, Ganeshwar SV who successfully completed the course and received the certificate. To listen to the course lectures, basic ornithology, bird biology, conservation and research, please visit: https://www.ornithology.in/

6TH TAMIL BIRDERS’ MEET

With more than 100 participants from many parts of Tamil Nadu and neighboring states, the 6th Tamil Birders Meet was great success. It was organized with the help of Sri Adi Chunchanagiri Women’s College, Cumbum, Theni. Three members from Salem Ornithological Foundation delivered their presentations. Angeline Mano, engaged children with several nature and bird education games which were greatly enjoyed by the participants. Ganeshwar SV, along with senior birder Dr Badrinarayan gave a lecture on the basics of using eBird and best practices to submit a good checklist. Senthil Kumar S (Vasen Suli) presented his observations on the monitoring of the ‘Vulnerable’ White-naped Tit.

A BIRDWATCHER’S PLEDGE

If you agree with these sentiments, do help circulate by downloading the poster above and sharing them. The pledge is also available in 11 other Indian languages; to take the pledge in your regional language, please click here.

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	October 6
2	Barn Swallow	2500	Vadivukkarasi A	October 6
3	Red-wattled Lapwing	42	Rajangam P	November 2
4	Common Cuckoo	5	Vadivukkarasi A	November 4
5	Rufous Babbler	5	Selvaganesh K	November 21
6	Crested Treeswift	30	Selvaganesh K	November 22
7	White-bellied Drongo	9	Karthick VS	November 25
8	Small Pratincole	32	Subramania Siva	December 9
9	Tree Pipit	10	Senthil Kumar	December 9
10	Common Myna	150	Elavarasan M	December 11

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!