The Spotted Creeper

In this note I hope to acquaint you with one of our enigmatic birds - the Spotted Creeper- and in the telling also describe the layout of one of Jaipur's hidden gems where we have often gone birdwatching.

Grass Farm Nursery.

Yes, the appellation is not the most inspiring, and if I were to describe the location, many of you would scoff at the mere suggestion that any interesting birds could actually be seen here. But this very 'Nursery' is home to several special birds that you could ever hope to see in Jaipur. And it is right in the city.

For the moment let's just go straight to the heart of the story, and leave the directions how to get here to the end of this post.

The Spotted Creeper is one of those elusive birds that rates fairly high on the Birdwatcher's target list. Coupled with the fact that it is endemic to these regions and also that there is not another bird which is similar looking in Rajasthan (unlike the Tree Creeper found in other parts of India), it is also quite rare and difficult to find. For many months I had been keeping a sharp lookout for it in many locations in and around Jaipur but without success.

But let's just backtrack for a moment and lead you through the lie of the land.

Grass Farm Nursery as the name suggests is both a nursery and it was a grass farm. During Pre-Independence India, grass was grown here for the Cavalry horses, then it became a State Nursery, before finally being christened a 'Reserved Forest'.

As soon as you enter the Main Gate you are confronted by a magnificent Sausage Tree (Kigellia pinnata). For several months of the year, long single rope-like strands hanging down from the branches, bear at their ends, either the curious sausage-shaped fruit or a strangely-coloured and powerfully-scented flower that opens only at night. To your right are three towering pines ! These are Chir Pine (Pinus roxburghii). They have no business growing in this climate. One grizzled veteran who works in the Nursery recounted to me the story of how these trees came to be in these parts. Amongst the special care in rearing the saplings was the occasional use of large ice slabs to cool the scorching earth and provide succour to the fledgling roots in the hot summer months of the late 1950's.

It is difficult to draw your eyes away from the fantastic trees all around you. Even though it is a Nursery and not a natural forest, the phrase that springs to mind is that this is an 'ancient grove'. Several trees are decades old at least - Arjun, Kachnar, Aretha, Churail, Semul, Goolar, 5 different Acacias, the list is long.

And the birds love it here.

One star attraction is the Brown Hawk Owl ( Boobook). This individual perches on the same branch of a young Chandan (Sandalwood) tree. As you follow the 'Nature Trail' (marked by a board) you could also hope to spot the pair of resident Grey Nightjars. Again, through the daylight hours these nocturnal birds roost on the exact same spots on outspread branches of Khejri trees. We must have passed by them several times in the past without noticing them before we did, so beautifully are they camouflaged against the mottled grey bark.

Anyhow, let's get back to our first sighting of the Spotted Creeper.

On a Sunday afternoon in late November 2009 I happened to be strolling around here. I was quite pleased to have earlier just seen two of the less common Drongos - the Ashy and White-bellied. As I passed the eastern corner of the Nursery, I heard the pleasant call of a Marshall's Iora. Since I had only once before seen this bird here ( in June 2009) I was quite delighted to locate it quickly in the Khejri trees, the bright yellow and white plumage clearly visible in the upper canopy. It was calling repeatedly as it searched through the branches, sometimes hanging upside down.

But wait a minute, the Iora was not alone.

There was a full-fledged 'hunting-party' in attendance, some birds silent and others calling softly as they moved from one tree to another. I counted off Small Minivets, Great Tits, Common Woodshrikes, White-browed Fantails, Red-breasted Flycatchers amongst other common birds. And there was a stranger ( to me) in their midst.

A small dark bird with whitish spots suddenly flew across and alighted directly on the trunk of a Khejri tree. My first thought was that this was a Yellow-crowned Woodpecker. And then I saw through the binoculars the unmistakable thin long curved bill.

The Spotted Creeper, finally !

I was able to observe this individual for several minutes as it crept along the trunk and thicker branches, prying and poking away at deep fissures and knots in the bark and in the hollows. The bill obviously is a superbly adapted instrument for just this job, and a few grubs were extricated expertly.

But there was more excitement in store that afternoon. As I relayed the Spotted Creeper sighting to other Birders to entice them to join me, I was alerted again to the calls of the Oriental Honey-Buzzard that I had heard calling earlier a short distance away.

Within a few minutes I had located a pair of the Buzzards perched on an Ardu (Ailanthus excelsa). This was an opportunity to compare the male and the female, and as I scribbled notes, I was joined by N. We noticed that only the female was calling. Soon two other Buzzards tumbled down from the sky - perhaps offspring - they looked like juveniles.

We were careful in their vicinity because there are several bee-hives here and many of these had been cleaned out by the Buzzards lately. On one occasion the disgruntled bees from a destroyed hive attacking a Forest Guard and a Morning Walker - the latter being chased and stung several times, and this experience keeping the gentleman away for several weeks.

However, the female Buzzard was still calling, and seemed to be peering constantly at a dense Neem ( Azadirachta indica) tree next to the Ardu. This tree was literally mobbed by Rufous Tree-Pies, Shrikes, and Babblers. As we shifted position to get a closer look, an enormous brown-feathered owl flew off from the same Neem. It flew quite low to the ground, dodging between the trees to another perch a short sprint away. It was relatively easy to find its new location which was soon given away by the raucous Tree-Pie and the Buzzard family. The latter constantly chased and dive-bombed the intruder. Even though the owl spotted us from afar, we were able to get good views of the plumage, the 'horns' or ears that stuck straight up, and the fierce red / orange eyes. The Eurasian Eagle Owl.

It was instructive to observe the Owl's behaviour when being mobbed by other birds at a daytime perch. This individual was quite unconcerned by all the commotion and aerial sorties aimed at its head, confident in its power and size ignoring all this harassment. I thought of the (relatively diminutive) Collared Scops Owl that we had observed for several months at another location, which relied more on camouflage and concealment, and on being discovered by other birds in the day, assumed a Buddha-like stoicism and ignored all the verbal abuse being thrown at it. The (large) Barn Owl, on the other hand, employs a curious head and upper body side-to-side 'sway' when a Babbler gets too close in its face - an obvious 'stay-away' warning signal.

How to get there ...
Located on the main Hasanpura-Khatipura road in the Army Area. Well marked by a Board stating 'Grass Farm Nursery'.
Do check at the Office and take permision before going around. The Nursery Staff are helpful and quite used to Birders and Tree-Spotters.

Winter Sundays at Chandloi

Local newspapers in Jaipur have been reporting for several years the increasing numbers of waterfowl and other birds observed at Chandloi lake. Finally, interested enough by photos of Greater Flamingos, I made my first visit in the middle of September 2009.

Owing to the paucity of rainfall around Jaipur this monsoon season, I was quite surprised by the spread of water in the lake. The lake is surrounded by much habitation and agricultural fields. In the middle small islands covered by kikar trees clearly are magnets for a large number of waders and ducks.

A motley group of people was already gathered on the embankment and seemed to have eyes only for the star attraction – the Flamingos. Indeed, 1000+ Greater Flamingos were bunched together in a tight flock, swimming in the deeper water and then wading up to the islands in the middle. A pair of Painted Storks had built a nest on top of a kikar tree, as had several Cormorants. I followed the progress of their nesting over the next few weeks. The Stork nests were soon abandoned, but the Cormorants were successful in breeding.

As with any North / Western Indian jheel in autumn (and later through winter), the air, water and land was literally teeming with life. Overhead, twittering Martins and Swallows swooped low over the water and wheeled higher in the sky. The margin of the lake had the usual assortment of waders – Sandpipers, Stints and Plovers, chasing each other off their separate pieces of turf. Rosy starlings flew past in large numbers, rising from adjacent agricultural fields, adults showing much pink, but the juveniles plain brown.

However, for me the highlight that first day was a migrating group of Grey Wagtails that literally swarmed the area in their hundreds. H later told me they were possibly on passage, since we did not see them in such numbers again.
Interestingly, during a subsequent visit on 10th January 10th 2010, S and I saw a much smaller flock of Yellow Wagtails exhibiting much the same behaviour. The Yellow Wagtails varied in the extent of yellow on the underbody – some juveniles (?) with much duller plumage.

Another curious observation is that in September we saw a small flight each of the Black Ibis and the Black-headed Ibis, but not another Ibis over 10 subsequent visits through January.

In sifting though my notes I also notice that the composition of ducks commonly seen kept changing over the months. In September our resident ducks like the Spot-billed Duck, Lesser Whistling Duck, Comb Duck and Cotton-pygmy Goose were joined here by the first of the winter visitors - the Shovellers. Over the next few weeks it was almost as if the residents kept getting pushed out by migrants. In October we observed good numbers of Gadwalls and Pochards – both Common and Tufted. We have record of Common Teals and Ruddy Shelduck in November. Bar-headed Geese (200+) arrived in December, and apparently have good feed on the islands which were now exposed as the water receded. The handsome Northern Pintails (100+) also appeared in December. And then just after Christmas a pair of Greylag Geese, unmistakable with their large size and pink bills and legs, and quite careful not to be seen consorting with their bar-headed cousins.

Another pattern developed over subsequent visits to Chandloi – from visits spanning a few hours, I often started spending the whole day Sunday around the lake. Sometimes alone, and on some occasions accompanied by relatives, friends and expert Birders (each group not mutually exclusive). Every visit was a learning experience. One always observed something new. Conditions kept changing. As we ranged farther afield around the lake, we discovered our little ‘hot spots’.

One in particular keeps throwing up new surprises.

The Eastern embankment draws a finger of the lake deeper towards the Railway tracks. This narrow water body is a good area to observe birds at close range both in the water and in the ‘thorny vegetation’ covered banks. The ‘thorny vegetation’ is actually an infestation of Angrezi Babool (Prosopis juliflora). If only we could somehow replace this with ‘proper’ trees and shrubs, the bird count would explode. Thankfully, the embankment is also studded with several kair and ber bushes. Agricultural fields also provide feed and cover to several birds.

Often we have strolled along the embankment, the lake on the left and the agricultural fields to the right. Once an unfamiliar and vocal flock of birds with bright yellow underparts, was identified with some difficulty as Black-headed Buntings. The same day we saw another new bird for me – the Black-headed Munia. This was the Atricapilla sub-species with all-chestnut belly and flanks. A pair of Scaly-breasted Munias provided entertainment chasing each other between the kair bushes. Brown shrikes also have their favourite perches here – and we have seen both sub-species - Cristatus with brown crown and Lucionensis with grey crown.

This area also seems to be a favourite haunt of several raptors. On one occasion we observed 6 Eurasian Marsh Harriers in flight. The same day a pair of Booted Eagles quartered the sky just above. On 20th October 2009 I recorded a pair of Ospreys. Later through December one Osprey stayed back. At first, this bird looked rather bedraggled, and perched forlornly for hours on a stone post in the middle of the lake, and we thought it may not survive for lack of prey. But just days later we saw it again, feeding on a fish, and then taking to the air with renewed vigour.

Closer to the Railway track and in the dry, scrubland and fallow fields in winter, apart from the common birds there are also the Tawny Pipit, Greater short-toed Lark, Red-collared Doves, Pied Bushchats, Siberian/ Common Stonechats, the occasional Desert Wheatear, and a party of Common Quail.

One bird which I have seen on every occasion through this winter has been a very large Gull. Amongst the usual assortment of Terns and smaller Gulls, this individual was distinctive for its size. Finally, we were able to ID this as the Pallas’ Gull – a non-breeding adult. It often feeds on dead fish washed up on the islands, even chasing away the larger Grey Herons that flap too close to its meal.

This post would be incomplete without a mention of another special bird that only arrived a few weeks ago at the lake.

DB and I had observed two separate flocks of very large birds flying North as we approached Chandloi from Jhalana Reserved Forest on 27th December 2009. We enjoyed excellent views as the Great White Pelicans wheeled in tight circles low over us. However, the Pelicans did not come down to the lake that day. Then on 10th January 2010 accompanied by S, we had seen a solitary Pelican sitting on a small island newly emerged in the lake. Earlier that day I had added the White-tailed Lapwing to my personal checklist. As the day drew to a close S pointed out a flight of Pelicans approaching the lake. Quickly we scrambled closer hoping to see them touch down. The Pelicans banked and dropped lower. While one bird nonchalantly scratched its belly with a webbed foot, another kept twisting its neck as if to see if the flight formation was being maintained. Soon they settled down gracefully on the surface of the water close to their mate on the island.

Getting to Chandloi lake from Jaipur –On the Jaipur – Kota highway, and past the Jaipur (Sanganer) Airport. Another 15 kms away you arrive at the village of Shivdaspura. From here you turn right towards the village of Chandloi, 2 kms away. My usual routine on morning visits is to park at the Petrol Station short of Chandloi village. Just across the road from here is an earthen embankment encircling the lake. Having the sun behind you is useful as you gaze across the water.

Happy Birdwatching !

Day of the Cuckoos

Here is a recap of an afternoon trip made on 25th July 2009 when we came across 4 species of Cuckoos near Jaipur. While some of you may well spot several more Cuckoos in a day's birding if you explore more suitable terrain in different parts of India, but for us semi-desert dwellers of Jaipur , a day like this is special because some of these Cuckoos are rare summer / monsoon visitors.

S had piqued my interest about a new location where he said we had every chance to come across two species of birds high on my 'to do' list at that time - the White-naped Woodpecker and the White-naped tit (....as it would happen we saw neither that day).

So on Saturday afternoon N and I took the Jaipur-Chomu highway. We branched off at Chomu towards Samode and soon found our 'hot-spot'. This is where the road first cuts across a section of the Aravallis. On either side the hills tower overhead. A narrow glade runs along the base of the hills. Abutting the slope is a shallow ravine which drains the rainwater from the hills. It is a scenic and desolate spot, which we were later to discover was the reason it is not the safest (but that's another story).

A Common Hawk-Cuckoo ( Hierococcyx fugax) was calling close by, the tone rising in pitch steadily. We quickly had our gear organised and set off on foot. I have often found it difficult to actually sight this bird even standing right under the tree where the calls emanate from. This occasion was no different. Within a few minutes the bird flew off to another copse across the road.

The monsoon had broken a few days ago and there was fresh grass carpeting the glade. This had attracted several butterflies - some tiny ones like Blues, and others like Plain Tigers, Danaid Eggflies and Common Emigrants. A brilliantly coloured Blue Pansy favoured the damp ditch.

Soon our attention was attracted by an unfamiliar call from the hillside. We moved closer carefully, but the calls ceased immediately. We scanned the boulder-strewn hill which rose steeply, dotted with some acacias and several bushes. A faint movement behind a kair bush (Capparis decidua) enabled us to train our binoculars on a skulking bird. It was grey (darker grey upperparts), with a fleck of white on the wing , and white tips to tail feathers. The relatively smaller size and a quick reference to the guidebook confirmed the male of the Grey-bellied Cuckoo ( Cacomantis passerinus). The bird was quite wary and kept moving to deeper cover all the time.
Meanwhile, the glade was full of bird activity triggered perhaps by the profusion of insects and plants given life by the recent rains.
Prinias were plentiful. The grey-breasted prinias were now displaying their breeding colours which indicate their name. Plum-headed parakeets streaked overhead calling excitedly. Indian Silverbills swarmed the ground and low perches. There was a mixed group of Great Tits, Common Woodshrikes and Small Minivets. Other birds which I have found difficult to see in the non-winter months in Jaipur like the Pied Bushchat and Oriental White-eyes flitted about. Refreshingly, we saw White-eared Bulbuls rather than their ubiquitous (urban) red-vented cousins.
We had recently observed one of my favourite summer visitors - the Indian Pitta, but it was not here today. Golden Orioles stood out as bright patches of colour in the brown ( now burgeoning green) foliage.
We decided to follow a narrow goat-track winding upwards. I had passed by a small dark bird without so much as a second glance thinking the song was that of a Indian Robin, when N called me back with much gesticulation, and we actually had a beautiful male Crested Bunting in full song. Females dotted the steep grass-covered hill close by.
We could hear a noisy rabble of birds ahead as the track turned. Soon we were looking down at a breeding colony of Baya Weavers. The males were now sporting bright yellow caps and chests. The excitement was palpable and several males had already part- constructed their nests, suspended from the ends of branches of kikar trees.
As we climbed higher, we heard the familiar calls of the Pied Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus)overhead. A pair flew across the crest of the hill allowing us good views.
This year we had been observing the Pied Cuckoo since the middle of June at several locations, but every new sighting was a delight.
Soon we were clambering up a saddle-back. The hill rose higher to our left with the path zig-zagging up to a temple. To the right the land fell away in a series of ravines - not unlike the badlands of the Chambal.
It was here that we saw our fourth Cuckoo of the day. Or rather a pair of them. These Cuckoos were much larger than the Grey-bellied. Even though we could not get very close, the defintive ID was made by the call. The Eurasian Cuckoo ( Cuculus canorus). Again, we had observed this bird at another location a few weeks before, and had heard them calling at other places. But never 4 different Cuckoos at the same location. Does the Asian Koel qualify as a Cuckoo, I wonder. Because that was around too, as everywhere else.
By now the day was getting on and we decided to turn back.
As soon as we descended to the grassy glade I almost stepped on and flushed a covey of Quails who exploded away with a whirrrr of rapid wingbeats. Startled, I was concentrating on putting down my next footstep when N called and pointed to a brightly colored bird perched on a Ber bush ( Ziziphus mauritiana). It had bright rufous upperparts, and was quite enjoying its meal of a hairy caterpillar. On the same bush was also a tiny Ashy Prinia. For a moment we were puzzled, then the call gave it away. It was a hepatic female of the Grey-bellied Cuckoo. The male called in reply from the general direction we had seen it earlier today.
Perhaps some reader could let me know if the Grey-bellied Cuckoo breeds around Jaipur at this time of the year. The Ashy Prinia sure looked like a prime candidate for a foster parent.

Well that's it for this post... in the next few I hope to give you a flavour of some of the other Jaipur birding locations (like Chandloi lake, Jhalana Reserved Forest, Nahargarh Reserve Forest and Jal Mahal and others) and some of the other 'special' birds that we have been seeing there.