During my recent visit to Greater Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, we spent a day in the Mandvi coast, for observing and photographing the waders near the sea shore. Mandvi is a coastal area in Gujarat, near Greater Rann of Kutch.
We saw many many species of birds, but the highlights of the day were - Oystercatchers and Crab Plovers.
The oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) is well known as a coastal species, and is easily recognised by virtue of its large size and combination of black and white plumage, long, bright orange-red bill and pink legs. In flight there is a prominent white wing-bar, and during winter a white 'chin-strap' develops. The sexes are similar in appearance, although males often have relatively shorter, thicker bills.
The strong, flattened bill allows the oystercatcher to prize open cockles, mussels and other bivalves that other waders cannot exploit. They also feed on worms, limpets and crabs.
They were extremely skittish and were never allowing us closer. We had to crawl inch by inch, lying on the beach with waves, to get a decent image. Luckily, the sea was not rough and the waves were not at all high.
The crab plover is remarkable for being the only representative of the Dromadidae family, which means that in evolutionary terms this unusual shorebird has no close living relatives. This species has a distinctive appearance, with white plumage on the body and head, contrasting with jet-black primaries and back feathers, and a long, black, gull-like bill. Like most waders, the legs are long with partially webbed toes, and the tail is short.
Noisy and gregarious, the crab plover is commonly encountered in small groups foraging on the shore for its preferred prey of crabs. These foraging groups usually comprise around twenty to thirty birds, but may number as many as 400 outside of the breeding season. The crab plover is active during the day and night, taking advantage of crabs, marine worms and mudskippers exposed by the receding tide. This species’ large, powerful beak allows it to tackle crabs without suffering injury, swallowing smaller individuals whole, and smashing larger specimens against the ground, to be consumed piecemeal.
The crab plover is unique amongst the waders for its habit of constructing its nest in an underground burrow. After moving inland from the shore to sand dunes, the birds excavate an extensive network of interconnected burrows, 1 to 2.5 metres long. The entrances of the burrows are initially angled downwards, before curving upwards and terminating in a nest chamber situated a short distance from the surface. The burrow is believed to serve two important functions, one of which is to insulate the egg against the extremely high temperatures that occur during the breeding season. The second function is that the chamber acts as a solar incubator, keeping the egg at an optimum temperature, which means that only a small amount of direct incubation by the parent birds is necessary.
They were found in a huge colony, in the morning. We managed to get some pictures, and later in the evening, they got scattered. When they found the fisherman throwing the fishing net, they actively utilised the opportunity to grab fishes near the net. They were not worried about our presence at all then. We also witnessed several behaviour like adult feeding young, hunting crabs, etc.
Later, in the afternoon while we were walking towards the jeep for lunch, we saw couple of Dolphins, very close to the shore, and a fishing boat, jumping. That was an amazing scene to watch.
It was one of my best day of birding, with lots of lifers, decent images and beyond that, a great experience to watch the waders' behaviour for the whole day. The day ended with a pleasant sunset.
We saw many many species of birds, but the highlights of the day were - Oystercatchers and Crab Plovers.
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| Oystercatchers |
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| Crab Plover |
Oystercatchers
The strong, flattened bill allows the oystercatcher to prize open cockles, mussels and other bivalves that other waders cannot exploit. They also feed on worms, limpets and crabs.
They were extremely skittish and were never allowing us closer. We had to crawl inch by inch, lying on the beach with waves, to get a decent image. Luckily, the sea was not rough and the waves were not at all high.
Crab Plovers
Noisy and gregarious, the crab plover is commonly encountered in small groups foraging on the shore for its preferred prey of crabs. These foraging groups usually comprise around twenty to thirty birds, but may number as many as 400 outside of the breeding season. The crab plover is active during the day and night, taking advantage of crabs, marine worms and mudskippers exposed by the receding tide. This species’ large, powerful beak allows it to tackle crabs without suffering injury, swallowing smaller individuals whole, and smashing larger specimens against the ground, to be consumed piecemeal.
The crab plover is unique amongst the waders for its habit of constructing its nest in an underground burrow. After moving inland from the shore to sand dunes, the birds excavate an extensive network of interconnected burrows, 1 to 2.5 metres long. The entrances of the burrows are initially angled downwards, before curving upwards and terminating in a nest chamber situated a short distance from the surface. The burrow is believed to serve two important functions, one of which is to insulate the egg against the extremely high temperatures that occur during the breeding season. The second function is that the chamber acts as a solar incubator, keeping the egg at an optimum temperature, which means that only a small amount of direct incubation by the parent birds is necessary.
They were found in a huge colony, in the morning. We managed to get some pictures, and later in the evening, they got scattered. When they found the fisherman throwing the fishing net, they actively utilised the opportunity to grab fishes near the net. They were not worried about our presence at all then. We also witnessed several behaviour like adult feeding young, hunting crabs, etc.
Apart from that...
Apart from these two magnificent birds, we saw many more birds like - lots of Gulls like Slender billed Gull, Brown-headed Gull, Heuglin's Gull, Pallas Gull, etc., and Terns like Gull billed Terns, Whiskered Terns, Lesser Crested Terns, etc., Eurasian Curlew, Whimbrel, Kentish/Lesser/Greater Sand Plovers, Eurasian Thicknees, Ruddy Turnstones, Western Reef Egrets, Terek Sandpipers, Curlew Sandpipers, Bar-tailed & Black-tailed Godwits, Black necked Storks, etc. |
| A Brown headed Gull (non-breeding) with kill |
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| Eurasian Thicknee |
Later, in the afternoon while we were walking towards the jeep for lunch, we saw couple of Dolphins, very close to the shore, and a fishing boat, jumping. That was an amazing scene to watch.
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| Dolphins |
It was one of my best day of birding, with lots of lifers, decent images and beyond that, a great experience to watch the waders' behaviour for the whole day. The day ended with a pleasant sunset.
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