Towards the end of last winter I noticed a lone Brown Shrike perched on a small tree (possibly an Acacia Arabica) on the plot of land next to Biplabda's house. I was pretty thrilled by its presence. I heard the bird after a few days - very early in the morning, as I was going out on some birding trip.
This time, even before the full onslaught of winter, on 23rd September to be precise, as I was coming back from a day's birding at Rajarhat, I found a Brown Shrike perched on an electric line right in front of Salil Babu's house. I parked the car in my garage and came back with my camera. The bird gave me all the poses very quietly, albeit from an artificial perch. It was a juvenile.
Subsequently I heard the bird several times, particularly while going out for early morning birding trips when the area was still in the dark. I also saw the bird on several occasions.
A few weeks ago they started making a house in the plot next to the one where the shrike was most frequently seen. There is a lot of human activity there now. I had thought the bird must have called it a day and flown off to some other locality. But this morning at around 10.30 am, I heard her loud call. I went towards our stair case and saw the bird on the "Madhabilata" tree just outside. The distance between the bird and me could not have been more than 3/4 feet. I was on this side of a glass louvered window.
I quickly went and got my Edirol. Had to set it up with card, battery etc and then recorded the call. There was a lot of environmental noise over which I had no control. I wonder if she will come back to my locality all the way from Mongolia next year. I hope she finds a better place to spend her winter next year.
However, if she finds the Madhabilata tree in my house safe enough, it will always be there for her and other birds that want to use it.
According to IUCN Redlist the bird's population is decreasing. It is yet to reach the vulnerable stage. However, that is due to its large distribution range.
This time, even before the full onslaught of winter, on 23rd September to be precise, as I was coming back from a day's birding at Rajarhat, I found a Brown Shrike perched on an electric line right in front of Salil Babu's house. I parked the car in my garage and came back with my camera. The bird gave me all the poses very quietly, albeit from an artificial perch. It was a juvenile.
Subsequently I heard the bird several times, particularly while going out for early morning birding trips when the area was still in the dark. I also saw the bird on several occasions.
A few weeks ago they started making a house in the plot next to the one where the shrike was most frequently seen. There is a lot of human activity there now. I had thought the bird must have called it a day and flown off to some other locality. But this morning at around 10.30 am, I heard her loud call. I went towards our stair case and saw the bird on the "Madhabilata" tree just outside. The distance between the bird and me could not have been more than 3/4 feet. I was on this side of a glass louvered window.
I quickly went and got my Edirol. Had to set it up with card, battery etc and then recorded the call. There was a lot of environmental noise over which I had no control. I wonder if she will come back to my locality all the way from Mongolia next year. I hope she finds a better place to spend her winter next year.
However, if she finds the Madhabilata tree in my house safe enough, it will always be there for her and other birds that want to use it.
According to IUCN Redlist the bird's population is decreasing. It is yet to reach the vulnerable stage. However, that is due to its large distribution range.
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