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Ruining the Ecology of Hesaraghatta Lake - the Role of Bird Photographers

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Ruining the Ecology of Hesaraghatta Lake - the Role of Bird Photographers Ruining the ecology of Hesaraghatta Lake - the role of bird photographers Seshadri KS, Krishna MB, Shashank Balakrishna, Sunil Kumar M, Prabhakar BS, Nitin R, Kishan SB, Vinay KS, Gautham GS, Venkat Narayan, Sushant Potdar, Piyush Daga, Pawan Kumar T. Email addresses at the end. February 2013 Ruining the ecology of Hesaraghatta lake: the role of bird photographers. Page 2 extensive network of vehicle tracks amounting well). While we suggest several methods to Summary to about 43 km exist in the lake area. mitigate the impacts of this unregulated mode Activities such as bird and wildlife viewing, bird About 136 ha of habitat was either lost or dis- of operation, we believe that self regulation is photography, hiking and nature trails appear turbed because of vehicle movement and on the best way forward (even though it has had benign but an increasing body of evidence an average, 20 vehicles were found to be pur- limited success in the past) for the habitat, life- suggests otherwise. While there are several suing birds on weekends and holidays. forms and for photographers. The findings positive aspects for visitors and tourists, there Several incidents where unethical means such from this study are widely applicable to nature is usually little benefit to the habitat from such as chasing the bird till it is tired and reluctant tourism, eco tourism and other recreational recreation. Assessing and documenting the to fly were being used to photograph birds, activities in natural areas as well. impacts visitors may have on the ecology of especially the rare, vagrant and migrant birds the habitat is among the fundamental premis- (including the Red Data Book [19] species as es and challenges in the emerging branch of science termed as ‘Recreational Ecology’ Here, a rapid assessment of the impacts caused by nature photographers driving on the dry Hesaraghatta lake bed has been attempted. Results indicate that a wide and An exhausted Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) being photographed Ruining the ecology of Hesaraghatta lake: the role of bird photographers. Page 3 The Problem: This mode of photography dam- generated several discussions and sugges- Introduction ages the habitat that the birds live in, rather tions such as withholding location information, Nature awareness, affordability of binoculars, than the bird directly. The situation in public shaming and self regulation were made cameras, digital technology and vehicles has Hesaraghatta lake area has aggravated with [1]. However, the problem continues with more increased participation in nature related activi- the occurrence of rare birds like the European photographers in the fray. This study aims to ties. However, increased human presence in Roller or the Pied Harrier, being chased and assess the damage caused by off road driving wilderness areas is damaging the habitat and cornered by 15-20 photographers till it is tired. for photography on the ecology of the adversely affecting ecological processes. In This problem has persisted for over four years Hesaraghatta lake. Bangalore, many nature enthusiasts and pho- since it was first highlighted in 2009 [1]. This tographers visit natural areas often, especially on weekends and holidays to photograph win- ter migrant birds (September-April). Hesaraghatta lake is one such place. Use of vehicles for photography is becoming increas- ingly common. This is because birds in gener- al, are far more tolerant to people in vehicles than on foot. Ruining the ecology of Hesaraghatta lake: the role of bird photographers. Page 4 Study Site: Hesaraghatta lake is located about tions and is currently a grassland-savannah- mimosoides, Cassia siamea, Tephrosia, Sida, 30 km North West of Bangalore and is under woodland complex [following 4]. The centre of Altenanthera, Celosia, Stachytarpeta indica, the Minor Irrigation Department of the the lake has more open grasslands while the Parthenium hysterophorous, Acacia leu- Government of Karnataka. This lake was once woodland component increases towards the cophloea, other Acacia species, Calotropis an important source of water supply to periphery. Apart from various species of grass- gigantia, Lantana camara and Eupatorium are Bangalore and is therefore of historical impor- es, aquatic and terrestrial plants like Typha, found there. tance. The total area of Hesaraghatta lake bed Ipomea, Sonchus emilifolia,Cassia is about 744 ha (1912 acres) and the water spread area in August 2009 was about 400 ha (or 980 acres). However, in recent years, the lake has been essentially dry. The Vegetation: The lake bed vegetation is in transition. From being a true aquatic commu- nity, the vegetation in the lake bed is undergo- ing a process of ‘Ecological Succession’ [fol- lowing 2, 3]. It shows in various parts, different ‘Seral’ stages of terrestrial vegetation forma- Ruining the ecology of Hesaraghatta lake: the role of bird photographers. Page 5 Birdlife: When the lake had water, many open macrourus), Pied Harrier (Circus melanoleu- is dry except for a puddle and none of the water dependent migrants such as the cos) and Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus) water birds other than egrets are found. Northern Shoveller (Anas clypeata), Northern are known to roost in this area. Several eagles Pintail (Anas acuta) and Garganey (Anas like Short-toed Snake Eagle (Circaetus galli- querquedula) would inhabit the lake. Among cus), White-eyed Buzzard (Butastur teesa), the shorebirds, several waders like Common Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina), Redshank (Tringa totanus), Common Greater Spotted Eagle (Aquila clanga), Tawny Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Wood Eagle (Aquila rapax) are also found here. Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common These eagles usually prefer perches on tree- Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Black-winged tops or on termite mounds. Several smaller Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Little Ringed falcons like Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni), Plover (Charadrius dubius) were also found Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Red- there. headed Falcon (Falco chicquera) are known to With the drying of the lake, only birds which frequent the area. Also found are the Indian prefer the grassland or marginal wetlands Peafowl, cuckoos, wren-warblers, pipits, larks, come here. The Western Marsh Harrier drongos, and bush-chats which are seldom (Circus aeruginosus), Pallid Harrier (Circus pursued by photographers. Currently, the lake Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), a frequently sought after species by photographers, on an Acacia tree. Ruining the ecology of Hesaraghatta lake: the role of bird photographers. Page 6 lake were recorded. Photographers entering in the study area. Tracks were first mapped Methods the study area in four and two wheelers were with a GPS receiver. Subsequently, tracks visi- Vehicle counts: The number of vehicles active counted on four days (one Saturday and three ble on Google Earth® (latest available satellite in the study area was counted by at least Sundays). Weekends were chosen as the images as of September 2012) were also digi- three observers, located in a position to view numbers of photographers are high on these tized and added. The survey teams walked, the entire lake bed from morning to noon. On days. excepting a one-time two wheeler ride to esti- two occasions, vehicle counts were also Vegetation damage assessment: The damage mate track length. The vehicles which they obtained in the evening. The type of vehicle, to vegetation was estimated by measuring the used to reach the lake bed were also time of first detection and time of exit from the length and width all the existing vehicle tracks included. This rapid assessment of habitat damage had two objectives: Determine the extent of vehicular usage in the lake area, in terms of vehicle counts and measurement of the result- ing track length. Estimate the trampling impact on vege- tation due to vehicles. Ruining the ecology of Hesaraghatta lake: the role of bird photographers. Page 7 Damage to vegetation on the vehicle tracks (used both JR Screen Ruler and Ruler by Jeff was assessed using randomly placed rope- Key) was overlaid on the tape in the photo- line transects [5] across existing tracks. In this graph. improvised method, two persons held a stan- The pixel length of the tape was measured dard 6 m. tape across the track at the height between the thumbs of two individuals holding of the vegetation, which was photographed by it. The distance between the thumbs was a third person on the centre of the track and maintained at 6 m. perpendicular to the tape. This was carried out at 77 random points on the tracks. The loca- The fully damaged (A), partially damaged (B) tion details and corresponding photograph and not damaged (C) parts of the track were numbers were recorded for analysis. The measured using the pixel ruler. absolute width of the track was determined The width of the damaged track was deter- from the photographs using the procedure mined by considering the relative proportions described next. of the tape and the track on the photograph. Analyis of photographs: The track photograph considered for measurement was opened on a computer and a screen pixel measuring tool C AAB Ruining the ecology of Hesaraghatta lake: the role of bird photographers. Page 8 Vegetation damage frequency: As a parallel check, a frequency based assessment for each image was made at 30 regular points . on the photograph using the pixel ruler. The vegetation damage for each point was noted. The points were tabulated as “Not Damaged” (C), “Partially Damaged” (B) and “Fully Damaged” (A), based on the flattening of veg- etation, appearance of bare patches and C cracks on the dry ground. Of the 30 equally spaced points, equivalent to being 20 cm apart on the rope transect used to estimate the width of the track, most points fell on un-damaged vegetation. This graph is to show that the length of the rope transect B A chosen was adequate and wide enough to sample the width of the damaged track.
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