There are indications of the changing season. With dew condensing on vegetation overnight, the onset of the cold season is imminent. Flowers like the Millingtonia (Indian Cork) tree have started blooming. Hordes of dragonflies have been hovering in the air, awaiting the returning monsoon.
Over the past few days migrant bird species have begun arriving in the campus. However, this year, they seem to have been delayed. The Grey Wagtail, a winter visitor from the Himalaya, turned up three weeks after it was due to arrive, on 20th September. It is usually seen by early September. Similarly the Greenish warbler, another migrant too turned up late. The paucity of rains after the initial spell in June-July could have had some role in this delay.
The Grey Wagtail
Several more migrants have been coming in since. Asian Brown and the similar-looking Brown-breasted Flycatchers too have been seen in the past couple of weeks. The Lesser (Hume’s) Whitethroat from Central Asia has been seen in good numbers in the open scrub habitats. There was a sighting of the Forest Wagtail, which migrates from Eastern Asia, last Sunday. Some of the local migrants too have turned up; prominent among them are White-bellied Drongo, Paradise Flycatcher and the Blue-tailed Bee-eater. The next few days are going to be exciting for the bird enthusiasts as more species are expected to arrive (some merely passing through).
The Asian Brown Flycatcher (left) and the Brown-breasted Flycatcher (right).
- Santharam October 4, 2021