Coorg and Kabini

Monsoons, and the Western Ghats comes alive during the time when the water starved regions, barren lands, dry forests, brown hillocks come alive in various shades of green and numerous waterfalls spring up in nook and corner of the region turning the virtual entire into a carpet of greenery. When it rains, it pours in some regions diminishing the might of the Sun for a few days and the tree canopies prevent the lesser available sunlight to pass through them to hit the forest floors thus rendering it moist always. Leeches love this environment and numerous bugs, beetles, frogs, snakes thrive during the rains. In a corner of the forest, safe from the flowing water, the might King Cobra builds its nest carefully and tirelessly to ensure its eggs hatch. Frogs and toads come out of hibernation and so does many of the smaller insects virtually infesting the whole region with their calls, songs and music. With abundance of prey around, the snakes make the most of it grabbing a meal or two, whenever it can.

The smell of the land after a good rain is probably the best fragrance you could ever sense and a lush green thriving forest is probably the best sight you could see and the calls of the birds, insects and animals is probably the best music you would hear. A complete therapeutic treat to entice all of a human’s senses and re-energize the mind and soul.

We were well aware of the fact the Kodagu region comes alive during monsoons with many waterfalls springing up and the well-known ones cascading in full force and we always wanted to explore some of them at leisure and so we did traversing through Kodagu and tracing out hidden gems that come alive mostly during the monsoons. We did visit a few and we had to skip a few more owing to short time, but nevertheless it was a rejuvenating sight that lot of people miss even though they wander so close to them. Some of these need a hike and walking through unknown terrains and the area around the waterfalls are generally slippery, so you need to exercise caution before you head out deeper into the woods. If you are not sure, then take the help of a local to accompany you as it’s easy to get lost!

Rajasthan birding - Keoladeo Ghana National Park (Bharatpur)

Rajasthan trip report here...

With spare days now on hand and Raja not available in Jaipur, we dashed off to Keoladeo Ghana National Park or more commonly called the Bharatpur bird sanctuary to spend our remaining days of the trip that turned out to be an excellent decision with us being there at the right time. Bharatpur, is as small area but is an excellent avifauna sanctuary that hosts thousands of birds, especially during the winter season and people flock here for many reasons – photography, bird watching, cycling around the whole park or just walking and spending quality time listening to the birds and nothing else.

Rajasthan Birding - Jorbeed, Chhapar

Rajasthan trip report here...

Early next day, we were off to one of the most anticipated places on our list – a dumping yard! Yes. Jorbeed is a carcass dumping yard where carcass is treated and dumped and where you get to see a huge diversity of birdlife. This small patch of land is probably where you will see the highes congregation of vultures of many kinds, all in one place. Diclonofenac literally had wiped out the vulutre population from India, but awareness and banning of the drug has seen the population of vulutres recover slowly, but the threat remains large as few species of vultures are still classified as critically endangered.

Capturing Wildlife moments - by Ashok Mahindra

Capturing Wildlife moments - A coffee table book by Ashok Mahindra

I have glanced through many books and quite a lot of them are either too monopolistic (focusing only on one subject like the tiger or the elephant) or too dramatic (some carry more photos of the people than wildlife itself)..., but this book caught my attention with varied subjects being showcased right from a common sparrow to the very elusive Malayan Giant Squirrel. This for me in itself speaks about the intent of this book that is aptly described by the author, Ashok Mahindra as below…

“My endeavor as a photographer is to encourage people to care for all threatened species – from the smallest insects to the biggest cats – before it is too late”.

Let me highlight some of the strong points from my viewpoint about this book…

1. Malayan Giant Squirrel, Himalayan Black Bear, Hoolock Gibbon, Wild Buffallo, Stump-tailed Macaque, Pallas’s Fish Eagle, Gharials representation with descriptions is the winning point of this book.

2. Mangrove roots, Termite mounds, Trees of Kanha & Bandhavgarh along with some behavioral descriptions and illustrations caught my attention that emphasizes the importance of everything in the wild, be it big or small, be it flora or fauna.

3. The lesser fauna (to the large sect of people) representation such as the frogs, butterflies, spiders, gecko along with their behavioral description is sure to hold the reader’s attention providing them insights into many forms of life that they would have been ignorant about.

4. The big mammals like the tigers, elephants, lions, leopards, rhino with some interesting facts and stories about them fill the dominant part of the book.

5. Pictorial representation of common species like the cormorant, sparrow, kingfisher, painted stork is sure a differentiator from many books that tend to overlook them.

6. Some of the images are stories by themselves like the couple of rich landscape photos or some of those individual tiger frames or the photos showcasing elephant behaviors.

7. The Thirteen ways forward conceptualized by Ashok Mahindra effectively summaries the current situation we are in and what needs to be done.

8. The author has covered a large portion of the wildlife inhabited areas in India ranging from Dachigam in Kashmir to Valapari in Tamil Nadu and from Gir in Gujarat to Kaziranga in Assam that speaks about the voluminous effort put in and it’s very likely this collection is over a period of many years of traveling the wild in India.

What I felt could have been better in the book was the layout formation and more emphasis on certain text (highlights in a paragraph) and inclusion of scientific names would have added more value.

For a nature lover, seeing wildlife is complete bliss and taking the effort to compile them and add substantial information about their status, behavior, distribution, threats is itself an accomplishment worth accolades.

Overall, a good coffee table book to read through that conveys a very strong message and hopes to inspire the young Indian generation in conserving what is left of the natural resources.


"This post is a part of the book review program of at Saevus Wildlife India in association with The Hemchand Mahindra Foundation for the book Capturing Wildlife Moments in India"

Karnataka Coastal birding

The coastal belt is very rich in birdlife and you get to see diverse species only if you are willing to explore. In Karnataka, coastal birding is not as so famous as the forest birding owing to many reasons and choices people have, coastal birding is more fun when you have the flocks of winter migrants coming in to the shores to stay for a few months out here. My last coastal birding was in Gujarat, a couple of years ago and that 'itch' was egging me to do more of it...

Finally, Amith came up with a plan for the weekend (way back in Nov 2013) and me along with 5 others traveled towards Udupi to explore the beaches and the backwaters around the region.

We roamed around Hoode-bengre, Kaup, Mulki, Someshwara, Sasihithlu from dawn till dusk for some amazing birding and were surely tired out by the end of day 2 covering so many places and looking out for so many bird species, yet we missed a few of them! bad luck!

One important factor to keep in mind for coastal birding is the 'tide timings', low tides are the best time when the crabs come out in zillions and the birds come for them whereas you reach the same place during high tide and all that you see is water everywhere. Also, unlike forest birds, birds on the shore can be seen throughout the day, be it rain or shine. And, the most important factor is to have loads of patience as the birds can sense your movement from far away and tend to move away if they feel threatened or by your brisk/sudden movements. Slow pace and less movements gets you closer to them without any added efforts.

What we used to do was to spread out in small groups, pick a location where you have seen movements and wait there... be it for 10 minutes, or an hour or a couple, your efforts would be rewarded if you have that patience to do it.

I've nothing much more to detail down, will allow the images to speak... Sit back and have a look :)

(Terek Sandpiper)

(Western Reef Egret)

(Grey Plover)

(Whimbrel)

(A colony of crabs...)

(Common Kingfisher)

(Pacific Golden Plover)

(Lesser Sand Plover)

(Sanderling)

(Ruff)

(Ruddy Turnstone's - up and below)

(Lesser Sand Plover)

(mixed flocks - top and below...)

Important:-
Coastal birding can get very hot, carry adequate amount of water and snacks.
Wear a hat and carry lotions as required.
Udupi is about 400 odd kms from Bangalore and add another 30 odd kms towards Mulki
Hotels are available in Mulki for stay and food.
Don't litter on the beaches as they are already littered bad.
Saandip has presented it much better on his blog here.

Dandeli.com

(the pride of Dandeli)

Started of 2014 with a visit to Dandeli (yes, again), courtesy Dandeli.com who intend to be the guiding force for people or groups who would want to visit Dandeli and surrounding areas. I stayed at a lesser known Eco friendly camp, Dandeli Jungle Camp situated about 11kms from Dandeli town closer to the village Pradhani. This post is an attempt to review the facilities and the hospitality I was offered.

(Dandeli Jungle camp)

Ø Rajesh / Sanjay / Ramnath of Dandeli.com were very cordial and hospitable in working with the clients and ensured I had a pleasant stay right from arranging pick-up and drops to the food to activities.

Ø They can plan and organize your stay basis your budget and preferences right from a basic stay to a luxurious resort stay, they have one for all.

Ø Dharmesh and staff at the camp were also very hospitable and catered to every need. The guide Hanumanthu with whom I went on hikes was an excellent spotter (of birds) and very humble.

Ø The camp is a basic yet rustic and appealing located in the buffer zone of the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary.

Ø No air-cons, geysers, only one-time non-veg meal were a welcome sight at the camp. Cottages were decent enough and basic, no ultra luxuries here that was a good sign.

Ø Food, simple yet good, the options of spread can be increased.

Ø The staff comprises mostly local people, which imply the revenue benefits the local community.

Ø Incidentally, I met couple of other travel bloggers whom I was only used to seeing in the virtual world, it was a good opportunity to catch up.

Being more than a general traveler and been around Dandeli quite a few times, I chose not to do the regular attractions of Dandeli like Coracle ride, River Rafting, Backwaters drive, Sunset point trek instead chose to explore the birdlife around the camp that turned out to be a good choice for me.

Both the days I stayed, I did a good 3-4 hours hike covering the surrounding wooded areas and was more than pleased to record about 70 species of birds from there. Credit goes to the guide who knew the tracks well and was a good spotter too.

(Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary)

Also, chose a Jungle Safari ride into the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary (jeep courtesy JLR along with their other guests). Historically, the safari ride is unexciting because of multiple reasons (that I would divulge in sometime). Few birds, Gaur, Deer were those we saw.

Enjoyed a delicious, mouth-watering dinner at a ‘Khanavali’ in Dandeli before I bid adieu to fellow travelers and boarded my bus towards Bangalore.

Dandeli is not a place to go picnicking and littering, be responsible and cautious and enjoy your stay. I would definitely recommend the services of Dandeli.com for people who want to experience Dandeli but do not know how to go about it. They can devise plans for each and every one, give them a chance, they won’t disappoint.

Contact Sanjay - 094487 97270 or Ramnath - 099005 47763 for more information.

Rann Diaries - Wild Asses

Gujarat diaries so far...

The Indian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur) also called as khur, is a subspecies of the Asiatic Wild Ass species. The Indian Wild Ass sanctuary is one of the last places where the endangered Indian Wild Ass is found. It’s heartening enough to see them thriving and in good numbers in the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.

Wild Asses are fast runners clocking speeds in the range of 70-80 km/hour and can easily outrun a jeep and what I observed is that they are instant runners, i.e., a distant sound and they start galloping and seeing this behavior almost every time I saw these wild asses made me come up with the below –

“An ass started running and all the other asses followed him; they ran, ran till one ass stopped to look why they were running and the other asses stopped to look why the one ass stopped running.”

Well, taking it on a lighter note, that’s how I felt as I saw them mostly running. Only a few of them were at ease with us in their sight. I wonder, is it because the jeeps that come make them run to get ‘those shots’ or is their instinct to take off every time. Also, to be considered is that they do not have any natural predators to fear (except the wolves that would target the colts rather than grown adults). Yet, they are the flagship species of Rann and its pleasing to see them thriving in good numbers and expanding their domain to favorable areas.

next up is the 'Jamnagar Jatra'... stay tuned :)

Rann Diaries - the Barnie and the Eagles

Gujarat diaries so far...

Continuing the story or probably the highlight from the Rann as we drove deeper into the Rann, Pratap bhai and I sighted some blackish aberrations on the ground, a far distance away. A little further and we realized there were aquilans on the ground, four in total with a small object in between.

(the four Aquilans and the Barnie!)

We stopped at a distance (when we saw the eagles were aware of our arrival), quite far from where we could see 4 of them on the ground and an object in between them. Surprised and happy at the same time to see so many of them together, we were probing into what was the object in between. The eagle's are more or less identified as a combination of Greater Spottee Eagle and Steppe Eagles.

(Steppe Eagle)

We never figured out till the object moved its head and Pratap bhai noticed it and shouted Owl, Owl. What! I refused to believe stating it couldn’t be and it was a piece of stone or rock, but as I was uttering and watching through the binoculars, the object moved again.

(in the middle of nowhere...)

Ah! I was wrong and pretty surprised in seeing an owl in the middle of Rann surrounded by eagles…! By now, the eagles were unhappy with our presence (we were quite far still) and took off one by one soaring high into the sky and vanished without a trace.

The owl was still on the ground with its head lowered and looked lost or probably had lost hopes of survival or probably was being chased by the eagles or probably had fallen off in flight due to exhaustion, I’ll never know!!!

(a distant shot from the jeep - notice the angle)

By now, we had figured out it was indeed a Barn Owl that looked like an object surrounded by the eagles. We came closer and the Barnie was still and unmoved. We were about a distance of 30m and yet the Barnie was still and unmoved, meditating with its eyes closed.

(a closer look again from the jeep)

Now, I got off the jeep and wore the protective gear for the elbows, changed the settings in the camera and yet the owl showed no signs of movement! I went flat on the ground and inching closer to it got as close as 10-15m and yet it remained still.

(closest view, shot lying on the ground - notice the angle)

After the shoot, I woke up, retreated and now doubted whether the owl was well or in a semi conscious state of shock. I walked straight up to it slowly and then as I was close, it flew off much to my relief and then sat again a little distance away.

Sensing, it would be dehydrated, we left a little pool of water closer to it on a piece of foil sheet closer to it and left the scene.

(parting shot...the Barnie!)

What was the Barnie doing in the middle of Rann, how did it reach? What happened later are some questions that I have no clue about and best left unanswered.

On field, some incidents never fail to amaze you much to your disbelief.

Coming next… the Ass story…!

Rann Diaries - A full day in Rann!

Gujarat Diaries so far...


An early rise and we were off early passing the numerous salt pans, salt dunes, salt loaded trucks, salt refineries and the Patdi railway station (mainly used to transport salt) into the Rann, deep into the Rann to be witness to some amazing moments and sight some wonderful species out there that needs an experienced eye to sight the birds and no better person than Pratap himself. Some distance into the Rann and all you can see is the mirage of water over the distant horizon making you believe the coast is near but the farther you go, the farther the Rann extends and the mirage never ends. There are no tracks or paths inside Rann, where you go is where the track path created, an ideal place to get lost in the salt desert.

But, there is some charm in the Rann, a place of solitude and peace the heat notwithstanding, you just want to keep going chasing the mirages, sighting the birds, following them on a wild goose chase, be yourself and live for yourself and live your moments in the Rann. Water, is precious, and no better place than Rann to learn it the hard way, the seething hot sun and the hot weather sucks out every ounce of water from your body and you feel the thirst every now and then, also, its important to keep yourself hydrated sipping water frequently to keep you going…

We went in search of the elusive Macqueen’s Bustard that visits the NW India during winters and is a species whose number is going down drastically. These are large birds found on the ground and are found in grasslands or scrub forests. Habitat destruction and hunting are the primary reasons for the decline in their numbers. We were greeted to open spaces first when we scanned the area and after a couple of rounds here and there we first got to see the bird flying away from out of nowhere to deeper areas, such is its camouflaging nature its very difficult to spot the bird especially when its roosting or squatting on the ground (see image below)...

Thus, started the hide and seek game with us in pursuit to see the elusive one, and the bustard running amok. We were patient and completely at the mercy of the bustard, when it chose to sit/squat, we would lose sight of it and had to just wait for it to come out of its hiding. For the initial hour, the bustard never came close and was very skeptical of our presence. Slowly, as we patiently waited without a movement, biding our time the bustard started moving around and after more than an hour of us being there started appearing in areas much closer to us and in complete visibility. I didn’t get any super close-up shots nor didn’t I want it and so after more than a couple of hours, we left the place in search of other species.

Till date, I never understood why the Kestrel has the name ‘Common Kestrel’ as its hardly visible everywhere and sparser around the place I live. But in Rann, I could see them everywhere and so commonly, there would be a Kestrel on every other tree hiding itself or scanning for potential preys but I never got a good shot of it from Rann. All that I was engrossed in was trying to identify whether is was the more rarer ‘Lesser Kestrel’ among so many seen.


Pallid Harriers were more visible than in Velavadar, but again I never saw one perched or roosting on the ground, so all that I saw them was soaring high above scanning the grasslands.

Shrikes, Wheatears, Stonechats, Larks, Plovers, Pipits were all around the place and in good numbers, and the best part was I would see them all take-off only when the vehicle was closer to them, thanks to their super camouflage or my lack of trained eyesight! Roaming deeper in the Rann, we came across a pregnant Desert Fox that ran for cover on sighting us. One of the flagship species of the Rann is the Greater Hoopoe Lark and which also top of my wish list to see and I was lucky to see them up close and happier to see them in good numbers. Their flute-like-whistles song is a must-watch for all bird lovers and the way they do it is just amazing. They sing with rising and falling notes consisting of whistles and clicks, rising with fluttering strokes and then nose diving, wish I had a video to record the same, amazing display of behavior.

As we moved ahead, the next sighting was another first timer for me, the Merlin belonging to the Falcon family. Usually hunts in low flight with fast wing-beats and short glides and normally found singly. I was more than happy to sight this species that’s only common in these regions and uncommon elsewhere.

Next up was an interesting sighting sequence that will be shared in a separate post… 

With the sun battering hot, we took a much needed break at a temple located at a far end of the Rann (Sigh! I forgot the name) with people and kids interestingly looking at my attire and equipment. Past 2pm, we resumed our journey back into the Rann and Owls kept us busy for a long time. Also, our search for the hyena’s and wolves bore no fruit as there were no signs of them in their typical habitat in Rann!

As we traversed along the nook and corner of Rann, and me happy and contended with whatever I got to see rather than having an unfulfilled wishlist, we came across a big herd of Indian Wild Ass or locally known as Khur, probably the biggest herd I was seeing since stepping on to Rann. Why? The answer lay within, this being quite remote with minimal human interference and their population was thriving and in good numbers, great to see that! Hope, the flagship species of the Rann prosper and with it prosper the beauty of Rann for time to come! Wish!

wait for more to unfold...

Rann Diaries - Day 2

Gujarat Diaries so far...

After a mixed hectic first day, next morning was a quick starter with the jeep all set and Pratap bhai coming on time. Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouses were the toast for the morning, they are so beautifully camouflaged that its very difficult to spot them in the Rann and if you have seen one or two, you would have missed a dozen that would be right next to you and as you approach them closer, they all fly away in unison with a ‘phurrrr’...

After the patient session with the sandgrouses, then came the herd of wild asses and I was next busy occupied seeing and shooting various water birds, from flamingos to pelicans, to shovelers to gulls.

As Pratap bhai had to leave early, I called it a day for the session as going around without a person who knows the place is like searching a needle in a haystack... very difficult, every location looks the same and an untrained eye can never see anything unless its closer and in your view. With the early coming in, got more time to relax and enjoy the meal spread.

For the evening session, Pratap’s brother accompanied me and he was equally good as Pratap in sighting birds and identifying them. The evening belonged to the raptors, kestrels, harriers were there everywhere and it was a sight to the sore eyes seeing some of them coming to roost after dusk.

Literally, as the sun went down, the Rann looked like infested with harriers everywhere, all of them roosting and at one time I could see 8-10 individuals just around me, but albeit all at a safe distance from me. I tried getting some ground level shots of a couple of them but with absolutely no light around, it was a tough ask. Another interesting note was the female harriers were more co-operative and didn’t mind my approach than the males who took off every time I tried to approach them!


Next day would be a ‘mega day’ with loads of action… stay tuned :)