The Eastern Shore of Rawal Lake & The Marsh


On Sunday 9 December 2012 we ventured onto the eastern shoreline of Rawal Lake to look for wintering duck, waders and gulls. As we made our way through the grasses and reeds towards the lake several ZITTING CISTICOLA were present. This diminutive but smart little Warbler has a distinctive call that gives it the name. Closer towards the lake were half a dozen LITTLE RINGED PLOVER and as many PIED KINGFISHER hovered over the shallows in the distance. There were numerous BLACK-HEADED GULL and several PALLAS’S (or GREAT BLACK-HEADED GULL); these are striking birds and a couple of the adults amongst them were sporting the black head and yellow bill of the summer plumage. 

A few GREY HERON were around the margin of the lake and at least one GREAT EGRET. Other than the Little Ringed Plovers waders consisted of a COMMON SANDPIPER, some TEMINCK’S STINT, a few NORTHERN LAPWING and several GREENSHANK. There were some EURASIAN COOT occupying the shallow and seven POCHARD in slightly deeper water. The sight of large numbers of birds taking to the air had surely indicated the presence of a raptor nearby and we soon picked out the adult female WESTERN MARSH HARRIER that was the cause of the commotion. We had hoped for good numbers of Wagtails but there were only a few WHITE WAGTAIL and one WHITE-BROWED WAGTAIL.

With things on the avian front relatively quiet we decided to move to a nearby marshy area. We immediately noticed a pair of ASIAN PIED STARLING amongst some COMMON STARLING, the latter's iridescent plumage showing well in the sunshine.
Common Starling Sarel van Zyl
In the irrigation channel vegetation were a couple of YELLOW-EYED BABBLER and there were plenty of COMMON BABBLER as well. There were no large numbers of Finches but we did spot a small group of SCALY-BREASTED MUNIA.
Scaly-breasted Munia Sarel van Zyl
 A BROWNISH-FLANKED BUSH WARBLER was a good find that showed relatively well for this skulking species and we only managed glimpses of a YELLOW-BELLIED PRINIA. On one of the cultivated fields was a late YELLOW WAGTAIL. In the vegetation on the track side a WHITE-THROATED FANTAIL and it performed its familiar body wagging dance.
White-throated Fantail Sarel van Zyl
It’s always a pleasure to find Shrikes and even though numerous it was nice to see another LONG-TAILED SHRIKE.
Long-tailed Shrike Sarel van Zyl
With the day warming up and there being no evidence of altitudinal migrants, we had decided to call it a day just as a BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE appeared with a large rodent in its talons. We look forward to January and February when there will be more Waders and Ducks at Rawal Lake and the chance of a Bluethroat, Himalayan Rubythroat and Slaty-blue FLYCATCHER at the Marsh. My sincere thanks to SvZ for allowing me to use his superb photographs.

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