Birding at home!

One morning, I set out for what was originally a casual walk with Makku. We walked along, Makku strolling about with me keeping a keen eye on him since he was not on his leash and he has a habit of running away on his own for jaunts in the neighbourhood. As I did so, I suddenly noticed a very beautiful bird flying in and settling down on a neem tree which was close by. Excited at this find, I observed the bird carefully and noticed that it Woodpecker. I couldn't find out which one though. This cute little chap sat on one spot, as if in a trance. I ran back home with Makku to fetch the camera, and thankfully, the woodpecker was sitting right there, still his apparent trance! Later, I had it identified as the Yellow-fronted Pied Woodpecker.

We then walked into what used to be a beautiful grassland, I saw an ashy crowned sparrow lark staring into my face with an angry scowl. Unfortunately, this beautiful place has turned into a dumping ground for construction debris. It makes me very sad to see this patch of land where mongooses used to roam around in the state that it is now. The only advantage I saw of these debris was that the larks love to be there! As we moved on, a hoopoe dug into the ground, looking for insects with a very determined look on his face. The coucals gave their weird, loud call and a shikra flew in circles above me. The golden oriole, which was making a nest in my neighbours house, flew past; the attractive colours being more prominent now!

Then happened one of the craziest experiences I have ever had!! Makku and I sat down under a gulmohar tree, looking at various birds while Makku took a short nap. A bunch of rock-bush quails crossed into the bushes. The lapwings cried “did he do it?” as they flew above. Then things got increasingly confused. A short, ugly looking bird ran across. Instantly, almost like a reflex action, I screamed “baby lapwing!!” and ran towards it. I looked in every possible place for it, but I just couldn’t find it! It was like it had disappeared with magic! Just as I was going to give up, and I was moving ahead, I noticed that had I taken another step, I would have stepped on the “baby lapwing”!! My excitement knew no bounds. However, I have to say that the chick was no cute looking, cuddly baby. It looked rather weird but its eyes were just adorable!! It looked at me with this expression of “What on earth are you?”

All in all the day was a LOVELY one, with me coming across these varied birds, each one unique in its own way. My only hope is that this pristine habitat must not be destroyed. Unfortunately, the deterioration has begun, what with people burning their garbage and endless numbers of houses coming up. Lets cross our fingers and hope that the birds thrive!

Ranthambhore Magic!!

The peacock sat atop the Fort. It looked majestic... The forest has a charm about it that I just cannot put into words!
We were on our first trail in the national park and I was thrilled to bits! The feel of the forest, the smells, the sounds... it was beautiful... We moved about in our canter, with all the campers sitting relatively quiet, seemingly in shock at the beauty of the place. We saw tonnes of birds, right from peacocks and quails to honey buzzards and spotted owlets!! The most amazing part was when I stood in the canter with a few crushed biscuits in my hand. And, to our amazement, rufous treepies and jungle babblers SAT ON MY HAND AND ATE IT UP!!!! It was superb!

Well, this is the part where the big cat makes his first entry... NO, not a tiger, but his smaller cousin, the elusive leopard. This animal is truly the ghost of the jungle. The guide located it with the help of nothing but alarm calls of a peacock!!! That was too much to believe!! The majestic animal walked in the thickets, about 50 metres away from us and slowly disappeared into a cave. That was my first ever wild leopard!!! And how I loved the experience!!! We were totally charged after this encounter and sat more alert than ever.
That evening, on our second trail, there was not too much that we saw... But I got to see a crocodile!!! Stunning animal!!! We also saw a LOT of birds.... spurfowls, common kingfishers, yellow footed green pigeons, long billed vultures, "dirty" (painted) storks, and many many more!!
We then had a full fleged visit to the Ranthambhore fort. Stunning place.... The intricacies of the fort really amaze me. We got a wonderful view of the Malik Talao and infact heard a lot of alarm calls too!!
That evening was one of the most magical ones I have ever had.... The magnificent lady came out of the bush, right before us and we were wonderstruck. It occured to me that THIS IS THE ANIMAL WE ARE TRYING TO SAVE!!! She had an aura about her... And just left us in total awe of her. How can one actually kill this animal? She literally posed for us. She sat, she yawned, she growled, she panted and gave us every possible pose!!!
The magic does not end here. She had two cubs with her, who, unfortunately were far off. But I did see one of them.
This was truly one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had... Also because I realized how important it is to raise a public opinion that we NEED TO SAVE THE TIGER TO SAVE OURSELVES!!!

Veer Dam

23rd Feb, 2009.

I'm excited!!! Its the day I get to see demoiselle cranes and bar headed geese!!

We wake up perfectly on time and leave home at the scheduled 5 30 a.m. The drive to Veer was fun.... It was just behind home and the usual route.... We saw a lot of birds en route... It seemed to be "grey hornbill day"... I must've seen about 15 of them that morning!!

The CRAZY thing that happened was when, as we drove, I spotted what seemed to be "obese black kites"... Not 1, but 4 of them. What they turned out to be was something UNBELIEVABLE!!! STEPPE EAGLES!!! Having clicked some snaps of it, we proceeded to the "dharan".

As we drove, a happy family of 4 grey francolins crossed the road... They look adorable!! The dam is beautiful.... It makes you feel at peace... Unfortunately, the demoiselle cranes and the geese seemed to have returned to their respective homes.. :-(

I have no qualms about it because of the other amazing birds we got to see as compensation!! There were eurasian marsh harriers fighting a pair of drongos. I love that bird!! Its the most handsome, brave bird ever!!

We then saw openbill storks, standing like in a trance, shelducks, ibis, black headed gulls and many other birds!!

Somehow, the bird that caught my fancy was a kestrel that kept roaming around there. That bird is amongst my favourite!!! :-)

Getting back home was the last thing we wanted to do... Veer has claimed a special place in my heart after this visit... What's funny though, is that we stay at exactly and hour's drive from it, and we didn't know about it!

On the way back, Ma and I went and got a couple of dry sunflowers with the intention of planting them at home. That we ate it all up is a different story!!On the way back, the steppe eagles were still there!!! That was the most wonderful birthday gift I've ever got.. or could ever hope to get! :-)

As for Veer, here I come again in a little while!!

Bhigwan - Bird paradise!

Amidst a lot of excitement, I got another opportunity to visit Bhigwan - and boy!! It was AMAZING!

A two hour drive to the place with plenty of music by Indian Ocean made it awesome! :)

Bhigwan has something about it... It makes you really happy!

Bhigwan is about 95 Kms from Pune on the Pune-Solapur highway and is the backwaters of the mighty Ujani Dam. It is a sanctuary for migratory birds, including the greater flamingo.

We got to the "juna pul" and the view that awaited me was too good... Openbill storks, moorhens, glossy ibis, black ibis, black necked ibis, spoonbills, shovellers, coots, warblers, spot billed ducks, shelducks, painted storks, wooly necked storks, grey herons, purple herons, cormorants and a lone darter was what I spotted in about 10 minutes!! The place is just teeming with life!!

You can't hear yourself at this place!! All you can hear is "Cackle cackle quack quack" :)

After about an hour, we decided to go to the neighbouring village called Kumbhar Gaon, which is the other end of the massive Bhigwan Lake.

This was one mesmerizing place!! There were more birds than there were at the "juna pul".

This place holds a special place in my heart though. After 3 visits to this place, I got to see the most graceful and beautiful birds on Earth - the greater flamingo. My mother has now got her tag as the "genius" stuck on to her after the way she spotted them at a great distance!!

I have no word to describe those birds.. They can just keep you transfixed!

All in all, this was one of the most exciting and lovely experiences I've had, and has helped me grow as a birder!!

P.S - Sorry for the average picture of the flamingos, but they were far off!

Seas!

The sea.. The picture that comes to mind is that of a fish eagle soaring…and suddenly swooping down suddenly to get its much deserved prey! Then is a sudden storm of sea turtles coming on the shore to lay their eggs… Seas are indeed wonderful and intricate!

But, side by side, it is also amongst the most polluted and vulnerable places on Earth. Let me set you a couple of examples to display their intrigue and fragility.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands-One of the sea turtle breeding hotspots in India! 8 different kinds of sea turtle, including the gentle giant, the GIANT LEATHERBACK TURTLE, the olive ridley and the green sea turtle come here! These animals are very very sensitive. Once a year or so, millions of these turtles come on to the beach late at night to lay their eggs and then conveniently forget about it! The risk to them is great on this one night because sea turtles, unlike others, cannot take their heads into the shell. Thus, they fall prey to stray dogs, wolves, foxes, etc. which strangle them.

About 45-60 days later, the adorable baby turtles hatch and head for the sea. Ever wondered how they know where the sea is??? It is really mesmerizing! If you have ever noticed, particularly at night, the surface of the sea glimmers. The turtle is guided by this light and heads towards the sea. Even if you place a candle there, it will get misguided and walk inland-which will kill it. There have been instances where careless campers leave the campfire on. The poor turtle walks straight into its death.

Now, the latest problem these mysterious animals face is a port being built at Dhamra, Orissa, by the Tatas. Dhamra is a very important breeding ground for these fragile animals. Please log on to http://www.greenpeace.org/india/turtles/why-save-turtles and protest against this, for the survival of the turtle depends on you and me-the common men.

Seas also sustain mangroves… A treasure trove of life! I could write a separate article on this ecosystem which is really OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, mindless activities on our part like the irresponsible disposal of plastic causes the seas to choke. You never know when a sea turtle or some other animal may be eating up a plastic bag, mistaking it for a jelly fish! And they really do not deserve this kind of treatment! Lets wake up before it is too late!

Here is a list of my FAVOURITE birds!!! And also the reasons why I love them!

BLACK SHOULDERED KITE

What I love about this beauty is its agility. This pretty black and white bird looks cute. It is a pale grey and black with white underparts . This is one raptor which can hover in flight. AWESOME. I saw it hunting once and I was not able to think of anything but that for a whole week after that incident!! This really athletic fellow hovers in the air, so that the prey cannot see its shadow easily and then folds its wings and dives straight into the ground and catches its prey. It is just SUPERB!!!

MUNIAS

I probably love these little chaps because they keep making nests at home. And they are adorable!! They are really sociable birds and their cute chirrups can make the most depressed person cheerful!! I remember, once, the little munias, or the silverbills, learnt how to fly before my very eyes!! They are really sweet birds!!

OSPREY

This is one REALLY ROYAL AND MAJESTIC FELLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! More like, handsome birds!! They are simply too good!! The way they hunt is maddening. They are also amongst the most widespread bird in the world, found in 6 out of the seven continents!! They vary in colour, are mainly fish eaters and are found in ponds and areas with comparitively shallow water. They are really really magnificent birds!! I could write a whole new post about them!!!

Well, this is just a short list!!

Will expand it very soon!! And I think falcons deserve a special mention here!!! :)

Mridula, the PHILOSOPHER!! :D

One lazy afternoon, in college, I sat alone near the field, thinking. I was Thinking!! Being the kind which is totally oblivious of the sad and “deep” thoughts in this world, I was being a philosopher that afternoon…

I was watching a group of people from the neighbouring slums play cricket in the mid afternoon sun, blissfully unaware that on a working day, others would be working very hard, being the bread winners of their families. Students would be dug deep in their books, trying to battle with those monsters called text books!

Despite all this, these people were HAPPY. Though unemployed, they loved their lives!

It was the "educated" masses that really went through all the pain and suffering. Of course, this was a very silly thought considering the lives they can lead later on.

I mean a person would rather live a happy life without any troubles and mugging up text books and just being one in the rat race...

It was a very random thought, but I decided to pen it down nevertheless!