Nesting of Caspian Tern Sterna caspia in Little Rann ... - Indian Birds

Pomal & Sevak: Caspian Tern 10171º8’57.30”E), on which the Caspian Terns were recorded breeding,is c. 3 km south of Nanda bet on the northern fringe of theLittle Rann of Kachchh (Fig. 1). The bet is about 19 km west ofwhere Ranjitsinh (1992) had found eggshells, and dead chicks ofCaspian Tern, in December 1988 (Tiwari et al. 1997).ObservationsFrom Nanda bet, Bhikha Bhagat watched Caspian Terns carryingfish in their beaks (Fig. 2) and regularly flying southwards in earlySeptember 2009. Based on his earlier experience, he knew thatthis indicated an active breeding colony. When AP telephonedhim on 16 September 2009, he was actually on his way tolocate the breeding colony and he was quite sure about findingthe same. Excited by this news, we confirmed from Bhagatabout nesting colony of Caspian Tern and decided to visit the sitewith other birdwatcher friends (Narendra Gor, Dinesh Panchal,Bhavesh). On 17 September, we travelled about 200 km andreached Bhagat’s residence in Nanda bet at 2000 hrs. After adelicious traditional dinner, we stargazed up to 0130 hrs. Theamazing sky was brilliant with stars, milky-ways and the occasionalpassing of small meteorites.Next morning we awoke at 0500 hrs and got ready for themission under the leadership of Bhikha Bhagat. As per his instructions,we carried snacks, water, camera, and binoculars. Wehad to walk about 3 km in three feet of water (Fig. 3) to reach toKhijadia bet. Before starting, we saw Whiskered Tern Chlidoniashybridus—12, Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus—15, andKentish Plover C. alexandrinus—8, on Nanda bet. We saw hugerafts of ducks on our way. We did not realise how tiring our tripwas for about one kilometer, for we were busy with photography.But after that AP had to give his camera bag to Bhikha Bhagat,who encouraged us to walk slowly. After about two kilometers, wewere much fatigued, but could see Khijadia bet. A few CaspianTerns flying around inspired us to walk the remaining distance.We reached the western edge of Khijadia bet at 0845 hrs.This bet was c. 200x50 m in size, and was raised slightly abovewater. We could see about 125 Caspian Terns and 100 WhiskeredTerns flying and calling on the eastern edge of the bet.We also saw Caspian Terns feeding their young. Many of theWhiskered Terns were in breeding plumage but there was noevidence of them breeding. The atmosphere was alive due totheir constant chirping.We counted 64 nests in the colony, which was spread onthe eastern part of the bet. The distance between two nests washardly 30–45 cm, and the distance of nests from the water wasjust 45–60 cm. The nest was a depression in the soil, 10 cm indiameter and two centimeters in depth, without any nest material.Birds were incubating on in six nests, containing one egg each.Fig. 3. Members of the Kachchh Nature Club on their way fromNanda to Khijadia on 18 September 2009.Shell remnants of 62 eggs were found. Eggs, c. 5 cm long, had agreyish ground colour, with brown and black spots of variable sizeon their broad ends (Fig. 4). A few eggs were lying on ground;some of them were partly damaged. Six chicks were lying deadin the colony. We saw 45 chicks with distinct plumage and red billin two groups, each of 20–25 individuals, swimming in the water(Fig. 5). The chicks may have been about 20–25 days old. Theterns were constantly flying overhead, uttering their alarm callswhile we examined the colony.At 1000 hrs we started for Sukhpar bet, reaching it at 1200hrs, after walking 2 km. We had left our shoes on Nanda bet,and the hot soil gave us a trying time. Moreover, our supply ofdrinking water was almost finished. We still had to walk 3 km, onhard ground, to reach our destination. The ground was burninghot and walking on grass was risky as there were lots of spikes.Somehow, managing between those two options, we reachedour destination at 1345 hrs. After lunch at Bhikha Bhagat’s residence,we returned to Bhuj in the evening.DiscussionBreeding season: Going by the age of the chicks (20–25 days)that we saw on Khijadiya bet, and keeping in mind the on goingincubation at six nests (9.4%), we assume that the majority ofchicks might have hatched in the last week of August 2009. If20–22 days were the incubation period (Ali & Ripley 1983), theprobable period of the colony’s development would be aroundmid-July. Hence, on Khijadia bet, the Caspian Terns bred duringJuly–September 2009. Tiwari et al. (1997) had recorded theirnesting on Khijadia bet during November–December. Tiwari etal. (1997) opined that precise time of nesting appears to beprimarily controlled by the appearance of temporary islands fornesting, which in turn are dependent on the flooding regime ofthe Rann. The terns could breed during south-west monsoon,probably because of below average annual precipitation resultinginto minimum fluctuations in flooding regime around theisland.Photos: Ashwin PomalFig. 2. Caspian Tern with fish.Fig. 4. Eggshell of Caspian Tern

102Indian Birds Vol. 6 Nos. 4&5 (Publ. 20 November 2010)Ashwin PomalFig. 5. Caspian Tern adults and young.The breeding season of the Caspian Tern recorded on Khijadiabet is quite different from the Charakla saltpans (May–June)of Jamnagar district, Gujarat (Bhatia 2004). It is June-July in Pakistan(Roberts 1991–1992), and between May and June in SriLanka (Ali & Ripley 1983).Population size: On 18 September 2009, we counted64 nest depressions, and 150 adult Caspian Terns around thecolony at Khijadiya bet. This is much less than the number ofnests / pairs recorded breeding on the same bet by Tiwari et al.(1997) in 1993 (200 nests), and 1994 (300 nests). At CharaklaSaltpans, Bhatia (2004) recorded 452 nests in June 2003, and1,600 adult terns on the colony in July 2003.AcknowledgementsBhikha Bhagat had discovered this colony in 1993 and had shown it toJ. K. Tiwari, S. N. Varu, and P. Majithia (Sanctuary Superintendent, WildAss Sanctuary). After sixteen years, he has discovered breeding colony ofCaspain Terns at the same place and we feel proud to be witness of thissecond breeding record in the Little Rann of Kachchh. We are thankful toR. L. Meena (Conservator Forest, Kachchh Circle), J. G. Bava (Dy. ConservatorForests, Wild Ass Sanctuary), L. N. Jadeja (Dy. Conservator Forests,Eastern Kachchh), J. D. Godhia (Range Forest Officer, Adesar), and J. K.Tiwari (CEDO) for special information. I especially thank B. M. Parasharyafor encouraging us to publish this information by preparing this note andadding relevant discussion and references on the subject.ReferencesAli, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1983. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistantogether with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and SriLanka. Compact ed. Delhi: Oxford University Press.Bhatia, Y., 2004. The Caspian Terns of Jamnagar. Sanctuary Asia XXIV(4): 24–29.Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1998. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent.1st ed. London: Christopher Helm, A & C Black.Kazmierczak, K., 2000. A field guide to the birds of India, Sri Lanka,Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. 1st ed.New Delhi: Om Book Service.Ranjitsinh, M. K., 1992. Breeding of Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia inthe Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 88 (2):283–284.Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2005. Birds of South Asia: theRipley guide. 2 vols. 1st ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: SmithsonianInstitution and Lynx Edicions.Roberts, T. J., 1991–1992. The birds of Pakistan. 2 vols. Karachi: OxfordUniversity Press.Tiwari, J. K., Mundkur, T., Varu, S. N., & Majethia, P., 1997. Furtherevidence of Caspian Tern Sterna caspia breeding in north–westernIndia. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 36 (6): 107–110.Birding adventuresin Kachchh, GujaratRamki SreenivasanSreenivasan, R., 2010. Birding adventures in Kachchh, Gujarat. Indian BIRDS 6 (4&5): 102–105.Ramki Sreenivasan, 113, TIME, 6th Cross, Indiranagar, Bangalore 560038, Karnataka, India.Email: frogmouth@gmail.com.Dry earth, KachchhRamki SreenivasanFor the third time in three minutes, the jeep spins 360 degreesin the slithery mud. I try, with minimal results, to stayas calm as Lakkubhai, the veteran driver of our ‘Sumo’ SUV.Outside, the rain continues to pour in sheets, converting the entireterrain into slurry. Though such storms are not common inKachchh, they still constitute the bulk of the rainfall, in this semidesertenvironment, during the monsoon.Matters were a world apart that morning of 1 September2008, when we had set out for the Banni grasslands—at 3,847kms 2 , the largest expanse of flat land in the country. The dayhad started as a beautiful, sunny one till mid-afternoon. We wereslurping the last of the tea from saucers, they don’t do cups inKachchh, when the western horizon suddenly turned an ominousshade of grey-brown. We hurriedly returned the tea-ware to thenomadic camel herder who had, so kindly, brewed fresh camelmilktea for us, and made an undignified dash for the jeep.Earlier over lunch, Jugal Tiwari, our bird-guide, had warned,“If it rains in the Banni, then we’re truly stuck. There are no roadshere and the soil quickly turns into slush.” As the skies continuedto darken, we were well aware that the closest metalled road wasprobably 40–50 kms away. Jugalbhai hurried us on, and thoughwe implicitly trusted his intuitive knowledge of the land, some-

Nesting of Caspian Tern Sterna caspia in Little Rann ... - Indian Birds

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