Open Billed Stork at Dananpur cantt- a lesser known nesting site since time immemorial

Coming to Danapur cantonment on the outskirts of Patna, the capital of Bihar, in August 2013 was a pleasant surprise. I woke up in the morning to the spectacular view of the overflowing Ganga. The sky was full of big black and white birds flying across with their neck outstretched and weeds in their mouths.  And lo! it was the Open billed stork nesting here in the cantt,   infact only in the cantt. Anastomus oscitans, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka  to Southeast Asia. I noticed them flying across the small islands possibly to collect weeds for their nest and fish to eat. They have been here for the last two month finding the trees they could nest. The birds seemed to have no preference, any tree would do for their skillfully constructed nest. There was no preference however as all tress would do. I saw the nest on peepul, gulmor, bhel and even lesser shrubs. Surprisingly the nesting is only in the cantonment office area which is some 100m from the Ganga and 200m from the residential.

There are no nesting sites in Patna though Nawada in Bihar and Lachikhera in Jharakhand reportedly have such nesting sites.One round of the cantt  almost all trees approximately 50 in number ,where full of nesting birds. A count showed around 2000 of them. Mr. M N Roy a birdwatcher from Delhi soon visited us who has been following these birds since last year and  who actually did a count. These birds have been coming here from time immemorial, even during the British times. Infact there was a veterinary doctor here to look after the birds and the bird was adopted as the  division sign of the Bihar and Orissa Sub area. The idea of their protection is ingrained since then. They are looked after reasonably well and their chicks who often fall  are nursed and fed. No wonder they nest only on the tress within the cantt. office area. There was no noise initially but the area was soon full of sulphuric smelling filled of bird droppings. The birds are locally called ‘Jhangils’ and often mistaken for Siberian cranes.

Come Sept and  the chicks were out and the whole place was full of their cacophony. The nests are just a collection of weeds and (I think) small for the chick and the parents. The locals say that the birds return to the same nests every year. Often there is a fight for space in the nest  on the tree and I was a witness to one. I noticed at night one of the parents was up on guard. I also noticed that  the color of the birds too grayed as winter approached.

Again the sky was filled with these birds but now some of a big size and some small. The chicks had started flying. Not all were lucky; I saw a few fallen on the ground, often at the mercy of traffic or the local dogs. The cantt trees still abound with these birds. It’s a  real treat to watch these birds preening after a good rain with their neck turning almost  180 degrees and sometimes also sun bathing with their wings spread  a span of36 inches .Infact once I saw also all birds perched on the tree sunbathing like that and unfortunately I could only share its memory since I was not carrying my camera.

I’m still watching these birds in awe, as they prepare to fly off to warmer climes, wishing their young ones a safe journey and hope to welcome them next year too!