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