Hi Avisek I will certainly join you on your trips. I will be out of the country as I am going to Borneo on an Earthwatch assignment to place near Kota Kinabalu. I return via Singapore on the 2nd October and then I will contact you. Please keep me posted on your wonderful field visits. With best wishes. Alfred
On Fri, Sep 10, 2010 at 1:05 AM, Avisek <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Thanks Alfred for such wonderful words. > Thanks for your expectations. > > Whenever you are in Kolkata, just call me(9831702267) and you can surely > join our weekend Sunday special trips. You are always welcome. > > Thanks on behalf of our whole team for wishing us. > > Thanks, > Avisek. > > > --- In [email protected] <ButterflyIndia%40yahoogroups.com>, > jaya kumar <jayakumar3...@...> wrote: > > > > Avisek > > You've done it again. > > If you go and see the archives of the BNHS Journal you will see that many > > important sightings and many unknown things of nature were reported at > that > > time by people like you. > > I am looking forward to something of that kind from your trips. > > Keep it up. > > I hope I can join you sometime. > > All the best to you and your team > > Alfred > > > > On Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 1:43 PM, Avisek Chatterjee < > > exploring.hori...@...> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > Hi All, > > > > > > A FIELD REPORT > > > > > > Date of Trip: 05th September 2010. (Sunday) > > > Duration of Trip: 7:05 am to 6:35 pm > > > Location: By the sides of Badyabati Khal, a near about > > > 100ft wide DVC Canal in the district of Hoogly in West Bengal. > > > Badyabati is a station in Howrah Bardhaman main line. > > > Temperature: (As in Alipur) Max 33.1°C and Min 27.7°C. > > > Humidity: (As in Alipur) Max 91% and Min 82%. > > > Weather: Partly clear sky, partly cloudy with > > > intermittent rainfall. Sometimes sultry, sometimes gentle wind. > > > Specially soothing wing in late evening. > > > Habitat: Cultivated lowland, grasses, deciduous and > > > evergreen trees, herbs and shrubs on both side of the DVC Canal. > > > > > > BRIEF REPORT: > > > > > > It was really quite sultry from the very morning when we got out from > > > our houses. From Howrah Station we boarded a train going towards > > > Bandel in the Howrah Bardhaman main line. Divided in 3 separate groups > > > (mainly due to walking speed) we started walking by the side of the > > > railtracks to reach the canal side. Subhankar da started his day with > > > a few House Swifts. By the time we were by the side of the canals, it > > > was pretty hot and sultry. Soumyajit da was as usual busy with > > > spotting and recognizing hesperiidaes and helped us a lot in > > > recognizing them. Arka Sarkar and I was busy checking out the odonates > > > but to our disappointment the variety and diversity was not in > > > abundance. Lots and lots of wood sandpiper sitting far in the > > > cultivated areas of the lowland and a few far views of the snipe(type > > > unidentified) made us really excited. Also some distant views of Brown > > > Shrike, Purple Heron, Grey Heron and Baya Weavers pleased our eyes. It > > > was getting cloudy and Black Bitterns and Yellow Bitterns gave us > > > visit. Riju (Abhisek Das) managed to spot a Little Heron amidst all > > > Pond Herons and got a good shot of the same. Above all the sweet calls > > > of Red-wattled Lapwings was heard almost uninterruptedly throughout > > > the day. As it started raining, we took shelter under the pool bridge > > > over the canal. After mid day lunch and refreshment and few nearby > > > shots of Little Grebe and Common Kingfisher, we started moving > > > towards the Silverline Sarani(as Subhankar da calls it) where > > > Soumyajit da got really excited by spotting a wild flower Glory Lily > > > [Gloriose superba, Beng: Agnisikha]. Midway to Silverline sarani, we > > > returned back and went to visit the other side of the canal. With > > > drizzling shower and gentle wind blowing and landscapes getting more > > > and more beautiful with different shapes of cloud and color of the > > > sky, it was a really memorable day for all of us. As we started > > > returning watercock greeted us with its surrounding call (utumb > > > utumb….) which caught everyone's attention. Very soothing wind and > > > drizzling rain drove out a hell lot of skippers above the leaves of > > > shrubs and herbs mostly being large-branded swifts, some being > > > straight swift and small-branded swifts. At last we were gifted with > > > two common shot silverline and we were really happy. With sun setting > > > and sky getting obliviously orange over blue, we boarded our train > > > back to Howrah at 6:35pm. It was a very successful and enjoyable trip > > > for every member of our group. > > > > > > TEAM MEMBERS: > > > > > > 1. Subhankar Patra. > > > 2. Sujit Das. > > > 3. Arka Sarkar. > > > 4. Avisek Chatterjee. > > > 5. Soumyajit Chowdhury. > > > 6. Saroj Kumar Tula. > > > 7. Ushnish Das. > > > 8. Susanta Bagh. > > > 9. Subhendu Das. > > > 10. Arundhati Guha. > > > 11. Soumyadeep Guha. > > > 12. Pradipto Bagchi. > > > 13. Abhishek Das. > > > 14. Raja Das. > > > 15. Chinmoy Karati. > > > > > > PLEASE NOTE THAT AN APPOXIMATE NUMBER OF A PARTICULAR SPECIES OBSERVED > > > IS INDICATED IN BRACKETS () BY THE SIDE OF THE NAME OF THE SPECIES. > > > > > > Birds observed during the trip:- > > > ---------------------------------------------- > > > > > > 1. Lesser-whistling Duck(10). > > > 2. Black-rumped Flameback(5). > > > 3. Blue-throated Barbet(2). > > > 4. Coppersmith Barbet(1). > > > 5. Lineated Barbet(3). > > > 6. Common Kingfisher(6). > > > 7. White-throated Kingfisher(7). > > > 8. Stork-billed Kingfisher(8). > > > 9. Pied Cuckoo(2). > > > 10. Common-Hawk Cuckoo(9). > > > 11. Plaintive Cuckoo(1). > > > 12. Asian Koel(5). > > > 13. Greater Coucal(8). > > > 14. Rose-ringed Parakeet(4). > > > 15. House Swift(4). > > > 16. Asian Palm Swift(35). > > > 17. Spotted Owlet(2). > > > 18. Rock Pigeon(20). > > > 19. Spotted Dove(15). > > > 20. Eurasian Collared Dove(20) > > > 21. Yellow-footed Green Pigeon(40). > > > 22. White-breasted Waterhen(12). > > > 23. Watercock(2). > > > 24. (Unidentified) Snipe(4). > > > 25. Wood Sandpiper(35). > > > 26. Bronze-winged Jacana(12). > > > 27. Red-wattled Lapwing(22, heard call throughout the whole day). > > > 28. Black Kite(3). > > > 29. Shikra(2). > > > 30. Little Grebe(3). > > > 31. Darter(6). > > > 32. Little Cormorant(20). > > > 33. Indian Cormorant(10). > > > 34. Little Egret(3). > > > 35. Intermediate Egret(7). > > > 36. Great Egret(2). > > > 37. Cattle Egret(At least 200). > > > 38. Indian Pond Heron(20). > > > 39. Purple Heron(9). > > > 40. Grey Heron(2). > > > 41. Little Heron(1). > > > 42. Black-crowned Night Heron(3). > > > 43. Yellow Bittern(7). > > > 44. Black Bittern(6). > > > 45. Asian Openbill(At least 50). > > > 46. Brown Shrike(3). > > > 47. Rufous Treepie(12). > > > 48. House Crow(50). > > > 49. Large-billed Crow(20). > > > 50. Ashy-wood Swallow(2). > > > 51. Black-hooded Oriole(9). > > > 52. Black Drongo(15). > > > 53. Common Iora(1). > > > 54. Oriental Magpie Robin(3). > > > 55. Chestnut-tailed Starling(At least 35). > > > 56. Asian Pied Starling(At least 100). > > > 57. Jungle Myna(15). > > > 58. Common Myna(50). > > > 59. Barn swallow(5). > > > 60. Red-whiskered Bulbul(4) > > > 61. Red-vented Bulbul(50). > > > 62. Zitting Cisticola(10). > > > 63. Plain Prinia(20). > > > 64. Common Tailorbird(12). > > > 65. Jungle Babbler(15). > > > 66. Purple Sunbird(12). > > > 67. Purple-rumped Sunbird(5). > > > 68. House Sparrow(4). > > > 69. White-browed Wagtail(2). > > > 70. Paddy-field Pipit(5). > > > 71. Baya Weaver(At least 200). > > > 72. Tricolor Munia(8). > > > > > > Butterflies observed in the field trip:- > > > --------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > 1. Common Rose(1). > > > 2. Common Jay(3). > > > 3. Tailed Jay(1). > > > 4. Common Mime(8). > > > 5. Common Mormon(10). > > > 6. Lime(14). > > > 7. Common Wanderer(5). > > > 8. Common Jezebel(4). > > > 9. Psyche(3). > > > 10. Stripped Albatross(4). > > > 11. Common Gull(1). > > > 12. Common Emigrant(15). > > > 13. Mottled Emigrant(35). > > > 14. Common Grass Yellow(6). > > > 15. Three-spot Grass Yellow(2). > > > 16. Tawny Coster(2). > > > 17. Common Castor(1). > > > 18. Great Eggfly(6). > > > 19. Danaid Eggfly(2). > > > 20. Grey Pansy(7). > > > 21. Peacock Pansy(8). > > > 22. Lemon Pansy(1). > > > 23. Common Bushbrown(2). > > > 24. Darkband Bushbrown(2). > > > 25. Common Palmfly(2). > > > 26. Blue Tiger(4). > > > 27. Plain Tiger(8). > > > 28. Common Leopard(9). > > > 29. Common Crow(2). > > > 30. Brown King Crow(1). > > > 31. Common Pierrot(5). > > > 32. Quaker(2). > > > 33. Gram Blue(1). > > > 34. Lime Blue(1). > > > 35. Dark Grass Blue(1). > > > 36. Common Cerulean(1). > > > 37. Yamfly(4). > > > 38. Common Silverline(50). > > > 39. Common Shot Silverline(3). > > > 40. Slate Flash(3). > > > 41. Monkey Puzzle(2). > > > 42. Falket Oakblue(3). > > > 43. Bush Hopper(1). > > > 44. Chestnut Bob(4). > > > 45. Grass Deamon(1). > > > 46. Indian Palm Bob(1). > > > 47. Common Redeye(1). > > > 48. Brown Awl(2). > > > 49. Indian Skipper(1). > > > 50. Rice Swift(2). > > > 51. Bevan's Swift(2). > > > 52. Straight Swift(4). > > > 53. Large-branded Swift(At least 15). > > > 54. Small-branded Swift(7). > > > 55. Another type of Straight Swift(1). (?) > > > > > > Dragonflies observed during the trip:- > > > ----------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > 1. Common Clubtail(1). > > > 2. Trumpet Tail(2). > > > 3. Rufous-backed Marsh Hawk(2). > > > 4. Ditch Jewel(In Plenty, at least 35). > > > 5. Ruddy Marsh Skimmer(In Plenty, at least 40). > > > 6. Ground Skimmer(In Plenty, at least 40). > > > 7. Pied Paddy Skimmer(2). > > > 8. Green Marsh Hawk(In Plenty, at least 40). > > > 9. Wandering Glider(In Plenty, at least 150). > > > 10. Rufous Marsh Glider(1). > > > 11. Common Picture Wing(3). > > > 12. Black Marsh Trotter(1). > > > 13. Crimson Marsh Glider(3). > > > 14. Greater Crimson Glider(13). > > > 15. Long-legged Marsh Glider(1). > > > > > > Damselflies observed during the trip:- > > > ------------------------------------------------------ > > > > > > 1. Coromandel Marsh Dart(10). > > > 2. Orange-tailed Marsh Dart(2). > > > 3. Pigmy Dartlet(15). > > > 4. Black Marsh Dart(5). > > > 5. Blue Grass Dart – Pseudogrion Decorum(2). > > > 6. Blue Grass Dartlet – Pseudogrion Microphelum(5). > > > > > > WE ALSO ENCOUNTERED:- > > > -------------------------------------------- > > > -------------------------------------------- > > > > > > We casually watched a few other species which we encountered in the > > > field. Reporting of these species is done to give an idea of the area > > > which we surveyed and this is not a comprehensive report of mammals, > > > reptiles, amphibians or insects in that area. Any serious watcher in > > > these areas must watch much more than what we have encountered. > > > > > > MAMALS ( 2 types) :- > > > ------------------------------ > > > 1. Five-stripped Palm Squirrel(5). > > > 2. Small Mongoose(1). > > > > > > AMPHIBIANS (3 types) :- > > > ------------------------------------- > > > 1. Skipper Frog. > > > 2. Indian Bull Frog. > > > 3. Common Toad. > > > > > > REPTILES (2 types) :- > > > --------------------------------- > > > 1. Garden Lizard(4). > > > 2. Bronze Grass Skink(1). > > > > > > SPIDERS (9 types) :- > > > --------------------------------- > > > 1. Daddy Long Leg. > > > 2. Two-tailed Spider. > > > 3. White Crab Spider. > > > 4. Green Lynx Spider. > > > 5. Brown Lynx Spider. > > > 6. Spiny Spider. > > > 7. Two Striped Telamonia. > > > 8. 2 unidentified types of Jumping Spider. > > > > > > ANTS (12 types) :- > > > ----------------------------- > > > 1. Bengali Name: Kalo Sursuri Pipre. > > > 2. Bengali Name: Khayri Sursuri Pipre. > > > 3. Oecophylla [Bengali Name: Nalsa Pipre]. > > > 4. Crematogaster. > > > 5. Small Tetraponera [Bengali Name: Choto Kath Pipre]. > > > 6. Large Tetraponera [Bengali Name: Baro Kath Pipre]. > > > 7. Small Red Ant [Bengali Name: Choto Lal Pipre]. > > > 8. Large Red Ant [Bengali Name: Choto Lal Pipre]. > > > 9. Diacama [Bengali Name: Deo Pipre]. > > > 10. Golden-backed Camponotus. > > > 11. Black-backed Camponotus. > > > 12. Bengali Name: Gandhi Pipre. > > > > > > OTHER INSECTS :- > > > ------------------------------ > > > 1. At least 8 types of Grasshoppers(mostly short-horn grasshoppers). > > > 2. At least 7 types of Beetles.(including a tortoise beetle.) > > > 3. At least 3 types of Bugs. > > > 4. Only 2 leeches. > > > 5. Many other insects. > > > > > > Thanks to Subhankar da (Subhankar Patra) for helping me and guiding me > > > in writing this report. His encouragement is helping us to produce > > > this weekly report on our field trips. Also thanks to all team members > > > for their contribution in bringing out this report. Thanks to Sujit da > > > (Sujit Das) for formatting the report in such a good way. > > > > > > Cheers, > > > Avisek Chatterjee on behalf of the team members. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Dr. J.R.B. Alfred > > 522 C Lake Gardens > > 'Kundahar' > > Kolkata-700 045 > > West Bengal > > > > Tel Nos.: 91-33-24226608 > > Mobile: 91-33-9433758823 > > E-mail:; jayakumar3...@... > > > > > -- Dr. J.R.B. Alfred 522 C Lake Gardens 'Kundahar' Kolkata-700 045 West Bengal Tel Nos.: 91-33-24226608 Mobile: 91-33-9433758823 E-mail:; [email protected] -- Enjoy
