Redgannet: September 2010

Thursday, 30 September 2010

Tughlaqabad Fort, New Delhi, India

"Seething" is probably the best word to describe my visit to Tughlaqabad on this mid-August afternoon. The huge battlements of the old fort could barely contain the masses of life within its walls.

The monsoon had bestowed its gift of rain and the plants and insects had responded enthusiastically. The ground seemed to convulse as I flushed swarms of “hoppers” from the knee-high ground cover vegetation. I dread to think what I might have brought home in my turn-ups.

The paths were lined with columns of ants and knots of centipedes.

In the air, squadrons of dragonflies patrolled while butterflies and beetles decorated the bushes.

Bird life was less dense. Perhaps when food is so plentiful, they take the opportunity of abundance to disperse?

Nevertheless, there were small flocks of Indian Silverbills feeding low in the bushes and amongst the ground cover plants. In an open space, a pair of Wattled Lapwings cursed my approach.

A few red-flushed Bank Mynas joined the Common Mynas and Cattle Egrets following a small herd of domestic buffalo while Black Kites wheeled overhead. Brahminy Mynas and Asian Pied Starlings flew over but didn’t stop.

The citadel that the huge defenses were built to protect has been preserved and rebuilt in parts. The rest of the area within the walls has been left for the thorn brush to colonize.

The Brown Rockchat should have found superb habitat among the ruins, but seemed to prefer the tops of bushes today.

On the far side from the entrance, the battlements fall away like a cliff. This provided a vantage point in an updraft so that the Green Bee-eater hardly needed to move to feed. Once full, it flopped off to roost and a Grey-breasted Prinia took its place to proclaim its presence through the medium of song.

I had not realised how quiet it had been inside the fort until I looked out over the ramparts and the insistent noise of the traffic and millions of people hit me like a wave.

The temperature and humidity played havoc with the photography today. Why can’t I learn my lesson and open the camera bag while I am waiting for the taxi to give the lenses a chance to warm up? As it was, the condensation took ages to clear. Perhaps I should have taken that chance to check my settings? No, I didn’t do that either, so most of the shots were over-exposed until I spotted my oversight late in the day. Only the dullness of the sky saved me burning out all the early pictures.

White-cheeked Bulbuls were common as I entered the scrub, but they seemed to thin out and be replaced by the Red-vented Bulbuls as I pushed further in.

As the sun dipped towards the horizon, I had an idea. There were surely plenty of crevices in the ruins for owls to roost in. An elevated position on the battlements would allow me to scan a wide area as dusk fell. I felt a strange affinity with the Short-tailed Macaques which had also moved to higher ground for the night. The feeling of course was on my part only as I realised that the monkeys would snatch my bags away rather than acknowledge any kinship with me.

Before dusk settled, a guard motioned me to come down and he warned me of thieves in the area. He mimed stabbing actions and advised me to stay in the area around the citadel where his colleagues patrolled more regularly. From personal experience, the few people that I saw today didn’t present any threat.

They were mostly cheeky children who wanted me to take their picture and went on their way afterwards. Two cattle-herds ignored me completely and a few guys playing cricket waved and asked me where I was from.

Local knowledge shouldn't be dismissed though and warnings should not be taken lightly. Perhaps your taxi driver could walk with you and cover your back.
The fort is open from sunrise to sunset and an entrance fee of IR100 is payable at the gate. An extra charge is levied for cameras and videos. An Indian national will pay only IR5.
A taxi costs approximately IR500 from the Sheraton, Delhi with a 2 hour wait.
In good traffic conditions, the drive should take less than 10 minutes. Today the roads were seething and the journey took closer to 25 mins.

For an earlier post about Tughlaqabad, follow this link; http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/02/tughluqabad-fort-new-delhi.html

Tuesday, 28 September 2010

Mexican Gripes

I am finding myself and my camera less welcome around the world these days. In Mexico this week for example, my photographic gear caused me to be challenged no less than six times. I was refused entry on one occasion and had to leave my tackle at the security booth. Two other sites insisted that I needed an official permit and even chased after me with a clipboard for more information and to demand recognition and credit for the photos. In the mountain forest of Desierto de Los Leones, ranger vehicles stopped on two occasions to question my motives and to establish how I intended to use the pictures.

If only they knew how rubbish I am at photography, they would have no need to worry, but people are easily impressed by tripods it would appear.
I would imagine that anyone with a sensible sized camera and lens wouldn’t have any trouble. But despite evidence to the contrary, people assume that I am a serious photographer and that I will be profiting from my activities.
Permits are free from my experiences this week, and an attended cloakroom was available when the camera was refused admission to the Museo.

Another piece of grit in my life’s Vaseline this week is the lack of a comprehensive field guide to Mexico. Steve NG Howell and Sophie Webb have written an excellent book for Mexico and Northern Central America, but have not illustrated huge chunks of the avifauna, such as waders, gulls and warblers. The families are written up in the species accounts, but when a bird is in the bush, a picture paints a thousand words.
I appreciate their efforts to keep the volume down to size and their preference to “ devote plate space to Middle American species”. I understand that the families in question have been very well illustrated elsewhere and to include them would be repetitive. However, when nearly 150 pages have been given over to introductions, appendices and bibliography, surely another few plates would only serve to enhance an otherwise great book.
As it was, I found myself cursing Steve and Sophie at a lung-busting 3000m above sea-level in the Desierto de Los Leones mountain forest when I had to carry the Sibley guide to North America as a companion volume; all for the sake of a dozen or so plates.
How much better a complete field guide would be.

For all my spume, I now note that my copy of their guide was published in 1995. If it has been re-issued as a complete field guide since then, I take it all back and will get a new copy without delay because with the extra plates, it will be the perfect guide to Mexico.

And another thing..... high in the thin air of the mountains, I hardly had any cause to use the Sibley guide. I tried to identify an Empidonax flycatcher, but to no avail.

Parque Ecologico de Xochimilco, Mexico City, Mexico, MEX

The Parque Ecologico de Xochimilco (shoh-chee-mil-ko) sometimes abbreviated to PEX, is a reserve created from a swampy area in 1989.

I was not able to give it a fair go today as I arrived late after making a pilgrimage on behalf of my wife and then had to leave early to avoid a thunder storm.
It is made up of lakes and meadows which have been landscaped and manicured close to the visitor centre to appeal to leisure visitors, but it has been left to grow wild further out, much to the delight of the wildlife.

I rode the Metro to Tasquena and thence, caught the Tren Ligero (Light Train) to La Noria. This was to visit the world’s largest collection of artworks by Diego Rivera and Frieda Kahlo (which are currently out on tour. Check before you arrive) at Museo Dolores Olmedo Patina. Ostensibly, this was a fact finding mission for my wife, but I mention it here because the gardens held Berylline Hummingbird, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Inca Dove, Great-tailed Grackle and House Finch as well as peacocks on the lawn. From here it is but a few moments taxi ride to PEX which is located on the south of Anillo Periferico (Google Earth 19* 17’ 48”N, 99* 05’ 40” W).

At the gate I was told that the site opens at 07.00, but other web sites say 09.00 or even 10.00. There is an entrance charge of $P 20 (£1.00 / US$1.50).

The information Centre is straight ahead across a flower garden and the large Lago Huetzalin is to the right. The lake is choked with water hyacinth at the moment and workers were in the water up to their chests, hauling out the weed.

Boat rides on the gaily painted trajinera (punt-barges) would ply the lake given a navigable course, but it looks as though business is bad at the moment. In the distance at the far (south) end of the lake, I could see plenty of Great Egrets and Black-crowned Night Herons which would enhance a boat trip and a rail got the better of me as it ducked into the dense covering of hyacinth.

A Spotted Sandpiper rode the prow of a moored rowing boat and I was just able to get in a shot before the security guard approached and invited me to join him at the photography permit application suite (see Mexican Gripes above). The permit was required to be displayed at all times.
I followed the path adorned with arches towards the embarcadero (boat dock). In the trees along the way there were Bewick’s Wren calling and Vermillion Flycatchers which were looking stunning as usual.

In the shorter path-side vegetation, House Finches and Lesser Goldfinches were feeding on flower and grass seed heads. Canyon Towhee were very common, and was the most likely brown bird on the paths.

They would fly up into a tree until I passed, then drop back down onto the path. Occasionally, a Curve-billed Thrasher made me look more closely.

The insect life was prolific and as you can imagine, the odonata kept me busy for a while. I hadn’t arrived until late and by the time the camera permit was issued, it was almost midday. So, I felt that my time would be put to best use looking at dragonflies rather than birds.
This Blue-faced Darner Aeshna multicolor was especially abundant and could be seen flying in great numbers at any chosen body of water on the reserve. It seldom settled except when it was mating. The male in the middle in this picture is in a pinwheel with a female.The lowest male was either trying to break the coupling pair apart or perhaps trying to eat the female's head.

In the bank-side vegetation, the damselflies were very common too, but I need to do more work before I can identify them properly.

Steve Covey of http://northantsdragonflies.blogspot.com/ advises me that the damselfly above and below is a Black-fronted Forktail Ischnura denticollis

The one below is easily recogniseable as a Mexican Amberwing Perithemis intensa. I don't know if the Eastern Amberwing reaches this far south, but it would sport small yellow blotches on its thorax to differentiate it if it did.

I cut across the meadows which were slowly reclaiming the swings and slides which, hopefully, see more action at weekends and holidays. Today, a Tuesday in the second half of September, I had the place to myself. The finches were gorging themselves on seed heads and a Cassin’s Kingbird watched from his vantage point on the top of a climbing frame.

Back near the visitor centre, the lake had a much cleaner look and the wildlife was scant. Just one Great Egret stalked the edges and a Green Heron flushed into a tree.

On the water, a Pied-billed Grebe was fishing with a youngster close in tow.
Realising that omissions from their field guide might cause comment (see Mexican Gripes above), Steve NG Howell and Sophie Webb had redeemed themselves by including the full set of potential yellowthroats. I needed help here as there are six candidates in Mexico and confusion could easily reign without comparative illustrations. My bird looked particularly shabby, which didn’t help matters. Geographical distribution and habitat preferences helped to eliminate most of them, leaving just two likely suspects; the Common Yellowthroat and the Hooded Yellowthroat.

The Hooded Yellowthroat would have been a lifer, but I had to concede that the supercillium was whitish rather than greyish which left me with our old friend the Common Yellowthroat. Bolts of lightning were ripping the sky apart now and being out in the open with a metal tripod slung over my shoulder was making me feel very insecure.

I feel that the reserve would have had much more to offer if I had given it a chance to shine early in the morning. I hear tell that a lot of migrants from the north pass through and over-winter here.

Just outside the gate to the reserve is a large bus stop and plenty of taxis pass this way. The general wisdom in using taxis in Mexico City is to ensure that their permit and picture are prominently displayed, but nothing can beat common sense. Most hotels will provide a car which can wait or pick you up again at an agreed time. Radio taxis can record the name of drivers on a call out and as such provide a modicum of reassurance.

Bird species; 22

Pied-billed Grebe 3, Great Egret25, Green Heron 3, Black-crowned Night Heron 6, Common Moorhen 3, American Coot 5, Spotted Sandpiper 2, Mourning Dove 8, Inca Dove 6, Vermillion Flycatcher 5, Cassin’s Kingbird 1, Cliff Swallow 10, Bewick’s Wren 2, Curve-billed Thrasher 3, Bushtit 6, Loggerhead Shrike 1, House Finch 60, Lesser Goldfinch 50, Common Yellowthroat 1, Wilson’s Warbler 2, Canyon Towhee 30, Great-tailed Grackle 15.

Odonata species;

Blue-faced Darner Aeshna multicolour c1000, Roseate Skimmer Orthemis ferruginea 2, Mexican Amberwing Perithemis intensa 4, Black-fronted Forktail Ischnura denticollis 6

Other visits to Parque Ecologico de Xochimilco can be seen at the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/parque-ecologico-de-xochimilco-pex.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/if-anyone-has-time-and-inclination-i.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/xochimilco-mexico-city-november-2012.html

Visit the dedicated Central and South America Page for more from Mexico, including Desierto de los Leones, Bosque de Tlalpan and UNAM Botanical Gardens.

Parque Ecologico de Xochimilco, Mexico City, Mexico, MEX

UNAM Botanical Gardens, Mexico City, Mexico, MEX

The Metro whisked me along beneath the snarled traffic that was already choking Mexico City. I was on the Green Line, heading towards Universidad. At 06.30 there was standing room only on the subway train. Whoever heard of students getting up to get to lectures at that time of the morning?

A short taxi ride took me to the barrier at the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) Jardin Botanico. Beyond the barrier, on the approach road to the gardens proper, is a line of bushes and a stand of alien trees. Here there were Wilson’s Warbler, Bullocks Oriole, Buff-breasted Flycatcher and Grey Silky Flycatcher.

On a small lawn opposite, a Rufous-backed Thrush and the first of the day’s Canyon Towhees picked through the grass.

As I passed through the gate, I was called back by the security guard and told that I needed a permit for the camera. The officer to whom I applied was not yet at her desk, so I relinquished my tripod and promised not to use the camera until I could get a piece of paper granting me permission to do so (see Mexico gripes above).

Silky Flycatchers were very common and were rivalling the House Finches and Canyon Towhees for numerical supremacy.

In the arid section (which was, incidentally, looking very lush) Wilson’s Warblers were picking through some low trees and I got a fleeting glimpse of a Black-throated Grey Warbler. Northern Cardinal, Curve-billed Thrasher and Broad-billed Hummingbird all looked very much at home here.

A Blue-grey Gnatcatcher made me dive for the field guide. Once again Steve and Sophie had anticipated problem areas and included illustrations of the potential gnatcatchers. It had shown very well and was easy enough to identify as the common North American species.

At 09.30 I returned to the office on the left of the approach road to obtain my permit. This was a simple process made difficult by my lack of Spanish and I would like to thank Guadeloupe for her assistance and for looking after my tripod which I was now allowed to use.A Western Peewee waited for me outside the office.

I went back over some old ground to find a few photographs to set the scene before heading along the main road towards the top of the gardens. There were more Wilson’s Warblers along the way and a small flock of bandito-looking Bushtits.

An open area of grass on the right was busy with thrushes, thrashers and towhees. I had never noticed the glaring red eye on an Inca Dove before. How did I miss that?

In the large trees across the lawn a Western Peewee and some silkies hawked for insects from high exposed branches.

From the top of the gardens, I turned left across the event lawn which was hosting a reception with tablecloths and little sandwiches. The reception meant restricted access to people with big cameras, permit or no permit, so I had to sneak along the maintenance track into the large area of comparatively unmanaged scrubland beyond.

There were plenty of birds here with nearly all of those already mentioned plus a Blue Grosbeak and some Chipping Sparrows.

I was hoping that I might come across a snake in this area and nearly wet myself when I almost trod on this little fella! It is known (to the lady with the clipboard at least) as a Cincuante; a common, non-venomous snake. Sadly, for him especially, he was dead and I picked him up with a stick and posed the photograph.

Once you get your eye in for the Berylline Hummingbird, they are quite easy to identify even when back-lit. The rufous panel in the wing shows through and makes identification straight forward. Mexico City is beyond the distribution range for any of the other potential candidates and I can’t understand why I have never managed to put one on my list before.

The heat of the day usually means insects and my attention was drawn by this rather dashing hopper.

This was followed by a couple of beautiful butterflies and before you know it, I was heading to water, pulled by the urge to spot a few dragonflies.
The ponds, ironically, are in the dry area and the odonata were very obvious. I believe this one to be a Variegated

The Blue-faced Darner and Roseate Skimmers that I had seen yesterday were here as well as a new one for the red crayon. It will need confirmation, but I think that it may be a Pin-tailed Pondhawk, Erythemis plebeja.

Of all the insects, I am keeping track of dragonflies. To list any of the others, would be such a gargantuan task that I leave it to those who passion lays along those particular branches of the entomological tree.

Barn Swallows were swooping down to take sips of water from the larger of the pools. Potentially this could make a splendid photograph, but instead I learned a lesson which should have been obvious really.

I decided not to use Servo Focus as my target bird was too small and moving too fast to get right in the cross hairs. They were skimming across my field of view, not straight at me, so I didn’t think that Servo Focus was the way to go. Instead, I identified a spot where the swallows swooped most regularly and set up a camera trap there. It was not a technologically advanced trap; I put the camera on the tripod and aimed it at a patch of water between two clumps of floating weed. I used the auto mode to gain focus on the water’s surface and then switched to manual. The trigger device was me, using the remote release on high frame rate, hoping to catch the exact moment of scoop as the bird passed through the hit-zone.

I took lots of pictures, but they were all hideously out of focus. I tried again and again until I realised my mistake. I had focussed on the reflections on the water, but that is not the actual surface that the swallows were scooping from.

The reflection’s focus is equidistant beneath the water’s surface as the object is above it (of course it is!).

Did I explain that well?

A simple experiment in the hotel bathroom mirror confirmed my theory and will demonstrate the effect much better than I can describe it.

If I take a picture of a reflection (the Peterson field guide), the focus point is not at the surface of the reflecting medium (shown by the taxi card stuck to the mirror), but the same distance beyond the mirror's surface as the book is this side of it. Therefore any subject, such as ...oooh let's say a swallow for example, or in this case, the taxi card, is out of focus.

What a scratchy mirror.

If I had wanted to get a sharp picture of anything at the surface of the water, I should have focussed on the mats of floating weed.

Still I spent 30 minutes in the sunshine by a pool, watching swooping swallows and darting dragonflies. How was I to know I wasn’t having fun?

I hoped to find a field guide in the garden’s gift shop to help me identify the snake. While I was there, I was caught by the camera permit lady with a clipboard and more formalities for the use of my photographs. Thus UNAM in the copyright caption indicates that the pictures were taken at UNAM Jardin Botanico and that they retain rights to their use. In fairness to the lady, she was not officious or difficult about the pictures. It is an insistence from on high and she did provide me with a local name for the snake.

Bird species; 25

Inca Dove 20, Broad-billed Hummingbird 1, Berylline Hummingbird 3, White-eared Hummingbird 1, Buff-breasted Flycatcher 1, Western Wood-peewee 1, Vermillion Flycatcher 2, Barn Swallow 30, Grey Silky Flycatcher 70, Bewick’s Wren 1, Curve-billed Thrasher 10, American Robin 6, Rufous-backed Thrush 8, Blue-grey Flycatcher 1, Bushtit 8, House Finch 40, Lesser Goldfinch 10, Black-throated Grey Warbler 1, Common Yellowthroat 1, Wilson’s Warbler 6, Canyon Towhee 25, Chipping Sparrow 6, Northern Cardinal 3, Blue Grosbeak 1, Bullock’s Oriole 1.

Monday, 27 September 2010

Desierto de Los Leones

The trip that I have most been looking forward to, I saved until last. At 3000m above sea-level, the mountain forest of Desierto de Los Leones would be a challenge for my smoke-blackened lungs and slender legs. I opted to do this trip at the end of my stay in Mexico to give myself a chance to acclimatise in the relative lowlands of Mexico City.

Even so, I could feel my lungs working harder and my heart pumping faster with only gentle exertion.

There are a bunch of specialities to be found in the high pine and oak forests and two of them leapt out at me as soon as I arrived. I had recognised a “small open area tucked away on the left” ( http://10000birds.com/desierto-de-los-leones-mexico-city.htm ) and asked the taxi driver to let me out there. A hint of birdsong filtered through the foliage and my first “pish” of the day (well they do say they are the strongest), brought forth a Red Warbler and two Golden-browed Warblers.

The red one landed in full view, just a few feet from me and I made a lunge for my, as yet, un-opened camera bag, but could not get to it in time. A call from nearby was probably the Golden-browed Warbler as the two returned to look at me through the foliage and the calling stopped when I tried to imitate with a high whistled “too-too tooey” to the rhythm of “Oh no, Empids!”

Other birds came in and I was surrounded by tiny, Golden-crowned Kinglets. An empid, which I pretended not to see, was sitting out and an Acorn Woodpecker was silhouetted high on a dead tree top. The Empidonax was still sitting out so I took a look. Usual thing, wing-bars, eye-ring, but I simply don’t have enough experience with the family to diagnose them by eye.

Charlie’s path at the upslope end of the clearing had overgrown. It was passable, but the overhanging foliage was dripping with water and I elected to walk along the road instead. The birds were abundant along the sides of the road with a party every 200m or so.

Bushtits were common and more Red and Golden-browed Warblers showed amongst the Kinglets. Each party brought a new guest. Mexican Cickadees featured strongly as did the Crescent-chested Warbler. Other birds included Wilson’s and Townsend’s Warblers, Slate-throated Redstart and Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

The sui generis Olive Warbler was a guest at this party since its own family get togethers must be a bit flat. Each party was slightly different as I progressed along the road.

Being so high, the cloud rolled back and forth throughout the morning. One moment visibility was almost zero, the next, I had a clear view across the valley.

A constant companion whatever the visibility was the song of the Brown-backed Solitaire. It is a descending jangle with a metallic quality. Easily recognized, but the bird is elusive. I must have passed half-a-dozen or so very close to the road, yet invisible from it before I managed to get a good look at one. A brown bird would occasionally flit through the mist and a few moments later the song would start. An assumption might reasonably be jumped to, but I am glad to have seen one properly and even managed half a picture.

A harsh, dry call made me look up to see a large stripy wren. It was barred on flank and tail; black on grey. I had to refer to the field guide to identify a Grey-barred Wren. It flew off quickly, followed by a second.

At a roadside picnic spot called Casa Manera, I eventually got the opportunity that I had been hoping for since the beginning of the morning. “Pishing" brought some warblers down and one of two Red Warblers hopped into full view just a few meters away. The one above was caught using the flash and I had to Photo Shop the flash in his eye. Below, is as nature intended.

It didn’t stop long and I pished forlornly for a while hoping it would come back, but it was gone. As I sat, I noticed a couple of Brown Creepers working a tree trunk across from me and was pleased to get a picture of them too.

A stream passes under the road on a tight right-hander bend and I felt the need to check for American Dipper. The field guide distribution map showed crosshatch shading right up to my current position, which indicated I was on the edge of a resident breeding area. I decided that a rest here would be as good as anywhere and stopped for a while at the adjacent picnic spot.

A Tufted Flycatcher hawked from a low bush upstream of the road, but there was no sign of a dipper.

I had almost reached the convent when I saw the Green-striped Brushfinch. It kept low and skulky in the under-storey and never emerged for a good look.

I am unsure how far I walked from where the taxi driver dropped me to the convent, but it took nearly 4 hours. Not because of oxygen deprivation, but because there were so many birds. Walking the road had been a mixed pleasure. There had been enough clear space to get a look at the birds, but lack of silencers and clutches made the frequent traffic very noisy.

The walk along the road had been mostly flattish so I had not had any difficulty with the thin atmosphere. I had fooled myself into thinking how well I was coping and treated myself to a large lunch at one of the cafes by the convent. Then I found out that there is no substitute for fitness and a bucketful of red corpuscles. The lunch had taken up valuable lung-expansion room, just at a time when I was about to embark on a hike on the slopes above the convent.

One of the specials of Desierto de Los Leones is the Russet Nightingale-Thrush. I began the climb, beyond the hermitages, towards an area of tangles where I had seen the bird on a previous visit. Perhaps I would have coped better on a light lunch; it was hard work and I had to stop a couple of times. To my dismay, the intended thicket was higher than I remember and the forest was eerily silent as I walked through it. I didn’t hear or see a single bird above the convent. Perhaps that was because my brain was shutting down the higher brain functions such as seeing and hearing. It was about now that I was cursing Steve NG Howell and Sophie Webb for the 20 pages of bibliography that added extra weight to their field guide.

On a perfect day, I would have been able to include the nightingale-thrush and a Rufous-capped Brushfinch in the list below, but seeing all the other great birds that did make it on to the list, and seeing them well, made it a fantastic day just the same.

Bird species; 23

Acorn Woodpecker 4, Tufted Flycatcher 1, Grey-barred Wren 2, Brown-backed Solitaire 2, American Robin 6, Golden-crowned Kinglet 90, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3, Bushtit 50, Mexican Chickadee 18, Brown Creeper 5, Stellar’s Jay 4, House Finch 1, Olive Warbler 4, Crescent-chested Warbler 6, Townsend’s Warbler 2, Wilson’s Warbler 1, Red Warbler 9, Slate-throated Redstart 3, Golden-browed Warbler 8, Green-striped Brush-finch 1, Spotted Towhee 1, Yellow-eyed Junco 20, Black-headed Grosbeak 1.

Redgannet