RV Matters - 7 Oct 2018

“Did you sit and paint this cockroach?” asked my cousin who saw this photograph. It took a while to explain to him that this was not a cockroach and certainly I did not paint it!

We have had some sightings of this exotic-looking creature in Rishi Valley last month and this photograph was taken near the Senior School, last week.

A member of the Buprestidae family, they are known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles – Sternocera sp. This nearly 2-3 inch long insect, is one of the 15,500 species belonging to this family, one of the largest beetle families! The elytra (wing cases) of these creatures were traditionally used to make beetlewing jewellery in parts of South and South-east Asia.

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Photo: V Santharam

This morning’s birdwatching yielded three more migrants – the Ashy Drongo, Barn Swallow and the Forest Wagtail. The last-named is a very uncommon bird of passage in Rishi Valley, encountered during the autumnal passage in September-October and again in March-April. The Blue-tailed Bee-eaters, a local migrant, has been seen over the last week in overhead flight over the campus as they fly southward, through the day.

The tall and stately Millingtonia or the Indian Cork trees have started flowering indicating the term is coming to an end and winter is not far away. Each year these trees bloom in profusion towards October-November, filling the air with a sweet but heady scent and the ground below them, a carpet of white flowers. For those with a keen olfactory sense, the valley offers a variety of scents through the year. I wonder how many of us stop and inhale the fresh, scented air?

Dr Santharam

RV Matters - 30 Sep 2018

For once, I was alone this morning as I went birding outside the campus to the Sunrise Point and the valley beyond. A thin veil of mist covered the hills and the morning sunlight filtered in, lighting up the rocks. The landscape looked lush and green after the recent spell of rains, contrasting with a clear blue sky. The green grass was soft and moist with the dew. Every bush and tree was alive with activity of birds.

I was hoping to catch up with the recently-arrived migrants. I have only been seeing Greenish Warblers and Grey Wagtails regularly on campus for the past few weeks. I was not at all disappointed. Up on the rocks, above me, there was a pair of Blue Rock Thrush. Usually these birds which migrate from Himalayan region, are seen singly. Perhaps they have just arrived and are yet to stake out their individual territories. From some shrubs, I could hear the familiar “churr”s of the Hume’s Whitethroat, another migrant from Central Asia and the Western Himalaya. Later in the morning, I spotted half-a-dozen of these warblers, foraging and calling energetically. A Brown Shrike put on a brief appearance before diving back into cover. A Paradise Flycatcher, a local migrant, called from some distance but I could not spot it.

Migrants apart, I had excellent views of the rare Marshall’s Iora. A pair of these birds were noticed foraging in low bushes. The white on their tail feathers was quite striking as was their truncated whistling notes. A male Common Iora landed on the top branches of the bush even as I was observing the Marshall’s pair. I could make out the relatively larger size of the Common Iora and its uniform black tail feathers. I could witness no aggression among the two species as they continued to forage on the bush for the next two or three minutes before moving to an adjacent shrub. Though I heard them on three occasions this morning, I could not spot the Yellow-throated Bulbuls as they moved in the higher reaches of the hills.

A Vine snake attracted the attention of the smaller passerines and I could see the snake beat a hasty retreat as it was mobbed by several purple and purple-rumped sunbirds, Pale-billed and Thickbilled Flowerpeckers, Redvented Bulbuls, Common Iora and a Three-striped palm Squirrel.

Dr Santharam

RV Matters - 23 Sep 2018

Last Thursday, my brief siesta was disturbed by the loud, raucous screeching of the parakeets from the tamarind tree outside the house. Initially I ignored this but when it persisted, I decided to investigate. These incessant alarm calls normally indicate the presence of a predator, usually a snake.

I could notice half a dozen parakeets fluttering and excitedly flying about a particular branch and there were also a couple of palm squirrels moving around the same spot, their tails raised in alarm. A few minutes of patient waiting revealed the cause of their concern – a 4-foot long rat snake, moving slowly along the thick branch, thirty feet above the ground. The noise attracted the attention of a crow that briefly joined the parakeets. The drama persisted for well over 45 minutes during which the snake moved from branch to branch, the birds in hot pursuit. There were some intervals of silence, during which the snake was concealed in one of the numerous cavities of this ancient tree or amidst the foliage of the pipal tree that has taken root on the main trunk of the tamarind. I had to warn the girls who were going for lunch or coming back from lunch to Red House (completely oblivious to the racket made by the parakeets!) since the snake has a tendency to drop off from the tree to escape the harassment of the birds. Close to 2.00 pm, a couple of students reported seeing a large snake crossing the road and by then the parakeets fell silent.

Communal mobbing of snakes is a fairly common sight in Rishi Valley and I have come across this on several occasions. On some instances, I have seen a host of bird species participating in this activity and the list includes sunbirds, flowerpeckers, tailorbirds, Magpie-robins, common iora, bulbuls, occasionally drongoes, parakeets, mynas and crows. Rat snakes regularly climb trees where there are bird nests, especially those of parakeets and mynas. The smaller birds named above usually mob the green vine snake which is an arboreal species. While mobbing, birds give sharp alarm calls and move excitedly and often very close to their adversary. Birds like crows even nip the reptile’s tail and harass it. Once a few years ago, I had seen a vine snake with an ashy drongo, dead, in its mouth, being mobbed by crows.

Dr Santharam

RV Matters - 16 Sep 2018

After a gap of nearly two months, we finally had good (6.1 cm) rains on the night of September 11. It was great to see the dry spell broken, finally.

The leaves of the duranta bushes which were drooping have sprung back to life almost overnight. Millipedes (the long brown ones) have emerged from their hiding places. Frogs started croaking. The grass that had turned brown is lush green once more. The Scaly-breasted Munias which had suspended their nesting outside my house have resumed their activities by coming in with long strands of green grass for lining their dome-shaped nests.

To me, the most interesting development since the rains was the emergence of winged termites. They started making their appearance the evening after the rains and they were immediately noticed by their predators. Crows gathered in the playground, picking out termites as they came out of the crevices in the ground. A spotted owlet made sorties in the air flying after the insects. Even the next morning, the feast continued – several dozens of crows and mynas were busy picking the termites from the open meadows and fields. They were joined by bee-eaters, babblers, drongoes, coucal, bulbuls and a host of other bird species. A flock of House (Little) swifts flew unusually low over tree-tops, catching the termites in mid-air and consuming them.

Winged termites are the most sought-out food by many birds. Even humans (tribals like Irulas) consume them regularly for their proteins. Though a lot of these insects fall an easy prey to birds, mammals, larger predatory insects, reptiles and amphibians, by their sheer numbers the termites are able to satiate their predators and a large proportion of the population actually escapes and survives. Maybe these insects have already learnt some of the basics of economics by which they can outstrip the demand by excess supply!

Dr Santharam

RV Matters - 9 Sep 2018

Bats have always been spooky and thought to be harbingers of evil to humans. Just outside the Staff Study-2, in the dark corridor, in our senior school building, there are 5-6 bats roosting during the day. Their droppings on the floor below their roost area gives away their location.

These are Schneider's Leaf-nose bats (Hipposideros speoris), a species endemic to India, according Dr T. Ganesh, Ecologist at ATREE, Bangalore. Dr Ganesh and his team have been surveying temples in the southern Tamilnadu for their bat fauna and he has been seeing declines in their numbers. He feels rather than discouraging the bats, Rishi Valley School should take pride in supporting bats in their campus. He feels we could remove their excreta which makes an excellent manure regularly and use in our gardens.

Dr Santharam

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Photo: V. Santharam

RV Matters - 2 Sep 2018

The hoopoe is back! After a gap of nearly three months, this bird is back in the campus. I first saw it a week ago opposite the Green House. This morning, I woke to the calls of the “hud-hud-hud” calls of the bird. They are now getting ready for their next breeding cycle. Where does this bird diasppear after it raises its family of 2-3 chicks in a tree-hole or in a crevice in a building? I have seldom seen them in the campus, though on rare occasions they do turn up in the open spaces outside the campus in our valley between June and August.

An Asian Brown Flycatcher, a local migrant, too turned up near the Malli House last week. The season is changing and the birds are coming back. The first Himalayan migrants – the Grey Wagtail and the Greenish Warblers should be here anytime now. Paradise flycatchers too will soon turn up. Keep your eyes and ears open!

Dr Santharam

RV Matters - 26 Aug 2018

What does this image remind you of? Look carefully! Yes, a bunch of RV students (“bats”) sitting on the benches at the assembly!

Last week while on my walk to the mouth of the valley, I spotted two groups of ashy Wood-swallows, each numbering a dozen or so, sitting tightly huddled together on the High-tension wire. I have seen these birds only occasionally and that too at the mouth of the valley in small numbers, rarely exceeding half-a-dozen. These dull-colored birds often feed by pursuing insects caught in the mid-air. They have short nasal “chek-chek” call notes that often give away their presence. They have short tails and often the primaries of their wings extend beyond their tail feathers.

Elsewhere, in Chennai city, where this bird used to be common, I have even seen them nesting atop an electric pole in the middle of a crowded locality.

Dr Santharam

RV Matters - 19 Aug 2018

Several reports of sightings of Chameleons have been coming in from students and colleagues after seeing the last week’s “RV Matters!”. I am happy that several eyes are now alert and on the looking out for these interesting animals.

Last Saturday as I was returning from my morning walk, I came across a specimen of the chameleon on the road, next to the second bridge. It was dull, brown, utterly lifeless and flattened as it was a run-over specimen. Roadkills are now increasingly threatening our wildlife all over the country and our little corner is not spared. I have been regularly seeing animals run over by vehicles that operate in our valley. The victims include several species of snakes, lizards, frogs and toads, snails, millipedes, gerbils ( a rodent), squirrels and occasionally birds that feed on the ground (like the coucal). Dr A.J.T. Johnsingh who spoke on the occasion of our Bird Preserve Anniversary last month had cited roadkills as one of the greatest threats to our wildlife.

We are now witnessing an explosion of vehicular population in our own campus and unlike in the past when there were restrictions on the movement of vehicles (there are still signs saying “No Cars beyond this point”), 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler vehicles are freely moving all across the campus (and sometimes even off the roads). It is not uncommon to find vehicles parked at odd places at different times of the day (and night).

I would like to appeal to everyone to be a little more sensitive not only to our children’s saftey but also have consideration for all the wildlife that is affected by this indiscriminate movement of vehicles in our campus which was declared a Bird Preserve 27 years ago.

Dr Santharam

RV Matters - 5 Aug 2018

Last week I discovered that one of our favourite birding routes – from the Car Park to BBT was no longer accessible with the new fence and gate coming up as a part of the security measures in the campus. While some of us may be disappointed with this new development, I think this may be, in some ways, helpful in protecting our natural habitats and vegetation. But this of course will depend on some additional measures we may need to adopt.

This area adjacent to the Car Park (Behind the Big Banyan Tree) has for long been the “darkest Africa” of the campus. With good undergrowth, lianas and some really old trees, this area was virtually out of bounds for a long time. The “Stinky Pond”, which stores all the water from the laundry provides moisture for growth of vegetation in the vicinity and we have in the past located several interesting birds in this area. For instance several flycatcher species – Bluethroated, Asian Brown, Brownbreasted (a passage migrant), Verditer, Asian Paradise and the Blacknaped Monarch – have all been seen in the proximity of the pond in the winter months. Tickell’s Thrush, a rare himalayan winter visitor, Whitethroated ground thrush, Green Leaf warbler and several other passerines too make this their winter home. This is also a great place to look out for Honey Buzzards.

However unplanned developments over the past few years have caused the vegetation in this area to shrink considerably as chunks of the wooded areas have been taken over for vermicomposting (and since abandoned), silos, underground water tank, parking space, dumping ground for construction materials, clearing the vegetation for laying pipes etc. etc. I feel with a little thought we could still revive the vegetation in this place and make it an interesting birding spot.

Perhaps it is high time we have a Management Plan for the campus and demarcate areas for conservation based on the species of unique vegetation and other life forms they support.

Dr Santharam

RV Matters - 29 July 2018

This week we observed 27th Anniversary of the Rishi Valley Bird Preserve by inviting Dr. A.J.T.
Johnsingh, Senior Wildlife biologist and conservationist, to talk to our students and Staff on July 27, 2018.

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It was a thrilling experience to listen to Dr Johnsingh as he took us through his various experiences in the wild in his career spanning over four decades. The students listened to him with rapt attention and flooded him with a barrage of questions at the end of his presentation. Dr. Johnsingh also had interactions with some classes and with the birdwatching team this morning and pointed out the various trees and explained their medicinal and ecological values. He pointed out that the presence of bats (pipistrelles), hawking insects especially mosquitoes, in the Senior auditorium as an indication of the pristine nature of the surroundings in Rishi Valley. He said he has been seeing the decline of these bats elsewhere in urban areas and in rural landscapes with heavy pesticide use.

Dr Johnsingh was also concerned with the presence of Cassia spectabilis in the campus and pointed out this species tends to become an invasive as has happened in Bandipur Tiger Reserve and other forest areas and that it must be eradicated. He said the Biodiversity Park could be left alone to regenerate naturally.

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During the Anniversary celebration, we also released a booklet titled “Common Reptiles of Rishi Valley Area”, a bilingual publication (English-Telugu). This booklet is illustrated with colour photographs and includes accounts of some of the common reptiles found in our Valley. The objective of this publication is to educate the rural people about the ecological importance of reptiles as natural pest control agents and to emphasise their conservation. The booklet talks about the precautions that need to be taken to prevent snake-bites and steps to be taken in case of a snake-bite.

The booklet is authored by Suresh Jones, a naturalist who has been associated with our school for nearly two decades and translated into Telugu by Padmavalli akka, formerly a staff of the school. Photographs were contributed by several well-known nature photgraphers and herpetologists and the design and lay-out was done by our own Rajeshwar sir. It was unfortunate Suresh Jones could not attend the release function due to an injury and we missed
him a lot.

We hope this useful publication will reduce the unwarranted deaths of snakes in our neighbourhood.

Dr Santharam

RV Matters - 22 July 2018

A week of dry weather has gone by. There are clouds racing overhead but we have not had any rains. In fact, it was quite hot in the daytime.

The Koel is still singing in the valley. The Brainfever bird has quitened down. There are no signs of the Cuckoo-shrikes, which feed regularly on caterpillars. Maybe we haven’t had enough rains yet this season and so there are no caterpillars and those that feed on them. The percolation tank, which had substantial water last month is now a puddle.

Yet, last Sunday we found six Dabchicks in the waterbody. Half-a-dozen Pond Herons stalked along the margins of the tank and a pair of White-breasted Waterhen were seen along the waterside. Nearly two dozen Baya Weaverbirds had built their nests on the Acacia trees on the tank bund but their activity level was low, again owing to the dry weather conditions.

Several birds of prey or raptorial birds are now seen in the valley, often in overhead flight. It is a marvellous sight to spot the Short-toed Snake Eagle standing still against the strong current of winds, scanning the ground for their slithering prey. Tawny eagles, Crested Honey Buzzards
(often calling their single-noted calls as they fly about), Shikras and the rarely seen Black Kite have been some of the raptors spotted this week. This morning we had a good view of a Peregrine Falcon (most likely the resident subspecies – also known as the Shaheen) as it flew overhead for a good three minutes. We were hoping to see the bird dive down at its prey but just as we watched it, the bird disappeared behind the hillside.

A pair of Scaly-breasted Munias is bringing in dry grass to refurbish their old nest of last year placed under the tiled roof on the wooden rafters of my residence. They are quite bold and can be seen very close (within a couple of metres) provided you don’t take them by surprise.

Dr Santharam

RV Matters - 16 July 2018

A short hike was organised for the students of Class 8 to Nandu’s farm on the hill, close to Thettu (Diguvapalem hamlet) on Saturday. The weather was perfect – overcast, cloudy skies, cool winds..

We intended to spend half a day, learning about various things – life in a remote village, organic farming, tree-planting etc. We visited the three acres of land that Nandu’s family had set aside for raising trees (over 500 trees were planted over the last couple of years), a couple of percolation pits were dug to make water available for the plants and a thorn fence erected to keep out grazing animals. Nandu has been collecting seeds of native forest plants from the neighbouring forest areas and raising them in his nursery. They also had planted trees along the road going to Thettu village. All this without any monetary support from outside!

We divided the group of 51 students and six staff members into three groups – one went for tree-planting on the hillside, a second helped harvest tomatoes and the third watered the trees planted along the roadside, collecting water from the two water tanks (where water was pumped from the ground, 400 feet below the ground).

While we expected this would be a great learning experience for our kids, we were quite disappointed with the way the students behaved. The group that went for plucking tomatoes started throwing tomatoes around and trampled the plants. The group that went to water the avenue trees wanted to know if they could play with the water, throwing it on each other. Some students, despite being told not to litter the place after eating their breakfast (packed by our DH workers with so much of care and made it available to us at 6.30 am), left behind their half-eaten food packets and
grudgingly picked them up only after several teachers repeatedly asked them to do so. These instances of insensitive behaviour displayed despite several reminders and reprimands make us wonder why our kids are so indifferent when they are in a group, mostly self-absorbed and not aware
of their surroundings and their responsibilities.

Dr Santharam