"Hariyal" says Hello

Hariyal or Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

    Hello there. Have you seen me before here? Let me introduce myself. I am 'हरियल' also known as Yellow-footed Green Pigeon. I think my English name is unimaginative; probably the person who named me so thinks it is colourful!

Tree dwelling is the best

    I am a tree dwelling cousin of the common Rock Pigeon. You may have spotted me in the peepal tree near your home. The peepal tree is a favored neighborhood; the branches perfect for  perching and nest, it's leaves give shade and privacy and fruits are our daily diet. Our entire clan can live in a peepal tree, unseen by predators and troublemakers, the canopy providing a perfect camouflage.

Hariyal family tree

    You are familiar with the rock pigeon, who is an ardent fan of the cities and all kinds of human construction. It leaves no building structure or a shady nook unexplored. Till a century or two back, this pigeon was essential for message delivery system of humans. The age old livelihood and traditions of the rock pigeon is displaced by the  cables, wires and transmission towers. The rock pigeons of the world are trying to fight back.

Rock pigeon admiring human creations

    They are protesting by mass gatherings near cables and wires hanging in the city. Sometimes the pigeons use force and try to weigh the wires down by shear large numbers. The wires and cables are not relenting or retaliating; the towers may shock the pigeons sometimes but that is about all. Every popular space of humans, has it's own protesting pigeon gang. The gangs graffiti these spaces with feathers and big stinky splotches and voice loud "go- go-goo" slogans.

Rock pigeon gang & Raging red eyed pigeon

    Usually, the humans don't pay them much attention; but some fools try to feed the pigeon gang. Do the humans not see the rage- red eyes of the rock pigeons?

    Enough about the raging rock pigeon now! This post is about me - the blue eyed darling of pigeon species. Poets have penned odes praising our blue eyes. Yes, my kind is special. So is our call, a sweet whistling one, just like that of  naughty little child.

Grab on to the tree branch

    Keep an ear out for our whistles near fruit laden trees. Our flock eats all kind of berries and ficus fruits. Trekking through the branches is easy because of our big strong yellow feet. These feet help in grabbing the branches  and holding on to them during windy, stormy weather. Strong wide feet are good for everyone; they take one far and wide. We cannot comprehend the trend of thin narrow feet and pencil thin heels.

Hariyal loves berries

    My species is spread all over the Indian subcontinent. You need not go towards sanctuaries and forests to search for me. I can be found with my flock in the local gardens or any tree lined avenue amidst tree foliage. Bothering humans by dirtying their buildings, cars, clothes etc is the agenda of rock pigeon, not ours. If you wish to befriend the Hariyal flock, plant some indigenous trees in your neighborhood. And if your neighborhood is green with lots of trees, then my kind will probably be the in the nearby tree. Just use the binoculars to locate our bright yellow feet, or the pale pink shoulder patch; or if you are lucky enough then the gorgeous blue eyes, watching you from behind the green leaves.

Our shy neighbor - Hariyal

Birding in National Parks - Part 1 Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

 

Lake at Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

The year 2011 started on a good birding note. The second Sunday of the year, saw us heading towards Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Harayana. Our family planned to visit the bird sanctuary to see the migratory bird that nested there during winter season. While researching the routes to reach Sultanpur, we were surprised to find out that it was about 35 kilometers from our home by road. Traveling through Najafgarh and other villages on Delhi Rawta border was estimated to take us around an hour to reach the place.

Black Winged Stilt

Sunday, 9th January dawned as a cold, foggy and rainy day. Chances of viewing birds, migratory or resident, seemed too bleak. However, our heart was set on visiting the place and we drove off towards Harayana, after breakfast. Weather gods were benevolent after the early morning drizzle; soon the sky cleared up and the rain had stopped.

 

Cattle egrets

The outing looked promising in spite of the late start. The modern day traffic gods played truant as usual. Delhi traffic showed its colours after drive of 5-6 kilometers from our home. Our car had to crawl  for an hour, through dense traffic, which started from main Najafgarh road up to Khaira village crossing. Thankfully, traffic and noisy human habitats ended beyond this point. We enjoyed rest of the drive through fields and fruit orchards along the Delhi- Harayana border.

 

Teals, Lapwings, Moorhens



Common coot

On the way we found vendors selling fresh guavas and bought 4 to 5 kilos of the delicious green fruit. We reached Sultanpur around lunch time. After quick snacking on guavas and sandwiches, we entered the bird sanctuary to explore.

Grey heron

 Storks, herons, moorhens, teals and ducks were enjoying the warm afternoon sun. Painted stork families were nesting and were noisiest of all. Peacock, kingfishers, parrots were some of the more common birds that we saw.

The Sultanpur lake had been replenished by the abundant monsoon rains, hence many species of  birds were visible this year.  We stayed for short while, pledging to return later for lengthier exploratory visit.



Painted Stork in Flight



Quotes displayed near Sultanpur national Park Gates

Everyone wants to understand painting. Why is there no attempt to understand the song of the birds? (Quote by - Pablo Picasso)

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. (Chinese proverb)