Daroji - reaching and Day1

Daroji - Route and Day1

We took the Bangalore-Tumkur-NH4-Chitradurga-SH13-Kudligi-Hospet-Kamalapura and the road stretch on NH4 is great while the SH13 is a two lane laden with heavy truck traffic, yet passable. The last few kms just after TB dam is almost non-existent and you can easily be ridiculed by the non stop honking and the dust and the maddening traffic.

Our agenda was simple, birding all the way… be it the filthy lake on the outskirts of Chitradurga or the canal area at Kamalapur or the FRH campus or the world heritage site Hampi or the fields around Daroji sanctuary and we were amazed by the amount of birdlife in the region what we encountered. Mid way we were also joined by Dr SK Arun and Dr Nagraj from Bellary, both excellent photographers who also helped us in finding many a species, specifically the globally threatened Yellow-throated Bulbul in Hampi and treated us to a sumptuous lunch at the ethnic Mango tree restaurant in Hampi, quite a famous joint there for locals as well as foreigners.

 ( future perfect or imperfect...? )

We were split into 2 groups and as one of them had a delayed start, we in the other group got plenty of time for birding and butterflying on the Nice road and at a junction near Hiriyur where we spent more than a couple of hours. We had lunch at Chitradurga where the deviation is to be taken towards Hampi, we also spent some time at the filth filled lake on the outskirts of Chitradurga town. The drive thereon was a little slow owing to the dense lorry traffic and the last few kms after TB dam is a nightmare and finally we reached the Kamalapur FRH after a not-so-good dinner at Kamalapur village.

We stayed at the forest department rest house/FRH at Kamalapur close to the JLR Sloth Bear resort. A nice place to stay that has options of rooms, tented cottages as well as dormitory and the food prepared by the cook is needless to say, awesome! I relished each of the dishes with aplomb for the 2 days we stayed there. Summers are pretty hot and winters are better (hot in the day and cool in the night) and monsoon months are unpredictable. Watching birdlife is best during the winters and Jan-Feb is the best time for watching the piggy-back as its the breeding time for the bears.

We started off the next day with a lot of canal birding in the morning and mid-way we were joined by Pompayya, Dr Arun, Dr Nagraj to show us more of the species around. Till then, what was a normal activity for us seeing, spotting, shooting all we could see turned into an exciting journey with Mr. Pompayya leading the way; his spotting skills are amazing going by the fact that he could pin point the exact location of the Eagle Owl’s from a moving vehicle. Highlights of the morning birding activity for me were weavers, munias, cuckoo, wagtails, spotted owlets and the eagle owl.

Mid-day we set out on a mission or I would rather state a wish of seeing the globally threatened Yellow-throated Bulbul that is found near the matunga hill at world heritage site Hampi. It was no mean task as it was pretty hot at 12 noon and we were boiling over and carrying our cameras and lugging ourselves searching for the elusive bulbuls was not cool either. Finally, after patient waiting and some persistence by Dr Nagraj, I was lucky enough to sight a couple of the elusive ones while many others missed it by a whisker, not a problem as there is always a next time.

After this 'hot' outing, we were treated to a sumptuous lunch at ‘Mango Tree’ restaurant and the dining area here is a terraced slope overlooking river Tungabhadra and yes the name so because of the big mango tree located right in the middle of the restaurant and I could also say that the restaurant is built keeping the natural settings as pristine as possible. Another specialty is that you need to sit on the matted floor, cross-legged in the typical South Indian style and no footwear is allowed inside the restaurant. The food and the spread is worth every penny and this jaunt is visited by a horde of both local and international visitors.

coming up: bears and more bears…

Bike Ride to Bandipura

 

A famous quote:

“There are two types of people in this world, people who ride motorcycles and people who wish they could ride motorcycles”.

It’s not about speeding above the 3 digit mark, its not riding like there’s no tomorrow, it’s not a speed rush; it’s riding… and riding a bullet. The feel you get while riding a bullet is next to none and definitely can’t be expressed in words here. The engine roars to a start and the thump you feel is something only you can feel :)

Coming back to the post, I wanted to take the bullet out on a long drive (well, this was to be my first long drive on a bike with more than 150cc capacity) and with an eager buddy, Guru, more eager to accompany me on his Rx, we made a quick weekend dash to Bandipura covering about 500kms in 2 days. Incidentally, this was our 2^nd bike ride to Bandipura, the first being a double ride on his Rx sometime back.

http://adventureanytime.blogspot.in/2010/04/bandipura-bike-ride.html

I was a speed fanatic some years ago, but with age come wisdom and with that wisdom, I control the urge to speed and ride within safe limits. The bullet is a rider’s delight, a perfect recipe; it shall behave as you want it to and responds in sync with your pulses. I love riding and that halves the tiredness you feel and the urge to ride keeps you moving.

We left early to reach Bandipura by afternoon, but as it was destined, the Rx had a bad puncture near Bidadi and getting a person to do it took nothing less than 5 hours! A regular stop for Bidadi Thatte Idli became an unending wait for the mechanic to turn up. A rare day, when the mechanic failed to turn up at his regular time and by the time he came, there were about 10 customers from the entire town waiting for him! Argh! From there, there was no stopping me and the bullet and I only stopped next at Mysore city (Columbia Asia hospital circle) and Guru was wondering where I had vanished! Another of my habits is that I never attend calls nor sms while riding unless I feel it may be something important, if so I pull over and take the call. In short, I never realized the vibration of the cell and had completely missed his calls. After a super quick lunch at Kamat café, Mysore, we went ballistic on the road towards Bandipura with the only stop for ATM at Gundlupet. The road all the way from Bangalore to Bandipura is in good condition for 95% of the stretch with a few small bad patches in between.

We took the customary safari bus ride by the department to get the feel of the wild. Being summer, it was dry, hot and humid. The deers, peacocks, jungle fowl, gaurs, and boars were all there and were waiting for the first showers of the season. We stayed at the Vana Vihar (http://www.vanavihar.com/index.html) right opposite to Bandipur Plaza, our regular place of stay. The cottages look good for families to stay and the food is decent enough; don’t expect anything extraordinary, but better than the food at Bandipur Plaza. Next day another customary safari ride (this time a jeep ride with the Jungle lodges) and we got to see a young tusker chipping away at a tree for its bark repeatedly. The weather was dry and so was the forest, forest fires happening in some places, scarcity of water and dry throats, its tough for the animals and the monsoons are eagerly awaited. Very few waterholes survive the summer onslaught and some are filled by the department to beat the heat and the bigger ones shrink to quarter their size during the summer months.

But, it felt good to be back in the forest and enjoying the magpie robin’s show at every nook and corner, on every branch and stump, the peafowl’s in group waiting for the rains, the jungle fowl cuckooing everywhere, the faint alarm calls of the sambar deer or the barking deer far away hinting of a predator movement, the 7 sisters or the jungle babblers babbling all around, the numerous birds who can only be heard but not seen owing to the dense canopy and growth, the fearless wild dogs who run, chase and eventually eat their prey when still alive, those tense moments when you wait without luck for a cat to stride out from the rustling bushes, a monitor lizard on the tree, a star tortoise having lost its way on the jeep track, the hoopoe’s and mynah’s sharing the same trunk of the tree, those elusive raptors soaring high and mighty, the crumbling of branches indicative of a tusker nearby, a ton of black mass revealing itself as a lone gaur giving you a quizzed look, you blink and miss the elusive barking deer; the barks, grunts, and whoops of the silver coated hanuman langur’s high above, the wonderful win-win co-existence of the deer’s and the primates, the sounds of the bamboo cluster or the trees made by the howling winds, the eerie silence you encounter in the middle of a jungle – well, I can just go on and on… :) The joy of being in a forest can only be felt, not said!

After an eventful stay, we were on our way back home on the bike’s and starting mid afternoon, we reached Mysore pretty fast and early maintaining a decent speed and riding single lane. After a heavy lunch, Guru started feeling the tiredness, hampering our ride back and taking numerous breaks to stretch. Finally, reached home before dusk set in and hit the sacks right away recounting each and every moment of the wonderful journey we undertook.

Wild Bandipura (Part III)

Well, Part II will appear as a guest post in one of my favorite blogs, you people need to wait for that for some more time... Let me quickly jump to the next phase of my adventures at Bandipura National Park :)

After the boys left, had an intense birding session and finally had to rush to catch the bus to Dharwad from Ganeshgudi and just made it in the nick of time. Carrying two heavy bags, one with all the equipment and the lappy and the other with apparels and shuffling b/w buses was a big task to accomplish. All along it was just one song playing in my mind -
Musafir hoon mein yaaro,
Na ghar hain na tikana,
Mujhe toh bas chalana hai,
Bas chalte jaana hai!


Similar song in Kannada-
Ellige Payana, Yavudo daari,
Ekangi Sanchaari, Ekangi Sanchaari!


After a heavy dinner at Dharwad, I traveled to Mysore bypassing Bangalore in the KSRTC Rajahamsa bus service, well the ride was pretty decent and comfortable. Sleep walking into the Mysore bus terminus and after a cold face wash and breakfast later, boarded another bus towards Ooty to alight at Melkamanahally check post (Bandipur National Park entrance) where the property of JLR (Bandipur Safari Lodge) is located. I would be here for the next 4.5 days only to roam the jungles, eat and sleep, solo.

After a warm welcome from the staff, inspite of the long journey and sagging shoulders, I was feeling energized just because I was there where I wanted to be :) Probably, for the first time, I had carried books to read (EH Aitken's 'A Naturalist on the Prowl' and Kenneth Anderson's 'Nine Man-eaters and One Rogue'). I never wake up to the alarm ringing at home and finally it snoozes getting tired..., well here I didn't require an alarm to wake me, my senses were sufficient and I never missed the time all the days :) Such wonderful things happen when your mind, body, heart and soul are in the place they want to be. Waking up early, safari ride, bfast, break, lunch, break, safari ride, snacks, dinner, sleep was all that I did but the excitements of each day made it interesting. Due to an unforeseen cyclone effect, the weather was cloudy and rains were happening on and off dampening my spirit. Well, all that in my mind was 'Why the rains when I had to be there?' :)

Spotting Deers, Gaur are quite common in Bandipur and you get your share of them more or less in all safari rides. The first safari passed off peacefully w/o much activity in the forests and just as we were heading back to the resort, saw a big sloth bear passing just beside the main road in twilight. So far never been lucky with bears and it continues... Overnight rains were quite heavy and early morning the situation was more or less similar from which I believed would be a wet outing in the jungle. Good things do happen and in a span of 15 minutes, the entire cloudy weather cleared up and the sun shone like there was no tomorrow. Just as we entered the jungle and within minutes I could see a bright flash against a tree basking in the golden sunlight! It didn't take much time for us to realize it was indeed a 'Tiger' basking in the sudden sunlight available.

Just as we moved towards him, he moved inside off the track into the field keeping a watch on us sitting, rolling, sleeping in the shade of a tree. Every now and then he would raise his head, look around, gaze and us and again go back to his slumber. I was so excited that the first few beautiful frames of him were all shaken (I realized this only after few days).  If my readers recollect, just in the last post of Bandipur I had mentioned I was due for a long tiger sighting and the day had arrived. The beautiful, bold male that we were seeing is about 14 months and one from the successful litter of the current reigning queen of Bandipur, Gauri (You can see her in my Bandipur post of 2009 crossing the track).
-> http://adventureanytime.blogspot.com/2009/08/bandipura-wishes-coming-true.html

Tigers are generally elusive and especially cubs are more so shy and they avoid humans like hell but this little young chap was all grace and confidence and his stare so charming you just could not take your eyes off him. We enjoyed his company for the next 20 minutes till he decided enough was enough and walked away into the bushes probably to join his siblings there. 45 minutes later roaming other parts of the jungle, we came back to the same place to see him again basking under the sun and he was around again for the next 25 minutes with us seeing him roll, stare, doze and finally walk away not to be seen again. Along with me in the jeep was an ace photographer from Mumbai Vedwati Padwal along with her family and we thoroughly enjoyed the show but I thoroughly missed my boys during this.

Back at the resort, it was the hot news for the day and we enjoyed the discussions thoroughly. Wonder what happened next - the clouds and the overcast conditions were back and the next 2 safari's were literal washouts in spite of no other vehicle other than ours roaming the jungles in the morning and evening. That is luck and when it decides to leave you, you are just left nowhere!


Next, in my 5th safari, one cloudy evening just as we entered the park, Kiran, the driver shouted Wild dogs and so my luck continues with their sightings every time I'm in a jungle. It was a pair and probably searching for their pack and they kept us company for the next 30 minutes until we decided on the insistence of other people to jeep to move ahead. Wild dogs or Dhole's are very relaxed once they find the vehicles are no threat to them and they stick around for a long time till you are bored. In this scenario, asking the driver to leave them and move put me in jitters as these kind of opportunities are few and far.

So far, tiger, elephants, gaur, sloth bear, mongoose, deers were all sighted and the missing link was the leopard and to say I have poor luck with them is not untrue! Finally after extended stays, in my last safari at Bandipur, just about the time we had to leave the park got a chance to see the leopard crossing the road in a fraction of a second. All that I could manage was a shaky image of the ghost crossing the road, yet I was happy and content on seeing it in the first place. I know my time will come and the lady luck will smile upon me... :)

Meanwhile in all the dull safari's, birding was opportunistic and soon I realized the variety I could see and the list grew longer and longer much to my surprise and mind you all this from the moving jeep. Also was nice meeting Thomas, Vineet and others and had a good time with them.

Finally, time to leave with GB's of photos, heart-full of memories and with little intent to go back home. Rested for the night at Mysore and was back at home early next day thus ending my mega trip covering Ganeshgudi and Bandipura.


Travel partner - ever dependable KSRTC - www.ksrtc.in
Stay partner - Jungle lodges & Resorts - www.junglelodges.com


Bird checklist -
1 Oriental Magpie Robin

2 Yellow Wagtail

3 Jungle Fowl

4 Peafowl

5 Indian Roller

6 White Breasted Kf

7 Pied Kf

8 Hoopoe

9 Jungle Babbler

10 Common Flameback Woodpecker

11 Lesser Flameback Woodpecker

12 Streak Throated Woodpecker

13 House Sparrow

14 Scaly Breasted Munia

15 Rose Ringed Parakeet

16 Plum Headed Parakeet

17 Yellow Footed Green Pigeon

18 Spot Billed Duck

19 Common Coot

20 White Ibis

21 Spotted Dove

22 Laughing Dove

23 Brown Fish Owl

24 White Breasted Waterhen

25 Asian Paradise Flycatcher

26 Darter

27 Blue Faced Malkoha

28 Ashy Drongo

29 White Bellied Drongo

30 Racquet Tailed Drongo

31 Pond Heron

32 Red Wattled Lapwing

33 Indian Grey Hornbill

34 Eurasian Golden Oriole

35 Bay Backed Shrike

36 Long Tailed Shrike

37 Large Cuckooshrike

38 White Browed Fantail

39 Common Iora

40 Rufous Treepie

41 House Crow

42 Jungle Crow

43 Hill Mynah

44 Jungle Mynah

45 Common Mynah

46 Brahminy Mynah

47 Green Bee Eater

48 Common Hawk Cuckoo

49 Black Kite

50 Brahminy Kite

51 Black Shouldered Kite

52 Crested Serpent Eagle

53 Short Toed Snake Eagle

54 Malabar Starling


Wildlife -

1 Hanuman Langur

2 Bonnet Macaque

3 Black Naped Hare

4 Spotted Deer

5 Sambar Deer

6 Barking Deer

7 Grey Mongoose

8 Stripe Necked Mongoose

9 Wild Boar

10 Wild Dog

11 Malabar Giant Squirrel

12 Indian Gaur

13 Elephant

14 Tiger

15 Leopard

16 Monitor Lizard

17 Garden Lizard

18 Tortoise

19 Indian Rock Python

20 Water Snake (Un Id)

More photos on my FB pages here and here :)

Ganeshgudi JLR camp - Team outing

Part I of my long / mega trip of 2 weeks done during Nov-Dec 2011.

The highlight of the trip was that all 4 of us were present after a long time and all the more merrier as Raja accompanying us very soon after his wedding, thanks to his wife :)

Me and Raja went a day early and Guru and Nag joined us the next day. We took the KSRTC Volvo to Dharwad and NWKRTC local buses from there to Dandeli as I was keen on visiting the Timber depot for some bird watching. Thanks to the build up of traffic and a mini accident on the highway, we reached more than an hour late and after the mandatory breakfast at 'Hotel Santosh' and dropping off our luggage in the 'States lodge', we proceeded straight towards the Timber depot area.

The Pied Hornbills were all over the place, especially the fig tree at the entrance with loads of fig and probably we saw around 15-20 of these birds congregated near the tree and giving them company were the Bulbuls, Koel, Sunbirds, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Egrets and the Malabar Giant Squirrel - it probably was sort of a congregation of variety of birds on a single tree. As we ventured inside and around the park, the activity was few and far as the trees bore no fruits but a lone Common Kestrel kept us busy for some time hunting grasshoppers from the ground.

After a good session here, picked up our bags and went straight to OMH camp where Parshuram and team were waiting for us to arrive. After exchanging pleasantries and freshening, immediately started our birding activity. Winter time is always good as the birds are quite active throughout the day and they keep visiting the bird baths kept all through the day. Quick and heavy lunch later, I was all over the place trying to catch a glimpse of the elusive but beautiful and elegant male species of the Asian Paradise flycatcher that looks like a ghost flying around with its bright white body and long dual tail that always amazes me no end.

All along the light was good and sufficient but post 4pm, the light started dropping and it is a challenge photographing in low light conditions. The lights turns bad as the camp is surrounded by thick forests and high canopies thus preventing light to sneak through. If you closely observe, most of the snaps have got the noise effect visible on them (i.e., grainy pixels) and I also attribute this to the high ISO value I was using.

The next day as usual I was up early than the rest and was busy sitting out in the open and listening to the wonderful song of the Malabar Whistling Thrush as the Orange thrush was hopping all around me. Forget photographing, sometimes observing them itself gives you so much joy! Me and Raja opted for the boat ride post breakfast hoping to catch the elusive Great Indian Hornbill or the Black capped Kingfisher but to no avail! Back at the camp, Nag and Guru arrived travelling by the train and it was indeed good to see them there.

Presence of the Malabar Trogan made me run amok on a wild goose chase and finally got a sight of the elusive beauty and trailed it for more than an hour tracking amidst the thick canopy hoping it would pop out into the open, alas it didn't and preferred to stay in the thick foliage. In the meanwhile met Dayananda, Satisha and couple of other fellow birders and photographers from Bangalore and it was good meeting up them there. Birding was very fruitful with the Malabar Trogon making repeated appearances and the Emerald Dove, Thrushes and the Flycatchers posing for us. Post evening campfire, a sit out with snacks and then a heavy dinner ensured we all get sound sleep in the cozy bunkers of the camp. Slowly but surely the clear weather was changing and it was turning cloudy making light disappear all the more faster!

Next day after the routing early wake up and birding session and the breakfast later, we hired a trax to visit the "Syntheri Rocks" that I intend to cover in a separate post soon. Probably we were venturing out of the camp to any other tourist spot for the first time in our many visits. On our way back on the roadside, an lone Indian Jackal greeted us and vanished into the thickets hearing the sound of the trax we were travelling in. Jackals have always caught us by surprise and never ever have given us a good chance to spend time with them.

Post lunch, we met Dr Ravi, Sadat and Vinay all with big cameras and bazooka lenses out there to capture everything on offer. With clouds looming large, the afternoon was spent around the camp loitering around and birding, the session was a mixed bag as by now there were 8-10 of us shooting together and I personally chose to shoot from a distance w/o wanting to disturb the bird or venturing too close to it. Post evening again the campfire, sit out and snacks and finally dinner to close the day.


I personally love the time spent with boys during the evenings or while on walks cracking silly jokes, poking fun at each other, discussions and sometimes going overboard. We particularly had a good time there with the staff laughing the butts out of ourselves and stopped only when our stomachs started aching :) Good times and I hope they last forever...

Next day, prior to the departure of Raja, Guru and Nag, we were up early and visited a couple of other camps nearby, the Bison river resort and the Hornbill camp in search of the elusive Great Hornbills and raptors that were being seen there regularly, but with the dark clouds hovering we were to return disappointed after stopping over at the bridge area for some time.

Post breakfast, the boys departed towards home and I stayed back as I was scheduled to leave only by evening towards Mysore on the way to Bandipura. Dayananda and team also left the place as they had to drive back till Bangalore. Post lunch the light conditions dramatically improved and we got to see good display of the thrushes, flycatchers, emerald doves and the many other little one's around. 

A sudden call of the Trogon sighting made all of us run and the next hour or so was spent in tracking the elusive one. Rains hampered the activity as I hurriedly got back to leave towards my next destination.
Parshuram, Joma, Anand, Singh, Vinay, Mylari and the others have been very helpful to us as always and continue to do that whenever we are there. A heartfelt thanks to the team there from all of us, its a pleasure being out there!

From Ganeshgudi in the north of the state, I traveled to Mysore via Dharwad and further towards Bandipura National Park to the southern part of the state where I would be spending the next 4-5 days in wilderness :)

Bird checklist:-

1 Malabar Pied Hornbill

2 Malabar Grey Hornbill

3 White Breasted Kingfisher

4 Common Kingfisher

5 Grey Wagtail

6 Pied Wagtail

7 Brown Cheeked Fulvetta

8 Orange Minivet

9 Crimson Backed Sunbird

10 Purple Rumped Sunbird

11 Emerald Dove

12 Vernal Hanging Parrot

13 Rose Ringed Parakeet

14 Plum Headed Parakeet

15 Malabar Parakeet

16 Rock Pigeon

17 White Rumped Shama

18 Oriental White Eye

19 Wooly Necked Stork

20 White Cheeked Barbet

21 Chestnut Tailed Starling

22 Golden Fronted Leafbird

23 Chestnut Headed Bee Eater

24 Eurasian Golden Oriole

25 White Breasted Waterhen

26 Barn Swallows

27 Jungle Fowl

28 Banded Bay Cuckoo

29 Black Lored Yellow Tit

30 Velvet Fronted Nuthatch

31 Hill Mynah

32 Jungle Mynah

33 Common Mynah

34 Brahminy Mynah

35 Common Iora

36 Blyth's Reed Warbler

37 Ashy Drongo

38 White Bellied Drongo

39 Black Drongo

40 Racquet Tailed Drongo

41 Red Whishkered Bulbul

42 Red Vented Bulbul

43 Yellow Browed Bulbul

44 Ruby Throated Bulbul

45 Asian Koel

46 Black Headed Munia

47 Puff Throated Babbler

48 Dark Fronted Babbler

49 Scimitair Babbler (Call)

50 Jungle Babbler

51 Common Flameback Woodpecker

52 Rufous Woodpecker

53 White Bellied Black Woodpecker (Call)

54 Blue Capped Rock Thrush

55 Orange Headed Thrush

56 Malabar Whistling Thrush

57 Asian Paradise Flycatcher

58 White Bellied Blue Flycatcher

59 Tickells Blue Flycatcher

60 Bar Winged Flycatcher Shrike

61 Asian Brown Flycatcher

62 Black Naped Monarch Flycatcher

63 Verditer Flycatcher

64 Kestrel

65 Malabar Trogan

66 Spotted Dove

67 Laughing Dove

68 Pond Heron

69 Brahminy Kite

70 Black Kite

71 House Crow

72 Jungle Crow

73 Indian Pitta (Call)

74 Little Cormorant

75 Darter

76 Common Coot

Mammals and Others

1 Malabar Giant Squirrel

2 Indian Jackal

3 Water Snake (unidentified)

4 Scorpion

5 Tarantula Spider

6 Barking Deer (Call)

7 Leopard (Call)

8 Draco Lizard

More images in my Facebook album here :)

Naturalists Information I

Some Interesting information a keen Naturalist should be aware of...


We may have come across this, but never know how to differentiate them. Karthik, the all-rounder and highly knowledged person threw some light on this enlightening us people at the NTP camp held by him.


Let me see if I can add some pictorial representations to this so that it becomes all the more easier deciphering and dissolving these in to our minds.


Here, I'm highlighting differences between closely related species. Suggestions, Inputs and Knowledge sharing are welcome :)


1. Hares and Rabbits

• Hares do not burrow, while Rabbits do
• Newborn hares can immediately move around while newborn Rabbits cannot
• Rabbits are not found in India.

2. Macaque and Langur

• Macaque's stuff their food in cheek pouches while Langur's don't
• Langur's are only leaf eating animals.

3. Centipedes and Millipedes

• Centipedes are poisonous, non vegetarian and a little flat in appearance
• Centipedes have 1 pair of legs per segment
• Millipedes coil like a circle when threatened
• Millipedes have 2 pairs of legs per segment.

4. Butterfly and Moth

• Butterflies have antenna which is a little fat at the tip only
• Moths have flat antenna or feathered antenna.

5. Deers and Antelopes

• Deers have solid antlers and they are shed yearly.
• Deers are found in forests.
• Antelopes have horns that are connected to the skull and permanent.
• Antelopes survive in open country / grasslands.

6. Toads and Frogs

• Frogs are very slimy and wet to feel
• Toads are dry creatures.

7. Bugs and Beetles

• Bugs have piercing and sucking parts
• Beetles have chewing and biting mouth parts. Beetles have 1 pair of wings modified as Elytra that forms a hard cove around it.

8. Pigeons and Doves

• Pigeons have longer wings
• Doves have short wings.

9. Parrots and Parakeets

• Parrots do not have long tapering tails
• Parakeets have long tapering tails.

10. Cheetahs and Leopards

• Leopards have retracting claws
• Leopards are bulkier, have no tear mark and have rosettes
• Cheetahs do not have retracting claws
• Cheetahs have a leaner body, spots and a tear mark.

11. Tortoises and Turtles

• Tortoises are land living forms
• Turtles are fresh water animals.

12. Dragonflies and Damselflies

• Dragonflies can't retract their wings once open
• Dragonflies are a little fat in appearance
• Damselflies can move their wings back and forth
• Damselflies are slim in appearance.

I hope to add more of these in the near future :)
The credits of this post goes to the NTP and Karthik, because since then, my eyes have opened to a new different world around me!

Naturalists Training Program (NTP) - I

Finally, I attended the much sought after Naturalist Training Program conducted by Karthik @ the Jungle Lodges & Resorts campsite at Bannerghatta National Park, Bangalore recently.

Any person interested in being a naturalist or rather anyone interested in nature and its secrets need to attend this workshop conducted by Karthik. It's conducted couple of times a year and the list of people wanting to do it is ever growing and the no of participants is limited to 16 odd per workshop.


Who is  a Naturalist?
A person who studies natural history is a Naturalist. Someone who studies nature in totality, not limited to a specific species.


The Program
JLR has started this unique program way back in 2005 to involve people, to create awareness, basics of birdwatching, all about flora, fauna and the hidden secrets of nature. This workshop is conducted by S Karthikeyan, Chief Naturalist at JLR who knows in and out of the subject who worked with WWF for 17 years prior to this.

Venue
Bannerghatta Nature Camp, run by JLR inside the herbivore park. There is a dormitory, tents and cottages for day visits and overnight stay.


The 3 day program had sessions and topics on role of a Naturalist, Biodiversity in India, Introduction to birds and birdwatching, bird behaviour, nature trails, plant-animal interactions, Urban wildlife along with nature trails in the morning and evening for that 'field experience'.
In the evenings, the David Attenborough's 'The Life of Birds' was played over the 2 days. Also we met Sandeep, Sumanth and Krishna murthy - people who were part of the earlier workshops and who are into conservation and wildlife awareness activities.

Personal Experience
I first got into photography and then into birdwatching and learnt it absolutely the wrong way. I never used to observe them 'keenly' (i never knew what i missed till now), see, click, move. I used to refer my clicks for identifying birds using the Salim Ali's book as reference. In sense, I was more of a photographic birder till this workshop happened.
All of the participants were asked to choose a name of a bird / animal starting with the first letter of their names and we were called by the same names over the next 2 days. On the nature walks with Karthik, we would cover about 1/2 or a km in distance in probably 2-3 hours looking out for each and every interesting thing in the surroundings - that may be flies, butterflies, plants, shrubs, trees, flowers, fruits, birds, reptiles, mammals etc etc... When the group spotted a bird, everyone were asked to sketch it on their pads highlighting the important features like the beak colour, rumps, patterns, size, wing patterns etc. Then all were asked to identify the bird from the book based on these features. 


Bird behavior was another important activity we did - that is observing them! I was tempted to shoot whenever i saw a bird on the first day, but subsequently I used my binoculars more and less of my camera which was another revelation for me, I learnt the joy in observing the nature around me (compared to always being worried about not getting a good shot and opportunity)! A simple question from Karthik made us realize this - Does a Myna hop or walk?


Overall it was a wonderful learning experience for me, learning to appreciate all forms of life and everything in our surroundings. I got to know some real good interesting people and there were these discussions, exchange of ideas and learning togetherness among us. Mr Karunakar was the oldest member in the group at a grand old age of 74 and Mr Bharadwaj was the youngest who has just completed his PU course.


List of birds that we sketched, discussed and identified-
1.Common Kingfisher
2.Pied Kingfisher
3.White breasted Kingfisher
4.Red Whiskered Bulbul
5.Red Vented Bulbul
6.White cheeked Barbet
7.Coppersmith Barbet
8.Jungle Myna
9.Jungle Crow
10.Indian Robin
11.Oriental White Eye
12.Small Minivet
13.Magpie Robin
14.Red rumped Swallow
15.Tickells blue flycatcher
16.Asian Paradise flycatcher
17.Common Hoopoe
18.Common Iora
19.White rumped Munia
20.White Bellied Drongo
21.Racquet tailed Drongo
22.Drongo
23.Golden fronted Leafbird
24.Bay backed Shrike
25.Little Cormorant
26.Grey Heron
27.Red wattled Lapwing
28.Black Shouldered Kite
29.Oriental Honey Buzzard
30.Black Kite
31.Brahminy Kite
32.Indian Silverbill
33.Golden Flameback Woodpecker
34.Green Bea eater


Indian Gaur
Rock Agama
Sambar Deer
Barking Deer
Spotted Deer
Blackbuck Antelope
Four horned Antelope
Marsh Crocodile

Well, I will not end this learning with this single post, I have plans for couple of posts for some interesting things that I picked up, it time and patience permits.


Few interesting things that I learnt:
1. What makes a bird a bird? - Flight (wings, feathers, modified bones), Beak and Warm blood.


2. Fig trees are the Keystone species


3. Interesting features of Touch me Not plant


4. The small worms you find in books are Silverfish ( they feed on cellulose - books)


5. The delicate, intricate 'Web of Life'*


6. Biodiversity of India and Species distribution


7. The case of missing Sparrows (still remains unresolved)


8. The rise of the Rock Pigeons and Black Kites


9. 'Gubbi Goodu'


10. Body care behaviors, Feeding strategies, Social displays of birds


11. Types of Forests


12. Differences between few similar species (Ex:difference b/w a Pigeons-Doves, Hares-Rabbits etc..)


13. E.H. Aitken, David Attenborough, Salim Ali and others


14. Truth About Tigers


15. Sketching a bird in your book is very simple (but I'm very bad at it :))


16. Butterflies

Thanks to Karthik, JLR and the other members, I'm looking forward for the Level 2 program :)