Wildbuzz | A prettier window dressing
A statement released by the UT administration on November 26 claimed that the annual de-weeding exercise had been upgraded with the induction of a machine (an “aquatic plant harvester”) hired from a New Delhi-based firm, Cleantec Infra
Will the Sukhna lake, a treasure of Chandigarh’s heritage and a beauty spot of global renown, be finally rid of proliferating weed at the regulator-end and the birding area (rowing canal)?
A statement released by the UT administration on November 26 claimed that the annual de-weeding exercise had been upgraded with the induction of a machine (an “aquatic plant harvester”) hired from a New Delhi-based firm, Cleantec Infra. The stated purpose of the mechanical de-weeding was described thus by the Administration: “To maintain ecological balance and enhance scenic beauty” and to remove the obstruction to recreational activities such as ‘boating and water sports’.”
So far, the UT engineering department hired de-weeding labourers. The weed shrivels in winter and the manual removal in the cold season works to lift the leaves and part of the stem. However, the roots of the weed run deep, estimated as embedded 3-4 feet in the silt deposits under the water. Since the weed is not uprooted by manual removal, it blooms and eats up the water surface with summer’s advent.
As reported by this writer in these columns, the weed infiltrated the birding area canal in 2018 from the proliferation at the regulator-end. Unseen to most visitors and officials to the lake, the weed in the canal has currently covered more than 60% of the stretch, which used to host migratory birds in winter. Currently, the forests and wildlife department has employed five paddle boats with workers to remove the weed tops from the canal, which unfortunately also constitutes a disturbance to the paltry number of birds visiting the Sukhna this winter.
Though the harvester promises much to the public, the fact is that its cutting depth has been set to a metre. It does not attack the roots but merely lengthens the “pruning” exercise undertaken by manual de-weeding. Cleantec Infra officials suggested to this writer that the administration could deploy more specialised machines in standing water, such as the “amphibious excavator”, to remove the silt in which roots are entrenched.
Ideally, the drying up of the lake would afford a thorough de-silting but high precipitation levels have not been conducive to the exercise, the last being in 2010. Chief engineer CB Ojha told this writer: “The department will consider the use of excavators. We will consult the forest department on this issue.”
On wings of a lovely surprise
Small migratory birds, such as warblers, chiffchaffs and thrushes, can be quite bewildering to budding photographers. Their plumages change with the seasons and the sexes often look alike; not that the couple tends to confuse a spouse with a specimen from another species!
Navjot Singh, an employee with the Chandigarh Housing Board, has taken to nature photography since 2021. He was out birding with Gagan Gyan at Chakki Modh (Himachal Pradesh) on November 3. As luck would have it, an agile bird with long wings and a particularly upright stance, when perched, came into their view.
Both took its photos but mistook it as a common species, and hence did not post its photos on social media. They let matters rest there till Singh made a trip to Narkanda two weeks later. There, as he was casually showing his photographs to an accomplished bird guide, Himanshu Chaudhary, a startling revelation came his way.
“Chaudhary identified the supposedly-common bird as a “rufous-tailed rock thrush”. It is a very rare bird in India, as it migrates in autumn and has been observed in some states such as Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Sikkim,” Singh told this writer.
Though Singh does not have many years of experience in avian photography, his photographic record of a female thrush is part of an encouraging, emergent phenomenon. Such records from enthusiasts have led ornithologists to review the thrush as not a vagrant or a chance stray bird to India but a species which regularly passes through in small numbers.
“Significant increase in number of thrush sightings outside Ladakh could be due to the increased number of birders covering suitable habitat of the species, and taking photographs during passage migration,” wrote C Abhinav and Piyush Dogra in the journal, “Indian Birds”.
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