Uttered by detective Sherlock Holmes at the very beginning of “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange” — Come, Watson! The Game is Afoot! has been immortalized in the original works of Arthur Conan Doyle. Subsequent movie and TV series adoptions of his stories also feature this phrase in one form or other. Sherlock Holmes, alongside Batman are two of my favorite fictitious characters (are they?) for reasons that I will skip dwelling in for this is a birding blog and not a literary one.
But birding, I believe is no lesser in the thrill quotient albeit without the element of crime. Much like the beginning of the aforementioned story, the lead up to January was rife with boredom on a back of cancelled plans. My lifer list was stagnant on 399 for a while and I was genuinely hoping that January would help me break the deadlock. And disappointed I was not.
Unlike the year before (Well began will be half done?), the first trail of the month was a routine one to the ARAI hillock in my home town of Pune. Having eluded sighting for the whole of the past year, the resident pair of Spotted Owlets finally graced me with their presence the very first day of this year. Adorable doesn’t even begin to do justice to describing them.
There was no looking back thereafter. The trail gave some mesmerizing sightings and the year as it would had got off to a flyer.
If you have read the Sherlock Holmes’ stories from the beginning or have binge watched any of their TV series adaptions, you’d know that the coming together of Holmes and Dr. Watson was almost never meant to be. Not only were they two of the most contrasting personalities, their life interests and paths also seemed to be designed to never converge. And yet they did.
They were companions on journey that had no future and they ended up making the most of it.
Having done most of my birding trails from the past two years in my own company, seeking a companion seemed like the least of my priorities. Yet, right from the first trail of the year I had someone accompanying me through the trails. Was I seeking this companionship or was this a mere stroke of luck may never be known, but I’ll confide nonetheless, I enjoyed the company whenever it showed up.
The Sinhagad Valley was next up — a mid week escapade of sorts with Ashwin meant that we had to start early and be back before the world of work woke up to notice our absence. While Ashwin chose to take up position in the “studio” for making the best of the time we had, I trudged away into the valley. Our paths may have diverged, but we came back to a rich haul of resident and winter visitors to the tranquil surroundings of the valley.
As another weekend drew by on the back of work travels, the Pashan Lake was my next stop. The water body itself has been consumed into oblivion by Hyacinth but the forest-like enclosure around it houses some of the most beautiful avian species, its like walking in a zoo, only here, you are the one who is been watched. Spotted a pair of Grey-bellied Cuckoos on a far off perch, a highlight of the trail alongside helping a new found companion bag a few lifers of his own.
Another mid-week sneak to the ARAI hillock and more sightings to moot!
In “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange”, Sherlock is quick deduce that there is more to meet the eye than the story fronted by the characters claiming innocence at the crime scene. He is however, betrayed by his own words and ends up spending time contemplating on the motives of the crime with Dr. Watson before naming the guilty.
My journal has been my Dr. Watson for a while now and it came to the rescue yet again as I spent time contemplating a transgression of sorts that was entirely avoidable in the hindsight. On the birding front though, foggy mornings kept me away from any further trails.
But nothing better than an action-packed trail to lift the fog in the head, so as the first long weekend of the month presented itself, a recap of the birding hot spots in Pune was in order. Companion in tow this time — Anthony, who arrived just in time from Mumbai for what would be a marathon at a sprinters pace.
First up were the grasslands near Bhigwan to greet the Short-eared Owl, a winter visitor to these parts and a raptor usually sighted unleashing its terror in the grasslands at dawn and dusk. Lifer count — 400!!
Bhigwan is for a birder what a toy-store is for a kid. Look anywhere and you’d only see more of what you want to take back with you.
The Bhigwan wetlands, while a tourist attraction for the large number of Greater Flamingos that gather here, are a feast for the keen eye and we had more an a pair of them. From the high flying Bar-headed Geese to the low lying Common Snipe. And from the ever so majestic Greater Spotted Eagle to the delicately crafted Pied Avocet — we got ’em all!
As the last few days of the month merged into nights our trails gathered a frantic pace of their own. Much like a Sherlock thriller — the game was truly afoot.
Our next trail to the valley in the wee hours of the morning had us shivering to the bone. For once, the warm cuppa chai that we held in our hands was feeling better than the piping hot drink it carried! The trail itself was a one to remember as it started with the resident Crested Serpent Eagle almost swooping over us to reach it’s perch.
A slew of flycatchers, pipits, wagtails, woodpeckers and more later, the pair of us almost dragged our sore yet content selves back home.
Physical fatigue notwithstanding we decided to cap the month with where it all started — the ARAI hillock. And we could not have made a better decision. See for yourself.
Towards the end of the “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange” Sherlock asks Dr. Watson to play judge and jury. Taking Dr. Watson’s advice to heart he lets go of the prime suspect on account of his actions being in self-defense. This is among the very few if not the only story by Arthur Conan Doyle where Sherlock transcends his line of duty and drags Dr. Watson with him too. One can never be sure if that was what Dr. Watson wanted to do. And that I believe is my thing with companionship — I’m yet to figure out my lines. And one can only hope that as the year progresses, I’ll do a better job at it.
To close what has already been a long read, here are some of the non-avian sightings from this months trails. The Blue Oakleaf butterfly in particular was a sight to cherish as it presented itself as an indifferent leaf.
February is the month of the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). Happening between 17th and 20th of February, this is a global exercise to go out and bird — and take as many folks along with you.
I’d love to know your plans for the GBBC 2023 so do drop a line in the comments about them.
If you haven’t made any plans yet — pray tell me what are you waiting for??
