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Journalism of Courage
Recently there was great excitement among the birding community in the National Capital Region (NCR) when a Little Gull was spotted floating demurely in the Chandu wetlands near the Sultanpur National Park – drawing birders from far and wide like dung-beetles to a fresh cowpat! Now black, and brown-headed gulls usually flock in hordes to the inland water-bodies of this region (alas even to the filthy Yamuna) in winter, but this compact little bird – the smallest gull in the world – really had no business to be here. According to some records it is only the sixth time it has been spotted here.
About the size of a laughing dove, in its winter outfit it has white underparts, wears a black cap, has a black beauty spot behind the ear and a black bill and a distinguishing pearl grey back. It is of course much smarter during its breeding season (summer) wearing a black executioner’s hood, and sporting a bright red bill and red legs. It breeds normally in the Palearctic region – those cold Scandinavian territories, as well as the eastern parts of the Baltic Sea and east Siberia. It is meant to spend the winter at sea along the coasts of Europe and south to the Mediterranean and Black and Caspian Sea, but may be found inland too. But what the heck was this little bird doing swimming serenely among other gulls and waders in the Chandu wetlands, so way off course? Did it want to be considered to be a big gull? But really, it’s like you being on a flight from say New York to Delhi and finding yourself in Moscow instead (which, of course also happens!).
Well, many migratory birds who fly thousands of miles do lose their way. It’s thought some may have issues with their internal navigational equipment – like your Google Map which may direct you to drive into a river instead of onto an expressway. This could be due to congenital reasons – their internal magnetic compasses not being oriented properly. Or, as probably in most cases, the birds are simply blown off course due to high winds and storms while on their journeys, and are disoriented. Many are blown out to sea and seek shelter on ships passing by.
It makes me wonder what the cause might have been for this Little Gull. The Chandu wetlands are way, way off course – nowhere near what ought to have been its normal wintering destination. But then again, perhaps when you are flying such immense distances, even the smallest navigational error in the direction you set, might magnify itself into a massive mistake. Airplane pilots may be well aware of this.
And now I wonder what this little bird is going to do about flying back home in summer? Will it be able to get back to its summer breeding grounds by course correcting? Or will it make the same mistake going back? Sometimes birds do and may set up all-new breeding ranges. Or will it just follow all the big gulls and land up where they do? Many of the black and brown headed gulls – breed in Ladakh – so is this where our Little Gull is destined to spend its summer? Without a partner it would seem pretty pointless.
There are other such ‘vagrant’ birds too. In Sultanpur, the Baikal Teal, the Falcated Duck and the Marbled Duck are three other such which have been spotted by eagle-eyed birders. I saw the Falcated Duck years ago in Bharatpur and it is gorgeous, what with a head like a million-carat emerald topped with bronze and fancy drooping feathers along its sides. Both look like combinations of the Common Teal and Pintail. These ducks breed in eastern Siberia and spend their winters down south up to Vietnam, so even they are way, way off course.
Sometimes of course, the occurrence of these ‘vagrants’ has a very simple explanation. Years ago, on the Northern Ridge in Delhi, I heard the distinctive call of the white-crested laughing thrush – and finally saw the bird, a beautiful umber brown, with a snowy white face and rakish crest and a black bandit’s mask, looking for all the world like an extra from Zorro. Normally it is found in the Himalayan foothills and is not a migrant. So, what on earth was it doing on the Delhi Ridge? Well, it is also a very popular cage bird – and the Chandni Chowk bird market is perhaps a mile away as the thrush flies – from the Northern Ridge. So obviously the bird seemed to be an escapee. It lived on the Ridge (alone albeit) for several months before it disappeared.
Thankfully it seems that these lost souls are at least not mistreated by the ‘legitimate’ visa-holding winter visitors to an area – and told to get out. At least (and so I hope) our Little Gull was not beset upon by all the big gulls and other water birds and sent packing. It did disappear after some days and one wonders where it is now. Possibly on another hospitable water body nearby?
All this indicates that such waterbodies need to be zealously protected. Developers, mall-builders, and their ilk already have their greedy sights on the land around the Sultanpur National Park – where you cannot build any infrastructure – or farmhouses – within a 5-km range. Apparently illegal structures have already come up. It is amazing enough that so many birds of so many different species fly down to spend their winters here in the NCR gas chamber. The least we can do is to ensure they have a quiet and peaceful environment in which to get some hard-earned R&R.
