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 :)

Ganeshgudi birding

We took a couple of days off and we were back at Ganeshgudi again (we had just visited a month back...!) Gaitonde missed out again and now its becoming a routine of him missing many of our last trips and it was again 3 of us, I, raja and guru prepared to visit Ganeshgudi again. Driving down would be long and tiring, so for a change we decided to travel by bus.

We booked the NWKRTC Rajahamsa bus that leaves bangalore by 8:45pm and reach Dandeli by 5:30am. 5 minutes into the journey and the bus came to an halt near Okalipuram bus shelter as there was a problem with the clutch plate. We had to wait till 10:45pm for the next NWKRTC bus to proceed our journey. 2 hours gone waste and with it hopes of early morning birding!!! What a start...!

Finally we reached Dandeli by 9am and after the mandatory breakfast we boarded another bus towards Ganeshgudi, 25kms away. Its always nice travelling in the state express buses and where you get to see lot of varied colorful people :) The bus driver was kind enough to drop us off right in front of the JLR property and we were greeted with a warm welcome by Parshuram and team once again. We were more than happy to be back again :)

As we freshned up, Vinay, the helpful JLR staff guy sent a message that the Malabar Trogan had made a visit... I ran picking my camera and after some searching I just got to see the beautiful bird with its head turned away, still better than no sighting. A male Paradise flycatcher also caught our attention but deep inside the lantana. After these two good starts, the brown cheeked fulvetta caught our attention on the water tub kept for the birds, In the meanwhile a plain prinia just made its appearance and vanished.

-- Ruby throated Bulbul above --
Then Vinay again called out to us as he had just spotted a snake (later I realized it was a Hump nosed Pit Viper), nice little fearless one that gave us some nice good poses. Just an hour being there, we were already busy moving around swiftly aided by the ever helping staff of the JLR. Another thing that we like is the personalized attention we get by the staff who know our requirements very well by now!

Birding acting kept me busy even after the sumptous lunch with the fulvetta, white bellied blue flycatcher, giant squirrel, shama, yellow throated and ruby throated bulbuls making their presence felt strongly. Then we had a mixed doubles sighting at the water tub with the Robin, White-eyes, fulvetta, and the flycatchers sharing space one after the other dipping in the cool water.

Evening time and nothing much to do outside... Carrom board, hot sipping tea and bajji's served hot kept us occupied without boredom. Then inevitably a movie kept the clock ticking... With no guests around, we are given the liberty with timings to be served food as we require and post dinner a deep cozy sleep ensured we are fresh and active for the next day.

Finally after hearing continous calling of the Malabar Whistling Thush, just got to see one in the long distance perched and singing happily away from us, happiness and dissappointment indeed. Trogan and the Whistling thrush are some who I'm a trailing to get a good capture from quite some time now!

Early morning we are up by 6 and still be greeted by the overcast weathe with intervals of rain. Sitting on the chair, all relaxed listening to the bird activity and breathing fresh natural air, you are rejuvenated enough to keep you going for the rest of the day! After that a full cuppa of hot tea served without being asked rakes up your senses no end...

A blue capped rock thrush caught our attention sitting motionless in the dark and photographing it was a challenge in the low light. Birding and walks around the campus kept us busy till we got the call from Parshuram to go for river rafting (a separate post on rafting is published here http://adventureanytime.blogspot.com/2010/12/rafting-in-dandeli.html)

After rafting and a heavy lunch, birding kept us occupied for the rest of the evening. With other guests around, it was an early night out for us as there was a noisy crowd around who were not to our liking! Early start the next day and the same rituals repeated, a good hot cup of tea, relax on the chair, soak in the fresh air and as the light improves venture out for birding. We walked up to the Supa bridge area to catch the hornbills but only could manage to see them flying far away in the distance. Birding all the way back, we were exhausted by the time we reached the campus as we had walked almost a distance of 6+ kms on an empty stomach. Breakfast was like a life saver to us then that rejuvenated our energy and senses.

Time to leave and we were dropped off till Dandeli in the JLR jeep (that had some repairs in the Dandeli town) and we headed straight to Timber depot hoping to catch some hornbills but no luck this time as probably it was afternoon time. Only the Malabar grey hornbill gave us some nice poses. Well with this our birding stint came to an end yet another time at Ganeshgudi and Dandeli and we are already on the plan for another visit... crazy fellas... aren't we? ;)

From Dandeli we boarded a bus to reach Dharwad, picked up the famous Baburoa singh Thakurs Dharwad Peda and then hopped on another bus to reach Hubli. Our scheduled Airavat bus was from Hubli to Bengaluru and as always we never realized when we reached home as all of us were in deep deep slumber recollecting Ganeshgudi memories all the way!

Cheers till next time... Enjoy!

Dandeli - Kulgi / JLR Old Magazine camp

Dandeli - Kulgi Nature camp - HORNBILL MANIA!

With our ladakh trip getting shelved because of my ill health and the sensitive situation at ladakh after the devastating cloudburst, we were looking for an alternate place to spend a quite few days in tranquil. Dandeli and Ganeshgudi were shortlisted and luckily this time we got the tents booked at the department run Kulgi Nature camp for 2 nights and 2 nights at the Old Magazine JLR camp. With a change in job, Nag was out of this trip and it was me, guru and raja doing this trip this time.

We left by night 9 and took the NICE highway to join Tumkur road near Nelamangala and being a weekday traffic was not high and it was a smooth sailing. The ride in the Figo was really good and with the NH4 being in excellent condition, the ride was just blissful with the mandatory small breaks in between. I woke up only when Raja had stopped as he was feeling sleepy at the Bankapura toll gate after Haveri, it was around 4am by this time. I took over the driving now and we took the Mundgod-Kalghatgi-Haliyal-Dandeli route that would save around 40+kms of driving if we avoid the NH4 but instead we took 2 additional hours as there were absoultely no roads at all to drive till Haliyal. It was a slow and bumpy ride till Haliyal that joins the state highway from there to Dandeli.

The first job we did at Dandeli was to pacify our hungry stomachs and we then went to the forest department timber depot to collect our permission letters to stay at the Kulgi camp. As we had sufficient time we strolled around the place hoping to sight some hornbills but luck evaded us and then we drove towards the Kulgi camp to get the much needed rest. Rains were persistent all through and it was more of a companion from daybreak with breaks in between and it was a wonderful sight seeing everything lush green. We were very happy to find out that other than us there were no occupants at the Kulgi camp. The tents were clean and neat and we are impressed by the maintanence of the department. Wonderful weather, cozy tents, cook to cook your food, drizzles now and then and importantly no mobile network coverage, what else do you need!

Yes, there is no mobile network coverage at Kulgi camp and you have walk outside the camp to get a feeble signal on BSNL mobile, no coverage of other networks whatsoever. As we had got tents, the bathrooms were common ones outside at a distance, common for all tent users, was surprised to see them clean and neat! Had food, took rest for some time and then we walked to the watch tower opposite to the camp in the interiors which is supposed to be a good place for birding. In the rains, bird life is usually subdued and all that we got to see were some huge spiders on the walls and domesticated buffalloes around. With nothing else to do we were just lazing around whaling our time enjoying the good weather. Post sunset, playing carrom, sipping hot tea and waiting for dinner was all that we could do! Post dinner SLEEP! (after 7pm, there is no difference whether its 8, 9 or 10 and with nothing to do sleep is the only option!) :)

Next day morning we had arranged for a trek and the guide was informed to come at 6:30am. 8am and no signs of him, we got heckled and cancelled the trek and instead we drove towards the backwaters where elephants are frequently sighted during summers. Nothing much to do here too and we walked around for some time and then came back to Kulgi village circle, had tea and then back to the camp and again to the watch tower area.
Post lunch took some rest and rains were persistent now and around 5pm went back to the Kulgi village circle to have some chai. Here was our first sighting of the Malabar Pied hornbills and that made us active and follow them tree by tree. Being very overcast and the couple perched high atop a tree, it was difficult and mostly had to admire them and their beauty through the eyes.

Next day, we went on a safari ride in the park very well knowingly we wouldnt encounter anything, but still... Nothing to expected during rains as all routes except 1 are closed. Back to the camp, after the breakfast we spotted a Red vented bulbul having his breakfast. He had a grasshopper in his mouth, bang it again and again on to the ground till it was in pieces and finally gobbled it. Weird laws of nature! As we were about to leave, we got to see the Malabar giant squirrels 3 of them in one tree and 2 on the same branch.

From Kulgi camp as we had to go to Ganeshgudi JLR camp, we took the longer route via Dandeli as we planned to visit the timber depot again. At the timber depot, Malabar Pied hornbills were everywhere and in huge numbers and we were running around everywhere chasing them!

Jungle Mynah, Pompadour green pigeons, Vernal hanging parrots, Sunbirds all made their presence felt that too near 1 single tree that had lots of berries and flowers! It was a real treat and we never realized how time passed by... 

I would rather let the photos speak for themselves on what o great time we had birding at the timber depot yard in Dandeli.

JLR- The Old Magazine House - Ganeshgudi
From Dandeli we proceeded towards Ganeshgudi where the Jungle Lodges & Resorts " The Old Magazine House" camp is located. From Dandeli, the JLR camp is about 32kms on the state highway which is a pleasure to drive. We were greeted by rain and it was our constant companion for the next 2 days. We were again very happy to know that there were no guests other than us that brought a big smile on our faces. The staff were also more or less the same we had met last year with Parshuram leading the staff. Inspite of intermittent rains, evening time we visited the backwaters of the Supa reservoir that extends miles together. Few persistent birds were hovering around for food and the rains never had an intention to go. Back at the camp, carrom and hot snacks kept us occupied until dinner time. You get the best treatment when there are no other guests and we just love it ;). Cozy beds, chill weather outside and time to snore with a plan to wake up early and hope the sun is out alteast the next day.

Next morning we decided to go near the bridge and catch some hornbills in flight. Rains delayed our departure and slowly the sun started showing himself throwing out the morning light. Midway enroute at the Ganeshgudi bus stand circle, we stopped as we could see few hornbills around. It was here, there, front, back all around on all possible trees and this made it difficult for us to shoot. Handheld shooting with the 100-400 lens is still an issue for me as slight imbalance creeps in and the shot blurs off, Im trying hard to avoid this trying different angles and capturing multiple shots.

The Malabar Pied hornbill, Malabar Grey hornbill, Jungle Mynah, Imperial Green Pigeon, Vernal hanging parrot, Pompadour green pigeon, White cheeked barbet, Sunbirds all were in plenty and made their presence felt. We had no luck near the bridge area and could not even spot a single hornbill over there. Mixed luck you can say!

More walks yielded no luck as the conditions being very overcast but soon we were able to spot couple of Malabar Giant Squirrels feeding on the roadside trees. An evening drive yeilded some more of the birds out to dry themselves as the rains had taken a break.

We checked out the next day early morning as we had drive back home the 500 kms and rest for the night. Enroute at Dharwar, we picked up kilos of the famous Babusingh Thakurs Dharwad Peda to relish upon.

Bird checklist:

Malabar Pied Hornbill

Malabar Grey Hornbill

Imperial Green Pigeon

Pompadour Green Pigeon

Vernal Hanging Parrot

White cheeked Barbet

White rumped Shama

Ruby throated Bulbul

Yellow browed Bulbul

Purple rumped Sunbird

Lotens Sunbird

Green bee eater

Red Wattled Lapwing

Grey Wattled Lapwing

Small blue Kingfisher

White breasted Kingfisher

Stork billed Kingfisher

Jungle Mynah

White rumped Munia

Brahminy Kite

Black winged Kite

and many others...

Route to Dandeli from Bangalore:

Bangalore - NH4 - Tumkur - Chitradurga - Davanagere - Ranebennur - Haveri - Hubli bypass - Dharwad bypass - Haliyal - Dandeli / Ganeshgudi (as of today excellent road condition).

Alternate route: Bangalore - NH4 - Tumkur - Davanagere - Haveri - Bankapura toll - Mundgod - Kalghatgi - Haliyal - Dandeli / Ganeshgudi (from Bankapura toll to Haliyal, roads are in dire straits and not advised to take this route during the night).

Accomodation: Kulgi Nature camp - 08284 231585

JLR Old Magazine House - Ganeshgudi - http://www.junglelodges.com/

Care for the nature and the nature cares for you!

Ganeshgudi - JLR Old Magazine House camp

Read the Part I here... Ganeshgudi – A wonderful getaway place

A place we would have rued missing. As per our Anveshane II plans, Ganeshgudi was not even in our thinking, but last minute glitches made me call JLR and enquiring for bookings at Ganeshgudi JLR. As we were / are budget conscious and Ganeshgudi is the only place where dormitory bookings are available we booked four beds for 2 nights at 900/- per person through the online booking portal www.junglelodges.com.

We were 4 of us travelling in our Alto car and the previous day we checked into State lodge @ Dandeli town with the intention of safari / bird watching there. Rains throughout the day marred our plans; still we did some birding @ the department Timber Yard (Forest office) and also the safari in the Dandeli Anshi Tiger reserve irrespective of the rains. Hornbills were a pleasure to watch in the timber yard but no sightings in the reserve, only rains and rains.

3rd Oct 2009 - We checked in to Jungle lodges at Ganeshgudi after driving the 35 odd kms from Dandeli, the road stretch was ok if not great! The place, environment, surroundings cast a spell on us as soon as we landed there and the warm welcome extended spiced up our moods to no end. Being a weekend the bookings were full and ours were the last 4 beds booked there. Rains were plying intermittently with no respite and instantly we decided on relaxing and enjoying if the same weather continued, meanwhile we were getting news of floods marooning Karnataka which was a worrying factor.

After a heavy tasty lunch, birding was the only activity we did around the place carrying an umbrella wherever we went. We walked around the place and on to the main road till we were tired and got some good shots of the sunbird couple over there. Evening time it was a good meeting over tea with few of the other nature lovers who were camping there and exchanges of ideas on photography tips and bird ID’s. The Black Panther sighting was the hot topic for discussion. In this camp, Tarantula giant spiders (I hope the naming is right) and a Scorpion family are residents near to the walk way and they are primarily nocturnal. So carrying a huge torch, using the flash and capturing them on the cameras was the routine in the evenings. The aura is such that after 6 pm, it gets so dark and with absolutely no vehicular movement to disturb your ears, and as we are been used to honking and traffic all day, you feel like you are in heaven! The day ends by 6pm when darkness engulfs and there is nothing to do except gulping down KF or savage on the dinner served.

--> Tarantula spider above; Scorpion below <--

4th Oct 2009 - eventful day – The rains had slightly let up in the morning after lavishing the entire night and we could see the bright sun poking in between the trees assuring us of some bright day and time for activities. We drove till the bridge across the Supa River for some bird watching (mainly for the hornbills) and yes we got to see the Malabar Pied flying just above our heads crossing the stream. The big Black Eagle too made its presence felt with a distant sighting only. Near the bridge, there is a small path leading to the rafting point through an estate, we just walked through the path for some distance and birding was very eventful there with many to see and lots to hear.

--> Fairy Blue Bird above; Malabar Pied Hornbill below <--

We rushed back for the breakfast (how can we ever miss it) and all the other guests were leaving, and so @ lunch time, we only 4 of us were there as guests (Also new bookings for the day was cancelled because of the incessant rains and floods that was creating havoc everywhere). With nothing to do, we chose to walk or rather trek around the JLR camp on a path nonexistent with the able guidance of the JLR staff Joma. He was such a wonderful person having a keen interest in bird watching, guiding and helping us all along the way. Salutes to the senior citizen!

--> Yellow browed Bulbul above <--

At his age he was so agile and full of zeal and enthusiasm and he could quickly spot the birds hearing the calls among the greens with precision and we would just be searching where where! May his tribe increase and wish to have more of his guidance and expertise on our next visit to Ganeshgudi. Again heavy meal and some rest, later in the evening we went near the Supa dam area and walked around the banks for some good Hornbill sightings. But rains, rains and rains marred our plans, still we walked around the banks and finally came back retiring for the day. Around the campus are, the Malabar Whistling Thrush was stalking me through the evening but unfortunately never ever got to see it!

5th Oct 2009 - The last half a day at this wonderful place and we were already convinced we had to be here back soon. Our initial idea of Rafting at Ganeshgudi was out of the window because of rains and water not being released from the Supa dam. Birding in the rain was not that fun as they tend not to come out and managing your cameras and umbrella together is a tough task, and the happiest ones are the leeches who relish rains and they are practically everywhere. After a good hot cup of tea we chose to be driven to the backwaters and the viewpoint nearby. One of the viewpoints is on the roadside that offers an endless view of the water everywhere, and we got to know that 4 rivers join into the backwaters. Supa dam is the second largest in the state and has got a huge catchment area of 1057 sq. kms and it serves as a storage area for 4 other dams constructed at lower heights. So water is released only when the 4 dams need them and rafting is possible only then! Being adventurous we chose to walk amidst the dense growth to a watch tower in the middle of nowhere overlooking the backwaters. The sight was simply amazing, greenery all along one side and water on the other as far as you can see. Leeches, Wood spiders and many others were present all along the way and it was a good walk amongst the dense Western Ghats range.

Came back and were treated to a royal mouth watering breakfast and later we bid goodbye to the team who were so courteous, generous and hospitable. But one thought that ringed through my mind all along was – Why are there no dormitories in other JLR properties? Thanks to Joma, Pundalik, Praveen, Mohan (regret I can’t recollect all the names!) for making our stay a memorable one.

The list of our sightings went something like this…1.Malabar Pied Hornbill 2.Malabar Trogan 3.Malabar Whistling thrush (only calls) 4.Indian Grey Hornbill 5.Purple Rumped Sunbird 6.Loten’s Sunbird 7.White Cheeked Barbet 8.Orange Minivets 9.Racket tailed Drongo 10.Rose ringed Parakeet 11.Weaver bird 12.Golden Flameback Woodpecker 13.Green Pigeon 14.Indian Robin 15.Brahminy Kite 16.Black Eagle 17.Yellow Wagtail 18.Golden fronted Leafbird 19.Oriental white eye 20.Heart spotted Woodpecker 21.White breasted Kingfisher 22.Swift 23.Red Whiskered Bulbul 24.Tarantula spider 25.Scorpion 26.Yellow browed Bulbul 27.Fairy Bluebird 28.Giant Wood Spiders and more...

Part III continued here...

Care for the nature and the nature cares for you!