Greenbelt! Buffer zone! these are some of the jargons used by conservationists frequently. All trying to demark the boundaries from the ones occupied or shall I say subjugated by the infamous civilised humans.
Visiting Jyamangali Blackbuck Reserve was a different experience altogether. I was accompanied by Binoo, Anup and Anindya all Nature enthusiasts on the 10th of June 2018.
Though the journey to Jayamangali was rewarding, it was heart-wrenching to see how the sanctuary is subjected to the human forces.
A pair of Blue Faced Malkoha welcomed us. The birds were chirping and trying to dry themselves in the morning sun.
The sanctuary has been demarked with the help of Natural boundaries which we were unable to understand as to where it starts and ends. Some of the blackbucks were grazing in open grasslands which we thought was the sanctuary area.
Blackbuck – Male – Juvenile
Some basic facts
Name: Blackbuck
Family: Bovidae
Latin Name: Antilope cervicapra
Local Name: Mrig (male); Harna (female) – Hindi, Krishna mraga / Chigare – Kannada
Habitat: Blackbucks are normally found in open grasslands.
Status: Has been moved from Threatened to Least Concern (IUCN)
As we drove into the reserve, a tractor loaded with rubble honking as loudly as possible overtook us and was going into the sanctuary may be for some construction. After some time a rickshaw with a lot of material was coming out. Within a span of ten minutes, there was a two-wheeler that passed us. The road seems to have become a highway connecting some villages/towns.
Around the sanctuary
After spending some time around the grassland. We were rewarded by an amazing sight of about 30 blackbucks with an adult and two subadults.
Jayamangali is one of the hotspots for blackbucks which I feel must be saved from habitat destruction, encroachment and also party people who come and misuse the place for nonsensical activities that must be addressed immediately.
The sanctuary has a watch tower which is in a dilapidated condition, but from the top gives a good view around from a good height.
The weather was not favouring birds to show themselves but we were able to spot 34 species during the journey and within the sanctuary. Following is the checklist of birds that were accounted for during this trip.
| Sl.no. | Name: | Scientific Name: |
| 1 | Ashy Prinia (socialis) | Prinia socialis socialis |
| 2 | Asian Koel | Eudynamys scolopaceus |
| 3 | Black Drongo (macrocercus) | Dicrurus macrocercus macrocercus |
| 4 | Black Kite | Milvus migrans |
| 5 | Common Myna | Acridotheres tristis |
| 6 | Crested Serpent Eagle | Spilornis cheela |
| 7 | Eurasian Collared Dove | Streptopelia decaocto |
| 8 | Eurasian Coot | Fulica atra |
| 9 | Garganey | Anas querquedula |
| 10 | Greater Coucal (parroti) | Centropus sinensis parroti |
| 11 | Green Bee-eater (orientalis) | Merops orientalis orientalis |
| 12 | Grey Heron | Ardea cinerea |
| 13 | House Crow (splendens) | Corvus splendens splendens |
| 14 | Indian Cormorant | Phalacrocorax fuscicollis |
| 15 | Indian Robin (fulicatus) | Copsychus fulicatus fulicatus |
| 16 | Indian Roller | Coracias benghalensis |
| 17 | Indian Silverbill | Euodice malabarica |
| 18 | Large Grey Babbler | Turdoides malcolmi |
| 19 | Little Grebe | Tachybaptus ruficollis |
| 20 | Oriental Magpie-Robin | Copsychus saularis |
| 21 | Oriental White-eye (palpebrosus) | Zosterops palpebrosus palpebrosus |
| 22 | Paddyfield Pipit | Anthus rufulus |
| 23 | Pale-billed Flowerpecker | Dicaeum erythrorhynchos |
| 24 | Pied Kingfisher (rudis) | Ceryle rudis rudis |
| 25 | Plum-headed Parakeet | Psittacula cyanocephala |
| 26 | Purple-rumped Sunbird | Leptocoma zeylonica |
| 27 | Red-rumped Swallow (daurica) | Cecropis daurica daurica |
| 28 | Red-vented Bulbul (cafer) | Pycnonotus cafer cafer |
| 29 | Red-whiskered Bulbul (jocosus) | Pycnonotus jocosus jocosus |
| 30 | River Tern | Sterna aurantia |
| 31 | Rose-ringed Parakeet | Psittacula krameri |
| 32 | Singing Bush Lark | Mirafra cantillans |
| 33 | Spotted Dove | Spilopelia chinensis |
| 34 | White-throated Kingfisher (smyrnensis) | Halcyon smyrnensis smyrnensis |