Blackbucks at Maidenahalli

Maidanhalli has long been on my list of places to see around Bangalore. Despite a tiring Saturday, I set off on Sunday morning with a couple of friends.

Just as we got off NH4, we came across a pond on our left side. On our right side was a rocky landscape, with a pair of Egyptian Vultures sitting atop. What a way to start the day! We trekked up the rock in an unsuccessful pursuit to photograph them. On our way down, a large dark-grey/brown bird with a long tail disappeared into a nearby tree. We tried to get close but it flew and landed on a rock. This was my first sighting of a Sirkeer Malkoha around Bangalore. Also, it was of a greyish brown color, compared to the pale brown ones that I had seen in Kanha.

Along the way, we saw a Common Hawk Cuckoo on a wire next to the road. It was mobbed by bulbuls very soon and flew to the safety of a mango grove nearby. A pair of eagles were jousting in the air and attacking each other with their talons.

Maidanahalli itself was fascinating and a tad disappointing.

First, the fascinating part. The grasslands are truly a sight to see. Rolling on unevenly, the sway of the grass is a treat to watch. Add a herd of blackbucks and it is magical.



We saw herds of blackbucks ranging from 5 to 20 in numbers. They are very very shy and wouldn't let you anywhere close-by. The photograph above was shot from the forest department "pagoda" where we were resting after lunch. This lone male wandered close-by and allowed us a few shots before bounding away. Soon after, we also saw a hare bounding along the grasslands around the same place.

Birding was also awesome here. We saw a green bee-eater with a butterfly, taking its own sweet time to stun its prey and then swallow it in one gulp! Larks allowed us to get very close in the car and would then do a superb parachuting display and land close-by. We also saw a family of Yellow-wattled Lapwings with 2 juveniles. A huge number of lifers too - Southern Grey Shrike, Red-collared Dove and a flock of Grey Francolins - to make the day for me.



About the disappointing part, the sanctuary blends seamlessly into nearby villages. A 360 degree scan of the landscape never presents itself without agriculture in the backdrop. This causes a few issues, primarily grazing cattle and sheep in the sanctuary. A shepherd came up to us in the pagoda and started playing loud music on his mobile! What was saddening was that the blackbucks have to wait their turn while the sheep drink water from their water-hole. On our way back, we saw blackbucks venturing very close to farms in the villages around. A real pity!

How to get to Maidanahalli? - Maidanahalli is around 150km from Bangalore (a good 4-5hr drive). Drive to Tumkur. Beyond Tumkur, there is a diversion to Madhugiri (the locals would help you out with the exact road). Beyond Madhugiri, ask for directions to Jayamanagali forest or Maidanahalli.

A word of advice on planning a trip - Do a 2-day trip. Try to get Forest Dept permission to stay overnight at their forest bungalow. If you are successful, drive to Maidanahalli after lunch on Day 1. Check out the park and the wildlife till sunset. Spend the night there (you need to carry your own food). Do early morning birding and wildlife-watching. Have breakfast and start back to Bangalore.

Links:
List of Birds
Photographs

Kommaghatta Tank - Full of surprises

After an amazing trip to Ramanagara, we were all charged up to continue birding for the rest of the day. After an energy-boosting lunch, we headed off to Kommaghatta Tank.

When we got there, all we could see was a huge flock of Common Coots. Suddenly, one of us spotted a Pied Cuckoo on a wire. Very close to it, there was another one. They were flying around the shrubs in the plots meant for a residential layout. Red-vented Bulbuls and Ashy Prinias were mobbing them.



As we approached the reed beds, we were surprised with a lifer - Streaked Weavers. These shy birds were flying in and out of the reeds, hardly giving us an opportunity to watch them well and photograph them. Their nests on the reed beds are also so different from a Baya Weaver's nest.



Although the Red Avadavat eluded us, we got to see a huge flock of Black-headed Munias.

Among water birds, Greater Cormorants and Oriental Darters were magnificent to watch. A Yellow Bittern made a brief appearance before disappearing into a tree. Just as we were leaving, a Common Kingfisher posed for us patiently. What an end to a great day of birding!

Where is Kommaghatta Tank? When driving towards Bangalore from Mysore, at Kengeri, there is a flyover under construction. At this point, there is a road that slopes upwards. Take that road and follow it till the first major junction. Take a left here and drive straight. You'll cross the NICE road atop a flyover. Kommaghatta Tank is just beyond the flyover on the right-hand side.

Links:
List of birds
Photographs

Soaring Vultures of Ramanagara - Trip report - 20 Jun, 2009

Saturday morning saw us drive to Ramanagara - the land of gigantic rocks, Sholay and, of course, vultures.

The first sighting of the Long-billed Vultures (Gyps Indicus) roosting high on the rocks was amazing. They look like small rocks from the ground. Also known as the Indian Vultures, they were previously clubbed together with the Slender-billed Vultures of NE India as a single species. They are among the worst hit by diclofenac. We spotted 7 of them on the rocks.

Since it was early morning, we decided to check out the Long-billed Pipit on the plains around the rocks. As is becoming common with most of my nature-watching visits, I startled a quail soon after we got there. An Indian Bushlark was singing and doing its parachuting display. A group of Scaly-breasted Munias were busy around a small tree. The number of butterflies fluttering around was sheer magic.

We spotted the Long-billed Pipit sitting majestically on the stump of a palm tree. It's a rare pipit (there is only 1 photo on INW).

We then decided to trek up to the top of the hill to view the vultures as they took off. As we approached the car, the Egyptian Vultures on the opposite rock had taken off and were doing their morning recce flights. We drove up to the base of the Ramadevara Hill and climbed the stairs. Midway, we took a diversion and trekked up the rock. As we climbed higher, the landscapes got more and more beautiful. By then, the vultures had taken off and it was a sight to see them soaring with their huge wings. They were flying back to their roost and taking off again. It was awesome.

I stopped a little way before the summit. The rest of the group got some interesting views and a pair of Long-billed Pipits as well.

This was insect kingdom. I've never seen such a wide assortment of butterflies, hoppers, bugs and spiders (even a green one!). A lot of them were totally new to me.



We trekked back to the steps and walked up to the temple in search of the Yellow-throated Bulbul. We heard them a few of times and saw fleeting glances. One of the tourists there alerted us of a tortoise. We discovered an Indian Pond Terrapin, possibly lost or looking for a nesting site, very close to the temple. I guess it would've wandered from the pool around the temple.

We finally saw the Yellow-throated Bulbul at the base of the stairs. An adult was feeding a spider to its young one. A little more butterfly-watching and we were off.

A fantastic trip and so many lifers too - Long-billed Vultures, Long-billed Pipit and Yellow-throated Bulbul, not to mention the butterflies.

Post-lunch, we proceeded to Kommaghatta Tank.

Links:
List of Birds
Photographs

Nature-watching at Ragihalli and Turahalli - May 30 and 31

Saturday morning saw me driving towards Ragihalli. Our first stop was a ground around a kilometer after getting off the Bannerghatta-Jigani road. Just as we turned into the ground, we saw 3 female Indian Peafowls! This was my first sighting of our National Bird in Bangalore. They quickly disappeared into the undergrowth, giving me enough time to get a couple of record shots. We could hear their calls for more than hour after that.

We greeted the resident Yellow-wattled Lapwings with a few photographs and took a walk around the ground. We saw a small brown bird running in the grass ahead. A few record shots showed that it was a Barred Buttonquail (huge lifer for me)! It walked around for a minute before disappearing into a shrub. As we walked closer, we startled and were startled by a hare! This has been my second hare sighting in 3 weeks near Bangalore.

We drove to Ragihalli. The lake is almost dry now. A pair of Red-wattled Lapwings were crying out loud. I tried walking towards one of them when I was mobbed (almost) by its partner! It came flying straight towards me (I've always had lapwings fly away from me!) and turned away around 10 meters from me. I quickly left the area as I had no intention of disturbing them. There were a couple of pipits around. I didn't see the Large Grey Babblers that I had seen only the week before.

Sadly, the light was really bad (overcast skies) and couldn't get good shots. The list of birds from Ragihalli is here.

We were at Turahalli mini-forest on Sunday morning. The moment we got out of the car, we saw what would be the sight of the day for me (pardon me, but I am a hard-core raptor lover :)). A Changeable Hawk Eagle was perched on a tree close-by and was being mobbed by crows. We watched it for quite some time after which it flew away.

Turahalli is really beautiful. We trekked up 2 small hillocks and the sights we were treated to were amazing. All of us were impressed by huge copper-colored millipedes, which moved like miniature tanks over all obstacles in their way. We saw many agamid lizards basking in the sun. And the butterflies were lovely.



But what added most to the beauty of the place (in my opinion) were the flowers everywhere. From small grasses to eye-level flowering plants, they were everywhere at their colorful best.



The biggest regret though is not able to see the nightjar that was (possibly) roosting on the ground. I was less than a foot away when it flew away. We tried following it but its camoflage was too good for us.

As for the birding, the list is here.

"Kuch dikha kya?" aka Kanha - Tiger, Shows and Traffic Woes...

Kanha is visited primarily for one of its denizens - the Bengal Tiger (Panthera Tigris Tigris). The royalty, taking a walk in the meadows, is truly an experience to behold!



We spotted tigers on 5 of 8 safaris. It was fantastic, especially because I hadn't seen one before. For once, I was thankful to be in the safari jeep than off it :)

Prey is aplenty here. From the tiger's fave food - sambar - to chital to barasigha, the buffet is varied too. One of the groups from the workshop actually saw a tiger attempt a hunt!

We would've, too, if it was not closing time for the park. Read the story by clicking the photograph below.



THE HUMAN EFFECT
The eagerness to see a tiger translates into extensive human interference in the visitor zone at Kanha. Each day, more than 100 safari vehicles make 2 trips into the park. This literally causes traffic jams in the forest, sometimes accidents too.

There is a code when a jeep meets another on the safari - "Kuch dikha kya?" (Did you see anything?"). Of course, the "kuch" refers to the tiger. The obsession with the tiger is really amusing. According to our safari driver, some groups turn back 10 minutes into the safari if they see one close to the park entrance.

Another unique thing here is a Tiger Show. Every morning, a group of mahouts on their elephants head out into the forest. When a tiger is spotted, the elephants surround it, subdue it and force it to stay put. Wireless messages are sent out to the park ticket counters. Tourists can buy special tickets and be "treated" to a tiger sighting on elephant-back.

I went to 2 of the Tiger shows. One of the tigers was peaceful as he had just eaten (the spotted deer remains were carefully hidden under the grass close by) and was relaxing in a water hole. The other one seemed to be forced out of its water hole to a corner and was on alert. As a photographer, both gave me terrible shots due to the angle (looking down from elephant-back). As a nature-lover, I didn't like it because it was just not natural. The agitated/scared look of the tiger was moving.

As a pragmatist, I think its good in a way. People get to see what they want, increasing the park revenue. This in turn, hopefully, boosts the maintenance of our remaining forest cover and conservation. Tormenting a tiger to ensure the remaining survive might not be a bad idea.

PARTING THOUGHTS
The tiger has been feared, revered, admired and hunted for a very long time. The last, sadly, overtook the first three over the 19th and 20th centuries. Combined with population explosion of another mammal (overselves), it has endangered this huge cat. Tomorrow, we might be left with tales to hear and photographs to see of this "king of the jungle".

We may be proud to be Indians. But, we need to translate that pride into action if our descendants are to continue the "Kuch dikha kya?" tradition and still refer to our National Animal.

The birds of Kanha - Part 2 of Kanha series

The sounds of the jungle are enchanting. I guess they bring back the nostalgia still embedded in our genes. For, not very long ago, we were an integral (and rapidly evolving) part of these very jungles that we've now run over to create civilization...

Turn off the engine of the safari vehicle at Kanha and listen to the sounds around. You would definitely not miss the frantic song of the Common Hawk Cuckoo. The song that sounds like "Brain-Fe-ver" rings all over the place. Not too far behind, another cuckoo - this time the Indian cuckoo - wants "One more bottle". Puff-throated babblers render their wonderful song hidden in the undergrowth. Barbets call from the tree tops. An Indian Peafowl gives out an alarm call from far away. A shrill whistle shows the Crested Serpent Eagle gliding overhead. The orchestra is truly wonderful!



Kanha plays host to around 280 species of birds. At least 52 of the 77 families of birds found in India are represented here (source).

Cattle egrets were hitching rides on patient gaurs. In breeding plumage, these common birds look really beautiful. Rollers seemed to not mind the people around and flashed a brilliant blue when they flew. Racket-tailed drongos were a sight to watch, with their long streamers floating behind them as they flew from tree to tree. The very shy Red Junglefowl ran from the safari path into the jungle at the sound of an approaching vehicle. Jungle babblers flew from one place to another in flocks.



Our national bird, the Indian Peafowl, was at its majestic best. The very famous display of this colorful bird was a treat to watch, despite seeing at least a couple of them on every safari. I saw the Indian Pitta, another very colorful bird, atop trees for the very first time (I've always seen them in the undergrowth in Bangalore).

The area around Bahmni Dadar was a particularly different habitat. A Peregrine Falcon (wish I could've got a photograph) was looking for prey. White-rumped Shamas were singing at their melodious best. An Emerald Dove posed for the cameras, before disappearing.

Among raptors (I somehow like them a lot), Spotted Owlets, Crested Serpent Eagles and Oriental Honey Buzzards were most often spotted. A resident Black-winged Kite made its appearance close to the Kisli gate on all safaris. I also saw a lot of firsts - Peregrine Falcon, White-eyed Buzzard, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and White-rumped Vultures. A personal favorite from the trip was a late evening sighting of a Changeable Hawk Eagle with a catch. A Racket-tailed Drongo (another very common, yet shy bird at Kanha) was unsuccessfully trying to mob it. The eagle chased away the drongo and went about the dinner routine.



The complete list of birds seen can be found here.

Kanha - Tiger country

My visit to Kanha was my first ever to any of the national parks in Central India. I was part of a group of wildlife photographers participating in Kalyan Varma's "Tiger Photography Tour".

I'll share my Kanha experiences over 3 posts. My first post - this one - is about the park, an overview of the animals and the workshop. My next post would be about the birds of Kanha. The concluding post would be about Kanha's biggest attraction - Panthera Tigris Tigris - and how humans interfere with the park.

THE PARK

Kanha is spread over 2000 square kilometres. It has an interesting mix of habitats - moist deciduous forests, dry deciduous forests, valley meadows and plateau meadows. This gives a fantastic range of lifeforms here. Our guide told us that there are 4 types of grass, other than bamboo. Forests are interspersed with evergreen sal trees and deciduous trees. There are around 29 species of mammals and 280 species of birds.

The park is divided into 5 zones - Kisli, Kanha, Mukki, Bhaisanghat and Suphkar. Our safaris were restricted to the first two. More details on Kanha are available here and here.

WORKSHOP
There were 6 participants in this workshop, split into 2 groups for the safaris. This gave us all ample time to interact with Kalyan and get his feedback. Kalyan's workshop, as always, is a pretty informal setting. There were a few introductory sessions on the basics of wildlife photography and equipment. These were interspersed with videos and photographs to give a glimpse of the best.

There were 6 safaris spread over 4 days. Kalyan joined each group on alternate trips and helped us along. We also got to use his photography gear. All in all, it was total fun and I carried back a lot of learning (from mistakes made and experiences from fellow participants).

ANIMALS AT KANHA
We saw a wide variety of mammals at Kanha. The most glamorous and majestic of them all, the tiger, made its appearance quite a few times. Wild dogs showed themselves for a brief moment before disappearing into the meadows. Although we didn't see a leopard, the other group came across a sloth bear and a jungle cat.

The most exclusive herbivore at Kanha is the Barasingha. The hard-ground sub-species here is not found anywhere else in the world. Recovering from the brink of extinction, this magnificent species still has a large area cordoned off for the breeding center. We were very fortunate to witness more than 120 individuals crossing the path in front of us one morning. I can never forget that sight!



The Chital (or Spotted Deer) were abundant. They are all over the place and in herds of all sizes. Being the mating season, it was fun to watch the males display (sharpening horns and decorating them with grass and leaves), fight to assert supremacy and chase females. It took me some time to distinguish between their runting call and alarm call, both of which were fairly common.



The Barking deer, or Munjtac, made a brief appearance. Sambar, the tiger's favourite, can be seen early in the morning or late in the evening. I always saw them on the hills or in the forest. The closest they came to a meadow was when they were quenching their thirst at a waterhole.

I've never seen such huge herds of Gaur before. Also known as the Indian Bison, this is the largest of all cattle in the world. They seemed unperturbed by the traffic around them and their grazing hardly ever stopped. In fact, on the last day of our trip, at least 40 vehicles had to stop on the way back as a gaur was blocking the way!



Wild boars, piglets in tow were seen in large groups. These animals were difficult to photograph at close quarters as they chose to maintain a distance from human activity.



Gray Langurs were in their most emotive moods. They were a treat to watch and photograph, especially because they sat at eye-level most of the time.



One morning, we decided to drive up the plateau to Bamhni Dadar. The views here are fascinating. But what made the trip special was sighting a Chousingha (of the Four-horned Antelope). A very elusive and rare animal, this individual was marking its territory with the "tears" rolling down its nose.



The only reptile we spotted was the Bengal Monitor Lizard. It was browsing for food on the ground and was beautifully camouflaged against the fallen leaves.



LOGISTICS
How do you get to Kanha? For starters, Kanha is located in Madhya Pradesh. The closest airports to Kanha are Nagpur (around 250km) and Jabalpur (around 190km). From most places, these are also the most easily accessible railway stations. I couldn't find any straightforward bus routes from Nagpur to Kanha; I shared a cab with other workshop participants. There is a direct bus from Jabalpur to Kanha; one of the workshop participants traveled by the bus.

We stayed at the Celebration Van Vilas resort at Mocha village. There are a number of other options there, from very inexpensive ones to ultra-luxury ones.

Kanha is open to visitors from November 01 to June 30. The park closes for the monsoons from July through September every year. There are 2 safaris allowed every day - from 5AM to 11PM and 4PM to 7PM. Park entry fees are Rs.680 per vehicle (no private vehicles allowed). This includes camera and guide charges. The safari Gypsy cost us Rs.1500 for the morning safari and Rs.1000 for the evening safari.

Ragihalli - A lifer and a bee "attack"!

Back-to-back birding on both days last weekend! After the amazing visit to BM Betta, Vineet and I were totally inspired to do another trip on Sunday. We decided to check out the Bannerghatta area towards Ragihalli. Ragihalli is a small village about 8km from the Bannerghatta-Anekal road.

There are a lot of birding spots on the road to Ragihalli. The first one is a huge empty plot of land that comes very soon after you make the right turn from the Bannerghatta-Anekal road. We spotted a couple of lapwings there which looked somewhat smaller and unusual. Looking through the binoculars gave us a huge lifer. Yellow-wattled lapwings!



Yellow-wattled lapwings don't have the black throat and breast that is present in red-wattled lapwings. Of course, they have yellow wattles and are marginally smaller. I think the pair that we saw had a nest somewhere on that patch. They were relentlessly mobbing crows and kites that were flying overhead and were returning to the same place.



This was lark-land. All around us, larks were calling, running, flying and catching their morning meals. We identified Indian Bush Lark, Singing Bush Lark and Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark. A black kite chased a black-winged kite for a short distance. A Jungle Bush Quail made the briefest of appearances before disappearing into the undergrowth. A pair of red-wattled lapwings were bounding from one place to another screaming their characteristic "Did you do it?".

Proceeding from this place, we came across a crested serpent eagle soaring. A little ahead, the road comes onto a cliff and we thought this would be a promising place to get some raptor action. We got off the bike and walked towards the cliff. Suddenly, we saw a huge swarm of bees flying towards us. We ran back to the bike at full speed hoping for the best. Very luckily, the bees took another route and flew away from us. An attack by a swarm of bees in the middle of nowhere was the last thing on my mind for a beautiful Sunday morning.

Ragihalli lake was very dry compared to a couple of weeks back. A pair of frogs was busy with its mating "song and dance". Pond herons, Paddyfield pipits and White-browed wagtails were everywhere.



This has truly been a weekend of lifers! And great birding even in summer.

Links:
Complete list of birds
Photographs from trip

Driving directions:
Drive towards Bannerghatta. At the Bannerghatta "circle", instead of driving straight towards the Bio-park, continue on the road towards Jigani-Anekal. Around 3km from the circle, there's a board on the right-side of the road which indicates the road to Ramakrishna mission, Shivanahalli. Take a right turn onto that road and follow it. You'll come across 2 forest department check-posts. At one point, the road forks; take the right fork. At Ragihalli, ask the locals for the lake. The lake is not visible from the main road and the turn is pretty nondescript. Happy birding!

Banthi Maari Betta - Of landscapes, raptors and lifers...

A rocky region is hardly the place to be this summer. Luckily for Vineet and me, the weather gods were merciful enough to provide lots of rain last week. And, we set off for Banthi Maari Betta (aka BM Betta) off Kanakpura road at 5AM on Saturday.

Where is BM Betta? Within a couple of kilometres of crossing Kanakpura, there is a small tank called Narayanakere on the right side of the road. Immediately after the tank (pretty much a bund of the tank), take a right and drive on and on. Around 8km ahead, a small village with a bus stop and you need to take a right here. Beyond this are a couple of villages and the villagers would guide you to your destination.

Kanakpura road is a fantastic road for birding. Our drive to BM Betta was filled with multiple stopovers. Birds in breeding plumages - Little Egrets, Cattle Egrets and that most notable of all makeovers, the humble Pond Heron - were a treat to watch. A Hoopoe was fetching food back to its nest. Flocks of White-rumped Munias and Indian Silverbills were flying from one bush to another. A Jungle Bushquail (lifer for me) made a brief appearance in the open. A closer look and we almost fell backwards when 4 of them took off in a loud whrrrrr that almost made the heart stop! At another place, we were greeted by a huge flock (around 20) of Large Grey Babblers (another lifer) raising a huge alarm even though we were a good 100m away!



BM Betta was a totally different world. The landscape is awesome as the area is surrounded by rocky hills, very green for this time of the year. A little trek up and the first sighting there - a Black Eagle (first time near Bangalore) gliding above us. It was soon joined by another one (possibly its mate). They were flying slowly, perching for a short time before flying off again.



As we were enjoying this amazing sight, we were greeted by another pair of raptors. In our excitement, we were struggling to identify them when, thankfully, Vineet found his cool and asked me to observe the tail closely. Egyptian vultures! A huge huge lifer as I've never seen vultures of any kind. They landed near the temple and we got a good view of them for a short while before they flew away.



The hill was very noisy with cicadas and crickets (I guess) making a din. We spotted a Crested Serpent Eagle (CSE), a few Oriental Honey Buzzards (OHBs) and Rufous treepies. A shikra was closely following a black eagle in the air. An agama made a go for a noisy insect.



On the way back, we stopped at one of the villages when we saw a CSE being mobbed by mynahs. We stopped and walked through the fields. The vultures made another appearance, this time flying very low. A pair of White-naped Woodpeckers were going after a coconut trunk. Surprisingly, they were at the same place on the same tree for more than 15 minutes. Not sure if they found a large hole filled with insects or were making a nest. We followed an OHB from perch to perch as it was being mobbed by mynahs.



Fantastic trip, on the whole!

Links:
Complete list of birds
Photographs from trip

Airtel Service - Happy, yet...

I spent my December vacation at home...sweet home - Hyderabad. It was great fun, until my cellphone suddenly refused to boot one day. Debugging the problem showed that the SIM card had somehow got "corrupted".

Next step - I landed up at an Airtel Customer Care center. Within 5 minutes, I was in front of a support executive with pleasant manners. I explained my problem (and was waiting for accusations to be hurled at me for mishandlng my phone). Surprise - nothing of that sort happened. He took my number down, called up the "stock-keeper" (I was on roaming) and within 10 minutes, I was out of the service center. I had a smile on my face while I walked out.

However, things were not what they seemed to be. Our friendly executive didn't do the core job right. He somehow got me an incompatible SIM card. My phone wouldn't work.

So, another trip to the service center. Again, I was in front on a service executive in 5 minutes. Again, no qustions asked. He made a few calls to ascertain the change he was going to make. Within 10 minutes, I walked out with a new SIM card.

And it worked this time!

The whole experience left a good impression on me. No haggling. No charges. Just a no-questions-asked service. The only thoughts that lingered were: Are soft skills more important in a service set-up compared to the actual job? Would you pay a higher price if the service executive treated you well?