14 Nov 2013

A DATE WITH TUFTED DUCKS ON PIYALI ISLAND

Birding By the Meandering Piyali

Where: Piyali Island Tourist Lodge, 
when: 09.11.2013
Who: Myself and Deb with Santanu Chakraborty and Raja Chatterjee.



Sighting a lifer, taking a record shot of new migrant or reporting the first arrival of a migrant to a birding locale....these are the small delights that every birder dreams of.....one can thus comprehend our surprise, when we spotted a group of tufted ducks about 25 in number foraging in the Piyali river, at Piyali Island this Sunday. The locals report that they had landed the previous day.
Large Cuckoo Shrike

On a bright and sunny day we embarked early for PITL, guided by the GPS. A few wrong turns and an hour later than usual, we reached Piyali, to be greeted by a Large cuckoo shrike bellowing at no in particular and a juvenile black napped oriole investigating us from the tree tops.  


Black Naped Oriole






For those visiting PITL for the first time, please ask the locals for "Kella'. Don’t rely on the GPS as the "shortest route" may lead you in to paddy fields and country roads.  Take the state highway 1 from Garia and drive upto Dakhin Barashat. From here you get off the Baruipur Kulpi road unto a metalled road that goes via Maya Hauri, Taranagar and Mahish Mari to PITL.






The landscape is beautiful and peaceful, the meandering Piyali that surrounds the Island, dotted with fishing boats, offers a soothing sight. The tourist lodge however leaves much to be desired. Its equipped with only the basic amenities and a bit wanting in sanitation. We immediately took up the river trail eager to see what the island had in stock for us. Most of the local birds were spotted at the enclove of tamarind trees just off the tourist lodge. A lot of activity in the bush was seen comprising mainly of warblers and fly catchers.






  


For lunch Raja Da was able to persuade the cook to makes us a Desi meal of kosha mangsho, dal, fries and curry. Never shy of a good bargain he was able to bring down the price to Rs. 150/- per plate. After having a delectable meal we were off, hoping for a restful return trip not expecting any new sighting on the way.

We were discussing how last year a well know birder had reported tufted ducks on this island, and lamenting on a missed opportunity. Just then I noticed a Tern Gliding over the river bank and when I took out the binoc to investigate closely, I happened to spot a group of black specks drifting on the river just where it forks around the island. We immediate alighted and ran to the bank and lo and behold! Drifting lazily were about 25 Tufted Ducks, their tufts blowing softly in the breeze!! The locals said that they had arrived a day before and had not moved from that spot the whole time. There were 5 males among the flock and were occasionally diving to catch fish.
Tufted ducks 
I moved on to identify a wagtail skittering nearby and out of nowhere a Common Hoopoe flies out above our heads. I just couldn’t believe it, as Raja Da had been telling the whole day that we might find a hoopoe but we kept protesting that it has not yet migrated in to these parts. Any way the return journey turned out to be the most eventful part of the day due to a stroke of unexpected luck!!




Birds sighted:

  • Tufted Ducks (25 in No, 4 Male)
  • Common Kingfisher                                                                       
    Oriental Magpie Robin

       
  • Collared Kingfisher
  • White Breasted Kingfisher 
  • White Wagtail
  • Common Hoopoe
  • White Throated Fantail                                                   
  • Black Drongo
  • Black Hooded Oriole
  • Black Naped Oriole Juvenile
  • Large Cuckoo Shrike     
  • Jungle Babbler
  • Rufous Treepie
  • Bengal Bushlark
  • Pond Heron                            
  • Green Bee-eater
    Night Heron
  • Cattle Egret
  • Little Egret
  • Intermediate Egret
  • Greater Coucal
  • Small Green Bee-Eater
  • Coppersmith Barbet
  • Shikra
  • Spotted Dove  
  • Common Wood Shrike            
    Black Rumped Flameback

  • Brown Shrike
  • Black Rumped Flameback (3)  
  • Common Myna
  • Pied Starling
  • Jungle Myna
  • Red Vented Bulbul
  • Indian Roller
  • Chestnut Headed Bee-Eater
  • Indian Cormorant
  • Orange Headed Thrush 
  • Common Tailor Bird
  • Tiaga Flycatcher
  • Humes Leaf Warbler
  • Whiskered Tern
  • Common Sandpiper         
  • Jungle Babbler

    Chestnut tailed Starling
  • Oriental Magpie Robin
  • Asian Palm Swift
  • Black Kite
  • Indian Cuckoo
  • Unidentified Crake (had the rear view only, probably brown but may also be ruddy breasted)
  • Purple Rumped Sunbird 
  • Purple sunbird
  • Greenish warbler                          
  • Unidentified Warbler
  • Scaly Breasted Munia
  • Asian Open Billed Stork
  • Common house sparrow
  • Common crow

Black Rumped Flameback
Jungle babbler
Tiaga Flycatcher
White Throated Fantail
Greenish Warbler
Black Hooded Oriole

These Chinees Geese provided comic relief



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