Throwback migration of Spiti birds

October is tagged as a beautiful among all months various in aged poetry. October mornings in Spiti Valley are reminiscent of beautiful mindfulness. I realized the importance of natural phenomena in the chaotic human world, which is how we humans are living under pressure in one corner of the world. On the contrary, birds roam with open hearts in the sky, over the forest cover, playing hide and seek in gardens/orchards, the point is they live fully each day in spite of having a trivial life span compared to human.

There in the same place with the same situation, I observe a dozen vibrant birds with my newly bought binocular -Cason, in the surroundings of Tabo village. Here, the local used term ‘Cha’ which means ‘Bird’ in Bhoti dialect.

Nature empowered me and shifted my vision more to observe it more and again. These positive vibrations are limitless and soothing for the soul. In bad times, I accepted I was struggling, and here I have recognised myself and my soul differently under the spell of nature and peace at the Spiti Valley.

In this blog, I am going to discuss the vibrant Himalayan Spiti birds that migrate  from the lower Himalayan region to Spiti Valley during April and to escape the harsh winter, fly back during October and November.

Spiti birds captured through cason:

 1. Chirippa, चिरिप्पा, The red-fronted serin- Serinus pusillus

 This fire-fronted serin bird is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae and found in flocks up to August month and migrate from Spiti valley to escape the harsh winters.

CuC

     2. Kungalapche - कुंगलापचे Turtle neck Dove

2.    SN-Streptopelia turtur. This beautiful dove, a threatened Himalayan species, belongs to the family Columbidae. The bird acts as an alert-frontier against any danger for the flying buddies.     

CuC

3.    3.  Rip-chakoto, रिप-चकोटो – Long-Billed Thrush

       The dull brown bird is Alpine accentor; SN is Prunella collaris, very timid and mostly found on far electric wires.

GI

CuC

  

4.       4. Chhilmo/Chilba,छिल्मो/चिल्बा -Long Tailed Thrush                         

 The female known as Chhilmo and the term  Chilba yagso, where yagso means male bird.

CuC

GI

5.  Chiru/Chiltu – चिरु/चिल्टु- House-sparrows

In the local name, Chi- चिल means bird, ल्टु/tu- small. House sparrows in flocks can be seen up to the month of November. Their return to lower altitude coincides with the return of autumn of the year. Captured image shows that sparrow trails are waiting on electric wire to feed on sunflower seeds.

CuC

CuC

6. Sercha, सेरचा -Himalayan oriole (Oriolus kundoo)

The Indian golden oriole, a vibrant, shy, and beautiful bird, is always found in pairs and usually seen swiftly flying from one tree crown to another in apple tree orchards during fruit setting.

           (GI-Male) Brighter              (GI-Female) Dull Green    

1.     7. Tirpingcha- तिरपिंगचा, hoopoe bird (Upupa epops)

       The morning bubbly bird with a beautiful crown and their calls can be heard during dusk and dawn in the Spiti Valley especially in summers when tourist noise is at its peak. The SN is Upupa epops, hardly found after September in Spiti valley. 'Tirping' in Spitian dialect means a bird having tap like beak and an elongated head.

GI

8. Blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius)

A solitary wanderer bird with a dark blue colour and a distinctive call-voice spotted far away on the Spiti riverside, rarely seen wandering in fruit orchards.  

Clicked with the patience and static position of the camera and cason, as this bird is very alert

5           9.  Yikki tik-tik यिक्की टिक-टिक-  Common redstart - Phoenicurus phoenicurus

CuC
 A common redstart sitting on big boulder near the Spiti River 

                                               

                                                        (GI -Female)                             (GI- Male)    

 10. Chungak/Changche, चुंगक, चांगचे- Alpine Chough 

The black crow-like bird with a yellow-orange beak is Pyrrhocorax of the Corvidae family. The bird can be spotted in extreme harsh winters. This bird is ket keystone avian species, as its digestive system helps to break the dormancy of hard seeds and is known to help in the germination of Juniperus spp., Rosa webbiana, Ribes orientale, and many more plant species whose fruit/seeds are eaten by Alpine chough.

CuC

11. Flycatcher - Muscicapa striata

This dull brown bird creates a camouflage effect like as desert soil, hence it is difficult to spot if it is sitting on the ground.  This flycatcher is in search of insects and worms as it sits on a pole-wire near to a freshly hoed basin.

CuC

                                                 GI

12. Horned Lark  Eremophila alpestris 

Songbird with hairy horn, usually found at an altitude above 4000 m in Kibber and Chicham areas during summer. This year, I observed its halt at Tabo village when I was in pairs, heading back to the lower area in November. 

GI

13. Shikra, शिकारा– the prey bird

SN is Tachyspiza badia is a bird of prey with eagle eyes in the family Accipitridae. 

CuC

CuC

14. Mukku, मुकु – The Himalayan Pigeon  

The scientific name (SN) for the pigeon, Columba livia, belongs to the family Columbidae. This bird is adapted to the Spiti winter and can be observed in flocks during the month of December.

15. Rock bunting- Emberiza cia

The passerine bird belong to family Emberizidae can be distinguished by having linear patches near the eyes and head. The flock has already migrated during August and minimal sightings were observed during September in the Tabo area. 

16. Chukar- Alectoris chukar

This partridge family group of 10-12, along with babies, lives under a bushy shrub near the bank of Spiti River. Extremely shy, so I could not capture a single shot throughout the year as they hardly migrate. As I approach their home, they all jump away across the other bank of river with all flying efforts. So, I step back to not disturb family or interfere with their comfort zone. The picture shot is not as important.

Indicators- 

        CuC- Captured Using Cason and iPhone Cam. (5 and 15)

        GI-Google Image- (for illustration)

At last, I thank Mr Thukten Gymzo for describing the local birds names by mimicking their calls.

“Unseen and Unwelcome: Sand Flies Turning Spiti Evenings Sour”

These days, evenings of Spiti summer have become more irksome and not as pleasant as earlier. The whitefly, a small insect, has started entering residents’ rooms frequently during the evening. Bites on the legs, ankles and feet, arms, and neck that occur from dusk to dawn—these flying creatures are so small and silent that they are almost impossible to spot or capture.

These notorious creatures are ‘sand flies,’ usually attracted by screen lights at night and human blood. Females are bloodsuckers, attacking humans for the need of blood to produce a new generation. Both male and female though feed on green leaves-sap/fluid for nutrition. Being a carrier of vector diseases, they are dangerous when carrying diseases like sandfly fever, which causes fever, headache, itching, muscle pain, and other flu-like symptoms. 

Despite their small size (2-3 mm), sand flies pose significant public health and ecological concerns. The prominent dangerous vector is for Leishmaniasis disease, which in later stages is known as Kala-Azar- a parasitic disease caused by Leishmania parasites and transmitted by the bite of infected female sandflies. So, be careful and cautious about its presence. 

 

Captured the attacker on the slide

Sand flies are weak flyers and have short flying patterns. Under the categories of Arthropods and insects, these tiny sand flies belong to the family Psychodidae of class- Diptera of suborder Nematocera, which means having two wings prominent and the other two being small or rudimentary.

Prevention is better than treatment

Effective repellent lotions contain either dimethyl phthalate or diethyl toluamide as the active ingredient. If the problem is severe and persists for a long time, some remedies can be helpful like antihistamines (tablets/pills or in the form of lotion on the skin) to reduce bite itching/swelling/redness. The intensely afflicted areas can also be soothed by topical medications like hydrocortisone or calamine lotion, which are available at chemist shops.

Dhuni/fumes of aromatic local herbs like Burse (Artemesia spp.), Chipcha (Oxytropis spp), Shukpa (Juniperus spp.) and burnt fumes from citronella oil or herbal candles help in keeping the sandflies away. You should refrain from scratching the bites if you are bitten, as there is a greater chance of a secondary infection later when the wound is open to the environment.

This information is petite yet significant—‘General public awareness is important before it becomes endemic or becomes a regular guest of Spiti evenings.

 

Embrace the dark- འོད་སྣང་ལ་འཁྱུད་པ།

Embrace the dark

                         འོད་སྣང་ལ་འཁྱུད་པ།

The night is beautiful

Night has sparkling sky

You have seen ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ little stars

Shining like your beautiful eyes,

 

At night! Humans are less, so is noise

No one separates darkness from night

Nature’s miracles happen every night

As…  my little-one is crazy for cars

Embrace the dark with Seven-Stars,

 

Let's have a look outside the balcony

Fireflies beautifying Mango trees

Under the moon, nocturnal roam and glows

Relaxing moments after the meal with fading shadows,

 

A night duty caretaker in Lychee orchard

Hungry dogs wandering below for the leftovers

A big bat ‘Manyah,’ just swiped over us right

I told you nah! 

Embrace the dark; Miracles happen every night,

 

Don't be afraid; open tiny eyes

See your mother, listen to my rhymes  

You, beautiful human, in my arms

And sticking to my left shoulder

Enjoying swinging and singing

Getting yawning while patting,

 

Surely love night for beautiful dreams

And it's a sign for deep sleep

Rhythm of the night is just the other side of light

So, my seven-month-old son

 -Embrace the dark; following twilight.

     This summer poem was composed after lori-lores singing for my son, who sensed the fear of darkness while going to sleep in my arms.

                                                                                                                   Bandana Dhiman

خوشگوار ڈینڈیلینز – خواہش یا گھاس   

Cheerful Dendelions- Wish or Weed

   While bright sun plays in the green meadows 

Dandelions dance along when fresh air flows,

Petals remain yellow radiant, resembling rays of light

When sweet, deep whispers invite

We remain hush to take a breath slight,

Flower of golden hope, opens in the morning sunshine

The laughter of naughty children fills the air with chime,

Free as air, they blow their wishes over fluffy hairs

Wind that carries flying seeds far away as smooth layer,

Each new dandelions bloom as a season treasure

Praying for early first blooms, hopping good crop and season

As new dandelions bloom, good enough for lucky reason,

Plebians each wish disappears

farmers worship each bloom in silence

While children's wishes come true in valence.  

                                                                                    بندنا دھیمان

   

‘The first identification by my son’

With every successive day, month and passing season, my little one is growing and turned toddler to running little human. Every time on my brief vacation from Spiti, we visited to and from my spouse's university to my home parent and in-laws. We usually travel in our mutually favoured Altroz (extended family member) and enjoy the trip as a foursome together. 

 My spouse is constantly driving, while Drishy and I sit on the other front side of the Altroz. I stopped driving after my son was born, or perhaps I have lost my driving curiosity and prefer to sit in other front-side while observing the little activities of my little one.

 In the last month of the festive season of the year, Drishy turned two. Compared to his first birthday event, this one was compact, but still, we celebrated with plantation activities. As transplanted last year, a one-year neem sapling turned ‘two’ the same as him. Drishy assisted us this time with digging, planting, and watering the new plant together. – here we are trying to cultivate the sense and emotions with nature in little one. 

                                                     Activities on Second Birthday

 Coming from a Forestry background, I've always wanted my child to learn about nature. I tried first that he should identify different nature creatures. However, because this world is full of manmade artifacts, his first learning is the identification of vehicles. These moving objects tempt him and he falls for their dummy toys. Moreover, their precise visualization in Car videos, especially on YouTube. And now he recognizes the red icon on the phone very well.

 He kept a close eye on the moving vehicles he saw during the traveling. Watching the large bus, truck, tractor, and another ascending vehicle with excavators which he had seen in videos made him very cheerful. If he notices his familiar object moving quickly on the highway, he shouts and stands up. Though I adore his innate yelling and cute expressions. 

 During the journey, once I lowered my head down to create a parallel view perspective with Drishy so I could see what he sees when he is sitting on my lap. At that parallel view, roads were not visible. But all I could see were fast-moving vehicles without actual visualization of rotating tyres. Here I was curious to know what a small human mind could be thinking about moving vehicle. 

He broadens his focused eyes when a vehicle crosses slowly by our Altroz.

 It was a realized moment when he stood up on my lap and thrilled especially in the traffic. There he could see the entire vehicle stuck in rows. He yelled "car," "gaddi" and made engine sounds with his cute facial expressions. Another if he sees something moving in the sky, he shouts "Eli-eli elicoptor," 

Maybe for him, every moving object above the ground is a helicopter. Once he pointed out wind wane's revolving wings and referred to it as an "Eli-eli elicoptor". 

 This is his first identification, no animal, no birds, no plant differences. 

 Is technology overlapping nature? The new generation is getting interested in what they perceive more from their surroundings.

Conserve Biodiversity –We must be the part of Solution

If we expand the word “Biodiversity” it acknowledges as ‘Biological Variety’ on Earth, where ‘Biological Variety’ means each life on Earth including flora, fauna, and microorganism. All have the right to live on Earth. Nature has made a balance between every life to live sustainably. Among all living creatures, the human being has evolved with a sharp mind which can think beyond the Earth planet. So we can imagine the thinking limit of human who is solely responsible for creating a disturbance in nature’s balance and led to make biodiversity hotspot all over the globe with their disastrous activities. 

                                 

This is one destructive side of the human mind. If we see another facet of the human mind, it has a tremendous capacity to make whole world diversity stable with ecofriendly deeds. So let’s live on earth mutually with this noble attitude to sustain biodiversity and make ourselves proud by being a ‘Part of Solution for Nature’. From there we could start our journey for the conservation of Biodiversity. And it is never too late to start it from now. 

We should follow  some eco-friendly routines individually and collectively to create a visible and viable impact.

Like

ü  Stop cutting trees. Everyone is aware of its consequences; still, we are in futuristic dreams of the fake reality of development. So let’s change our mind setup with planting trees at every celebration or festival.

ü  Be Human always. Don’t become a nature destructor or shift to a poacher for greed.

ü  Loss in species that are habitable for humans will cause a threat to human life in form of food security and disease spreading. And we have already faced the repercussion of the Corona Virus.

ü  Stop overutilization of natural resources. As they are free (Plants, Water, Land, Clean air, etc). Don’t think they have your own possession. A human can never create them, only nature can. So respect nature.

ü  Whatever and wherever possible, avoid or reduce the use of chemicals like fertilizer for agro-ecosystem; for cosmetics; medicines etc, use the herbal remedial measures as much as possible.

ü  Commit yourself to protect and serve Mother Nature leaving all trivial religious conflict behind it.

ü  Condemn any wrong activities affecting biodiversity, anywhere if it is in your family, village, society, friend group/colleague whoever is not aware of it. Tell them the importance as much as you can describe honestly about biodiversity and nature. This is especially for the students of Forestry background. Be an influencer for Planet Earth. 

These are some points that came into my mind. I am sure you have the same to express. Express your thoughts or traditional solutions in the below comment box and show concern about biodiversity conservation.

                                                                                               Regards,

                                                                                              LoveNatureExploreNature

 

 

 

 

 

Himachali Kumahroos

     During Monsoon, red-brown worms with numerous tiny legs are common in soil. I remember, they were frequent in groups outside the kaccha houses (Mud houses). Now, these gangs are rare and hard to find after concrete development. Another reason could be soil pollution by the accumulation of agrochemicals. But still, we can meet them in the loose moist soil of crop fields or organic gardens. These creatures live in shallow soil and moist places specifically. They cannot survive in humid-less habitats. In the Pahari dialect, we used to call them ‘Kumahroos’. The reason could be anything but if I recall stories of my predecessors, they mentioned that these worms have intensive habitat in the areas where villagers working with clay soil and make earthen pots.

Village community whose profession is pottery, working with clay is ‘Kumar community’. These are hard-working people have a direct connection with soil which is their soul of living. In Sanskrit ‘Kumhar’ is Kumbhakar which mean earthen pots maker. Pottery is a unique creation and potters believed themselves as children of Lord Brahma. Creator of the Universe blessed them with the oldest human art i.e.,-pottery - to create something from the soil.

In surroundings of their houses and in their workplaces, these monsoon worms are found commonly. This is according to Pahari folktale which explains the way Kumahroos got their name. But no any scientific connection with the name genesis. So that’s how folks generate the local name which becomes famous and accepted by next-generation until they get facts.

Millipedes

Alright! I can tell the universal recognition of this creature. These innocent worms belong to phylum ‘Arthropoda’ having class ‘Diplopoda’– who have two pairs of legs on each fused-segments of the body. Well! They are called Millipedes (Milli-Millions, Pedes-Legs). Country people also called them ‘thousand-leggers’. Here its name is associated with myth as none of the millipedes have been explored with 1000 legs so far. Millipedes have numbers of species approximately 80000 and some of them are unidentified. Here I am talking about garden millipedes. They are not insects, so never relate them as ‘Kidda-makoda. That’s what we call an insect in Pahari.

    These tiny harmless worms are very timid and hide themselves forming circular-ring of their body against any external stimulus or danger. They do some Kind of coiling like mosquito coil where they hide their head at its centre. They seldom attack or respond in danger. Moreover, they are beneficial to garden soil by feeding on dead decayed plant matter and in return provide nutrients to the soil. Milli-compost is in vogue for gardeners practicing organic farming.

So don’t try to kill or drove them if they are engaged in digging garden soil. As they live in moist-damp soil where dead matters present, therefore least attack on garden vegetable or crop. They love to hog dead leaves of decayed litter. But if garden moisture dries with no dead material at all, only then they could approach your crop for their survival. If their count is more and you are noticing crop losses. Then this non-insect pest has to be removed with some control measures. Some of the physical control measures we can use to stop this creature to become horrid-pest. Foremost is to avoid their entry in the garden by removing moist debris and seal the crevices or more open cracks on the land surface. Maintain the well-drainage system in the field. For chemical control, spray can be done and found to be beneficial when millipedes are in groups (Use chemicals only when situation is out of control).

    Study of Millipedes along with Centipedes is known as Myriapodology (Myriapods: Sub-phylum for both). Centipedes are different as bit-bigger and longer than millipedes, belong to class Chilopoda. They are also elongated, can coil, but have one pair of legs in each segment which counts 100 legs. I hope you have seen both of them during the rainy season.

I don’t know the other local name of millipedes in other parts of the country. Share the name in the comment box, if you are familiar with this amazing worm.