Madras Crocodile Bank Trust lies 45 km south of the city Chennai along the East Coast road with its back towards the Bay of Bengal. It houses many endangered species of crocodilian family and other reptiles from the Indian Sub-continent and further. The rectangular plot of approximately 120 m X 340 m, slopes slightly down from the road towards the middle of the plot, rises again and drops again towards the sea. The soil is sandy and the water level is not too deep. The vegetation is different from the surrounding area. The plot is shaded with large trees planted across its length and breadth. The cement-lined ponds constructed for the reptiles throughout the campus have further ameliorated the temperature and humidity conditions across the campus. The micro-climate created has invited hordes of birds to stop over, feed and/or reside in the campus. The list of visiting and resident bird species was available before the study. About 60 species of birds have been recorded in the campus throughout the year. The current study is carried out within the months of July and August, during the season of south-west monsoon. The study aims at looking at the campus in totality with its surrounding to understand the reason for it being a popular bird-refuge. Activities and behavior of the birds were observed and general elevations from the ground for all activities were listed . This is supposed to clarify the feeding spots, nesting spots and general perch points across the campus and across the structure of the vegetation. All the studies are done transect-by-transect and within a particular time-frame. The study for the campus involved the following:
Nesting points are the ones that have been observed on the campus. They might not be exhaustive for the campus. - Three line transects were chosen in the campus for the study.
- Sample points were marked along each line transect, each at a distance of 50 m from each other and 25 m from the starting point. - When standing at each transect sample point for a ten-minute period, birds seen (only) within a radius of approximately 15 metres were mapped for the following: - location on a approximate tree-cover map of the transect point sample. - Height of the bird from the ground level - Movement of the bird shown with a line and an arrow on the tree-cover map of the transect point sample. Tree-cover map was drawn on a graph sheet by using approximate scales.
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Birds remind every city-dweller of 'nature', generally not considered an urban entity. Because of their ability to fly, even a multi-storeyed apartment resident is familiar with at least rock pigeons, common mynas and house crows. Despite being a densely packed city, many other species of birds seem to have found suitable habitats within the city of Ahmedabad, India. Some of the habitats include:
During the summer months in Ahmedabad, migratory bird species leave the city for their home countries. The ones that we see during these months are generally the resident birds, that breed and stay in their respective areas. Local migrations happen for some birds that leave for other parts of the country. Some migratory ones that are left behind are called vagrants. Point transect method has been applied for this particular study. Animals that move around a lot or which might be easily disturbed, such as birds and hence, can be studied with point transect method. Birds seen or heard by an observer standing at a particular point transect are recorded in this method. Initially to locate the sites to study, I went around the city on roads or along the banks of the river Sabarmati. Promising variations in the habitat physiognomy helped me narrow down my study to three transects and their thirteen sites. Two common characteristics of all sites were - The presence of high avian biodiversity or variety of bird species (as compared to all the sites I studied) - The presence of a high number of a particular population of bird species either because of their roosting, nesting or feeding preferences. Different point transects in the site were studied and the ones with the maximum apparent bird movements (for various reasons like the presence of water body, food availability, point transect falling on the edge of two or more habitats) were chosen to further study. The site study involved the following:
Roosting and nesting points are as observed on the sites and are definitely not exhaustive. |
me
Landscape architect, studying ecology, interested in wildlife conservation ArchivesCategories |