Evaluation of Birds as Potential Indicator Species for Long Term Monitoring: Askot Landscape, Uttarakhand Phase – 1 Report BCRLIP Coordinator Sh. V. K. Uniyal Bird Component Investigator Sh. R. Suresh Kumar Project Assistant Ankita Bhattacharya Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change Uttarakhand Forest Department World Bank Wildlife Instituute of India January, 2015 Further Contact: BCRLIP Coordinator Sh. V. K. Uniyal Department of Protected Area Network, WL Management and Conservation Education Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani Dehradun, India 248 001 Tell: 00 91 135 2646207 Fax: 00 91 135 2640117 E-mail; [email protected] Bird Component Investigator Sh. R Suresh Kumar Department of Endangered Species Management Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani Dehradun, India 248 001 Tell: 00 91 135 2646161 Fax: 00 91 135 2640117 E-mail; [email protected] Photo Credits: Front and Back Cover Photographs: Pankaj Kumar, Ankita Bhattacharya, Soni Bisht and Suresh Kumar Rana Main report Photographs: Suresh Kumar Rana and World Pheasant Asssociation (WPA) Citation: Bhattacharya, A., Kumar, R. S. and Uniyal, V. K. (2015): Evaluation of Birds as Potential Indicator Species for Long Term Monitoring: Askot landscape, Uttarakhand, Phase 1 – Report, Wildlife Institute of India. Pp 29. Contents List of Tables ii List of Figures iii Acknowledgements iv 1 Background 1 2 Study area 2 3 Methods 4 4 Findings of the study 6 5 Future Plans 24 6 References 24 Annexure I: Checklist of birds of Askot Landscape with 25 reports of birds seen during this study List of Tables Table No. Table Name Page No. 1 a. List of villages surveyed along Gori river basin in Askot 6 Landscape 1 b. List of villages surveyed along Dhauli river basin in 7 Askot Landscape 2. Details of Phasianidae species found in Askot 9 Landscape (Madge and McGowan, 2002) 3. Details of anthropogenic disturbances in the 3 10 altitudinal ranges (del Hoyo et al. 1994) and methods to be used for the abundance estimation of select galliform birds 4. List of birds frequently seen around villages and forest 23 patches ii List of Figures Figure No. Figure Name Page No. 1. Map showing boundary of Askot landscape along with four 3 sub watersheds 2. Potential Distribution map of Black Francolin with the 11 elevation range and habitat types across Askot Landscape 3. Potential Distribution map of Kaleej Pheasant with the 12 elevation range and habitat types across Askot Landscape 4. Potential Distribution map of Koklass Pheasant with the 13 elevation range and habitat types across Askot Landscape 5. Potential Distribution map of Satyr Tragopan with the 14 elevation range and habitat types across Askot Landscape 6. Potential Distribution map of Himalayan Monal with the 15 elevation range and habitat types across Askot Landscape 7. Potential Distribution map of Cheer Pheasant with the 16 elevation range and habitat types across Askot Landscape 8. Potential Distribution map of Hill Partridge with the 17 elevation range and habitat types across Askot Landscape 9. Potential Distribution map of Rufous – throated Partridge 18 with the elevation range and habitat types across Askot Landscape 10. Potential Distribution map of Chukar with the elevation 19 range and habitat types across Askot Landscape 11. Potential Distribution map of Snow Partridge with the 20 elevation range and habitat types across Askot Landscape 12. Potential Distribution map of Himalayan Snowcock with 21 the elevation range and habitat types across Askot Landscape 13. Encounter rate per km of select birds in the 8 micro 22 watersheds surveyed in Askot Landscape during winter iii Acknowledgements We acknowledge World Bank and Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) for providing the necessary financial support for the Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Livelihood Improvement Project (BCRLIP). We thank Director and Dean of Wildlife Institute of India for facilitating the project and for their continuous support and encouragement during the project work. We also wants to thank Project Coordinator, Sh. V.K. Uniyal for giving an opportunity to work in this Project and providing constant encouragement and guidance for the study. We thank Divisional Forest Officer, Sub Divisional Forest Officer and Forest Department staff of Askot, Pithoragarh District for their immense support during field work. We thank the villagers of Askot landscape for providing accommodation and lovely food along with their warm support during the field work. Finally, we want to acknowledge our field assistants, Duryodhan Dharamshaktu, Rajender Singh Koranga, Lokesh Thakur and Deepak for their assistance and company during the field work. Without their support it would not have been possible to conduct the field study. Common Rosefinch iv BACKGROUND The Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Livelihood Improvement Project aims to conserve biodiversity in selected landscapes, including wildlife protected areas/critical conservation areas while improving rural livelihoods. The project intends to strengthen linkages between conservation and improving livelihoods of local communities that live in the neighborhood of biodiversity-rich areas through participatory approaches. This is a landscape level approach for conservation including biodiversity components like plants, fishes, birds, mammals and insects as well as a socio - economic component. The Askot landscape in Uttarakhand is one such landscape selected out of seven sites for this project (Figure 1). The Askot landscape covers an area of 4463 square kilometers and the biogeographical elements of the Western Himalaya, the Central Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau converge here. Physiographically, the landscape is a mix of lower, mid and higher Himalayas and is catchment of the river Kali, which defines the international border between India and Nepal. Rivers Kuti, Dhauli and Gori are the three main tributaries of river Kali in the landscape. The landscape has an altitudinal range of 700m to 5500m and covers six biomes viz. subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate, sub alpine, alpine and nival (permanent snow). The corresponding climate types are subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate, boreal, sub polar and polar (FES GIS data, 2006). Birds have been considered as ecological indicators as they are ecologically versatile and live in all types of habitat (Koskimies, 1989). Birds respond to environmental changes over many spatial scales. They are also well suited for monitoring because (1) they advertise their presence through vocalizations, making them relatively easy to detect and identify, (2) they can be censused efficiently over large areas, and (3) their occurrence, abundance and reproductive success are influenced by the nature and configuration of surrounding habitats (Carignan, 2001). The landscape has a rich avifaunal diversity and is an Important Bird Area (IBA) under criteria A1, A2 (A1 – Threatened species; A2 – Restricted Range 1 species). The present report is on the work done on bird taxa during October, 2012- October, 2014. The study primarily focused on developing baseline data, identification of potential biological indicator species and preparation of checklist of birds in the landscape indicating frequent and rarely seen birds. 2 STUDY AREA The Askot conservation landscape is located in eastern Kumaun, in the state of Uttarakhand, and lies between the coordinates 80°15′ to 81°5′ E longitude and 29°5′ to 30°32′ N latitude, and is bounded by the international border with the Tibetan Autonomous region of the Peoples’ Republic of China in the north. The Kali River forms the boundary in the South-East of the landscape till Jauljibi, which also constitutes the border of India with the Kingdom of Nepal. Encompassing an area of 4463 sq. km, the entire project landscape is about 120 km long and in average, about 51.5 km wide. There is a great altitudinal range within the landscape, from 560 m amsl at Jauljibi, to 7434 m at the summit of Nandadevi East (Negi, 2012). Rivers Kuti, Dhauli and Gori are the three main tributaries of river Kali. The valleys formed by these rivers in the landscape are- Gori valley, Darma valley (Dhauli high altitude), Byans valley (Kuti high altitude) and Chaudans valley (Kuti low altitude). The heterogeneity in physiography, vegetation and climate makes the landscape an abode of a rich diversity of birds, some being endemic species of the western Himalayas. Being a transition zone ecosystem, the landscape is the eastern and western most limits of many bird species making it an important spot for a variety of bird species which need to be studied. Figure 1: Map showing boundary of Askot landscape along with four sub watersheds (SWS) 3 METHODS Since baseline data is the standard information present or developed, on the basis of which further study is pursued and compared. The purpose of a baseline study is to provide an information base against which we can monitor and assess the progress of an activity and its effectiveness during implementation. Hence, it was important to find out what information is already available about the landscape and the birds occurring there. Not much study has been done before in Askot regarding birds at a landscape level, though there are some studies restricted to few valleys. Likewise, not much was known about the landscape in details other than an overview. Considering the importance of baseline data for the study, it was decided to begin the work by collecting baseline information with respect to birds, their occurrence in the landscape. Information on birds of western Himalayas and Askot landscape in particular was gathered through internet search (web resources), and from scientific journals and other published literature. This was followed by a reconnaissance visit to the Gori Valley and a survey of the villages and forest patches to identify potential indicator bird species and to develop suitable methodologies to monitor. Subsequent to this a detailed field survey was carried out from August 2013 – September 2013. In September 2013 a high altitude survey to the alpine reaches of Chhipla-kedar and Najrikot in the Gori Valley was carried out.