Bihu with a Chinese Pond Heron

Chinese Pond Heron sighting at Nagaon, Assam

The sounds of the ‘dhol’ and ‘pepa’ reverberate across Assam in mid-April, when we celebrate the most important of the harvest festivals collectively known as Bihu. Bohag or Rongali Bihu also heralds in the Assamese New Year and this year I decided to spend the break with my family in the sublime environs of Chapanala, a rural centre close to the species rich Swang Reserve Forest. The Green Guard Nature Organization has been working with the communities residing in these areas close to the Karbi foothills for over a decade and it was one of my favourite destinations to unwind among the diverse birdlife. I never imagined that nature would contrive to present me with an incredible Bihu gift - the chance to watch and photograph the elusive Chinese Pond Heron.

It was the 14^th of April. I had finished my early morning birding alone, in the vicinity of our campsite, and it had yielded an Indian Cuckoo, a Grey-headed Woodpecker, pair of Chestnut-bellied Nuthatches, a pair of Taiga Flycatchers, several Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush and gregarious flocks of Rose-ringed and Red-breasted Parakeets.

We were headed to the Champawati riverside after breakfast, to a place where it gently cascades down a rocky slope interspersed with little waterfalls. A popular picnic site during the winter, it has become popular as a birding destination in recent years. There was a flock of Great Mynas by the roadside, but they flew off as soon as I pulled over. There was a Wood Sandpiper on the other side of the road, but the light was not favorable. I saw a whitish head bobbing among the paddy and scrutiny with the binocular revealed a Citrine Wagtail. My daughter’s incessant plea made me drive away without a decent shot of the bird.

I had hardly driven 100 meters when I braked again. Barely 25 meters from me was a bird I had never seen. It stood motionless at the bank of a tiny canal, staring intently into the water and oblivious to our presence. “Chinese Pond Heron”, I said as my young colleague and friend Dulu Bora turned the pages of the guidebook. “I have never seen anything like it”, he was saying. “Neither have I”, I replied, managing to take a couple of photographs before it became aware of our presence and started walking away.

It was resplendent in breeding plumage and the maroon head and neck made it easily distinguishable from breeding Indian Pond Herons. I got down from the vehicle with its back towards us and even managed some shots of the heron when it warily turned to look back. My family was excited and happy for me when I told them of its rarity, but my daughter implored us to get us away from the heat and head to the river, so I reluctantly drove off.

In the next few days, I scoured the internet for more information on the Chinese Pond Heron. On birding forums, I found photographs from diverse areas including Tal Chappar in Rajasthan, Chennai, the Andamans, Thailand and Malaysia. But I could not find any photographs from North East India, which features prominently on the distribution maps for the species. Finally I wrote to Bikram Grewal, one of the leading authorities on the avifauna of India and the author of several popular books on birds. He emailed me that the bird had been earlier seen and photographed at Kaziranga National Park.

Since the first sighting, the Chinese Pond Heron has been seen around the same location by members of Green Guard Nature Organization and others. Dulu Bora observed the bird once again on the evening of 19^th April. Next day, our members Hemanta Sharma, Ranjan Barthakur, Dulu Bora and Debajit Kalita managed to photograph the bird in fading light. On 21^st April, I accompanied Sugata Goswami and Dulu to Chapanala. Though we missed the bird during our morning and afternoon forays to the site, we got third time lucky in the evening. We tried unsuccessfully to sneak in close to get a close view and only managed long-range record shots.

Nevertheless, it was a privilege to see the Chinese Pond Heron again and reassuring that the first time was not a fluke. It is another exciting addition to the birding feathers of Chapanala, which continues to surprise me at every visit. Personally, I am smug about being the chosen one to get the first and best shot at this elusive bird, a Bihu gift to cherish forever.