Ganeshgudi birding trip II

Ganeshgudi Birding II

How to reach – This time we tried out the rail network to reach Ganeshgudi.

From Bangalore to Londa junction (reaches around 6am), trains ply regularly. From Londa either wait for the direct bus service to Ganeshgudi or travel to Ramanagara (10rs on a shared auto) and from there to Ganeshgudi (more bus facilities available).

We did the return journey also in the same fashion reaching Londa and then hopping on a train to Bangalore.

Overall a good option but slightly uncomfortable if you have heavy backpacks and if you want to travel around Ganeshgudi. Well, all transport options do have their pros and cons right? J

The winter had set in, the rains had stopped and the weather was good but 1 thing that plagued us was light… as the sun would come out only past 6:30am and the Old magazine camp having a thick cover of green, it was all the more challenging for photography.

I’m still hunting for the elusive Malabar Whistling thrush that entertains me with its song everytime but never dares to come out in the open! The Great Indian Hornbills are still a distant dream and I’m waiting for my opportunity to sight those endangered birds. The Emerald dove and the Malabar Trogan finally gave up their resistance and presented themselves in front of me their glorious colors and literally put me on a wild hunt to spot them. (It so happened that the Emerald dove eluded me whenever I chased it, but surprised me when I was patiently and silently was waiting for it but preoccupied in other work…!)

Except for the dim light, I had gala of a time birding in and around the JLR Old magazine house campus for 2 days with the help of Joma uncle and Vinay. I should appreciate the staff of JLR camp who help us in all matters and are expert birders, Joma uncle has years of experience and Vinay has got sharp ears and wonderful eyesight. Kudos to the JLR staff and hope they remain the same.

At Ganeshgudi, 6am sharp, I’m up, pick up my camera, come out and seat myself in one of the chairs and the next 15 minutes, sit, acclimatize and listen, listen listen… At this time, the light is very poor and not suitable for photography and I don’t intend to shoot also at this early time. Just sit back and enjoy the early morning songs of the birds around especially the long tunes of the Malabar Whistling thrush. The next 1 hour passes by with the light conditions improving and with my buddies up by this time, we walk around observing the birds going about their daily chores. In this camp water pots are kept at strategic locations that attract a lot of bird that come to drink, bathe and play in the water. It’s a visual treat to watch multiples of them sharing the same tub and also waiting for their turns to the tub. I have had the opportunity to click many birds in and around these tubs be it summer, winter or rainy seasons.

We enjoyed the couple of days with a session of rafting and birding for the rest of the time. The Great Hornbills did not show up as expected and the Malabar Whistling thrush was as elusive and reluctant to come out for us.

We will be back here sometime and hope to catch them all soon :)

Our sightings:

Brown cheeked Fulvetta

Asian brown flycatcher

White bellied blue flycatcher

Blue napped monarch flycatcher

Asian paradise flycatcher

Verditter flycatcher

Red whishkered Bulbul

Ruby throated Bulbul

Yellow browed Bulbul

Jungle Babble

Dark fronted Babbler

Scimitair Babbler

Malabar Whistling thrush

Malabar Trogan

Malabar Pied Hornbill

Indian Grey Hornbill

Emerald Dove

Blue capped Rock thrush

Orange headed thrush

Oriental white eye

Jungle Mynah

Shikra

Purple rumped sunbird

Crimson backed sunbird

Orange Minivet

Eurasian Golden Oriole

Malabar Parakeet

Blue tailed Parakeet

Vernal hanging Parrot

White cheeked Barbet

Coppersmith Barbet

Rosy starling

Heart spotted Woodpecker

Lesser backed Golden Woodpecker

Scaly breaster Munia

Tadoba (TATR) Tiger...

Well, the Tiger land’s magic cast on us made us visit Tadoba once again. Last year we had an unsuccessful trip without sighting the big cat. This time, visiting in peak summer, we hoped things would change! This trip was full of adventures and misadventures with lot of filmy twists and masala added.

Part1 – Reaching Tadoba – Our tickets were booked well in advance in the 2AC coach of the Sanghamitra scheduled to depart at 9am and reach Chandrapur by 5:30am the next day. We hoped to drive straight into the morning safari ride. With news of “Laila” pouring in on the day of our departure, we left as scheduled keeping our fingers crossed. Comfortable seats, chai, coffee, biskut, chips, samosa kept us occupied and till Chennai there were no issues. Then started the drama… As Ongole and Prakasam and the coast were severely pounded by the Laila cyclone, the Sanghamitra was diverted from near Gudur itself, thus started the journey into the districts of AP.

From Chennai, Gudur (Nellore dt), Cuddapah dt, Dhone (Kurnool dt), Kurnool town, Mahabubnagar, Kacheguda, Secunderabad, Jangaon (Warrangal dt), Kazipet (Warrangal dt), Uppal (Karimnagar dt), Sirpur Kagaznagar (Adilabad dt), and then entering into Maharashtra! Bangalore to Secunderabad took a wonderful 30 hours (normal duration max 12 hours) and overall the train was delayed by 16 hours and the entire day was lost in travel. We had a good free trip spanning 8 districts of the hot, dry Andhra Pradesh. Innumerable consumption of snacks, chai, coffee, ice cream, watching movies, sleeping (as much as you want), roaming kept us busy and with the comfort of 2 tier AC berths we managed to pass out the entire 36 hours extended journey. Finally we landed at Chandrapur station at 9pm the 2nd day. (2 safaris went straight out of the window owing to “Laila” – o – “Laila”).

Part2 – Shalik came in his Indigo and took us to the MTDC at Mohurli, in between I got a chance to drive his Indigo XL, was amazed by the amount of interior space available. The weather was warm indicative of what we would be facing the next day. Journey sick bodies and instant sleep and we were asked to be ready by 5am for the safari ride.

Changes at TATR when we were there – The main tarred road from Mohurli to Tadoba was closed for free movement of the tigers (and as the man made waterholes are on the roadside and the dominant tigress had cubs. Good move for their safety!)

Now, a queue system is introduced to limit the number of jeeps entering the park. Only 20 jeeps are allowed during the day and evening rides at Mohurli and Tadoba. So if you have to enter, your jeep needs to be in the list of 20!

Now to reach Tadoba zone as the main roads were closed, an alternate road has to be taken that is about 20+ kms roundabout dirt track.

Our first drive was in the Mohurli zone and Telia dam area is the main attraction here. As the approaches to the main roads are blocked, it’s a kind of restricted movement with very few places to go around. Yenbodhi, Jamunjhora and Telia are the hotspots and all vehicles go around these playing the waiting game to catch a glimpse of the big one! Tadoba was supposed to be hot and we were feeling it now as expected. The temperatures were rising by the hour and we were moving between places, but roaming in the jungle has its own charm which no heat or cold can deprive you of and that’s exactly how we were. Painted storks, Egrets, lots of Peafowl, Brown fish Owl couple, Indian Roller, Treepie, Lapwings, Oriental Honey Buzzards and a male Shikra was all that we got to sight in the morning round. We were back at MTDC for a breather, some rest and food. The afternoon our rounds were in the Tadoba range and sightings in the last 3 rides there kept us excited.

The entry to the park was at 4pm and we had to travel from MTDC till the entry gate on the deviated route that would consume another 40 minutes. There were another group with us and Shalik had arranged an open gypsy in which 10 us travelled. The sun was really blowing hot with temperatures hovering above 45C and the breeze was like a hot dry blower ramming into your face as the gypsy sped along. Burning sun, hot blowing breeze, burning eyes and there was absolutely no respite from the heat. Standing under a shade of a tree was like heaven and that really proves why you need to protect the trees from being chopped down!

All the action in Tadoba range is at the waterhole (I can’t recollect the name…), the only source of water is the manmade waterhole that is filled regularly by the forest department. Cars, gypsies, sumo, a few of them had already gathered there playing the waiting game. Varieties of birds had assembled there, all for the water (If they could speak, they would spell out the importance of WATER). The heat had taken a toll and dried them out and the major activity was only near the waterholes. Waiting patiently, we got to sight…

Red vented Bulbuls (in hordes), Red Whiskered Bulbuls, Orange thrush (in multiples), Drongo, Racquet tailed Drongo, Oriental White eye (in multiples), Greater Coucal, Treepies, Brahminy Mynah, Golden Oriole, Common Woodshrike, Black naped Monarch (lifer for me), Sunbirds, Shikra, Asian Paradise Flycatchers and a few more. In the meanwhile I tried out the Canon 300mm F4 prime lens of Shalik and Oh boy! I was mighty impressed by the speed of the autofocus and the images were really good.

With the birds, came the spotted deer, barking deer, langurs and sambar deer all to quench their thirst due to the excess heat. It was sound all around; both the chirping of the birds and the sound from the machines and this continued for almost 100 minutes and then everything changed…

The birds all flew in frenzy; the sambar never got to drink water, with loud alarm calls he just zipped back the way he came, the langurs were busy issuing warning calls to everyone from atop the trees and it was absolute chaos (or you can say, just as we welcome a king, there was activity all around with sounds), the shutterbugs started off clicking… finally we got a glimpse of the majestic tigress coming to quench her thirst. She came straight to the waterhole watching all of us with a look of annoyance on her face, stood in front, frowned at the incessant clicking, dropped herself into the water to cool, started drinking all the while having an eye on us, sat for few minutes, stood up and walked away without any care in the world not even amused by the hordes of people watching her. Our gypsy being in the 2nd row and we had to squeeze to have a glimpse of the majesty and I even had to stand on the grills of the gypsy to get a few shots. It was like a stage play with all the participants playing their part to perfection and the guest of honor came and left, funny isn’t it! Sighting a tiger in the wild is no mean task and the sense of joy you get while seeing one cant be described in words. Every wildlife photographer dreams of shooting the big cats in the wild and its not everytime you get a chance to see one.

 

Probably this is how it is in the jungles of Vidarbha, MP and others up North (As you never get such time, nor chance down south as till now what we have experienced). It was exciting, sometimes irritating, moments of joy, disappointment, a mixed bag in true sense. Only hope visitors behave and not let things go awry. Back in the comfort of the resort and the AC room, and then finally rest for the “heated bodies” after dinner. Phew! Within the last 36 hours, we had experienced a lot of things!

Next day being Sunday and the morning safari was our last at TATR and we chose to go around Tadoba range once again. This time we were informed the gates would open only by 7am (not the usual 6am). We were there ahead and reached the same waterhole to play the waiting game again. By this time there were already many private vehicles assembled there (entry through another part of TATR who supposedly were left in early!). Next what happened was rude behavior with few vehicles opening their doors for air, some parking too close to the water hole, all in all a mess! We retreated back and the FD had to intervene after a phone call and chase all the vehicles out of the area. In the meanwhile, tigers being supremely intelligent animals, the tigress came and drank to her fill when the vehicles were chased out and left before they reappeared. Smart, isn’t it? Only 2 vehicles got to see this amidst the melee. We roamed around other parts of Tadoba and then retreated back to Mohurli by 11am.

Part3 – As expected our train AP express at 12:30 was delayed by more than an hour and we had to wait at the Chandrapur station. The temperature meter was showing 50C and that made us go frenzy on the heat. Ah! The train was full to the brim (with lot of unreserved passengers) and finally got some places amidst the crowd. The seats, cabin everything was blowing hot and this continued till almost 5pm when the sun had to inadvertently start his way down to glow another part of the world. Finally! We were gobbling up anything and everything that came by to keep our cool, liters of water together. The train chugged along slowly and reached Hyderabad station a good hour behind schedule. The weather in Hyderabad was similar to Bangalore and that lit up our faces. Went to the hotel for dinner right opposite the MGBS in Hyderabad and were taken by surprise when greeted in Kannada. After dinner we came to the bus stand and boarded the Airavat Volvo KSRTC bus headed towards home. 3 Idiots movie was being played and the words I could last hear from the movie was “Joy, Joy” and I woke up only when the conductor called out “Yaar ri… Hebbal, Hebbal…”, a good 9 hours later :)

You can contact Shalik Jogwe on 09420303020 / 09595936369 

Care for the nature and the nature cares for you!

Basur Kaval & Final thoughts

the earlier Part VI here... 11th Oct 2009 - We left early as we had to search this place "Basur Kaval" near Kadur / Birur and go via Chikmagalur. Well past Chikmagalur and onto the road towards Kadur, the roads are horrible and heavy rains... it reminded us of our first day... similar conditions!!! There were no specific pointers towards Basur, the only pointer we had was it was close to Birur.

Ok. first let me tell how I came to know about this place... Vijay Cavale, one of the founders of INW, his wonderful website is a source of inspiration for many... and here is where i first saw the mention of "Basur Kaval", the blackbucks and the wolves. Well some more information from his site... Kavals are grazing land for the cattle and Amrut Mahal is one such breed of cattle that is drought resistant that requires huge areas of vacant land. Blackbucks also prefer such areas and thats why their predator the Wolf survives here, and with such good prey base can the leopards be far away? :) The recent notification published in the papers just before the start of our trip mentioning Basur Kaval as protected area for the Blackbucks inspired me no end not to miss this place.

Its roughly around 30kms drive from Birur, but we barely managed to find this place, going around, the villagers were confused and mentioning Amrut Mahal and Jinke evoked the right pointers and finally we managed to reach the signboard that said the place is a protected area for Blackbucks. Finally! Wanting to reach here early morning but ended up here in the hot sun, even the slightest hints of sighting the wolves were out and we only hoped to catch some blackbucks in action. Finally after some rounds, first we got to see a lone male resting in the open and persistent tracking yeilded sightings of a huge group with a lone one-horned male leading the pack. We got out of the car and ventured so as to approach them closer but Blackbucs being very shy and attentive too off giving us no oppurtunity to approach them. Birdlife was plenty but the heat was getting to us... and we had to reach home the same day. We had to leave Basur Kaval, but next time hope to be here with proper directions and the area map and spend as much time as possible and wish probably to sight the "Wolf". We returned passing by the Kardi Kal betta and the panther stories related to it (the recent reports of leopards being sighted here) has made this place a must visit for me again. From here we took the route to Kadur that was surprisingly more easier and a good tarred metallic strip and from the highway all the way to Bangalore was a cruize, the only highlight being the heavy downpour for about 15 minutes near Tiptur that virtually blinded us off and literally all vehicles were running with the hazard lights and the headlights on roughly at around 3pm.

Back home.. finally and this was another wonderful trip with loads of adventure and memories and filling us with the zeal and enthusiasm to pull off the unprobable Karnataka Anveshane 3 in 2010. But I must admit due to last minute changes and more safaris we undertook, the cost went up this time and this point needs to be taken care during our next trip. Ok.. coming back to the sightings of the avians and the mammals... 1)Purple Rumped Sunbird 2)Common Hoopoe 3)Indian Robin 4)Brahminy Starling 5)Jungle Babbler 6)Sirkeer Malkoha 7)Bay backed Shrike 8)Yellow Wagtail 9)Brahminy Kite 10)White breasted KF 11)Barn Swallow 12)Racquet tailed Drongo 13) Spotted Dove 14)Crested Hawk Eagle 15)Malabar Pied Hornbill 16)Malabar Trogan 17)Black Eagle 18)Asian Fairy Bluebird 19)Heart Spotted Woodpecker 20)Golden Flameback Woodpecker 21) Lotens sunbird 22)Black lored Yellow Tit 23)Indian Grey hornbill 24)Rose ringed Parakeet 25)Green Pigeon 26)White cheeked Barbet 27)Weaver bird 28)Golden fronted Leafbird 29)Jungle Mynah 30)Malabar Whistling Thrush 31)Oriental White Eye 32)Swift 33)Jungle Fowl 34)Yellow browed Bulbul 35)Red Whiskered Bulbul 36)Munia 37)Tickells blue flycatcher 38)Velvet fronted Nuthatch 39)Asian brown flycatcher 40)Small Minivets 41)Eurasian Golden Oriole 42)Asian Paradise flycatcher 43)Rose ringed Parakeet 44)Blue tailed Parakeet 45)Barn Owl 46)Brown Fish Owl 47)White backed Woodpecker 48)Neeltava 49)Shikra 50)Indian Roller 51)Pied Kingfisher.

1)Indian Gaur 2)Barking Deer 3)Sambar Deer 4)Malabar Giant Squirrel 5)Monitor Lizard 6)Garden Lizard 7)Scorpion 8) Tarantula spider 9)Spotted Deer 10)Jackal 11)Blackbucks 12)Giant Wood Spider 13)Elephants 14)Bolmet. Many thanks to Raja, Guru and Nag for putting up with me and making this yet another wonderful trip that will be etched in our memories.

Care for the nature and the nature cares for you!

Lakkavalli IB (Bhadra) - River Tern JLR

Read the Part IV here…

7th Oct 2009 - From Agumbe, we had no idea on how to approach Lakkavalli. Finally after intensive searching on the net, we stumbled upon a route mentioned in the team bhp forum for whom we are grateful to. The route goes like this to reach Lakkavalli from Udupi side… About 27-28kms from Thirthahalli, you approach a small village Muduba. Turn right into the forest gate here, half a km later turn left and you will reach Muthinakoppa within 4kms. At Muthinakoppa at the T junction, turn left towards Umblebail which is 16kms away. At Umblebail, turn right at the circle (directions shown here) towards Lakkavalli, that is 18kms away. After crossing Kuvempu University and Bhadra Dam, you find a small circle wherein you need to turn right and reach the security gate. Further inside you need to traverse up the hillock (mud road) to reach the IB that is located at the height on the hillock.

Proceeding straight ahead from the circle and turning right at the dead end and following the signboards will lead you to River Tern Jungle Lodges Resort located on the banks of Bhadra.The road conditions were bad, good only on some stretches from Muduba right up to Lakkavalli. On persistent enquiry for booking at Muthodi, we were offered a hall here at Lakkavalli IB. What we assumed that either Muthodi or Lakkavalli, being close to the forests was all that we wanted. So as we approached Lakkavalli village, we were wondering where this IB is in the humane jungle out there. Finally it took some time for us to realize that in the premises of Bhadra dam, atop the hill, adjacent to the human settlement was the IB located, and yes no forests around close by!!! As the Kuvempu University is located very close by and hordes of students visit there and so is the frequency of the local buses that traverse to and fro from Shimogga town.

We reached the IB to find nobody around and the place locked! We were not very impressed at where we had reached but still seeing the immediate surroundings somehow consoled ourselves. Another setback was that the resident cook was away and we had to go without food or survive on what we would find in the nearby hotels some kms away! That really got on to our heads and we started arguing with the person who opened the doors for us, but what's the use? We were already hungry tired of the driving and the hot sun and no food here too, we had to drive back to the town near the university searching for food and we had no choice but to gobble up what ever was served there!! Ok our next action was on what to do for the safari, we drove up till the forest office to be answered in the same old rude fashion - No safari here, we have no jeeps, who told you?!? Ridiculous! and still we are projected as a good tourist destination!!! Horrendous!! and we were suggested to go the Jungle Lodges River Tern resort for the safari! If everyone could afford to go to Jungle Lodges, would India still be a developing country?

<--- Small Minivet male - Lakkavalli IB --->

Left with no choice we went in search of the River Tern resort that we found out quite comfortably but the only glitch is in the approach road is in pathetic condition but signboards are put up for easy directions. The concept of Jungle Lodges is unique and refreshing too.. comparing the callous attitude of the people at the forest office, here you are welcomed with hospitality and politeness that brings a smile to your face! Spoke to the manager there and booked a jeep safari for the next day morning. As the sun was rapidly going down, we rushed back to near the Ib to watch the sun going down. The location was wonderful with vast views of the horizon but the clouds appeared from nowhere to block the sun from seeing us, and we had to be content with only the diminishing rays on the horizon. To the right of the IB there is a helipad constructed for visiting officials and ministers but what stuck us so bad was there was absoulutely no security around.The first time during daytime when we entered, we had to sign in the register and the watcher told after 7pm there will be nobody to check and thats true as we found out later. Literally anybody could drive in and drive out and also reach the helipad, and also get a good view from the bridge constructed near the IB. Ridiculous again!! and we speak about security being beefed up at all the major dams?

The blowing wind with the chillness in the air soothed our minds to an extent and again we drove out hunting for dinner. Time for few gulps for the boys, dinner at a dhaba and we came back to rest for the night. With the pleasant weather nobody was in a mood to lie down and so started our chatting and sms reading that went on and on! The accomodation was comfortable, we had got a big hall all for ourselves with cozy beds and hot water was too available anytime in the day. So atleast we were happy in that regard and luckily no mosquitoes, thank god! This was our day 1 at the Lakkavalli IB.

Day 2 - We were up early by 6 to go to the safari, got ready and reached the JLR camp by 6.45 to be served hot tea and biscuits that we sorely missed all along. We had to wait another big group to get ready as we would be sharing vehicles with them. We were happy with the back elevated seats that gave us a good view of the outside world. The jungles of Bhadra have their own charm, relative to either Bandipur or Nagarahole here its quite dense and thick and spotting mammals is itself a lucky find. Even deers are hard to spot amongst the dense growth all around. The ride is for a hour and a half and some routes were closed because of the rains over the last week. No luck in spotting the biggies even elephants too and we stumbled upon the chital, sambar and barking deers only. Birdlife was active but spotting them amidst the dense forests was next to impossible. Halfway in the safari ride we reached the "Sukhlahatti Inspection Bungalow / FRh" that is over a 100 years old and used by the forest department for patrol activities and leisure. The location of the IB is just perfect if you want to escape the normal world, nothing except greenery all around, you get to hear no sound except the birds and the animals, the air is pollutant free and is very refreshing, the sun goes down and you have nothing else to do other than sleep, Birdlife in plenty and all that you do is just laze around!

We came back from the safari, had another cup of tea and then me and guru went around the campus investigating. Birdlife was plenty here too and walking down the stairs we reached the bridge across the Bhadra that leads to another hillock where there are log huts owned by the Jungle Lodges and that place is just amazing to stay, its like staying on an island surrounded by water all around, the explanation is best left to your imagination! We again booked ourselves for the evening safari at JLR and then on the way back had lunch and with no intention of resting, me and guru went around birding and got quite a handful of them in the surroundings that too late in the afternoon. The evening safari was more or less the same as experienced in the morning, this time the jeep was all ours and the Monitor Lizard, Elephants, Indian Gaur made their presence felt.

The evening routine repeated viewing the sunset with the distracting clouds again from the JLR campus itself and then back to the IB. In the meanwhile, early in the afternoon we called up the Chikmagalur forest office and requested the person there to shift our next day booking to Muthodi and if possible extend it for another day as there were no facilities here and we were truely facing hard times for food and spending a lot on the expensive safari rides. Luckily he obliged and asked us to come to Chikmagalur office and collect the revised slips and proceed to Muthodi from there, this meant we had to now travel round about another 100 odd kms to reach Muthodi that would otherwise be just around 40 odd kms. We just were waiting for this silver lining and not intending to waste another day here agreed instantly. Our next days plan for a early morning boat ride got cancelled in our minds immediately and decided to leave to Chikmagalur early in the day. Dinner and an early sleep with the enthusiasm of visiting Muthodi the next day. In the meanwhile birding on this day was good at Lakkavalli IB with sights of Asian Paradise flycatcher, Small Minivets (male and female), Asian brown flycatcher, Bulbuls, Oriental white eye, Golden fronted Leafbird, Parakeets and the highlight being the very co-operative Eurasian Golden Oriole perched right in front of our balcony. During the winter, the banks of the Jungle Lodges River Tern resort is full of the migrant River Terns all around and is sure a treat to watch. End of day 2 and last day at Lakkavalli reducing our stay from 3 days to 2 because of lack of facilities.

The next Part here...

Care for the nature and the nature cares for you!

Happy New Year 2009

2008 has been a wonderful year in all aspects personally and professionally. Personally 2008 has been splendid with lots of adventure, excitement and experiences. I have generated a small video capturing the best moments of my adventures undertaken so far in 2008 primarily focussing on the rich bio-diversity our state offers in terms of nature, wildlife, culture and leisure (speakers on please).

Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous year 2009. regards, santosh.