My Birding Trip Reports

(Photo: Streaked-throated Woodpecker on Butea monosperma tree)

HIGHLIGHTS : 3 Nightjar species and 4 Woodpecker species, Flying Squirell.

BIRDERS :
Gaurav Bhatnagar
Harkirat Singh Sangha
Thakur Digvijay Singh of Dhamotar

ITINERARY:

DAY 1: 10th March 2006
Core areas of Sitamata :Sitabani, and Valmiki Ashram. Evening/ night drive around Arampura Forest Rest House.

DAY 2: 11th March 2006
Arampura FRH and areas around it, Punga Talab, Jakham dam and in the evening nightjarring in the fields of Dhamotar.

REPORT:

Sitamata WLS was once a splendid teak forest under the erstwhile Pratapgarh state and had seen better days with tigers, leopards, sambhar, cheetal, four-horned antelope all in good numbers in the sanctuary. According to Thakur Digvijay Singh of Dhamotar, the forest was so dense that the sunlight never reached the forest floor. Now the forest lies degraded and most of the teak has been cut and sold in the illegal market, only few old trees remain. In the fringes, the texture is more of a scrub rather than a dry decidous forest. The inside areas are slightly better off with some big trees still remaining. The forest is said to be very rich in medicinal plants and herbs. It is also an Important Bird Area for the two vulture species White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis), Indian Vulture (Gyps indicus), however, both the species were not seen. It is also a good place to see the pangolin of which we felt only the presence in terms of excavated earth.

Two days in a 440 sq km of forest and not a single ungulate tells the story of this sanctuary itself. Apart from teak, ‘Khair’ or Acacia cathechu also has been completely wiped out for extraction of ‘kattha’. The only trees that still remain in plenty are the grand Mahua (Madhuca indica) trees, flowers of which are used for making a local liquor.

We stayed in the small garh (fortress) of Thakur Digvijay Singh of Dhamotar, a small thikana (estate) near Pratapgarh and some 70 km from Sitamata. We started the day auspiciously as we were woken by Saras Crane calls coming from a nearby wetland at Dhamotar village. The landscape as we approached Sitamata was absolutely stupendous with the black cotton soil in contoured mounds with the golden wheat fields a goldmine for the landscape photographer. Geographically we were at the western end of the Malwa Plateau and as we climbed down the difference was evident in the topography.

We reached the track that goes from Dhariawad village and leads into the forest. We birded by stopping the jeep at several places and then exploring on foot. White-throated Kingfisher and Pond Heron were seen in small streams regularly. Apart from that some scattered warblers were also seen mainly Sulphur-bellied and Greenish. Lesser Whitethroat was also seen but the density of birds was dissappointingly low. Red-throated Flycatchers were also occasionally seen.

We stopped after a neck breaking Mahindra jeep journey at a small settlement besides the Sitamata river. A Common Kingfisher was heard calling from the stream. In class Insecta, Crimson Marsh Gliders were seen on the stream and Red Blister Beetles were seen near the fields. In butterflies, Lime Butterfly and Common Tiger were seen. Coming back towards the jeep a Sirkeer Malkoha was heard calling and was then seen in the wheat field flying off to a higher perch. We continued our journey along the stream only occasionally stopping to see interesting flora of the sanctuary. One such was Buchanania lanzan or the ‘Chironji’ tree, the seeds of which are used to garnish desserts. We reached the forest checkpost of Rana at about 12 noon and found a lot of birds being attracted to a blooming Flame of the Forest (Butea monosperma) tree. Two White-bellied Drongos were constantly feeding on the insects that were attracted to the tree along with some Red vented Bulbuls and Common Mynas. A male Red-headed Bunting was seen very clearly in full breeding plumage. A Black-rumped Flameback was seen in the forest abutting the checkpost. We went to Valmiki Ashram after lunch .The place was surprisingly sparse with birds and only a few warblers were heard calling . A Baronet Butterfly was photographed near the stream.

Sitabani was also quite sparse from birding point of view and Coppersmith Barbet was resounding in the calm of the forest. A Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher and a Verditer Flycatcher were seen. Tracing our route back we were surprised by a Wooly-necked Stork right in the middle of the track. Equally surprised it flew to a safer ground. We went back to the same route and circumvented the sanctuary to the western side where a basic Forest Rest-House (FRH) called Arampura was awaiting our arrival. The place is famous for the Flying Squirell which is seen only in the night gliding from one Mahua tree to another. The guard at Arampura assured us that 7:15 PM was the time for it to come out of its hole in the Mahua tree next to the road. A calling White-eyed Buzzard caught our ears and was seen on a far tree. We then waited for the squirell with the flashlights and sure enough at 7:20 the animal was out and with the help of the searchlight the Squirell was seen for about a minute. A Grey Nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus) was heard calling as the day ended with a sumptuous dinner. The night safari in the forest was also fruitful and 3 Jungle Cats were sighted on the tracks.

In the morning we scanned the areas behind the Arampura forest rest house on foot and birding activity was in full swing. Taking left from the FRH, Chestnut-shouldered Petronias, Common Chiffchaff, Greenish Warbler, Tickell’s Leaf Warbler, Olive-backed Pipit, Lesser Whitethroat were seen on the track. A Grey Wagtail was seen near a small puddle behind the FRH as a Grey Junglefowl formed the backgroung score. It was however never seen. Its population is also dwingling in the sanctuary. Woodpeckers were plenty with Black-rumped Flameback and Yellow-fronted Pied as the most common. Common Iora, Great Tit were also seen in the scrub. We scanned the area towards the north of the FRH and it revealed good birds with a good flock of Yellow-footed Green Pigeon on the big ficus tree. Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher and Common Woodshrike were seen quite clearly in the trees while a Black Redstart was seen in the foot of the trees. An Oriental Honey Buzzard was seen calling from a top canopy of the tree and House Swifts and Dusky Crag Martins puncuated the sky. A greenish woodpecker with a yellow rump caught our eye and was identified as a Streak-throated Woodpecker, a bird with only a few records from Rajasthan. The resounding drumming sound on a tree hollow was indicative of the start of breeding for the woodpeckers.Two Large Cuckooshrikes were seen flying to a nearby tree also calling. Calling Grey Hornbills were seen in the canopies of the Mahua trees in Arampura and a Yellow-eyed Babbler was seen in the undergrowth.

We moved from Arampura and the next stop was Punga Talab. A large raptor was heard calling in the preserved open-forest near Arampura. Scanning with binoculars revealed a Crested Serpent-Eagle. At Punga Talab, the birding was surprisingly good with 4 species of woodpeckers together. Black-Rumped Flameback, Yellow-fronted Pied, White-naped Flameback and Streak-throated Woodpecker all giving good views. Common Iora, Small Minivet, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Large Cuckooshrike and Common Woodshrikes were plenty. The Streak-throated Woodpecker was calling as well as drumming. The call was also recorded while the woodpecker was drumming the tree.

Jakham Dam, the next stop was visited but birds were very few and only Brown Rock Chats and a calling Brown-headed Barbet were observed. Two River Terns were seen on the water edge. Apart from that the steep cliffs which very recently had numerous vultures was absolutely empty and not a single vulture was seen anywhere.

The old palace of the royal family of Pratapgarh hosts a Barn Owl which is seen regularly roosting in one of the courtyards. The beautiful bird was seen flying outside in the open and then going inside again after being chased by a crow.

The finale of the trip was with the evening spent in a superbly maintained vintage Willy’s jeep nightjarring in the fields around Dhamotar. Calling Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis) were everywhere. Numbers were approximately 10 birds per sq Km. We followed the flight of the calling nightjar with the searchlight as it flew in swift flights around us. In the far off fields an Indian Nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) was also heard calling and later seen.
Only 98 pecies were seen in two days of birding.However, the place has more potential.

A complete list of species is listed below for reference.

1. Little Grebe
2. Little Cormorant
3. Little Egret
4. Cattle Egret
5. Pond Heron
6. Woolly-necked Stork
7. Black Ibis
8. Northern Shoveled
9. Northern Pintail
10. Black-shouldered Kite
11. Black Kite
12. Shikra
13. Oriental Honey Buzzard
14. Crested Serpent Eagle
15. White-eyed Buzzard
16. Steppe Eagle
17. Egyptian Vulture
18. Jungle Bush-quail
19. Grey Junglefowl (calling)
20. Indian Peafowl
21. Grey Francolin
22. River Tern
23. Rock Pigeon
24. Spotted Dove
25. Eurasian Collared Dove
26. Laughing Dove
27. Yellow-footed Green Pigeon (T.p.chlorigaster)
28. Plum-headed Parakeet
29. Rose-ringed Parakeet
30. Sirkeer Malkoha
31. Greater Coucal
32. Barn Owl
33. Spotted Owlet
34. Mottled Wood-Owl
35. Grey Nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus)
36. Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis)
37. Indian Nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus)
38. House Swift
39. Dusky Crag-Martin
40. White-throated Kingfisher
41. Common Kingfisher
42. Little Green Bee-eater
43. Grey Hornbill
44. Coppersmith Barbet
45. Brown-headed Barbet
46. Streak-throated Woodpecker
47. Black-rumped Flameback
48. White-naped Woodpecker
49. Yellow-fronted Pied Woodpecker
50. Indian Bushlark
51. Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark
52. Red-rumped Swallow
53. Grey Wagtail
54. Olive backed Pipit
55. Black-headed Cuckooshrike
56. Large Cuckooshrike
57. Small Minivet
58. Red-vented Bulbul
59. Common Iora
60. Long-tailed Shrike
61. Southern Grey-Shrike
62. Common Woodshrike
63. White-browed Fantail
64. Indian Robin
65. Oriental Magpie-Robin
66. Black Redstart
67. Pied Bushchat
68. Red-breasted Flycatcher
69. Tickell’s blue Flycatcher
70. Verditer Flycatcher
71. Yellow-eyed Babbler
72. Common Babbler
73. Large Grey Babbler
74. Jungle Babbler
75. Common Tailorbird
76. Grey-breasted Prinia
77. Ashy Prinia
78. Oriental Whiteye
79. Tickell’s Leaf Warbler
80. Greenish Warbler
81. Sulphur-bellied Warbler
82. Lesser Whitethroat
83. Orphean Warbler
84. Great Tit
85. Purple Sunbird
86. Crested Bunting
87. Red-Headed Bunting
88. House Sparrow
89. Chestnut-shouldered Petronia
90. Black Drongo
91. White-bellied Drongo
92. Brahminy Starling
93. Asian Pied Starling
94. Common Myna
95. Bank Myna
96. House crow
97. Indian Jungle Crow
98. Rufous Treepie