Photography of bustard now covered under Wildlife Act

The forest department has restricted the movement of people in the Naliya grasslands, a habitat of the Great Indian Bustard. This is because the movement of people was too close to the birds and created disturbance for them. Deputy conservator of forests, #Kutch (West) division, P.A. Vihol said that recently the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) issued guidelines for the #Great #Indian #Bustard Recovery Programme. The guidelines stated that “unethical photography during the breeding season often acts as a constant source of disturbance to the bustards. Incidents of such photography have been reported in Naliya grasslands. Due to the lack of legislative enforcement and protective measures in core breeding areas, such direct threats on Great Indian Bustard population continue unrestricted.” Vihol said, “In order to reduce such direct threats to this critically endangered and #Schedule-I species in NaIiya grasslands, particularly during their breeding season, we are issuing a caution note to the over- enthusiastic and unethical photographers to restrict their movements near the sanctuary areas, breeding and nesting grounds. The breeding season spans from April to October.” He cautioned that “any person found to be disturbing the birds during their breeding or even its nesting shall be prosecuted under the #Wildlife #Protection #Act 1972.” According to officials, the act was there in place, but no such caution was issued and people use to walk very close to the birds. Hence, a decision was taken to impose this caution note based on the guidelines of the MoEF. It has been mentioned in the guidelines that some grassland areas were ploughed during monsoon and post-monsoon season for planting better species of grass and their growth. Such activities also create disturbance to nests, eggs or chicks of the Great Indian Bustard, said a senior official, adding that the department will also impose a curb on such activities.

Courtesy:- Times Of India.

Former MP joins drive to save flamingos

Former BJP Member of Parliament from Kutch Pushpadan Gadhvi has come forward to save the winged visitors from Siberia from the jaws of death. Over 400 flamingos had died after colliding with high tension cables in the Khadir region in Kutch. Gadhvi is a trustee of a trust working to create awareness on saving birds, animals and even Gauchar land. Gadhvi who visited Khadir region said, “We need to take care of our winged visitors from dying in such large numbers.” The birds had died after they collided with the high tension transmission cables of Gujarat Energy Transmission Company (GETCO). GETCO had begun taking corrective measures after The Times of India reported on the death of scores of these birds along a recently electrified cable line. Gadhvi said after the completion of the Kutch Rann Utsav, which begins on December 9, he will invite expert bird watchers from the area and even the experts from the Bombay Natural History Society to deliberate on the issue of the death of birds after collision with high tension cables. “If the experts give an opinion that laying the cables underground was the best option, I would take the BJP party office bearers into confidence and talk to the minister of state for energy Saurabh Patel on laying cables underground.” He said the forest department team has taken some measures like having cellophane papers and reflectors installed along the high tension wires, which is proving to be effective. Also the department has installed light along the poles. He said that an awareness campaign will be organized to ensure that the birds were not poached or killed. Officials in the forest department said, “With the water receding, the birds are moving away from cables.” Courtesy:- Times Of India.

Night flying deadly for Flamingos

Winged visitors crash into cables as they fly migration routes in dark

For some winged visitors a journey of over 2,000 km from Siberia comes to a deadly end just when they swoop in to land in the shallow waters of Kutch. Electric wires char their feathers and even result in death. This phenomenon has been documented in a study ‘Flamingo mortality due to collision with high tension electric wires in Gujarat by Anika Tere, now with MS University and B M Parasarya of Agriculture University Anand. The study published in the last week of November2011, revealed that the flamingoes who are known to fly at night and in low light collide with the near invisible overhead wires because of the negligible reaction time to make evasive maneuvers. The study also concluded that freshly dead flamingos were found in the morning hours suggesting that these overhead wires are not visible at night and in the dark hours of late evenings or early morning. The study also points out that along the international border, the presence of the electrified barbed wire fence and the electricity lines powering the fence as well as villages on the frontiers make formidable obstructions to the birds. The study takes note of a soldier’s narration of how flamingos get trapped in the electric fence on the international border. The study further reveals that compared to the large population of flamingos and other factors causing mortality the mortality caused by collision with high tension wires is low. The incidences of collision with utility structures in these parts of Gujarat have remained unnoticed. Flamingos visiting the Rann of Kutch during their breeding season are exposed to such wires only for a short period of the year however, at other feeding sites such as salt pans and the sewage ponds of urban areas like Bhavnagar and Jamnagar they continuously face the risk of collision as they spend more time there. Courtesy:- Times Of India.

Zitting Cisticola or Streaked Fantail Warbler (Cisticola juncidis)

Zitting Cisticola or Streaked Fantail Warbler (Cisticola juncidis),
Kutch-Gujarat, India on 10-12-2010

--
Equipments :- Canon EOS 350D with Tamron 200-400mm Lens

by - Veer Vaibhav Mishra

Taking up the cause of the endangered Great Indian Bustard

Taking up the cause of the endangered great Indian Bustard,
Indian Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh has written to Gujarat Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, requesting him to conserve one of the last remaining habitats of the golden birds – The Adbassa Grasslands in Kutch, Gujarat - India.

Hon. Minister has expressed concern at the dwindling population of the birds and sought steps to prevent diversions of revenue land for agriculture purposes in the grassland in Naliya area in Kutch.

Promising all the possible help in this direction, he has urged Chief Minister - Mr.Modi to personally intervene to save the habit ant of the golden birds whose number has reduced to 500 in the world.

“I am writing to request you to immediately intervene and prevent the diversion of revenue gauchar land to agriculture and to ensure that the district officials support the Naliya conservation initiatives”.

“If we do not intervene the possibility of the birds going extinct in Gujarat is very real and high,” the Union Minister said in the letter to Mr. Modi.

Though covering an area of only about 20sq. km, Adbassa Grassland is considered very important for bird conservation as three species of bustard are found there. The endangered Great Indian Bustard is a resident, the endangered Lesser Florican breeds here during Monsoon and the near- threatened Macqueen’s Bustard is a winter visitor.

Minister Mr.Ramesh also drew the attention of Chief Minister Mr.Modi to the fact that the bird was once proposed to be adopted as the India’s national bird and hence “its conservation is equally important as that of Lions and tigers”.

Listed in Schedule-1 of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the bird is classified as “endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red List 2002.
IUCN has warned that the Great Indian Bustard could become extinct within a decade. Listed in appendix- 1 of the Contention on international trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flore, international trade and killing of the bird is prohibited.

COURTESY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - The Times of India, Ahmedabad - Monday, June, 28, 2010

Published by:- Adler Tours & Safaris, Rajkot, Gujarat, India - Ph. Nos. 0091 281 2465237 / 2483878 Mobile - 0091 94262 28778