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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Features/  Book Excerpt | Grey Hornbills At Dusk
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Book Excerpt | Grey Hornbills At Dusk

Meetings with the Capital's migratory population

Grey Hornbills At Dusk—Nature Rambles Through Delhi: By Bulbul Sharma, Aleph, 171 pages, `295.Premium
Grey Hornbills At Dusk—Nature Rambles Through Delhi: By Bulbul Sharma, Aleph, 171 pages, `295.

The conference of birds

Painter and children’s book writer Bulbul Sharma has spent years wandering through Delhi’s parks, gardens and monuments. Her experiences are reflected in her new book, Grey Hornbills At Dusk: Nature Rambles Through Delhi, which was released last month. Edited excerpts from the chapter “Winter":

… Despite the bitterly cold and foggy mornings, this is a good month (January) to head out to the open fields outside Delhi and then beyond to the vast Sultanpur lake where flocks of migratory birds are wintering. Most of them have flown a long distance from their breeding grounds in Central Asia, Tibet and Ladakh, braving hostile humans, freezing temperatures and icy storms. They start arriving in Sultanpur by September and are well settled to celebrate the new year with us...

…I choose the wrong day to come to Sultanpur lake, though as I walk in I am blissfully unaware about what is going to hit me later. Feeling very pleased with myself, I walk down the mist-covered path and through the curtain of tall grass I see the warm brown feathers of my favourite duck. Despite their long flight the Pintail Ducks are alert even at dawn. Every year, these smart-looking, chocolate brown, grey and white ducks are usually the biggest group on the lake. You will see them either upending in the water or floating about in small groups looking like a bunch of smart, pin-striped corporate guys gathering for an AGM…

The slow, merry-eyed and pleasantly plump Greylag Geese float past the pintails oblivious of their critical gaze, looking eagerly for a good sunny place to relax and maybe nibble something green and tasty. They are already quite full since the geese like to fly out at night to feed in the fields around the lake and often do a lot of damage to young shoots of wheat and barley...

...I watch the geese move slowly and gracefully like dignified old ladies, their pink bills gleaming in the gentle winter sunlight. Their wing feathers change from pale grey to silver as the light catches them.

Suddenly, a dark shadow falls on them and there is chaos. With a loud honking sound the geese begin to scatter and I look up to see a Marsh Harrier hovering above our heads...

…The Marsh Harrier, despite its nasty ways, is a recklessly handsome bird I like to watch for hours. It loves to rise high in the air with its wings stretched out and then suddenly it will swoop down to grab a helpless duck. It has a gleaming pale brown head which catches the sunlight as the bird twists and turns in the air. Sometimes it will chase the geese and the ducks just for fun, making them honk hysterically as they rush from one end of the lake to the other. At first you will hear a low long drumbeat as the geese take off and then a loud honking will echo all over the lake as the entire flock rises in the air, screaming abuses at the Marsh Harrier. This handsome hawk is a winter visitor and I wonder if it harasses the geese and ducks in Central Asia too since they both live there in summer…

...There are smaller groups of other ducks floating about on the lake and it takes me a long time to identify them through the mist. The Mallard is easy because of its green head and yellow beak. But watch out, there is another green-headed duck relaxing next to it and this one is called the Shoveller because of its flat shovel-like bill. You cannot miss the Shoveller and even on a foggy winter morning you will spot its bright mismatched colours. The head is green, the breast white and the underparts a gleaming chestnut. This duck breeds throughout the greater part of Europe, northern Asia as well as North America and many flocks migrate in winter to the Mediterranean, Egypt and Africa. Some prefer to fly down to us and they like it here so much that they hang around much after the other migratory ducks have left for their homes. The Shoveller likes to spend time in small groups or single pairs, feeding in shallow water, the muddier the better. One can see it dipping its head in the water, using its special beak to sieve through mud and muddy water for minute living organisms and aquatic seeds....

A sudden flash of a russet head tells me that the Red-crested Pochard is also here. This gorgeous duck has flown all the way from Siberia and northern Europe. The male bird is one of the best-looking ducks on the lake with a glossy red head and a crimson bill, shiny black underparts and a glowing white wing-bar. The female is a bit sober and dull-looking but does not seem to mind and swims along her mate, giving him adoring looks. Their dark-headed cousin, the Tufted Pochard, is lurking here amongst the weeds, its tiny yellow eyes gleaming wickedly in the faint light. This duck always reminds me of a villain in a Hindi movie who is waiting for a chance to attack his handsome cousin and grab all his property...

There is a stunning orange-brown duck hiding in one corner—the famous Ruddy Sheldrake, also known as the brahminy duck. These shy creatures come from Ladakh and Tibet to winter in various water bodies around Delhi as well as other parts of India.…

The other migratory ducks on the lake are the Common Teal, Gadwall and Wigeon. All of these have flown in from their breeding grounds in Central Asia, Siberia and northern Europe. I wonder if the ducks and geese gather in one place before flying out to India. It must be an amazing sight to see thousands of them in one vast group. I will have to travel to Siberia and other remote parts of Central Asia to see this sight. Unlike the brave birds, I lack the stamina and courage and would rather just meet them in the relative comfort of the Sultanpur jheel.

Grey Hornbills At Dusk—Nature Rambles Through Delhi: By Bulbul Sharma, Aleph, 171 pages, 295.

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Published: 13 Oct 2014, 05:22 PM IST
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