.The Tollygunge Club http://www.thetollygungeclub.com/home.htm is a sporting club founded in 1895. It is a 100-acre oasis of greenery in the concrete jungle of South Kolkata. Most of the grounds are given over to a golf course, but there are many different kinds of trees bordering the lush grass of the fairways. There are over 100 species of trees in fact, from India, Africa, South America and Australia. There are also tanks (Indian Subcontinent term for a lake or reservoir) and ponds that, together with the trees and fairways, make an ideal environment for quite a large variety of birds. Mondays are particularly beautiful for bird watching because the Club is closed for golfing and one can wander at will over the grounds. Sumit Sen, a member of both Bird Forum and the Tolly (as the Club is affectionately known) kindly took me around the first Monday after I arrived. Sumit showed me many birds (including the only Indian Roller and Shikra that I saw during my trip), identified their calls and recommended the best field guides to buy. He also has an excellent website http://www.kolkatabirds.com/index.htm where I found the photos, checklists and weblinks most useful. For a beginner like me, it is a great help to have a fair idea of which species one is likely to encounter. I also met Kushal Mookherjee, the author of an informative book on The Birds and Trees of Tolly, when he was in the Club doing his annual bird count in honour of Salim Ali, the father of Indian ornitholigy. In all, during my stay, I saw 41 species of bird at the Tolly along with many Fivestriped Palm Squirrels, a couple of Rat Snakes, and lots of sightings of the Jackals that live on the Club grounds. The Jackals live in only two places in Kolkata, the Tolly and the Royal Calcutta Golf Club and they are like small cute wolves. I was out at dusk looking for owls one evening when the night fell quickly and the howls of the Jackals were quite loud and disconcerting. Even though I knew that they avoid human contact I quickened my pace back to the Club House.
I also went a couple of times to the Calcutta Botanical Gardens where I saw many of the birds I had already seen at the Tolly plus some new ones. In particular I was pleased to see a Stork Billed Kingfisher, even though it was on an island some 100 yards away (I only had my 8x30s with me). The Bronze Winged Jacana is also a beautiful bird that I saw for the first time at the Botanical Gardens. I also saw some White Rumped Vultures there. They are in decline in Kolkata and the only other place I saw them was in the grounds of the Victoria Memorial.
I went to the Fisheries at Nalban (lots of large shallow lakes separated by earthen embankments) to see the ducks and waders that are winter visitors to the area, but unfortunately they either hadn’t arrived, or were too far out into the waters for me to see them. Nevertheless, I saw many Grey Herons and Great Egrets and, in the later afternoon, about 100 Asian Open Billed Storks flew overhead. I also got a good view of a Long Tailed Shrike (tricolour) and some better sightings of the Plain Prinias that I had already seen at the Tolly. I had a very pleasant time there as it is quite a peaceful place after the chaos of Kolkata, (although the noise of the bird-scarers broke the calm a number of times). There are men in boats periodically chasing the birds away with shouts and explosions.
Narendrapur is an area of orchards where there used to be a small Bird Reserve that is now closed. I did, however, find a park there with many trees where I saw some good views of Green Bee-Eaters and some Black Rumped Flameback Woodpeckers that were feeding on tall Palm Trees. I also saw a Common Iora to add to my list. I was unable to identify it at first, as it was a non-breeding female and looked like a diminutive yellow wagtail to my inexperienced eye.
The last place I visited was Sultanpur a bird reserve which is not in Kolkata but about 50kms from New Delhi where we spent a day before returning to Saudi Arabia. We went to check on a flat my wife owns near Ghaziabad and, unfortunately, by the time we had finished her business and made the drive to Sultanpur it was after 4:00pm and I only had a short time before it became the light was too poor for my bins. Sultanpur Lake National Park is well maintained, has beautiful scenery and is a haven for woodland birds as well as for the many water birds that are attracted to the area. I fully intend to go back someday when I can spend a couple of days at the park. I identified 11 new birds for me there, but with more time and a good scope, I’m certain I would have seen many more birds. The whole area around New Delhi is particularly good for birding because of the diversity of species that occur in the region.
Calcutta birds @ Tollygunge
1. Black Kite
2. Black Drongo
3. Indian House Crow
4. House Sparrow (in decline, as in UK)
5. Cattle Egret
6. Indian Pond Heron
7. White Wagtail
8. Common Myna
9. Pied Myna
10. Jungle Myna
11. Eurasian Oriole
12. Black Headed Oriole
13. Black Naped Oriole
14. Rufous Treepie
15. Asian Koel (male & female, very different plumage)
16. Greater Coucal
17. Jungle Babbler
18. Red Vented Bulbul
19. Purple Sunbird (eclipse plumage)
20. Coppersmith Barbet
21.Blue Throated Barbet
22. Olive Backed Pippet
23. Spotted Dove
24. Common Kingfisher
25. White Throated Kingfisher
26. Indian Roller
27. Shikra
28. Hoopoe
29. White Breasted Waterhen
30. Oriental Magpie Robin
31. Rose-ringed Parakeet
32. Brown Shrike
33. Fulvous Breasted Woodpecker
34. Black Rumped Flameback Woodpecker
35. Siberian Chiffchaff
36. Tailor Bird
37. Spotted Owlet
38. House Swift
39. Red Breasted Flycatcher (without the rufous patch)
40. Plain Prinia
41. Citrine Wagtail (female).
Calcutta Botanical Gardens
Went twice. Saw many of the birds resident in Tollygunge.
First sight of Green Bea-eaters
42. Bronze Winged Jacana
43. Lineated Barbet
44. Rufous Woodpecker
45. Large Billed (Jungle) Crow
46. White Rumped Vulture (in decline in Kolkata)
47. Green Bee-Eater
48. Stork Billed Kingfisher (distant view)
49. Common Moorhen.
50. Little Cormorant (on it's own)
51. Lesser Whistling Duck (on it's own)
Nalban Fisheries
Went to see the ducks. Good view of Common Prinia
Many Little Cormorants.
Many Open Billed Storks flew over.
No Ducks!
52. Grey Heron (around 50)
53. Great Egret
54. Little Egret
55. Open Billed Stork
56. Long Tailed Shrike (tricolour)
57. Collared Dove (saw 1 only in Cal)
58. Grey Wagtail
Narendrapur
Lots of Green Bea-eaters.
Good views of Coucal & female Koels
Several Black Rumped Flamebacks.
Better sighting of Tailor Bird.
Many unidentified calls, especially from the river-side.
59. Common Iora (nbr)
60. Palm Swift
Sultanpur Reserve
Arrived late in afternoon. Only had a couple of hours and the light was fading. Saw many Egrets, Grey Herons, Open Billed Storks, Ducks that I couldn’t identify without a scope.
61. Indian Peafowl
62. Northern Shoveler
63. Rock Pigeon
64. Common Coot
65 Red-wattled Lapwing
66. Purple Heron
67. Painted Stork
68. Black-necked Stork
69. Large Grey Babbler
70. Purple Swamphen
71. Comb Duck
Steve Rowe