FALL OF THE SPARROW

Sparrows are unforgettable companions of my girlhood days. I can still see clearly a flock of hundreds – in suburban Mumbai -­ roosting on umbar (ficus racemosa) and feeding by the roadside next to a kirana store, their numbers competing with the tightly-lodged figs on the tree. Their sociable nature, non-stop natter and light footprint was an affirmation of life. As children, when death and sorrow did not touch us, the sparrows stood for all that was well with the world. They were not just a living presence, but a strong metaphor for life in our yesteryear. Long after they had disappeared from the firmament, they remained in our consciousness as Salim Ali’s biographical motif and through GaDiMa’s Marathi song. Ga Di Madgulkar, the Marathi literary icon wrote of mother’s love and concern for her brood through a haunting composition that was set to music by another musical icon, Sudhir Phadke. It went like this: Ya chimanyanno, parat phira ghara kade apulya, teenhi sanja jahalya…” (Come,  ‘little sparrows’, turn around towards your home now, the sun has set and darkness is descending…) Often as we stood in the balcony at dusk on summer holidays, or stood gazing at the rains that had us confined at home, Aai would hum this song, the memory of which still tugs at my heartstrings. In my mind, the fall of the sparrow (its decline) is unshakeably linked to the sense of foreboding the song evoked. 

I don’t remember when they started fading away. The crows of childhood persisted; in fact, have exploded in numbers and the pigeons have invaded urban crannies like pests. In more than two decades of birding, I have come across the common house sparrow sparingly. The Passer domesticus has come to be a dying breed. 

In all these years of itinerant life, I have been on a personal mission to lure them back in my individual capacity. On World Sparrow Day, five years ago, I bought the Nature Forever Society’s bird-feeder - designed exclusively to attract sparrows - from a naturalist-friend in Visakhapatnam. There were few sparrows in the naval neighbourhood at the foothill, though hardly any in my locality of Dolphin Hill. The feeder had to be the first step in the reversal of the dismal trend we were seeing, but I had no joy.

When I came to Mumbai, a year ago, I was thrilled to see a smattering of sparrows in the back gullies of buildings. The feeder - filled with foxtail millet - dangling in the balcony, overlooking the golf greens, drew a blank. I thought maybe the feeder was too exotic for the sparrows to fathom, so I left a trail of seeds on the railing. Instead of the desired outcome, I had to contest with curious crows and pesky pigeons. For a while, I tried shooing them away, but I could see it wasn’t working. I left seeds outside the window where I had a better chance at guarding them even as I tapped away on the laptop.

It took a year for the first inquisitive sparrow to appear. While the crows had plenty other distractions, the pigeons still refused to let go. As a result, the sparrows quickly backed off. (Could these be one of the reasons why sparrows might have retreated from urban spaces, in the first place?) The population boom of corvids, mynas and rock pigeons leave them little chance or space.

I had to look for solutions to keep sundry other intrusions at bay. I started laying the millet on the window sill inside the house. It was a perfect niche facing South−airy with sunlight streaming in−and the inside ledge, a safe and exclusive feeding ground. The diamond grill was just the right size to let the sparrows in and sieve the “predators” out even as it served as a perch.

For a month now, a pair has been visiting the niche, daily. With exuberant cheep-cheep, the couple promptly get down to their job of pecking and nibbling at seeds by spitting out the husk. It does not bother me that they leave the husks behind littering the dining area. Satiated, they swing on the TV cable that runs outside the window, a picture of happiness. It is interesting how this cock and hen have monopolised the spot. By now, they know that the spread is laid out for them, exclusively. I replenish the millet several times during the day; just in case I forget, they are there to remind me with their persistent tweets. First thing in the morning and at the end of the day before sunset the duo pop in to gobble up their repast, and several times in between to check if they are still welcome.

House Sparrows make a comeback in my house

At the pink hour, I fling open the doors and windows out of habit, but sometimes I am late. One such morning, I was surprised to see the pair already inside the house, flitting about. They had gotten inside through a hole in the window net. It is an endearing sight then to see these innocent little beings hopping around my living room - by the bookshelf, on the arm rest, under the table... Now that the food problem has been tackled, I am hoping they find my space comfortable enough to set up home. Of course, I have the onerous task of ensuring their safety considering the ceiling fan is spinning on and away.

One morning, I heard an urgent, high-pitched chitter that was unusual. I wondered if the ever-peaceful pair was fighting. A fight had ensued alright, but not between the male and female, but two cock sparrows. Two black throats were lunging at each other mid-air. It was evident that another male had chanced upon the loot. I had been wondering all along how and why other sparrows had not found the stash yet. The new male was chased away and the “rightful owners'” territory protected from takeover, for the time being. Much as I have come to “adopt” the pair as “pets”, I would like more of them to join the chorus.

NOTE: The Title of this blog is obviously derived from Dr. Salim Ali's autobiography (The Fall of A Sparrow) but the meaning is different from that of the ornithologist's. In his book, it was the fall of a sparrow from its nest in his childhood home that piqued his interest in birds. Here, it implies the decline of the sparrow as a species.  

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS IN THIS BLOG ARE THE AUTHOR'S ORIGINAL WORK / COPYRIGHT

BACKYARD BIODIVERSITY

PERIPHERY PATH - INS MANDOVI

 A year ago, I went on a trek to Chorla in Sattari taluka on Karnataka-Goa border. This is a pocket of moist deciduous forest overlooking the Western Ghats - a lesser- known Valley of Flowers on the lines of Kaas Plateau in Maharashtra. Kaas Plateau, as you may be aware, is popular with tourists who pay to come and witness the seasonal natural phenomenon when for a month or two the valley is carpeted with wildflowers. I was astounded by the wealth of wildflowers at Chorla, not only for its beauty and novelty, but also because it dawned on me that I had already seen many of the species right here in INS Mandovi! 

INS Mandovi is situated on what was once Mandovi Hill, a lateritic plateau habitat existing since millions of years. This kind of lateritic plateau harbours a variety of endemic species of wildflowers and other flora and fauna. The Mandovi campus has retained a fair amount of native vegetation, even today. The Periphery, particularly, has remained untouched over the years.  Thus, INS Mandovi is a unique, if not exclusive, biodiversity hotspot. This was corroborated by the erstwhile Director of WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) India - Goa Chapter, Dr. Nitin Sawant, when he visited the campus.

My daily walks on the Periphery Path over the year have reinforced the fact. Struck by the richness of Mandovi’s backyard biodiversity, I decided to document it by photographing the wildflowers and avifauna. As one passionate about ecology and environmental conservation, I firmly believe that conservation should begin at home, in one’s backyard; that documenting backyard biodiversity, raising awareness among residents and children is of activist importance. This documentation thus spans an entire circle of season from summer of 2012 through showers to the summer of 2013.

MONSOON – The harbinger of natural wealth

In the legendary Goan monsoon, Mandovi wears a green garb. Wildflowers sprout vigourously over the months from July – September such that new species come up in quick succession. We think of these wayside flowers as weeds, and therefore, something unwanted or waste. But give them the label, wildflowers, and it gains respectability, which it deserves!

Many wildflowers such as water willow, sonki (senecio grahamii), touch-me-not (mimosa pudica) and so on are seen during this period. Many of the flowers are tiny, some the size of pea, yet others the size of a thumbnail. For two months after monsoon, climber vines completely invade trees and hug them like a rug. By September, the monotony of green foliage is broken by striking red tubular flowers; these are the ipomoea hederifolia or scarlet morning glory. Another red beauty that speckles the verdure closer to ground is the Gloriosa lily. It does not grow as extensive as the other species found here, and is in fact, few and far between. This is a rare medicinal plant whose value has been recognized since ancient times. Its tuber is used extensively to treat many maladies. In fact, some tribes in Nilgiris use the tuber of this plant as an antidote for snake bites. Once abundant in the Western Ghats, it is now getting scarce due to poaching because of its medicinal properties.

Ipomoea hederifolia

Gloriosa lily

Celosia argentea

Impatiens rosmarinifolia

We also have wild okra - jungli bhindi or raan bhendi (as it is locally known) here. Similarly, wild ancestors of cucumber or melon family too abound. Spiked green lemon-size fruits that look like cucumbers can be seen hanging on the vines. These are not edible, but are an important ingredient during Diwali celebrations in Goa. Only a few days before Diwali, the Panjim Vegetable Market gets flooded with baskets of cucumis prophetarum. I am told that on the morning of Dhanteras this fruit is nipped in a symbolic gesture to officially usher in Diwali!

jungli bhindi

sesamum indicum

By October-November, a short shrub with attractive purple orchid bells reared its head filling up the landscape. Imagine the joy when I figured out that this was Sesamum indicum, the source of sesame seeds or til!

WILDFLOWERS and Us

Why are wildflowers so important to us?

According to renowned Goa-based botanist-ecologist Nandkumar Kamat:

·       Wildflowers are an important genetic resource.

·       Many of them are medicinal with great potential for future research and use.

·       They are a rich bank of biopharmaceuticals and pigments.

·       They sustain certain species of insects and birds.

·       Cultural dimension – painters and poets have been inspired to create classic works of art.

Think of Van Gogh’s paintings of Blue Iris or Sunflowers and, of course, William Wordsworth’s Daffodils, and you will get an idea of its aesthetic value and cultural connotations! 

Here’s the list of wildflowers I documented in Mandovi.

MANDOVI – a butterfly haven

Common Sailor wearing its stripes! In Naval Base, Mandovi

Cotigao, Bondla and Netravali in North Goa may be butterfly-watcher’s paradise, but our Mandovi Hill is no less. Where there are so many wildflowers, can butterflies be far behind? The gloriosa lily, the explosion of morning glory, the scarlet ixora of garden ubiquity and wild asters – all - attract butterflies. Many artificial butterfly parks have been created to attract tourists, but Mandovi Hill is a natural butterfly park.

Presence of butterflies is an indication that the ecosystem is throbbing and alive; that there are plenty of host (flowering) plants. On the flip side, butterflies perform the important function of pollination, thus propagating plants. Therefore, habitat protection is the best means of conserving butterflies.

Butterflies are seasonal. In October, they were visible prominently; late monsoon and winter season is the best time for butterfly sightings. The quality of site-fidelity, that is being present in the same place, day after day, makes it easier to spot or track them. Opposite Sick Bay where the steps lead to the swimming pool one could see colonies of striped tiger mingling with plain tiger and common Indian crow varieties. The Common India crow is one of the commonest butterflies found in all habitats (forests, grasslands etc.). It can be confused with the female of Great eggfly, though. The Eggfly is an interesting species. The female of the Danaid eggfly actually mimics the Plain tiger and that of Great eggfly, the female of common Indian crow. They can have you foxed. As if it were not enough to have mindboggling variety of species you now have to contend with ‘conmen’ butterflies ‘impersonating’ other butterfly species!

Great eggly

Plain tiger

Peacock pansy

Lemon pansy

Some of the common species such as the Common Wanderer can be seen feeding on ixora. Others are butterflies of the undergrowth such as the Common bushbrown. They camouflage well amid dry leaves and twigs. In the dry season, when its eyespots fade it actually becomes indistinguishable from a dry leaf! One of the most beautiful butterfly species seen on the Periphery is the Peacock pansy. Its eyespots resemble the motif on peacock feathers, hence the name. I have also seen the giant Malabar raven in flight. As per guidebooks this species is a common sight in “well-wooded forests”… by this logic we can safely conclude that Mandovi is a well-wooded forest!   

Common Indian crow

Common wanderer 

Click here to see the list of butterflies of Mandovi.


While wayside flowers changed the landscape drastically and butterflies weaved in and out of season, one faunal variety that stayed more or less constant and thriving was birds.

BIRDS – Indicator of Healthy Habitat

Birds are an indicator of healthy habitat in ways that even butterflies cannot be. Birds are the first cog in the wheel of the environment cycle; their disappearance should be the first warning sign that something is going wrong with the  ecosystem. Construction activity in the vicinity can be more disturbing for the birds than butterflies. Thankfully, Mandovi still pulsates to bird calls.

In fact, Mandovi mornings begin with bird songs. The common iora sings its heart out first thing at day-break, sitting atop a tall tree. The magpie robin takes the cue and starts its  celebratory chirrups. Apart from the common birds - mynas and bulbuls, one sees many other species - drongos, bee-eaters, and robins - throughout the day. There are numerous other birds (uncommon to the city-slicker, though quite common here) - from orioles to  bluejays and kingfisher to cuckoos - that make a regular appearance.

Drongo

Cattle egret

The uncommon birds that I have seen here are the Tickell’s Blue flycatcher and the shy Black-headed cuckoo shrike - one of the haunting song.

The Periphery is particularly buzzing with frenetic activity. INS Mandovi is blessed with the presence of peacocks that are the pride of the Periphery. If you see a flock of birds performing fantastic synchronized aerobatics taking off the silk cotton trees during November to March, be sure they are the rosy-starling and chestnut-tailed starlings. The rose-coloured starlings are winter visitors here - migrants which breed in Afghanistan.

Chestnut tailed starling

Tickell's blue flycatcher

When I told some of my naturalist friends that I had spotted green pigeons – yellow-footed and Pompadour - they were amazed as they are rare. We are extremely fortunate to have the green pigeon varieties here. They are to be found only in ecological hotspots like Pilerne Industrial Estate, Goa University campus or Raj Bhavan premises. It is a rare sighting and truly indicates that INS Mandovi figures among Goa’s last pockets of pristine plateau habitats.

Black redstart

More have come in cameos and left their imprint behind, such as the very rare Black Redstart! I was fortunate to see one individual behind the Naval War College building. This bird is a migrant from trans-Himalaya/ Ladakh, so I gather. 

In INS Mandovi, I have seen many ‘lifers’. This is a birder’s terminology for ‘first sighting of the season’ or a ‘person’s first sighting of any bird species’. These are:

        

•  waterhen, that of the water-bodies.
• Blythe’s Blaza (brown lizard hawk).
• grey-headed bulbul
• white-browed bulbul
• sparrow hawk

In fact, almost every day I see new species. I have counted 70 species of birds on the Periphery alone and am still at it! All this reinforces that Mandovi’s habitat health is in fine fettle.

White-throated kingfisher

Purple sunbird

Here’s my list of birds of Mandovi.

SPECIES diversity

Not only is this place blessed with birds and butterflies, but it also represents a wide diversity of insect and reptile species. Fungoid frogs are a ubiquitous presence in the kitchens and bathrooms. Periodically, snakes – venomous and non-venomous, make a surprise appearance in the house, too. In my year-long stay here, I have come across a saw-scaled viper, spectacled cobra, striped keelback and green vine snake, among other serpents.

On my walk by the Dhobi Ghat one evening, I came across a very unusual stick insect the size of a human index finger. Its body was couched in what looked like a tiny bundle of twigs. At first, I thought a small insect was trapped into something, but on close observation, I could see that the twigs were a kind of exoskeleton equivalent of a tortoise shell!

The species diversity of Mandovi Hill is mind-boggling. My documentation hasn’t even begun to touch upon trees, shrubs and grasses! Documenting flora and fauna is a humongous task and calls for observation over at least one-year season-cycle to understand the real nature of biodiversity.

 

BARREN is Beautiful

Only for three months, the campus looks green. The rest of the time dry grass takes over and the charm of the cooling soothing green gets behind Mandovi. But, barren is beautiful. Observe closely and you’ll find that barren is also productive; it is fertile. If barren was not beautiful, the African savannas wouldn’t have been the biggest draw on Earth. At first impression, the African savannas – Maasai Mara – looks like a desert, fallow land. But the beauty of it emerges when you see it pulsating with wildlife.

As months pass and the vegetation dries further, the tangled overgrowth may look messy, but when grasses, plants and shrubs wither and die they get back to the soil and nurture it. The leaf litter helps create humus which sustains viable roots that will sprout again with renewed vigour in the next season.

  

Author’s Note: This documentation is culled and adapted from the script of a presentation the author made to the Mandovi fraternity on February 8, 2013 at Tarang Auditorium. It is born out of labour of love… out of a year’s “walking in the woods” of INS Mandovi. The sightings of wildflowers, birds, butterflies and other reptiles documented here (all the author's work) have been logged from the limited geographical area of approximately 10 km-stretch of the Periphery Path, alone.

Backyard biodiversity is our natural heritage and, if it be rich like it is in INS Mandovi, then it is a veritable museum of who’s who of flora and fauna! Therefore, it is important to document it and preserve it, for posterity.

“Mandovi Hill Periphery Path” is fit to be a “Biodiversity Hotspot, Birding Site and a Butterfly Park” in its own right.

All Photographs in this blog and website are the Author's Original work/Copyright. 

From Wasteland to Wonderland

Haller Park, Mombasa

For me, a trip to Mombasa is incomplete without a visit to Haller Park. Sitting nondescriptly on the Mombasa-Malindi road, this park is a must-do pit-stop. Acres of emerald interspersed with wetlands, accompanying avifauna, and even mammals from savannas greet you in this pocket glowing with environmental well-being. I fall in line with the guide who takes us through the paces and acquaints us with the vegetation and wildlife wealth here. It is two-and-a half-hours as we just about sample the place and head for the Giraffe feeding site, which is the last leg of the tour. Giraffe feeding is a big draw here and it attracts a wholesome cross-section of tourists. We are standing on a platform to be level with the giraffe’s mouth eagerly holding food pellets in palms waiting to touch and feel the giraffe, a novel experience to many of us. I have been to safaris in the savannas and scrubland, been on nature trails in urban forests with its bursting foliage, then why does this park have such a hold on me? What’s so special about Haller Park?

Haller Park has grown out of the derelict landscape of a spent quarry: it may well have sprung out of nothing! It is an exceptional ecological experiment in mitigation of land degradation and a classic instance of corporate responsibility in environmental housekeeping on part of Bamburi Cement Company.  Bamburi has been making cement from limestone quarried from fossilized coral reef dating back to Pleistocene era (2 – 1 million years ago). Once mined, these open pit quarries lie in disuse and degrade the quality of land and contaminate groundwater, even leaching into the ocean. For nearly two decades, LaFarge Ecosystem, a subsidiary of Bamburi has been engaged in converting the wasteland of dust and debris into an ecologically and economically self-sustaining ecosystem. But the idea was originally mooted and executed by Swiss naturalist, Dr. Rene Haller, then working as an agronomist with Bamburi, after whom the park is honoured.

You can see the excavation site (derelict quarry) behind... 

Fig tree with vervet monkeys

Dr. Haller experimented with tree planting and found that in the severely
barren conditions only casuarina equisetifolia survived and thus willy nilly the initial mitigation measure began as a monoculture plantation. As the next step, millipedes were introduced to feed on casuarina needles that fell on to the quarry floor and to turn them into humus.

At a conference organized on the occasion of Nature Kenya’s centenary, I had the opportunity to learn of LaFarge’s experiment of eco-restoration of Haller Park in greater detail. I learnt that, by and by, indigenous trees were brought in for revegetation - specific species to attract birds and monkeys - that would help in pollination and seed dispersal thus paving the transformation of monocultures into a diverse ecosystem. Coastal, ornamental, rare and endangered, and medicinal – all varieties of trees were brought in to rehabilitate over 200 hectares of quarry land. In keeping with the best practices of eco-restoration, local community was involved in the greening efforts.

Once introduced vegetation took root, natural processes took over and the ecological community became self-sustaining, LaFarge trained sights on wildlife. Giraffes, buffaloes, elands and hippopotamus, mostly orphaned animals or those that needed to be shifted from other parks were provided shelter here.Today, Haller Park boasts of a small game sanctuary, nature trails, lakes with lilies, a palm garden, a reptile park, an aquaculture pond with tilapia (fish), and a butterfly pavilion, all of which attract tourists widely.

Nile crocodiles in Reptile Park

Lily pond

Eland, the largest antelope... looks rather like cattle

In my ecology studies I had learnt of development of ecological seres, how flora and fauna evolve naturally on barren land, volcanic islands or in ponds, the succession of species – of plants, the elbowing and edging out of certain weaker species by the dominant ones, the competition and struggle, the establishment of the predominant ones, and finally the climax vegetation, the survival of the fittest. It is one thing to observe and extrapolate natural progression, entirely another for man to replicate the same in a manner of reverse engineering. Such instances of ecological rehabilitation of spent spaces, few and far between as they are, are a testimony to man’s ingenuity and give hope that if man decides, he can restore lost ecosystems.

I had been to Haller Park last year, before LaFarge’s talk had thrown light on behind-the-scenes intervention that led to the dramatic results. Back then, the park was just that, a place of natural beauty. Standing here today, by the pond, as I watch the flock of sacred ibis bathed in the warm sunlight streaking through the trees I realize that the park is much more, it is truly a man-made paradise.

Who would believe this was once a dust and debris aridity?