Bar-headed Geese descend on the Basai Wetland in large numbers

Yesterday when I visited the Basai Wetland, I spent a lot of time looking in the wrong direction for the Bar-headed Geese that I had gone to photograph. It was after about an hour or so of patiently waiting for the birds to arrive that I heard some noise behind the weeds right behind me. When I explored further, I was in for a surprise! There, right in front of me were the Bar-headed Geese, and surely they were a noisy lot!

I had taken a lot of risk in visiting the wetland since the weather was not right, but then, there was a window as the weather had cleared and I got just what I wanted! To add to it was the chance of photographing the Geese while approaching to land. They were not perturbed by my presence and they went about their duties without any hesitation.

It was a joy to see these graceful birds gliding in for a landing on the wetland. Since the lighting was fair enough, I could use a lower ISO setting and thus avoid grainy photographs.

When the birds were not landing in groups, they would be in pairs, the lead bird, probably the male leading the female to the landing. 

It seems that the Bar-headed Geese have been favouring the Basai Wetland as opposed to the Sultanpur National park, probably because of the abundant water in the low-lying areas. It surely makes one wonder why the area is not labelled as a wetland. That, I guess is for National Green Tribunal to decide! To enjoy the beauty of these birds, one needs to get as close to them as possible, and for that, you definitely need a good zoom lens!

Bar-Headed Geese in Gurgaon

It is amazing how far Bar-headed Geese travel in order to reach their breeding spots in Northern India. Last Sunday when I visited the Basai Wetland in Gurgaon, I was in for a pleasant surprise! The vast numbers of Spot-billed Ducks, Northern Shovellers and Pintails were replaced by a large number of Bar-headed Geese. Since it had been a foggy morning and it was really cold, I decided to visit the Wetland rather late, well after ten in the morning.

Usually, waterbirds leave their nesting grounds by eight in the morning, but then, I guess the low temperature and the accompanying fog had probably delayed their departure in time for me to spot them. The recent reports of bird flu, however, did not look evident in the birds that I saw since there were no bird-carcasses to be seen and they seemed to be in great form!

Bar-headed Geese are graceful yet powerful birds that travel huge distances and over great heights from central Asia to the Northern plains of India. Their migratory patterns and endurance have been a subject of scientific study. Scientists speculate that some of these birds might even have travelled all the way from Mongolia to India! 

Bar-headed Geese can often be heard before they are seen. They make a lot of noise while flying which is why one might get ready to photograph them well in time. I have also frequently found them taking off in the direction of the rising sun in the mornings, though this might be a coincidence. 

I have been photographing Bar-headed Geese for quite some time now and have noticed that the number of birds visiting the Basai Wetland in Gurgaon has grown immensely. This is probably because of the heavy rainfall in the month of January which has resulted in the filling up of low-lying shallow areas in the wetland. We have rarely had such heavy rainfall in the month of January before.

To appreciate the beauty of these majestic birds, the reader is requested to zoom into the photographs as much as possible. These are certainly marvels of nature and they deserve a good look!

...And if you thought they were simply blundering off into the blue, well, all I'd say is that you need to see them take off at one go. There is a sense of drama in their actions. They literally fly at you and you  are left wondering if it had taken you by surprise.

Shikra in my Front Yard

A Shikra spots a possible breakfast early in the morning

Gurugram or Gurgaon as it was earlier known, is a conundrum, a Biodiversity hotspot a treasure trove for scientists who want to study the human-animal conflict in close detail. This erstwhile sleepy town has undergone a drastic change in the years gone by, Rapid development, conversion of forests, farmlands and even wetlands into residential sectors has played havoc with the natural habitats of wildlife that once used to thrive in this city. Gone are the sparrows, and so are the numerous other birds native to the town. It is surprising, in this context, therefore, to spot White-breasted Kingfishers, Hornbills, and even  Shikras.

A Shikra looks at me in the eye

It came as a pleasant surprise to spot one sitting on a streetlight pole on the road in front of my house recently. And even more surprising was to spot a White-breasted Kingfisher diving on it to attack it. But what was even more surprising was to see it alight on the boundary wall a few feet away to stare at me in the eye in the morning at about 7:20 a.m. today. It seems as if some of the wild birds in Gurugram have become accustomed to living in close proximity of human beings! The presence of a Shikra in a densely populated Urban area rather than a place with vegetation speaks volumes about how this bird has adapted to life in the city. This means that this particular species of bird has probably taken to scavenging for food rather than hunting for prey. The presence of Kingfishers and Shikras in Gurgaon indicates that these birds of prey have changed their feeding habits. A shift from hunting to scavenging clearly shows how human development activities in cities have affected the nature of birds such as these two birds.

A Shikra against the backdrop a  moving bus early morning

 

The Shikra, a small bird of prey, widely distributed in Africa and Asia, is also known as the little banded goshawk. The Shikra is an adaptable bird that is at home in farmlands, forests and urban areas. While they are known to be birds of prey, they are also known to resort to scavenging and feeding on carrion. In earlier times, the Shikra was a  favourite among the falconers of India and Pakistan. It was easily trained to acquire food for more prized Falcons. The Shikra is known for its prowess and courage in attacking larger birds, crows, peafowl and partridges.

A Shikra looks at the camera lens with curiosity

Six big trends in Education for the year 2021

Almost a year into the Pandemic and the challenges it has thrown at educators worldwide has forced a rejig in the relationship between the workplace and the classroom. The acquisition of new skills, switching of careers and even 'looking for careers that don't exist yet' are some of the realities that educators have to face in the years to come. The transition period post-Covid-19 is going to bring even more challenges in the field of education worldwide. The challenges posed by crises like global pandemics are visible, but the challenges brought about by the transition period post crises are not as visible and thus are of a more daunting nature. Educators worldwide need to plan and prepare for the challenges that the recovery period will present post-Covid-19. Upskilling, and becoming future-ready are some of the future goals that Educators need to plan for. Chalk and Blackboards might as well have seen their heydays having been replaced by the smartphone or the laptop. The same would be the case for notebooks, pens and pencils (Handwriting will go for a toss!).  Unfortunately, Darwin's theory of 'Survival of the fittest' will hold true in the times to come, one either forces ones' self to adapt or else give up! Most institutions that don't have the finances or the technical expertise to adapt to a work culture beyond the physical environment will fade away.

Educators all over the world need to prepare for the transition post Pandemic and for this they need to be aware of the seven big trends in Education for the year ahead. 

1.The most evident trend will be the paucity of enrollments of students in schools and colleges all over the world. The economic impact of the Pandemic has been the shutting down of numerous industries leading to massive lay-off both in the organised and unorganised sectors. This in turn has led to a paucity of financial resources required to send students to schools and colleges. As a result of a significant drop in family incomes, students are less likely to get enrolled in good schools and colleges, opting instead to join less expensive institutions, often going for distance-learning options. An acquaintance of mine was in a confused state of mine whether or not to get his three-year-old daughter enrolled in school. He had been advised to go for home-schooling instead of spending a hefty amount on admission fees (till at least things went back to normal). Why would anyone pay higher fees for a degree to a normal college or a normal school when the same could be provided by a distance-learning institution when in any case both would be offering contactless virtual learning?

2. Based on the trend of hesitation to enrol in normal or regular schools and colleges there will be a visible move towards academic content that will self-driven and self-paced rather than teacher-driven. This means that there will be a shift from text-book driven content to computer-based learning modules. This assumes that these learning modules will provide students with learning outcomes and possibilities of self-assessing their work. The teacher's role will in the interim be more supervisory in nature. This marks a big shift in the role of Educators in the years to come. In many cases, summative assessments or year-end assessments will be more easily done by online learning platforms than by teachers physically. The actual face to face interaction between students and teachers will have devolved into a less actual or physical contact. What this means is that students' actual attendance will drop with them having to visit the institution periodically rather than regularly.

3.Graduation from institutions, colleges and schools roles will change with reduced dependence on performances in summative assessments than on formative assessments. This means that there will be a shift towards the CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation) pattern of evaluation. As such assessments of learning will be based on project-based assessments for learning. These would include online collaborative projects, online face to face interview-based assessments, online vivas, discussions, group activities and so on. What it means is that graduation from each stage would be based more on school-based internal assessments than centralised summative board exams. In all probability graduation certificates will be based on grades rather than percentages of marks.

4. Good Institutions will have to invest in third-party learning platforms, digital content and resources. This would mean that students and educators will have to be provided with proper training to use these platforms effectively. All institutions will be forced to turn themselves in learning institutions for their educators too. Upskilling of educators will have to be a priority and as such the importance of constant in-service programmes and workshops in the use of third-party learning platforms. Ironically enough, the liability of institutions will include not just the salaries of their educators but also the cost of training their educators, and the cost of the licence fees to use third party learning platforms.

5. Even a return to actual classrooms will not ignore the need to shift back to the virtual classroom. The emergence of the Covid-19 Pandemic and its debilitating impact on the world's economy and social fabric have taught us a lesson. Even when we tide over the crisis and vaccinations are in good supply, one cannot be secure in the idea that we have overcome the possibility of another outbreak of the disease. Periodic flareups of the Covid-19 epidemic will force us to plan for a shift back to the virtual classroom. Even when students do return to school, social distancing norms might stay in place so, instead of having all the students in the same class, one might have to divide them, (put them into different classrooms) while the educator conducts the class online from within the campus itself. This way a single educator will be able to be present in two or three different classrooms at the same time and, in a way cater to the doubts and queries of the students.

6. Faced by a cash-crunch, most educational institutions will have to turn to other sources of income. This would be in the form of providing training to other less equipped schools or even business houses. The role of educational institutions will have to change in the times to come otherwise they will face a very difficult time in surviving the outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cormorants at the Basai Wetland

Back in the month of December last year, I was surprised to see a Cormorant perched on top of an electricity pylon being attacked by an audacious crow. On looking carefully, I understood that the crow was probably fighting for a vantage point that the Cormorant wanted to wrest from the Cormorant. Strangely enough, the Crows at the Basai Wetland in Gurugram seem to be aggressive enough to fight even the hardy Kites that can be found feeding on the fish in the wetland.

Cormorants seem to favour the Basai Wetland in Gurgaon especially as they seem to be as at home in shallow waters as in deeper lakes and ponds. Cormorants have the deepest blue of eyes, though it was only after zooming in to their faces that I realised this. Though they might seem ungainly and rather gangling at first, Cormorants are adept in fishing for their prey, often diving into the water surfacing in a different spot from where they had dived into the water.