Dive! Dive! Dive!

In Kutch, Meena Wadhwani catches a kingfisher readying for a kill and other fowl acts of nature

In Kutch, Meena Wadhwani catches a kingfisher readying for a kill and other fowl acts of nature

It's a long stretch of parched land, miles of barrenness with practically no vegetation except for some occasional acacia bushes.u00a0 The baked, cracked soil on the ground is soft and makes a fascinating continuous pattern on the surface.u00a0The never-ending nothingness in the desertland right up to the horizon is awesome:u00a0 like being on an ocean surrounded only by water and the waves.u00a0 That's my first impression of the saline desert plains in the area called Jhinjhwada, which is also the Indian Wild Ass sanctuary in the Little Rann of Kutch, north-west of Gujarat. The Little Rann is connected to the Greater Rann of Kutch and also the Gulf of Kutch.u00a0 And, I'm with a group of nature lovers from Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Baroda, being driven in an open safari jeep on a December afternoon.

'The hotel's menagerie is far from wild: a ferocious gaggle of geese, noisy and quarrelling all the time (photo, left above); two aloof guinea-fowl (photo, left) who refuse to mix with any of the others around, and, a very friendly young peacock (pictures above) who provides us with company daily at breakfast and lunch and lounges around comfortably on the sofa practically the whole day' the peacock poses with the writer in the above photo

There is no road or track, the only guide for our driver being the little white-painted stones embedded in the parched earth acting as milestones.u00a0 We are moving at a comfortable speed of 30-35 km, still savouring the sight and its vast emptiness, when suddenly something huge moves from the ground just ahead of the jeep and flies, flashing its magnificent wingspread of reddish-orange hues with shades of brown streaks.u00a0

It is the short-eared owl, informs a birder in the group.u00a0 The jeep stops, the photo enthusiasts quickly fix the tripods and focus their camera lenses close to the acacia bush where the owl has taken refuge.u00a0 Every one is hushed up, giving the bird an impression of solitude.u00a0 The owl, however, emerges wiser and decides to stay put.u00a0 A single sighting is all that we get despite a long wait.u00a0 But the fascinating image of the flying bird will remain ingrained forever.

We move on.u00a0 A long distance away a desert fox makes its appearance.u00a0 It is rusty-orange brown, darker than I had imagined.u00a0 The fox runs away after a few moments but soon, far away on the right, we see a herd of wild asses walking in a row.u00a0 Yes, it is indeed picture time as all cameras go click-click.u00a0 A closer look through the binoculars shows how cute they look.u00a0 A little bigger in size than the regular domestic variety, the wild ones are white with a light brown back u2013 like a silk shawl casually thrown on their back.u00a0 They move casually in a row, look quite disciplined and content, feeding on acacia pods.u00a0 Unlike their city cousins who have to carry the burden of loads on their backs, are invariably poorly fed and always referred to as 'stupid'!u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

The Indian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur) is an endangered species and the Little Rann of Kutch is the world's only natural habitat where it survives today.u00a0 There are probably less than 1,800 numbers left according to some official figures.u00a0

As the jeep keeps moving, we spot the houbara bustard (also known as Mcqueens bustard), long-legged buzzard, and an amur falcon.u00a0

Soon we are to leave the desert area as it is close to sunset time and you are not allowed to stay back in the sanctuary in the dark.u00a0

So, we're back to the hotel on the edge of Dasada village which has its own experience in store for us.

The hotel's menagerie is far from wild:u00a0 a couple of dogs u2014 a mother and a six-month old pup, the latter quite fidgety, playful and ever ready to give a loving lick; some ferocious gaggle of geese, noisy and quarrelling all the time;u00a0 two aloof guinea-fowl who refuse to mix with any of the others around, and, a very friendly young peacock who provides us with company daily at breakfast and lunch and lounges around comfortably on the sofa practically the whole day.
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A post-dinner walk around the farmland, mostly cotton plantations, just across the road, takes us close to a nightjar, a small grey-brown bird that roosts on the ground in the cultivated fields.u00a0 The only way to spot the little bird in the dark is by throwing a strong torch-light on it.u00a0 The light dazes the bird and it moves unsteadily inch by inch, obviously quite frightened by the sudden intrusion.u00a0 Seeing it briefly is enough; but pursuing the bird, I think, does not look right. I'm sure it must have been a torture for the nightjar.u00a0 Yes, some of us in the group do try to persuade the others to leave the poor creature and end up with a mini debate on keeping caged birds versus setting them free.u00a0 At least this serves to divert the topic and we soon return to our night abode, leaving the bird on its own.

One cannot be in the Little Rann and not see the huge variety of water birds that frequent the many lakes and ponds that are part of Rann's ecosystem, something between marine and terrestrial.u00a0 The one-month of monsoon rains totally flood the area, leaving only the higher plateaus dry like little islands.

The Little Rann provides an important feeding, breeding and roosting habitat for a large number of birds as the location is on the bird migration route.u00a0 A small pond near the hotel itself the next morning provides a good glimpse of the rich birdlife we are to see later around Nava Talao.u00a0

A pair of sarus cranes stands near the edge of the water, looking for insects in the marshy grassland.u00a0 We are not able to figure out how old this pair is but, as is well known, the sarus cranes pair for life.u00a0 No infidelity involved here.u00a0 We also spot other waders like egrets, glossy ibises, whiskered terns, purple herons.u00a0 A common kingfigher demonstrates its typical diving ability for catching fish, and gives me an opportunity to capture the bird on camera while it is still hovering over water.

The huge numbers and the variety of life on the lake is a delight to watch and keeps us busy for many hours.u00a0 There are flamingoes, though not many at the time as the major flocks have not yet arrived for nesting from its local migratory path.u00a0 Others include open-billed storks, rosy pelicans, sociable lapwings (also known as sociable plovers), red-wattled lapwings, grey herons, shikra, pallid harrier, larks, black drongos u2026. and many many more.u00a0 The list is enormous, says the BNHS (Bombay Natural History Society) expert and our guide.u00a0 Some 138 species of birds are spotted by the avid birders in our group during the 3-day stay at the Little Rann.u00a0

A few mammals also oblige us during the afternoon drive:u00a0 the nilgai, black buck, Indian mongoose, black-naped hare, plus more herds of the Indian wild ass.

On our way back from the Little Rann, while driving towards Ahmedabad to catch an overnight train back to Mumbai, a little detour takes us to the Thol bird sanctuary.u00a0 This is indeed the icing on the cake and a real bonus:u00a0 the concentration of avifauna at the lake there is so immense that one doesn't know which bird activity to really focus on!u00a0 There is a continuous ribbon of cranes flying and making formations above, probably looking for landing space below (no ATS assistance required here), dongoes chasing each other, pelicans preening on the mudflats, coots calmly wading in the water, while flocks of flamingoes are busy searching food with their beaks submerged in the waters.u00a0 What a paradise it is, and yet so close to the city.u00a0

We end up by inducting a small group of school children on a picnic into bird-watching;u00a0 while the adults in their group decide to take 'nature conservation' a little more seriously.u00a0 Three cheers to that!