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A
bird ringing operation at Yala will provide vital data in the study
of migrant birds in Sri Lanka, say wildlife enthusiasts
Netting the migrants
By Esther Williams
The mist nets are unfurled at the crack of dawn, sometimes as early
as 4 a.m. Looking almost like hairnets, the fine threads are almost
invisible to birds flying in their direction. Not too far away,
the trappers in camouflage keep silent vigil and make regular checks
to see if they have a catch. Only when the birds are in the net,
do they carefully approach and disentangle them.
This is no hunting operation. It is a harmless proven technique
to temporarily trap birds enabling naturalists to ring them. Organised
jointly by the Field Ornithological Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL),
the Department of Wildlife and the Jetwing Research Initiative,
the National Bird Ringing Programme conducted at the Yala National
Park, from April 2-8 made a significant start with the netting of
a Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla), the first concrete evidence
of this Eurasian bird's presence in Sri Lanka.
The ringing began at the Palatupana Lewaya where many wader species
including the Greater Sand Plover and EurasianThick-knee were in
the net that was spread over a hundred metres. "It was probably
the longest net so far laid in Sri Lanka to trap migrant birds for
a scientific study," said Amila Salgado, Manager of Jetwing
Eco Holidays.
Nets were then laid in the open scrub, between stands of Malithan
trees, the dominant plant species in the thorn scrub where they
found the Wryneck, their unexpected and major discovery of the season.
Other birds that were netted during their week long ringing programme
that brought in 154 birds, were the Little Stint from Siberia, Curley
Sandpiper, Red Vented Bulbul, White Browed Bulbul, White Rumped
Shama and Blue Winged Leafbird.
Once the birds are removed from the mist nets, physical measurements
called the morphometric data are recorded. The side in which the
bird flew into the net determines this. Only professional ringers
can do this. Extreme patience and sensitivity is required to ensure
that the bird is not hurt in any way as in all cases 'birds come
first'. Ringers also need to be proficient in the gripping technique
- photo grip and the handover grip.
Once the data is collected, coloured plastic rings, different for
each species, are carefully clamped onto the lower leg of forest
birds and on the thigh of the waders (on water). Metal rings with
codes are attached to the migratory birds. There was a time when
photographs or recorded sound were sufficient evidence. However,
a specimen or part of a specimen is the only reliable evidence nowadays.
Bird ringing is an important tool to learn more about birds. It
is a common practice adopted by ornithologists worldwide as a marker
technique to study birds. "The real value of a long term ringing
programme is to understand more about migration routes, flight times,
dispersal patterns of resident and migrant birds and an opportunity
to collect morphometric data," says Dr. Sarath Kotagama, well-known
ornithologist who has been leading the team on the Bird Ringing
Project. He is also a Professor of Environmental Science of the
Department of Zoology at the University of Colombo.
"Birds cannot be individually identified. To be able to do
so and study the ecological and biological information on resident
and migratory birds, bird ringing is the simplest and safest method,"
he reiterates. For the success of this research, bird ringing has
to be actively pursued in a dedicated and sustained manner.
Assisting them with the project was Britisher Jon Hornbuckle, an
expert in bird ringing. Jon has a personal tally of over 7500 species
of birds he has seen in his birding travels around the world. In
the Indian Subcontinent, Sri Lanka holds a unique position. Being
the southern most tip of the Central Asia flyway means that birds
that come into Sri Lanka seasonally can go no further because of
the Indian Ocean.
"The bird life in Sri Lanka is varied and prolific, with over
20 species endemic to the country including some real beauties like
the Sri Lankan Blue Magpie. For keen birders/ bird-watchers, Sri
Lanka is an excellent country to visit because it is relatively
easy to see a fine selection of birds without travelling long distances,"
says Jon.
The ringing of migrant birds will tell us whether these birds return
to this same area year after year and possibly where some of these
birds come from, which is poorly known at present. Population sizes,
lifespan and breeding success are other areas that can be assessed.
Sri Lanka hosts a large number of migrants from the far north, eg.
Himalayas and probably Siberia, and with climate and agricultural
change occurring rapidly these days, it is globally important to
be able to monitor what is happening at the southern end of this
great sub-continent.
Very little has been done in Sri Lanka in the field, says Jon. The
establishment of the new project at Yala is a major step forward,
to generate more interest in the importance of conservation and
bird study. Through this project, Sri Lanka would be part of the
world conservation movement says Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne,(Director
Product Development of the Jetwing Research Initiation) as they
would ensure that their findings would be sent eventually to the
European Union for Bird Ringing (EURING) that is based in Netherlands.
It is a co-ordinating organization for European Birding schemes
and has a vast database of findings round the world. Jetwing's Research
Initiative is an eco-tourism project of the Jetwing Group.
Although the ringing has been conducted at Yala as a first step,
Managing Director Jetwing, Hiran Cooray says that they hope to extend
this further into other protected areas / bird habitats. Gehan believes
more migrants will be recorded in Sri Lanka as the number of bird
watchers grows and more and more serious ornithological work is
undertaken in the field. He also invites other experienced ringers
who will be able to hare their knowledge with local ornithologists
to contact the programme.
So should you be heading towards the Yala National Park for your
next vacation, be sure to look out for the Wryneck for there is
at least one in the area. It is a cryptic brown, woodpecker like
bird, fond of foraging on the ground for insects and grubs.
Jungle
junk and jumbos
By Rochelle Jansen
A few weeks ago, The Sun- day Times highlighted the death of a number
of animals at the Dehiwala Zoo due to polythene consumption. Yet
it seems man's selfish and destructive ways extend to not only captive
animals but to the wild as well.
For breaking the beauty of the jungle that the road runs through
in Manampitiya, in the Polonnaruwa district, is a clearing conveniently
created by the Thamankaduwa Pradeshiya Sabhawa, for the dumping
of garbage. Even more horrifying than the environmental pollution
caused by that dump is that every evening, for almost 20 years now
since the beginning of the dump, wild elephants congregate there,
rummage through the garbage in search of food and in all probability
consume the hazardous polythene strewn around.
This dumping site has been highlighted a number of times before
by the media, but as yet nothing seems to have been done about it.
A tug of war between the Polonnaruwa Wildlife Conservation Department
officials and the Thamankaduwa Pradeshiya Sabhawa is the stumbling
block in reaching a solution beneficial to the environment, the
animals and of course to man.
Assistant Director of the Wildlife Conservation Department in Polonnaruwa,
P.H.S. Fernando said that the Thamankaduwa Pradeshiya Sabhawa was
responsible for dumping garbage in the clearing. During his five
years there he has tried his best to stop the dumping at this spot,
he said. The Pradeshiya Sabhawa keeps asking the department for
an alternate plot of land, but there is no land he could allocate
in that jungle area.
Mr. Fernando has been advocating a project to dispose of the garbage
such as turning it into compost or recycling it. In fact he had
even submitted a project proposal last year, but has still not got
any response to it. Not willing to give up though, he still keeps
pressing the Thamankaduwa Pradeshiya Sabhawa to find a solution
to this problem.
President of the Thamankaduwa Pradeshiya Sabhawa K. A. T. W. Weerakkody,
also stressed the urgent need to solve this problem. The only solution,
he believes, is an alternate plot of land. At present they dump
garbage on a four acre plot that had been cleared for this purpose.
They need an alternate plot of five acres.
As he has come into office only recently following the local govt.
elections he claims there has not been enough time to make much
progress. He too stressed that a project to dispose of the garbage
would be beneficial to all and cause less damage to the environment.
Burning the garbage would not be practical, but separating the polythene
from other biodegradable materials dumped could be an option, he
said. Adequate financing for such a project would also be necessary,
he pointed out.
He has been working closely with Irrigation Project Minister H.G.P.
Nelson to find a solution he said.
The Project Minister, however, when contacted, said the matter had
to be investigated further and a decision made quickly. He suggested
that maybe dumping the garbage further into the jungle might be
a possible solution to the land issue. Meanwhile, as the officials
debate the issue, the elephants eat garbage. How much longer will
it be before we hear of elephant deaths due to the consumption of
polythene?
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