We spend our one of the best days in Kutch. So we
always feel connected with Kutch somehow. Every year we tried to visit Kutch to
recall such golden memories along with birding. Before going to Kutch at this season,
I had a chat with my friend Nirav Pomal at Bhuj. As per his opinion we can most possibly see passage migrants like
Spotted Flycatcher, Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin , European Roller etc. in good
number. Spotted Flycatcher and Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin are on the top of our
wishlist. We started our journey at early morning after pick-up Nirav from his resident. We move towards ‘Fot Mahadev’ – a famous
birding scrub area near Nakhatrana. When we take a final turn from state
highway towards Fot Mahadev, we really don’t know what a fortunate events
waiting for us...! It is like shower of
Spotted Flycatcher on us. We were able to spot around 20 + Spotted Flycatcher
on that unforgettable day. It looks like they are scattered everywhere in that
area. It is not that we did not see Spotted Flycatcher before but clearly, we
never see them plentiful…!
When we came out of our vehicle, this bird shy out so
we decided to remain in vehicle and try out window photography…! After some
minutes Spotted Flycatcher settled down, looks like get used to presence of our
vehicle. We were able to observe some specific details.
This is an ordinary looking small bird with noticeable
streaked crown and breast with brown, giving it significant name Spotted
Flycatcher. It is winter passage migrant in Gujarat, appears around Diwali times,
so its Guajarati name is ‘Diwali-Makhimar’ (દિવાળી માખીમાર), which is
also appropriate. It has short and black legs; bill is black and broad pointed
shape typical of aerial insectivores and dull grey-brown upperparts plus
off-white underparts.
We observed this Spotted Flycatcher hunt from exposed
lower perches, mostly catches passing by flying insects in the bill and often
returning to the same perch. Sometimes it hunts from the ground but remain in
same area all the time. Its upright posture is very beautiful. It has a thin,
soft and high-pitched call like wee weeppp…
We also sighted the Common Cuckoo juvenile,
Yellow-crowned Woodpecker, Minivets, White-naped Tit, Indian Bushlark, Barred
Button Quail and plenty of other locals. We take plenty of beautiful shots and
move ahead in search of Rufous-tailed scrub robin.
18th Septmber 2016
Kutch, Gujarat, India
Nikon D500
Nikkor 200-500
