When Pramod Dhal was a child, a barber would come visiting his place in Argal, a village in Odisha, and perched on the barber's shoulder would be birds of different kinds. Dhal believes that it was in this moment that a fascination for birds took root in his heart. So even though life took him to Mumbai, where he pursued his higher studies from Bombay University, and later, to the Navy as the current Senior Superintendent of Central GST and Customs in Bhubaneswar, Dhal's love for birds remained steadfast in his heart. In 2012, Dhal began his quest of birdwatching and documenting them. Through the course of this journey, Dhal had his daughter, Gloria Dhal, for company. Not only did she inherit his love for birds, but she even nurtured a love for photography. "My father is my guru," says Gloria, while the 59-year-old Pramod adds, "All our holidays were planned around this project of ours."
The result of all this toil is the book Birds of Odisha, which extensively documents 316 species of birds that are found in this coastal state. But when we ask Dhal about the book, he says, "We never planned for a book, we just kept documenting. One has to be still and silent, especially while photographing birds and yet, be careful of other harmful animals around. I've become an expert snake catcher as well because of this," he laughs as he shares his experiences of photographing these birds in the deepest of jungles. Must have been tough, we reckon. "Yes, but just like rishis went into the jungle for meditation, you can call this my meditation," says Dhal and smiles. While the photography credit goes to the Dhals, the treasure trove of information that the book holds has been gathered from observation and several reference books like Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Bikram Grewal and more. And what kind of information can one expect? Everything, we are told — from nesting to eating and so on.
But the book isn't their first attempt to spread awareness about these beautiful creatures. Their first exhibition was held back in 2014 at Orissa Modern Art Gallery, Bhubaneswar. Several school children attended this event and the father-daughter duo even went on to exhibit at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi, wherein politician LK Advani was also in attendance, shares Dhal nostalgically. "Most school children are not aware of Odisha's diversity when it comes to birds, so this was an important step for us," says 27-year-old Gloria, who pursued her master's from KIIT University. The shy and introverted Gloria was mesmerised by the jungle and clicked away in aesthetic angles, we are informed. "She is more knowledgable when it comes to wildlife photography," gushes her father. Well, what's clear is that the duo makes a wonderful team!
Five rare birds of Odisha
Mangrove pitta
Scientific name: Pitta megarhyncha
Conservation status: Near Threatened
This bird is only found in the mangrove forests of Odisha and has only been documented in Bhitarkanika National Park. This is a species of passerine bird in the Pittidae family native to Southeast Asia and South Asia. It is part of a superspecies, but has no recognised subspecies. The Mangrove Pitta was first described by German ornithologist Hermann Schlegel in 1863. Its species name is derived from the Ancient Greek words mega meaning 'large' and rhynchos meaning 'beak'.
Indian skimmer or Indian scissors-bill
Scientific name: Rynchops albicollis
Conservation status: Vulnerable
The Indian skimmer is one of the three species that belong to the skimmer family. They have a short upper mandible and the longer lower mandible that is ploughed along the surface of water as the bird flies over the water to pick aquatic prey. They are mainly found in rivers or estuaries. They are brightly marked in black, white and orange, making it difficult to miss them. The population is about 6,000–10,000 and is mainly found within India and Pakistan.
Brown-winged kingfisher
Scientific name: Pelargopsis amauroptera
Conservation status: Near Threatened
The brown-winged kingfisher is a species of bird belonging to the Alcedinidae family. It is found in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. In India, it has been mainly reported in the Sundarbans region and Bhitarkanika mangrove forest. In Odisha, this bird has only been documented in Bhitarkanika National Park.
Dusky eagle-owl
Scientific name: Bubo coromandus
Conservation status: Least Concern
This is the first ever sighting and documentation of this bird by the authors in Odisha. There is no other image of this bird documented until 2016. This is a species of owl belonging to the family Strigidae that is widespread in Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Thailand. Mango tree groves, old tamarind trees and other densely foliaged trees are preferred by them. Their nesting season is from November to April.
The mottled wood owl
Scientific name: Strix ocellata
Conservation status: Least Concern
This is a species of large owl found in India. They are found in gardens and thin deciduous forests adjacent to dry thorn forests or farmland. They are easily detected by their distinctive tremulous eerie calls at dawn and dusk. The characteristic call is a duet of the male and female while other notes include a low hoot and a screech. Their large size, lack of 'ear' tufts and the concentric barring on the face make them easy to identify.
For more on them, click on facebook.com/pramodkd6
