Mirzapur check dam near my native place Chandigarh is
a well known hot spot for birding. Situated at a distance of about 25 kms in district Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar in Punjab, it is easily
accessible by road. I have been to this hot spot twice, first on July 4, 2020 a
cloudy day to just see the location for birding in future and second time it
was in the morning hours of July 25,2020 with a hope to make some photographs
of birds. On both trips I accompanied my friend Lalit Mohan Bansal, a fellow
birder of Chandigarh Bird Club.
My second trip to Mirzapur Check Dam became
unforgettable when one day I received an email from an ace birder Mr S.S.Cheema.
His email was via e Bird and in response to my observations uploaded in my e
bird checklist. Mr Cheema wrote that he was writing about the observation concerning species Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)
dated July 25, 2020 at location Mirzapur
check dam, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, Punjab, India. He had mentioned the
concerned URLhttps://ebird.org/checklist/S71795446 and
pointed out “There have been no
recordings of Black Redstart in the months of Jun till Mid Sep in this region.
This record is very interesting in the Mirzapur Dam area. May I please request
you if you can please describe the observation or upload a picture. That will
help us immensely and will also help us study the implications of birds in this
area at a time when it is otherwise not observed. Photos and audio recordings
are the best possible supporting information, so if you do have those please do
upload them to your checklist.Once your checklist has been edited to include
additional details, I will be able to give this sighting additional
consideration. Minimum standards of documentation are required for observations
to be used publicly, although they still will appear in your personal lists.
“Thank you again for your contributions to eBird India—your
sightings help to make eBird useful to millions of people each year, providing
real-time bird sightings and powering eBird science around the world” he concluded.
When I received his
email I was out of town, but luckily I had my record and equipment with me which
enabled me to respond quickly and that too with the photograph of the Black
Redstart made at the said location on the said day.
I being a novice
birder and poor at identification of birds, I was a little disturbed with his query fearing that I may not be
wrong. Although in my reply to him, I had explained how I had identified the
bird, but before sending him the digital image in question, to be doubly sure,
I had once again checked it for id and it was correct.
Mr Cheema promptly
responded to my reply with a cheerful note which made the incident
unforgettable for me and turned out to be a great learning experience. I like
to quote here how he replied.
“The picture is very
clear and will do the needful. Thanks a ton for prompt reply. Only request is -
please do upload the media on the ebird site also if possible”. I followed his advise and edited the
checklist by uploading the said image of
the Black Redstart.
I had kept Mr Bansal posted
about the interaction with Mr Cheema.
Although the story ended with my uploading that image to my
ebird checklist and thanking Mr Cheema for his guidance, yet I being a novice learnt
another lesson. Ttry to photograph all birds that you see at a birding spot,
may these be record shots. Or keep record of all sightings or calls of birds.
The Black Redstart was no longer elusive.
Subhash Sapru
