In the Jungles of Bandipur-Masinagudi: Summer of 2015

my trip to Bandipur NP, Karnataka 

Bandipur NP

Bandipur NP is around 200 kms from Bengaluru via Mysuru by road (NH67) and offers affordable stay for individuals and families. It features  wildlife documentaries before the dinner is served at restaurant attached to the NP...the NP is closed between 9 pm & 6 am making it a safer haven for the wildlife...the forest stretches in TN (Mudumalai) and Kerala (Wayanad)...

tiger tiger 

...this was my 3rd visit to Bandipur and every visit had a new story - however i didn't expect an action so sooner after my first evening safari...while i was taking shower that late evening, i was alarmed by the cacophony from the jungle, in few moments, i dashed in the verandah with a torch focusing through the fence, but the could not sight any movement...on the stroke of the first rays of the Sun, i was ordered by the naturalist friend to jump in the open jeep: "sir, tiger......!!" tossed-up and holding the roof bar, i was securing myself in the vehicle, as we entered the denser part of the buffer zone, "sir, there it is !!"....silence followed...i was awestruck to see a magnificent male tiger staring at us, not even flicking of the ear, showcasing his confidence he had...over the next 15 minutes i was capturing frame after frame...the mighty giant once rolled over its back...the naturalist uttered "you are lucky, sir!"; he continued, "sir, this is a 10 year old cat and had a territorial fight last evening with an younger 8er male tiger, which got killed and the fight alarmed the guards in the core area of the jungle, who caught the glimpse of the aftermath at the dawn...the veterinary doc. is on his way for the post-mortem" he continued the story in the stretch, "its sad to loose a younger wild cat, but this is wildlife!", "did you hear anything last evening ???"...so, what i had heard last evening could be this event, i was wondering whether am i getting the powers from the nature that these folks, working in the jungles have acquired ???, becoz. none in the guesthouse, over 20 odd, did not hear a sound...i rested back in my seat, picturing the fight...  

 

...suddenly "are we continuing for birding, sir?"...a query from the naturalist, brought me back to the senses and we were more than happy to ride on our luck.....having said this we spotted Asian Paradise Flycatcher (APF), Brahminy Starling male-female together, Jungle Owlet, Crested Serpent and Changeable Hawk Eagle, Common Hoopoe, Grey Junglefowl, Oriental Magpie Robin, Black Drongo & the House Sparrow...

trying my luck

...the 2nd evening at the NP, i drove on NH67 and spotted the wild dogs, Dhole, ambushing a Spotted Deer on the other side of the road, in the moon light, i saw many deers around...the Dholes kept their distance and could not witness any action...I continued further to try my luck further, where i encountered a Sloth Bear running away in the thick, on witnessing my car and few meters later, an Indian Gaur, steady and unperturbed, continued grazing...i abandoned the drive much earlier than the restricted time to respect the wildlife and my pockets were full...

  

 

my visit to Bird Haven 

next morning, I left for Masinagudi for birding and on the way witnessed the wild elephants as soon as Mudumalai was crossed...keep a safe distance from the wild elephants...always!!!

birds' paradise

as soon as i neared Masinagudi, spotted beautiful steps and expressions of Kathak by a Peafowl along the Singara estate road and few moments later Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Grey Hornbill, the jewel of the jungle - the Indian Golden Oriole... going few paces further, we spotted female Heart-spotted woodpecker, which have black heart-like shapes on their white shoulders with white forehead, the males have black forehead...the species is resident of Western Ghats and E and NE India...

i was accompanied by a funny naturalist, who could view birds having a foot long body or over and who did not show any emotion when i was uttering wows and ahhs.....

Heart-spotted Woodpecker, female

but then he suddenly jumped off his seat...his animated behaviour was hilarious, but there was a reason...

Great Hornbill

he pointed to the tree and pointed towards a branch of a tree.

..as if the nature has showered colors on this very bird, it is massive bird found in Western Ghats and NE India and has a huge mustard yellow casque...the flapping of the wings can easily be heard and it looks like an Alamgir of the birds...the Hornbills have a peculiar characteristic, once a male-female relationship is established, they remain inseparable for the rest of their life...  

 

 

so much to inculcate from the jungles...the following day, I left for Bengaluru...looking back with gratitude...

Birding in Dandeli-Anshi-Ganeshgudi: April 2016

Witnessing freedom of birds is indescribable...we visited Ganeshgudi-Pradhani-Anshi in Summer of 2016...this place comes in NW Karnataka which homes rich flora and fauna, including over 200 species of birds...blessed by river Kali....no wonder it is lush green....btw, we are six birds; three generations, 3-girlz and 3-boyz - Mom, Wifey, Pop...including two birdies, Aditya and Vidyalakshmi...and...i..:) 

  
Along the banks of Kali we witnessed a flock of Malabar Pied Hornbills, which are residents in the Western Ghats...and a ride in a coracle allowed us to frame the romance among these heavy bills, believe me blokes, they are not shy of PDA...they make knocking sound, clapping their bills against each other...you will capture this magic if you chose to visit the place after 5 pm, just before the dusk we saw these biggies crossing the river banks and displaying romance in air, and this gave veda and i a moment of our own to exchange a smile...

The ride got us close to ever hovering River Tern in action...diving...for a luck-for-a-munch...we recommend to carry a fast fps camera body with minimum 400 mm f/5.6L lens to frame this white glory...above us were the Little Cormorants flying in the high skies...showcasing the formations....veda gave an excited shout to see the "jewel of the thicket", the Indian Golden Oriole...baba, adu and even chutku were quick on their feet and this forced the smooth floating coracle to give us an SOS...:)

The coracle ride, as if was not enough, we visited Ganeshgudi next morning at dawn and found that Mruthyunjayya, our naturist had different plans...he took us on the main road and we said, "what?, no!"...but we found that the easiest and the best location to spot birds was walking on the road facing west....looking at the fruiting trees....we were welcomed by the very Sun's angel...the Orange Minivet...not one, or two but sometimes more than 3 on the same branch and these were no less than mr. Indian Golden Oriole....baba was excited to witness these red-flames using his binocs...his expressions walked me in nostalgia when i saw the bird first time, myself. As we strode, we realized that the Orange Minivet was not the only one, we were greeted by a great "hi" from White-rumped Shama male and bro...what a beautiful bird it was !!! 

Later, we witnessed Cicada being caught by White-cheeked Barbet, which is commonly spotted in the Western Ghats of India. Cicadas produce loud sound from their tymbals, so next time if your vehicle crosses their territory and you hear the sound but do not see anyone around, do not make too many guesses, just wave in air, they would wave back...or sound their presence. 

As we walked along the road, we saw many such colors of nature, such as jackals peeping out of bushes and aai was speechless, the Pampadour Green Pigeon or Grey-fronted Green Pigeon staring at us, one tail missing Greater Racket-tailed Drongo; Jerdons and Golden-fronted Leafbird camouflaging in the leaves - even now when i revisit the frames, i say "why did i click the leaves"; Yellow Wagtail crossing the road with its characteristic wagging of tail and the usual suspect, White-throated Kingfisher was as if keeping the company in all our visits to the woods...the colors were too many for me to capture in one visit and thus Ganeshgudi-Pradhani-Dandeli-Anshi area calls for a second cheers...

...standing in front of the trees, the magic of birds easily swayed us into them...in the deep...where breath just slows down...we cannot really wait to visit the splendid  "vocabulary" of birds, again, tidlidooo !!!