There was a flutter in the Nilgiris when a blue-and-white flycatcher flew into view there for the first time.
Then, a big black-and-brown Indian Eagle dropped in unannounced in the plains and made news.
After being elusive for 20 years, a shiny black-spangled drongo deigned to show itself. And, birders everywhere are thrilled. Armed with their binoculars and spotting scopes, they record every single rare bird sighting with glee.
“Unusual observation of birds in habitats where they were never seen before and unexpected birds making an appearance are occurring across the country. This is possibly because of climate change,” says P. Pramod, senior scientist of Salim Ali Centre of Ornithology and Natural History (SACON).
Naturalist A. Bhoopathy and his 14-year-old grandson A. Indrajith were the ones who spotted the blue-and-white flycatcher during a morning walk at Kotagiri. They spent hours observing and photographing the bird. “The flycatcher winters in Southeast Asia especially in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Sumatra and Borneo,” says Bhoopathy.
An unusual spotting
Birder Balaji noticed an unusual bird at his coconut farm in Puliampatti, Tamil Nadu. It resembled a cattle egret, but was black in colour. Cattle egrets have an unmistakable stark white plumage, stocky body, yellow beak and dark legs.
He photographed the bird and posted the image on several online birding forums and found out that it was actually a melanistic cattle egret. Melanism or excess of melanin pigmentation has been well documented in animals, especially big cats such as leopards. But it is extremely rare in birds. And, there are also very few records of melanistic cattle egrets in the world. Sarayu Ramakrishnan spotted the European bee-eater.
A summer visitor to Kashmir and Pakistan, it was a passage migrant in Tamil Nadu. It stopped at Coimbatore for the first time on its way to Sri Lanka to spend the winter months when Sarayu caught sight of it.
Then, there was a solitary Indian eagle owl, considered the biggest of all owl species in India, often found in rocky areas and scrub jungles. Its sighting in the foothills of the Western Ghats took birders by surprise.
A good thing?
Birders say such unusual sightings are attributed to range extension, which is a good thing. It means that the bird that was once restricted to a certain area has extended itself to newer areas. But the downside is that unavailability of food or habitat destruction has made it difficult for the birds to find suitable mates.
Bhoopathy says the Nilgiris attracts a lot of winter visitors like the brown-breasted flycatcher, red-breasted flycatcher and ruby-throated flycatcher and also rare visitors like the woodcock.
“The woodcock comes from the Himalayas. It resembles the water bird ullan or snipe. During the British times, awards were announced for hunters who spotted the bird. It’s a big challenge to spot one even now,” he says.
Did you know the Indian eagle owl is, considered one of the biggest owl species in India?
