Gujarat Diaries so far...
Day 2
morning as Falguna was busy getting the permits done, I was witness to a group
of blackbucks being chased by jackals and the elegant way in which the
blackbucks run and jump is a sight to behold, a positive start for the day.
Eagle’s, Francolins, Kestrel and other birds kept us busy for over a good hour
with no signs of hyena’s or the wolves.
After
a far distant sighting of the Jungle cat the previous day, the current day was
better when we got to see at least 5-6 of them and some of them very close.
Interesting is their hunting behavior that is to be seen to be believed.
As
soon as it sets its eyes on a prey, it immobilizes itself in a launch position
and stays still till the prey is close and then leaps in the air and lands hard
on the prey instantly killing it. The way it launches itself and lands on its
prey in perfection surely puts the acrobats to shame, a very skilled and
opportunistic hunter and preys on anything that comes in its grasp.
A
visit to the interpretation centre gave me some gyaan lessons on the different
mammals and birds that inhabit or visit the park all round the year and during
the rains when the park is flooded, its time for the critically endangered
Floricans to be seen!
Herds
of blackbucks of various sizes was our fuel for the day interspersed with
numerous birds, at last count they would be about 52 species from and around
the Blackbuck National Park only, great going I should admit!
A sighting of a
lone Red-necked Falcon, a first time for me took both of us by surprise was
another highlight for the day; similar to other falcons with a distinctive red
neck cannot be missed for any other falcon species.
As we
were engrossed in seeing everything on offer on our afternoon round, we saw a
couple of raptors perched on a distant tree. We moved in that direction in a
hope to catch them near but saw the tree in the middle of the grassland with no
approach to it. We were in for a mighty surprise as there were six mighty raptors,
aka, eagles perched on the tree but closer only to our trusted binoculars, but
why?
We got the answer later that a blackbuck kill lay concealed in the grass
probably brought down by a pack of wolves and the raptors were there precisely
to enjoy the feast. Being engrossed in watching them, I almost missed a male
Pallid harrier glide by elegantly, another species that evaded me from getting
a decent capture.
With
time running out on our last drive, we went ahead in pursuit of the elusive
hunters of the grassland, but they were still invisible to us and we spent a
good time with a herd of Neelgai (Blue Bulls) and a quietly perched ‘laughing
Buddha’ or the Short-eared Owl on a branch nicely concealed on a tree, a common
Owl widely distributed but hardly seen.
Finally, to close things off a Jungle
cat kept us occupied moving along with us along the track for a good distance
before vanishing into the high grown dry grasses, an elusive opportunistic
small-time hunter of the grasslands.
The
forest rest house (or the Kaliyar Bhavan) that I stayed was very comfortable to
say the least and well maintained and located in quiet surroundings just inside
the periphery of the park. There are just about 3-4 rooms and I seriously hope
they do not expand. Contact for booking: Assistant Conservator of Forests,
Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar-Bhal, F-10, Annexe, M.S. Building,
Bhavnagar; 0278-2426425. The Range Forest Officer at the park can be contacted
at 0278-2920222.
Ramzan
bhai is a very good guide at Velavadar and he can be reached at +91 81408
10087.
Well,
of course to say, I will be visiting again for those elusive hyenas, wolves,
the harriers (Pallid), raptors and probably the endangered floricans!
Ah!
Wish!!!
up next LRK or Chota Rann or the Little Rann of Kutch... stay tuned!
