Rare Masked Booby spotted near Mahuva ( Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Gujarat, India )

The bird is usually found in tropical zones

Manoj Sanghediya, a 23-year old amateur bird watcher from Datardi Village in Mahuva taluka of Bhavnagar District ( Rajkot, Gujarat, India ), could not identify the large seabird that had fallen in his farm on Saturday.

But he was quick to rescue the sick bird that was unable to fly and take it to Mahuva Town. An environment activist, he often rescues snakes in his village.

The bird that he rescued was Masked Booby, a large bird found in tropical zones of theoceans.

“When the Masked Booby was brought on Saturday, it was sick and exhausted. We contacted, Dr. Nayan Patel, a veterinary doctor, who earlier worked with forest department in Mahuva advised us to give glucose to it. We tried to save the rare visitor but it died on Tuesday evening”, said a wildlife activist from Mahuva Chirag Koradiya.

Bird conservationists say that the Masked Booby may have been exhausted and landed in the coastal area in a sick condition. It nests on small tropical islands especially without forests. It breeds in central and western pacific as well as off Mexico.

According to experts, Masked Booby are spectacular divers that can plunge diagonally into the ocean at high speeds. They mainly eat small fish.

“This could be the third time that a Masked Booby was reported to be seen on the Saurashtra coast,” Koradiya said.

Courtesy - Times Of India 

White-rumped vulture found dead

A juvenile oriental white-rumped vulture was found dead at Junagam near Hazira, some 27kms from Surat in South Gujarat, on Wednesday. Locals informed volunteers belonging to Nature Club(Surat) about the dead bird. This vulture species is protected under Schedule 1 category of Wildlife Protection Act. "It was a juvenile of oriental white-rumped vulture species. it was lying dead. We collected the bird from the spot and sent it to the forest department in Mahuva, Bhavnagar District, where the facility to keep dead birds exists," co-coordinator, Vultures' Conservation Program, Nature Club(Surat), Viral Prajapati said. The postmortem of the dead bird will be done at Pinjore to ascertain the cause of death. According to nature conservationists, three species of vulture endemic to South Asia- the oriental white-rumped vulture gyps Bengalensis, longbilled vulture gyps indices and slender-billed vulture gyps gastroenteritis- are at high risk of extinction. "It has been observed that oriental white-rumped vultures are usually found in the western region of south Gujarat. A small population of oriental white-rumped vulture and long billed vulture still survive in south Gujarat's coastal part near Hazira. There are about 45 oriental white-rumped vultures," Prajapati said. Use of veterinary drug diclofenac is responsible for bringing the three species of vulture's endemic to South Asia to the brink of extinction. The Government of India banned the drug in May 2006. Recently, the state government had said in the state assembly that there were only 1,065 vultures in Gujarat.

Courtesy:- Times Of India

Vulture Colony in Zampodar Village, Gujarat, India – VANISHES!!!!

An entire #Vulture colony at Zampodar village in Rajula Taluka of Amreli district, #Gujarat, #India which had been a roosting and nesting site for nearly 31 #WhiteRompedVultures, has gone missing for past two months.

“We had early spotted 31 Vultures, mostly White Romped Vultures, at Zampodar village in Rajula Taluka. It was a traditional Vulture colony. But, not a single vulture is found here since the past two months. It is unusual and shocking. We fear that it may have just vanished,” said #RuchiDave, Vulture #Conservationist and honorary #wildlife warden, Bhavnagar District.

“During the last survey, more than 81 vultures were spotted in the Mahuva-Nageshri range. Now, we need to find out the cause behind the disappearance (of the colony)” said Dave. Vultures are endangered species and falls under the schedule one category of Wildlife (protection) Act, 1972. “The forest department should appoint a monitoring committee to look into the matter and prepare scientific status report about the missing Vulture colony,” she added.

Dave said the Mahuva-Nagashri and Rajula ranges on #Saurashtra coast are a few of the last sites for vultures in the state where they roost and nest on coconut trees.

Wildlife activists fear that further negligence could lead to the complete disappearance to these birds. In fact, there is no regular monitoring mechanism for vultures by the forest department. “There are no measures in place to rescue and treat ill vultures and monitor vanishing ones. In 2006, 31 vultures were found dead. The same thing can happen again. Before things get worst, we need to act fast,” Dave said.

Dave has been actively involved in vulture conservation and is a member of #BirdConservationSociety Gujarat (BCSG) which runs a feeding site for vultures at Asharana village.

However, the forest department is not aware of the entire episode. When contacted, J.K. Makwana, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Amreli district, said, “We have come to know about it from local volunteers and we have asked the local forest department to look into the matter”.

Sources said there are three major Panjrapols – (Animal Shelters) in the area Rajula Chhaparivaku and Nalga where vultures can be given animal carcasses feed. “But, vultures do not land there for various reasons… So there is a need to develop a few more feeding sites,” said Dave.

“Mostly, local voluntary groups are monitoring the vultures’ activity with the help of the forest department. We have also asked local volunteers to submit a project plan to carry out the conservation work,” said Bharat Pathak, Director, GEER Foundation, which monitors vanishing Vulture species.

Apart from missing the vulture colony, sources confirmed that six vultures have had died since January 2011. They include three White Romped Vultures in Mahuva-Rajula range and three #Long-Billed Vultures in Girnar. “As of now, we do not know the exact reasons for the death of these vultures but we have sent two samples for analysis at #PinjoreVultureBreedingCenter. We would be able to know the exact reason once the report arrives.” said Dave.

Courtesy :- Times Of India.