Indian Raptors, January 2009

with detailed notes on itinerary

Nick Rossiter

Overview: Back in UK on schedule on 20/1 from grand tour of India visiting 1) in deep south Bangalore for International Whitehead Conference with safari at Bandipur Tiger Reserve taking in Mysore, 2) on Arabian Sea coast Goa for much sun, sea and sand, and 3) in the central north Delhi for the bustling city itself and for the Taj Mahal at Agra. Flew out by Virgin from London-Mumbai on 3rd and back by Virgin from Delhi-London on 20th. Had 4 internal flights in India: Mumbai-Bangalore, Bangalore-Goa, Goa-Mumbai and Mumbai-Delhi. Highlights: conference paper received well, 1,208 individuals of 27 forms of bird of prey including 14 new taxon, weather dry and fine everywhere, good health throughout, met up with daughter as arranged at Goa Airport and we had a good time for rest of stay, Taj Mahal was really stunning. Lowlights: no Tigers seen, but they were heard!!

Raptors in India in 2009: 5-20 January

*= new taxon

Breakdown of totals

South:

Bangalore: Black Kite 439, Brahminy Kite 15, Shikra 4, Peregrine 1.

Bangalore-Mysore: Black Kite 71, Brahminy Kite 47, White-eyed Buzzard 3, Black-shouldered Kite 1.

Bandipur National Park: Black Kite 3, Oriental Honey Buzzard 2, Red-headed Vulture 2, Short-toed Snake Eagle 2, Brahminy Kite 1, Long-billed Vulture 1, Besra 1.

Mysore-Bandipur: Black Kite 17, Brahminy Kite 3, Oriental Honey Buzzard 1, Changeable Hawk-Eagle 1, Bonnelli’s Eagle 1, Booted Eagle 1, Laggar Falcon 1.

Mysore Palace: Black Kite 50, Brahminy Kite 4, Oriental Honey Buzzard 1.

West:

Mumbai: Black Kite 7, Common Kestrel 1.

Goa Airport-South Goa: Black Kite 10, Brahminy Kite 7, Shikra 3, Common Kestrel 1, Western Marsh Harrier 1.

Palolem-Sahakari: Black Kite 39, Brahminy Kite 15, White-eyed Buzzard 1.

Panjim, Goa: Brahminy Kite 3, White-bellied Sea-Eagle 2, Black Kite 1.

South Goa: Black Kite 112, Brahminy Kite 39, Oriental Honey Buzzard 11, White-bellied Sea-Eagle 9, Osprey 2, Grey-headed Fish-Eagle 1, Shaheen 1, Crested Goshawk 1, Changeable Hawk-Eagle 1, Booted Eagle 1.

North:

Delhi/Faridabad: Black Kite 87, Oriental Honey Buzzard 2, Shaheen 1, Changeable Hawk-Eagle 1.

Faridabad-Agra: Black Kite 11, Common Kestrel 4, Oriental Honey Buzzard 3, Brahminy Kite 1, Shikra 1, Steppe Eagle 1, Indian White-backed Vulture 1.

Agra: Black Kite 48, Brahminy Kite 2, Oriental Honey Buzzard 1.

Taj Mahal: Black Kite 41, Egyptian Vulture 4.

Delhi Airport area: Black Kite 52, Black-eared Kite 2, Oriental Honey Buzzard 2, Pallid Harrier 1.

Habitat

South:

Bandipur National Park Habitat: stills showing forest in dry season 1  2  3  4  5; stills of bamboo 1  2  3  4; stills of camp 1  2; stills of lake 1  2; video Panoramic View.

West:

Palolem beach 1  2  3  4; at sunset 1  2  3  4; sunset with dolphins 1  2  3  4  5; dusk 1  2  3; jungle at north end 1  2  3  4; creek 1; jungle up creek 1  2  3  4; pan video of jungle on peninsula to north 1; pan video of bay on morning of departure 1; peninsula from Lalit 1.

Patnam beach 1.

Lalit Spa beach 1; looking inland from Spa 1.

Sahakari Spice Farm fruit trees 1.

Raptor Details

Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus

Widely distributed, found in all areas and seemingly adaptable ranging from wild areas in Bandipur National Park to coastal jungle in Goa to large parks in the city of Delhi. Indeed the third most abundant raptor found overall. The birds seen were presumed to all be of the resident race ruficollis rather than the migratory one orientalis but the extent to which orientalis winters in India is not reliably known [Naoroji 2006 p. 141]. Tentatively supporting this, the resident race is significantly smaller than the migratory one [Ferguson-Lees & Christie 2001 p.345-346] and the birds seen did not look particularly large, as judged by direct comparison with kites. The visit was made outside the non-breeding season. Like with Western Honey Buzzard, the birds were not particularly easy to see. While the Black Kite and Brahminy Kite floated endlessly over their territories, the typical aerial behaviour of the Oriental Honey Buzzard was, around noon, to climb rapidly over their sites, do a little display and then dive quickly back again. Typical display by the pair, presumably to show the territory is occupied, involved mutual circling, follow me and quick dives at each other. Like Western Honey Buzzard the birds kept very much to their wooded habitat making close observation difficult.

Bandipur National Park

Videos: gliding with derived stills 2  9  4  7  8  5  6  1  3.

Goa

Videos: Palolem – gliding high quality  lower quality with derived stills 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10; displaying at range pair; gliding down 1 with derived stills 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8; interacting with Brahminy Kite 1 with derived stills 1  2  3; Lalit – 3 birds in brief display 1; bird gliding and diving 1.

Black Kite Milvus migrans

They were everywhere, even in the chaotic centres of the cities Delhi and Bangalore, such as around MG Street and Brigade Street in the latter. They are scavengers of course, just like Red Kite Milvus milvus were in English cities in the 16th and 17th centuries. They were much commoner in areas of human habitation than out in the open countryside. On the coast they frequently went out over the sea following fishing boats or scavenging from the surface. Their flight mode changed from floating to flapping over the sea, thus using more energy. They were starting to breed in Bangalore with nest building and display in progress.

Bangalore city

Stills: 1   2   3  4  5  6.

Videos: fast level display flight, one call  follow me, flapping, display  feuding birds, flapping  glide fast  glide high-up  glide high-up display, flapping  float flapping, two birds  float, two birds, calls  float  high-up flight, two birds  calls, perched, float  nest.

Calls: 1  2.

Nest building: 1.

Mysore Palace

Videos: float (1 bird)  float (2-3 birds)  float/glide (4 birds)  float/glide (7 birds)  wheel (1 bird) perched (4 birds)  perched (3 birds)  perched (1st bird)  perched (1st bird)  perched (2nd bird)  perched (3rd bird)  perched (3rd bird)  perched (4th bird).

Bandipur National Park

Video: floating low-down.

Goa

Stills: Palolem beach – close-up from below 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9; sideways 1; topside 1; swooping for fish 1  2; Lalit Spa – from below 1; topside 1.

Videos: Palolem beach – glide, flap, soar 1; glide, flap over sea, flock 1; flapping past over sea 1; Lalit Spa – fishing over sea with Brown-headed Gulls 1; fly pass beach restaurant 1.

Delhi

Video: flying around city.

Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus

In southern and western India this was the second commonest raptor, and perhaps the commonest in some rural areas where the Black Kite was less common. Very small numbers were found in the north around Delhi and in Bangalore city centre. This kite, like the Black Kite, also seems to be attracted to water, frequently being seen over the sea in Goa, fishing and scavenging.

Bangalore

Video: soaring.

Mysore Palace

Video: floating.

Goa

Stills: Palolem beach – close-up from below 1  2  3; close-up banking 1; close-up floating 1  2; wings down in active flight 1; Lalit Spa – from below 1; topside 1  2; wings up in active flight 1; gliding from above 1.

Videos: Palolem beach – floating over sea; gliding with derived stills 1  2; video soar over sea 1; low-level active flight 1; in territory 1 with derived stills from this and preceding video 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15 ; plucking fish from sea 1 with derived stills 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9; Lalit Spa – soaring over sea 1.

White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster

Common along the Goa coast with every headland seeming to have a resident pair. A spectacular raptor and clearly the top of the food chain in this area with the kites keeping a wary distance.

Goa

Stills: Palolem beach – flying past 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10.

Videos: Palolem beach – adult over sea; adult flying inland with derived stills 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8; adult floating and soaring 1 with derived stills 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8; 2 adults soaring with Black Kite 1; adult floating over bay 1; Lalit Spa – immature soaring over coast 1 with derived stills 1  2  3  4  5.

Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus

Just seen on the Taj Mahal Mausoleum, Agra, where it looked as if the birds were holding territory prior to nesting.

Agra

Stills: Taj Mahal 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16.

Indian Long-billed Vulture Gyps indicus

The only one seen was drifting over the park, hunting. Twenty years ago it is likely that many hundreds would have been seen before the use of the drug Diclofenac on sickly cattle led to their mass poisoning.

Bandipur National Park

Video: drifting.

Short-toed Snake Eagle Circaetus gallicus

Two were hunting over an open area of the park.

Bandipur National Park

Video: hunting.

Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus

One was seen hanging in territory and mobbing larger raptors over the north side of the beach at Palolem, Goa.

Goa

Video: Palolem hanging.

Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus

Singles were seen near Bandipur National Park and at Palolem, Goa.

Goa

Video: Palolem – gliding 1 with derived stills 1  2.

Other Wildlife

Mammals

Bandipur National Park: Indian Elephant, Chital (stag  2 stags  female  herd female), Mouse Deer, Sambar, Red-faced Macaque (1  2), Langur (1   2), Wild Boar (1  2), Tiger (growls only!).

Palolem, Goa: dolphins at sunset 1  2  3  4  5; cows on Palolem beach 1.

Snakes

water snake sp at Palolem creek 1.

Butterflies

Crimson Rose butterfly at Palolem beach 1.

Birds other than Raptors

Bandipur: Peacock (1  2), Red-wattled Lapwing, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Green Bee-eater, White-throated Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Babbler.

Goa: Little Heron video 1 at Palolem with derived stills 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14; Little Cormorant at Palolem 1  2; Red-wattled Lapwing at Palolem 1  2; Greater Sand Plover at Patnam 1  2  3  4; Greater Sand Plover and Kentish Plover at Palolem 1  2; Common Sandpiper at Palolem/Lalit 1  2; Brown-headed Gull off Palolem 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9, video in bay evening, video in bay morning, video feeding flock 1 2; Little Green Bee-eater at Palolem 1; Indian House Crow at Palolem 1  2  3.

Delhi: Rose-ringed Parakeet at Faridabad 1  2  3  4; Jungle Babbler at Agra 1  2.

Grockels

Stills of Mysore Palace: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7.

Se Cathedral, Old Goa 1; Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa 1; Cabin rented on beach 1; girl acrobat Palolem Beach 1  2  3; yours truly relaxing at Palolem 1; Sahakari Spice Farm elephant ride 1  2  3  4; welcome dancers 1; beach trading video; beach trader video.

Taj Mahal Mausoleum 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14 ; inscriptions (see Egyptian Vulture above); inlaid stones 1  2; yours truly 1  2  3  4; finial 1; minarets 1  2; approach route 1; Great Gate 1  2  3  4  5  6  7; Mosque 1  2; Yamuna river 1; gardens 1; mosque from distance at Agra through mist 1  2  3  4  5 ; video of site 1  2.

Agra Fort 1  2  3  4; museum shop 1  2.

Delhi: view from Hotel Ajanta 1  2; taken at dawn from Hotel Ajanta video.

Work

From 5/1-8/1 attended 7th International Whitehead Conference at Christ University/ Dhamaram College Bangalore giving presentation on 8/1, having some very stimulating 13-hour days, meeting many interesting people. A lively presentation of local culture was given on 6/1: 1   2   3   4   5.

Diary

21/1: got back to Ordley at 00:30 (06:00 Indian time) this morning off the 20:00 train from London Kings X-Newcastle. And the station car park barriers were up! From the trip uploaded on to the desktop 18.0 GB of video (281 clips, about 2.5 hours) and 2.89 GB of stills (915 items).

20/1: so end of trip. Got taxi to Delhi Airport at 10:00 and flight Delhi-London took 9 hours, taking off at about 14:30. We were upgraded to business class (in both directions) which makes a great difference as you have a proper bed in which you can doze beautifully! Just as the plane was turning to speed down the runway, an adult male Pallid Harrier glided low over it and landed on the grass. On the journey out from the hotel to the Airport also had 52 Black Kite and 2 Black-eared Kite and Oriental Honey Buzzard.

19/1: another early start at 06:00 for drive by personal transport to one or the 8 wonders of the modern world – the Taj Mahal at Agra, some 240km from Delhi. It’s a fantastic site with very impressive marble architecture. Agra itself is a real grockle trap – everything you touch costs – and the guide was a bit of a pain through being over intense, but the driver was marvellous and the monument itself was stunning. Weather was misty and about 21-23 deg C, hence similar to English summer but locals were dressed as if it were Siberia and my shorts stood out a bit! The driving style here on dual-carriageways is remarkable: they drive on the left as in the UK with slow short-distance traffic on the left but slow long-distance traffic on the right. So faster traffic goes in between these 2 streams but there are only 2 lanes so it’s a continuous weave down the middle for about 200km which gets quite tense at times! Raptor numbers were very high particularly in the urban and parkland areas of Delhi/Faridabad and Agra with total for day of 187 Black Kite (must be useful urban scavengers), 6 Oriental Honey Buzzard, 4 Common Kestrel (on wires in farmland) and Egyptian Vulture (actually perched on the marble of Taj Mahal, the guide would have had a fit if he'd known what I was photographing!), 3 Brahminy Kite (much scarcer here) and single Shaheen, Shikra, Changeable Hawk-Eagle, Steppe Eagle and Indian White-backed Vulture (the last a new species; it would have been seen at least in the hundreds 20 years ago). So that's 25+ types of raptor now and 1,000+ individuals.

18/1: two flights by Jet Airways, from Goa to Mumbai and then Mumbai to Delhi. Goa Airport was absolute chaos but Mumbai was serene and very well-organised. On way to Goa Airport from Palolem, had a Western Marsh Harrier over a swampy area and another Shikra on wires. A female/immature Common Kestrel was hovering over grass near the runway at Mumbai, obviously unaware of recent bird-strikes! Travelling on stand-by but no problem with connections, making Delhi at 18:55 in the dark, where met by appointed car. Delhi is scam capital of the world: tourists looking for taxis can be told that their hotel is closed but the driver’s brother can help them out! Made Ajanta Hotel with great soak in bath after stay on beach and booked up trip to Taj Mahal tomorrow, beating them down by 40% in the cost after a minute’s negotiation! Taj Mahal means Crown Palace, built as A Tribute to Beauty of Love --- how appropriate when you consider initials!! We stand out a lot more here: feel a bit exposed in the shortage of other foreigners but the hotel is looking after us very well. We thought suggestions that we should not leave the hotel on our own might be for the benefit of the hotel's bar takings but evidently they're justified: it's a jungle out there (as in the film Slumdog Millionaire, set in comparable Mumbai).

17/1: last full day in Goa so went again to Lalit Spa for the beach and lunch. So laid back now, that it’s hard work doing nothing! But did walk there and have 2 swims in the sea. Temperatures have been 34-35 deg C throughout our stay here with no clouds at all. Added a lot of raptors seen inland from Lalit Spa: 45 Black Kite, 13 Brahminy Kite, 5 Oriental Honey Buzzard (2 and 3 soaring at 12:00, peak time for bird of prey activity today) and a Changeable Hawk-Eagle. Also observed the Black Kite and Brahminy Kite fishing and following trawlers over the sea, just like Herring Gulls in the UK. The Brahminy Kite in particular are very agile and neat in plucking fish out of the water with just the claws getting wet! Both species of kite are cheeky in plucking fish out of the fishermen’s nets. Had good meal tonight at Big Fish: last one before leaving. Return to the UK suddenly seems closer. I’ve already been away 2 weeks. Pleased to see Woolworths store has been taken over by Iceland in Hexham: wonder how the other Hexham attractions are getting on!! Second attraction on return might be a pint of Guinness! To Delhi tomorrow in 2 flights: it will be cooler there at only 20-25 deg C. Up to c940 raptors in total now in 21 species – must get more in last few days to get over a thousand.

16/1: in afternoon took driver for ½ day trip to Sahakari Spice Farm; this farm was very reasonably priced (300 rupees, £4.30, including lunch and guide) and much information was given on all sorts of Indian spices including drugs! Then we became complete grockles going on an elephant ride! And a bit of culture visiting a cathedral near Panjim, before returning to Palolem. Raptors showed a similar pattern to before with 39 Black Kite, 15 Brahminy Kite and a White-eyed Buzzard on the way from Palolem-Sahakari and 1 Black Kite, 3 Brahminy Kite and 2 White-bellied Sea-Eagle in the Panjim area. The route back from Panjim-Palolem had been counted before but was very interesting for 2 Shikra, one of which was perched on wires at close range, and for a perched female kestrel-type which was thought to be a Common Kestrel on jizz and probability (they breed in the area), but it could possibly have been Lesser Kestrel. Earlier had a Grey-headed Fish-Eagle off Palolem beach and a few dolphins were jumping well, right out of the water. Thought a German girl was very straight until noticed the smell of reefers after the rest of her party had gone to bed! The Russian girls are the most glamorous, arriving on the beach with full make-up and jewellery (and moneyed attendant)!.

15/1: got dynamic and walked to another beach Lalit Spa, to south of Patnam Beach, run by Intercontinental: it was very hot and very quiet but great for swimming (5 dips) and sunbathing! Feet burnt after yesterday’s walking so in socks on the beach, which may look odd in some places – but in Goa, no! After 26/11 some beaches had armed dugouts on them until very recently. Added 18 Black Kite, 8 Brahminy Kite and 6 White-bellied Sea-Eagle. The Brahminy Kite seem very good at fishing, plucking prey from surface of water. Some dolphins came into the bay and attracted a lot of attention. The Sea-Eagles were in 2 groups of 3, looking like a family group at one with darker juvenile and 2 adults. Chatting-up belly-dancer – she turned out to be an arts graduate from England, very articulate!! Booked up over the Internet Hotel Ajanta in New Delhi – a mere $100 a day for the 2 of us – as the belly dancer said prices are highly polarised in Delhi, we could easily have paid $200-400! Getting to the stage where anticipation of the return is beginning!!

14/1: another laid-back beach day though we did go on a boat trip up the creek in the afternoon and twice walked the whole beach to the north and back again. After 26/11 trips around the bay are not allowed at present! Weather continued in mid-30s with wall-to-wall sunshine. Jungle at northern end of beach was teeming with raptors from 10:00-12:00 with additional counts of 29 Black Kite, 12 Brahminy Kite and 3 White-bellied Sea-Eagle, and additions to the list of Crested Goshawk and Shaheen, the latter counted as a subspecies of Peregrine in [Naoroji 2006] but the bird looked quite lightweight and more at home in the Barbary Falcon complex as suggested by other sources. The Shaheen was in vigorous exchanges with Black Kite; the falcon breeds in southern India so some territory might be involved. Many small gulls came into the bay to feed on shoals of small fish, like sand eels. Kingfisher beer and curries are the staple diet at the moment!

13/1: rather lazy day after move of cabins to Big Fish. Day’s extravagance of food and drink for the 2 of us came to 1,500 rupees (£21) and now paying 2,000 rupees (£28) a day for 2 cabins. It’s fantastic value, particularly Old Monk rum at 40 rupees (£0.70) a double! Kept an eye on Oriental Honey Buzzard site to north. Some activity took place from 12:05-12:40 but 2 birds were up only briefly together at 12:20 with other sightings quite brief over the trees. Highlight of day was a White-bellied Sea-Eagle which caught a fish and flew overhead to eat it on the land. So that’s 18 species of raptor now (9 new). Also added 6 Black Kite and 2 Brahminy Kite, and 4 Yellow-legged Gull came into the bay at dusk. Starting to think about accommodation in Delhi. Yesterday in Goa was one of the warmest January days on record at just over 35 deg C (96 deg F) – thought it was a bit steamy – but it’s a very poor year for tourism.

12/1: my birthday – yes I’m a boring Capricorn – celebrated with Champagne on the beach!! It’s said by some that the only suitable partners for Capricorns are other Capricorns who understand!! Had some Indian Champagne later, which was pretty acidic and needed all my experience of drinking the like of Plymouth Breweries to get through it! Spent most of day on Palolem beach in hot and sunny weather. Decided to move to Big Fish cabins tomorrow – they’re cheaper and right on the beach. As expected change to the coast immediately produced new raptor species with 2 Osprey and a Grey-headed Fish-Eagle (adult) fishing offshore. Some reasonable views were obtained of Oriental Honey Buzzard with at 13:00 a pair briefly up to the south before power-gliding back again and 3 birds up together to the north over the jungle on the headland. Of the latter a pair went very high with mutual circling and follow-me, rather like in Northumberland. These territory-holding birds are presumably the resident ruficollis reported as widespread throughout the subcontinent and one of the commonest breeding raptors [Naoroji 2006, p.140], hence much as in Northumberland and parts of Scotland for the Western Honey Buzzard! Of course the Honey Buzzard are much easier to find in India, being on site all year, unlike the position in northern Britain where the breeding season is very compressed with only a few days of display at the start. There are also no obvious confusion species in India, unlike in Britain where the Common Buzzard confuses the issue for far too many observers. Also seen were 14 Black Kite and 4 Brahminy Kite.

11/1: drive to Bangalore Airport produced another glut of kites with 129 Black and 3 Brahminy, the former thinning out towards the countryside and the latter found only near the airport. Finishing the visit to the deep south, total is 674 raptors of 15 species (7 new) including 581 Black Kite and 70 Brahminy Kite. Weather was brilliant throughout with 27-28 deg C and wall-to-wall sunshine every day bar one. Bangalore is quite high up at 950m asl which gives it a cooler climate than you might expect. Caught 12:10 Air India to Dubai which dropped me off at Goa Airport and met daughter there a little later. Looking forward to a slower pace for a couple of days! Easy to change money here: no machine at Bangalore would take my visa card! Good thing had an envelope with assorted euros and dollars and that living costs here from day to day are very cheap. Goa is hotter with 33 deg C and blazing sun. Made destination of Palolem in South Goa in late afternoon and checked into Bhakti Kutir. We’re staying in huts very close to the Arabian Sea – back to nature!! Saw 10 Black Kite and 7 Brahminy Kite in taxi ride from airport: driver tried it on for payment but we resisted and he went off in a rather sullen mood!

10/1: back from 2-day trip to Bandipur National Park, which is a 270km drive each way taking 4-5 hours. Went on a personal package in car with driver, who was fortunately not too crazy, staying in chalets in a camping area. Driving here looks very dodgy: all signs are recommendations only so you even get vehicles going (slowly) down a dual-carriageway the wrong way! On the way back stopped at Mysore to see the ott Palace, which was adorned with many Black Kite, and had lunch at the posh Sandesh the Prince (850 rupees (£12) for 3-course meal and beer). The attraction of Bandipur is tigers but in 2 drives, we did not succeed in seeing any but did see Indian Elephant, Boar and several types of deer including Samba and Spotted and monkeys including Langurs and Red-face. The forests, with teak and bamboo, looked very healthy but were autumnal with much leaf drop in progress in the dry season. Managed to get some time around the back of the camp where caught on camcorder Short-toed Snake Eagle, Long-billed Vulture (now very scarce after scandal of their poisoning on rubbish dumps by the drug Diclofenac used as medicine for mainly animals), Black Kite and you’ve guessed it Oriental Honey Buzzard! Total for the 2 days was 372 raptors of 9 species: 289 Black Kite, 63 Brahminy Kite, 4 Oriental Honey Buzzard, 3 White-eyed Buzzard, 2 Shikra, 2 Red-headed Vulture and Short-toed Snake Eagle and single Changeable Hawk-Eagle, Bonnelli’s Eagle, Laggar Falcon, Long-billed Vulture, Booted Eagle (winter visitor), Besra and Black-shouldered Kite. Black Kite were found everywhere, even at the safari camp, but their numbers were highest in urban areas with 148 in the drive out of Bangalore which took an hour and 50 at Mysore. Black Kite clearly feed mainly on human waste. Brahminy Kite were found in small numbers in cities but were commonest in lush, damp areas of the countryside. Birds mainly restricted to Bandipur Park and its vicinity included Besra, Bonnelli’s Eagle, Changeable Hawk-Eagle, Oriental Honey Buzzard (soaring over and plunging into well-wooded valley bottoms from Mysore-Bandipur looking very much like Western Honey Buzzard at least at a distance), Red-headed Vulture and Long-billed Vulture.

8/1: paper was very well received with much encouragement for publishing final version; left conference in mid-afternoon to go downtown in Bangalore with a few other delegates where noise and bustle was amazing. Witnessed end of flagellation ritual with men leaving with blood all over their backs – pretty gruesome. Went for a drink into a pub where Jimmy Hendricks was the theme. Black Kite were displaying everywhere even over centre at MG Street and Brigade Street. Extra counted today was 10 near Christ University and 112 in the journey to city centre, where 3 Brahminy Kite were also seen.

7/1: third 13-hour day in a row. But again got an hour out at lunchtime with the camcorder this time. Got fairly close to a Brahminy Kite and the Black Kite were everywhere. In display Black Kite have a number of similarities to Honey Buzzard with at considerable height deliberate slow and deep wing beats and even a follow-me mode. Main presentation is tomorrow.

6/1: still hard at it! Lovely weather -- 27-28 deg C, 30% humidity, unbroken sun from dawn to dusk -- got me out for a walk at best time 11:30-12:30 when raised count of Black Kite in area to 40 and also had 2 Shikra soaring together and single Peregrine and Brahminy Kite. The Black Kite are pretty fruity -- building nests, copulating and displaying; the Peregrine looked pretty much like ours, a winter visitor to here; the Brahminy Kite is a new species. Trying to dispel the notion that I'm Irish: might have an Irish name and drink Guinness but don't think it goes beyond that, at least in the official genealogy! Cultural show in evening produced some very nice local talent! Lost a few delegates to the odd bug, or perhaps it’s the odd delegate to a few bugs.

5/1: 13-hour working day at conference but obvious that Black Kite are very, very common with about 25 seen today in Christ University area of Bangalore. Some are displaying and may well be breeding already. It's warm -- had buffet outside tonight, which took a bit of getting used to in January for people from northern Europe and parts of North America. Might get the bins out tomorrow! Booked 2-day safari to Bandipur for end of stay here including hire of cab, night at lodge and driver. Don't think I'd ever want to drive here, even though they drive approximately on the left - it's completely chaotic! Makes Naples and Crete look quite sane.

4/1: arrived in Bangalore in afternoon after about 25 hours travelling, involving train from Newcastle-Kings X, tube to Heathrow, planes (Virgin Atlantic/Jet Airways) to Mumbai and Bangalore, taxi to Christ University and tuk-tuk to SJ Academy! Planes were very punctual and security at Mumbai was mega. Some 60 delegates to the conference evidently withdrew in the first week after the shoot-out in Mumbai -- wimps! Saw 7 Black Kite at Mumbai Airport.

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