January 5, 2022 by Badri

Winter Birding in the Himalayan Foothills

Subsequent to my last post a few years back, I had done multiple trips to areas around Rajaji N.P., but failed to post on any of them.

We spent nearly ten days in and around this area over the year-end, giving me plenty of time for birding. Few things are more delightful than walking westward along a ridgeline in this landscape on a crisp winter morning, the mellow sunlight on your back, with the incessant call of the Hilaans resounding through the hills, interspersed with the calls of kakar from the forested slopes below. On one occasion, two kakar called from the forested slopes on either side simultaneously.

These daily outings through terraced fields and wooded paths netted a reasonable haul of avian sightings (over sixty species, not earth-shattering, but reasonably satisfactory). I tried alternating this with sitting for an hour at a vantage point on our property and found the door-delivered sightings just as good, if not better. Yellow-bellied fantail, Bar-winged flycatcher shrike, Grey-capped pigmy woodpecker, White-throated fantail and Greenish Warbler were certain fixtures, apart from the ubiquitous Himalayan bulbul which flocked everywhere. Enormous flocks of Grey-breasted prinia were all around. These birds were quarrelsome scolds. Crimson sunbirds were seen around the same spot at the eastern periphery of the property each morning. I once spotted a solitary blue-throated barbet.

It is also a very gratifying experience to have a bird wave wash over you on a narrow wooded path. Something that happened a couple of times. Grey-headed canary flycatcher, White-throated fantail, Black-chinned babbler, Yellow-bellied fantail, Grey-breasted prinia and a couple of other species. While the mixed flock passes over you, there’s the whirring of little wings all around and a momentary feeling of elation.

It is curious how sightings tend to vary year on year. Last year there was a large flock of Himalayan goldfinches constantly circling around our place. I found a tree laden heavy with Crested tree swifts. Both were exceptional sightings, seen on only one trip. The resident pair of Crested buntings failed to appear this time. Chestnut-shouldered petronias and flocks of Eurasian tree sparrows, which I encounter each time in specific spots were also missing. However to compensate, there were several White-capped buntings pecking away at the grass on the driveway each morning. And several Black-crested bulbul.

I did the Chilla range safari as I usually do, and one drive on the Vindhyavasini temple route in the Ghori range along the Been and Tedon rivulets. Birding in the Chilla Range safari was tepid, with just Rose-ringed parakeets and Black bulbuls seeming to occur everywhere in large flocks. Other sightings were scanty and the ones seen were typical of this drive – Common stonechat in the chaurs of Mundal sot, Changeable hawk eagles calling from the forest edge and so on.

The one sighting I have missed over the past couple of trips has been of the resident leopard. I never failed to encounter this animal on the roadside shortly before reaching home, after sundown. I haven’t seen it over the past couple of trips. There has been felling of the forest and some development around the area I used to encounter it in and this has disrupted the sightings. It is very much around however, and my 14-year old son had the thrilling experience of hearing it call from the thickets while out on an evening walk with my father-in-law.

Here are some pictures. Most of these were clicked by my son as he now claims ownership of what was once my camera.

Blue-capped redstart. This was a bird I had not encountered before and identified it subsequently.

Black-crested bulbul are usually seen in the area, but were far more numerous and visible this time around.

Plumbeous water redstart near the Vindhyavasini temple.

White-capped buntings were commonly seen this time around.

The retaining walls on the property were happy hunting grounds for the Wallcreeper.

We ran into three jackals gorging themselves on fallen fruit beneath a small Ber tree, on the *Been* riverbed.

This tusker tailed the Gypsy for half an hour over an estimated three kilometer distance on Mundal *sot*. I tried but could not identify him from the manual for identification of Rajaji’s tuskers.

Here are some pictures I could find from previous trips.

Here’s the list of species sighted, in alphabetical order:

Ashy drongo, Asian brown flycatcher, Bar-tailed treecreeper, Bar-winged flycatcher shrike, Black bulbul, Black-chinned babbler, Black-crested bulbul, Black-hooded oriole (call), Blue-capped redstart, Blue-throated barbet, Blue whistling thrush, Blyth’s leaf warbler, Brown-capped pygmy woodpecker, Changeable hawk eagle, Cinereous tit, Common iora, Common rosefinch, Common tailorbird, Crimson sunbird, Dusky warbler, Great barbet, Greater flameback, Greater yellownape, Green-backed tit, Greenish Warbler, Grey bushchat, Grey-breasted prinia, Grey-capped pygmy woodpecker, Grey-headed canary flycatcher, Grey-headed woodpecker, Grey treepie, Himalayan bulbul, Indian robin, Indian treepie, Jungle babbler, Jungle bush quail (call), Jungle myna, Kalij pheasant, Large-billed crow, Lineated barbet, Olive-backed pipit, Oriental turtle dove, Oriental white-eye, Paddyfield pipit, Pale-billed flowerpecker, Peafowl, Plum-headed parakeet, Purple-rumped sunbird, Red junglefowl, Red-vented bulbul, Red-wattled lapwing, Red-whiskered bulbul, River lapwing, Rusty-cheeked scimitar babbler, Shikra, Slaty-headed parakeet, Speckled piculet, Streaked laughingthrush, Velvet-fronted nuthatch, Wallcreeper, White-breasted kingfisher, White-capped bunting, White-crested laughingthrush, White-tailed ruby-throat, White-throated fantail, Wooly-necked stork, Yellow-bellied fantail

September 8, 2016 by Badri

K. Gudi/BRT Tiger Reserve: Sep ’16

Dates: 2 – 5 Sep ’16

Camp: K. Gudi Wilderness Camp

Who: P

Glory Lilly (Gloriosa superba) by the roadside a short way from the camp

My kid P and I did three nights this time. The weather was cool with some spells of rain. Sightings were not particularly great as a result, but the forest was hauntingly beautiful, and straight out of a Grimm’s Fairy Tales movie set one particular morning, with a thick mist hanging over it.

Brown fish owl, early in the morning

Visibility was poor due to luxuriant growth of Eupatorium Ageratina adenophora, Lantana Lantana camara and Bracken Pteridium aquilinum. These three weeds dominated the ground cover and it is very likely that they have had a deleterious effect on the herbivore population over the years. And this possibly explains why the large herds of gaur that were once plentiful in BRT are nowhere to be seen today. Elephants have become scarce too. The only consolation is that there is not much Parthenium hysterophorus . The post-monsoon clearing of vegetation by the track will not happen for another month. The undergrowth was tall enough to completely hide a leopard or sloth bear, making sightings possible only if the animal was on the track itself. Due to this reason, Durgur road, which is usually unfailingly productive on the way out (in the evenings), drew a blank this time.

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Another insidious plant that I should have noticed earlier but somehow hadn’t was the hemiparasitic Mistletoe Loranthus sp. It infested a majority of the Axlewood Anogeissus latifolia trees, leaching nutrients and water. I heard that it had almost completely decimated the Indian gooseberry Phyllanthus emblica trees.

The darker leaves are from Mistletoe (Loranthus sp.), a hemi-parasite.

The birding was okayish, not too great. Grey wagtails had started to arrive a week back and were plentiful. I learnt to ID the vaguely squirrel-like call of the Orange-headed thrush. This call resonated frequently through the camp and the jungle as these birds were everywhere too. There is another call, a more frantic one, which is not quite as distinctive. I also got familiar with the Blue-bearded bee-eater’s call, given that a pair was constantly (and noisily) haunting the surroundings.

Orange-headed thrush outside tent No. 7

I also puzzled over a call that sounded like the Stork-billed kingfisher’s except that it had four continuous notes in place of the usual two (or three). Rahul, an avid birder from Bangalore who was visiting indicated that this was the winter call of the Stork-billed kingfisher. Rajesh, my good friend, spotter extraordinaire and favourite driver was puzzled; he said he hadn’t seen this bird around.

Jungle babblers behind the Gol Ghar. They are bold enough to hop right into the Gol Ghar looking for crumbs. Pic by P.

This is a very common weed I have not been able to ID yet.

Naturalist Basavanna has shifted from Bandipur to K. Gudi and accompanied us on our drives (Narayan did too, for the first two days). He taught us to ID the call of the Drongo cuckoo. We were waiting by Anni kere when what superficially sounded like the Indian cuckoo’s call started up (except that this is not the season for the Indian cuckoo to call). And except that this was three notes up and one down, unlike the sing-song pitch of the Indian cuckoo’s.

At the same place, we also heard a repeated, drawn-out, shikra-like call which we were stumped by until Basavanna identified it as the Brown fish owl’s chick’s call.

Jungle owlet. Pic by Rajesh.

Indian blackbird in the camp

On day three, Rajesh suggested that we take a walk down the road towards the government school after lunch instead of wasting time lounging around in the tent (as he put it). We walked for a short distance until junior got too nervous to go any further – he had been rattled by the earlier sloth bear and leopard sightings around the tent. We saw an Oriental honey buzzard, a Blackbird, Blue-bearded bee-eaters, and on the way back, a Tawny-bellied babbler that showed itself clearly for quite a while, although while constantly flitting around and preventing Rajesh from getting a photograph. We also had a reasonable Rufous babbler sighting in the jungle later on.

Radermachera xylocarpa outside tent No. 7. Commonly known as the Deer antler tree.

This was a trip full of tantalizingly close opportunities that never materialized. There were plenty of alarm calls, with none converting. On day 1, in the evening safari, we were drawn to Tiger Tank by persistent Muntjac alarm calls. The deer decamped, but a troop of langurs stationed there barked hysterically and persistently, accompanied by much leaping and branch shaking. They were clearly very excited. Rajesh, Basavanna and Narayan all craned their necks trying to get a fix on which side the langurs were focused on. Two opinions eventually emerged, one pointing away from the kere, and the other (Rajesh’s) pointing towards it. A quick discussion led to a consensus that the cat must have just crossed the road and passed in a direction away from the lake. And so off we went, looking for it elsewhere. Turned out that Rajesh’s suspicion was right. The tiger (which is what it was) was hidden right there, in the sea of Eupatorium between us and the lake. It emerged an hour and a half later and was seen and photographed by another group. Rajesh was especially disappointed that we had miscalculated.

The long weekend brought a lot of traffic to the temple, further impacting the sightings. Pic by P.

On day 3, in the evening safari, we ran into another loud and persistent series of calls. Somewhat midway between the barking deer’s and chital’s alarm call. Everyone promptly assumed it was one of these and an animated discussion ensued around where the cat possibly could be. We drove around a little trying to pinpoint direction. After a while, Rajesh smacked his forehead when he realized we were in fact listening to the Spot-bellied eagle owl’s call. Although he was equally excited at the prospect of locating the owl. We did try for a considerable time, but without success and the calls eventually died out.

P (9 years old) clicked this pic of Durga Parameshwari, the camp elephant

I also missed an Indian flying squirrel sighting on day 3 in the evening. The squirrel calls had started just after junior and I had left the gol ghar post dinner. The pair was then sighted, for a period of fifteen minutes, as it progressively glided its way from the trees near the FRH to the jungle beyond the Gol Ghar. The next day I asked Basavanna why he didn’t give me a call, and his reply was that he would definitely have, had he known that I was interested in watching flying squirrels.

Chappekkai. Entada rheedii possibly. I had not realized earlier that the pods were growing off a climber and not off tree itself.

Gaur with calf. Pic by Basavanna.

Junior and I also missed a dhole sighting on the drive back. We had driven down towards the temple on day 2 with Rajesh post breakfast, looking for a pack that frequented an area a little before the BR Hills settlement. (There was another pack frequenting the Navodaya checkpost side too that we also looked for in vain). We didn’t find the pack, and there was considerable disturbance from some tar-laying work that was underway. On my drive back to Bangalore on day 4, I did keep my eyes peeled while passing through the area, but saw nothing. Another guest who was in K. Gudi left around the same time and was a little behind me. He sighted the pack and Rajesh called me a little later, asking if I had too. He was surprised that I hadn’t – and the guest in question actually overtook me while we were having this conversation. We therefore couldn’t have been very far apart when he sighted the pack.

Monitor lizard near the Navodaya checkpost

However these disappointments were not without compensating sightings. On the last safari, Rajesh and I saw a something on the track ahead. It saw us too, and went bounding away a short distance before leaping into the lantana. I thought it was a leopard, but Rajesh with his infinitely better eyesight shouted ‘tiger!’ No one else in the jeep caught the sighting. Arriving at the point, Rajesh’s opinion was confirmed by the pungent smell of scent marking. Basavanna had earlier remarked that the smell of the tiger’s scent-marking was very similar to the fragrance of cooked Basmati rice. I could instantly see why he said so. In any case, my tiger sighting account at BRT TR was finally opened, after 16 years of visits.

I should mention here that I have seen Rajesh use his sense of smell while tracking cats on safari more than once. He catches whiffs of kills, scat or the cat itself and makes as much use of this information as he does of pug marks or alarm calls. On this trip, he took another clever little masterclass while tracking a herd of elephants. There was no apparent sign on the road, but he determined that a herd had just passed. When I asked him how he knew, he pointed out that the grass on the track was uprooted in places. Try as I might, I couldn’t make this out. As is my wont, I dismissed his theory. Presently, dung appeared. And then spoor. And then the herd itself, in Anni kere. That’s the kind of tracker Rajesh is.

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The highlight of the trip was a superb Slaty-legged crake sighting near Anni kere on day 1. I remembered that in August 2014 I had seen this bird, though indistinctly, in Anni kere. I asked Prasad about it as soon as I landed there, and he confirmed that sightings were happening every once a while. The bird stepped out on the track in front of the jeep and bathed in a puddle for a good five minutes, until it was disturbed by another jeep approaching on the opposite side. Very clear view. The light was bad though, as it was around 6 PM by then.

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I also had a fleeting sighting of a tree shrew on the track.

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Birds

Black-hooded oriole
Brahminy kite
Bronzed drongo
Brown fish owl
Common tailorbird
Crested serpent eagle
Drongo cuckoo (calls)
Green beeeater
Hill myna
Indian treepie
Golden-fronted leaf bird
Greater flameback
Grey junglefowl
Grey wagtail
Indian blackbird
Indian scimitar babbler (calls)
Jungle babbler
Jungle myna
Jungle owlet
Lesser flameback
Long-tailed shrike
Magpie robin
Malabar parakeet
Mountain imperial pigeon
Orange-headed thrush
Orange minivet
Oriental honey buzzard
Pied bushchat
Plum-headed parakeet
Puff-throated babbler (calls)
Racket-tailed drongo
Red spurfowl
Red-vented bulbul
Red-whiskered bulbul
Rufous babbler
Rufous woodpecker
Small minivet
(Southern?) coucal
Spot-bellied eagle owl (calls)
Spotted dove
Streak-throated woodpecker
Tawny-bellied babbler
Tri-colored munia
Vernal hanging parrot
White-bellied drongo
White-browed bulbul
White-cheeked barbet
White-throated kingfisher

Mammals/Reptiles

Barking deer
Chital
Elephant
Gaur
Pond terrapin
Malabar giant squirrel
Monitor lizard
Ruddy mongoose
Sambar
Southern tree shrew
Striped-necked mongoose
Three-striped palm squirrel
Tiger
Tufted langur
Wild pig

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January 30, 2015 by Badri

Trip Report: Ranthambore National Park, Jan ’15

Trip: Ranthambore National Park

Camp: Ranthambhore Regency

Dates: 23-26 Jan ‘15

Who: GiK, Drs R and M and kids V and P

We should have flown to Jaipur and driven from there to Sawai Madhopur (150 kms). Instead we flew to Delhi, reached there an hour later than scheduled, at about 9:30 PM, dealt with the pathetic airport taxi system to get to Hazrat Nizamuddin station, and took the 11:40 PM Haridwar-Mumbai Bandra Terminus SF Express that ended up leaving Delhi at 1:45 AM. We reached Sawai Madhopur at sometime past 6 AM, a full ninety minutes past schedule and rushed to catch the morning safari. And all this with two kids and a cold wave in attendance. Flying to Jaipur would have been the sensible thing to do, even if it meant some loss of daytime.

The zones

We spent four days in Ranthambore, doing seven safaris in all. Ranthambore has ten numbered tourist zones, with ten gypsies allowed into each zone at a time. On weekends, the FD allows a few more under pressure from VIPs. In fact the FD themselves possess safari-ready gypsies for ferrying their guests around. These gypsies have the triple advantages of no zone restrictions, no time restrictions and a ready information feed via radio.

Zones 1 to 5 are the sought-after ones, with zone 3 being the clear favourite at this time. It is evidently not easy to get the popular zones booked. Regency get an assortment of zones booked daily and ration them among their guests to ensure everyone gets a fair share of the more productive zones. And so we did three safaris in zone 3, two in zone 4 and one each in zones 2 and 6.

Entry to zones 2 and 3 is via the Jogi Mahal gate. The picturesque zone 3 route winds past the Padam talao (on the banks of which the famed Jogi Mahal is sited) and onto the vast Raj Bagh lake. The abandoned hunting lodge on the latter has produced some fine images of tigers on its balcony framed by its structure and shot from across the lake. Finding tigers in this structure is evidently a summer phenomenon.

Zone 2 is magnificent too, with the road winding by the towering Ranthambore fort and then past another long range of cliffs. However twice a month on chaturdashi days of the Hindu calendar, pilgrims troop through this zone barefoot to worship at a Ganesh temple somewhere. The resultant ruckus effectively puts paid to any decent sighting possibilities. That’s what happened to us on day 1 in the afternoon.

GiK and I thought zone 4 was the best of them all in terms of its beauty. At this time of year, it has several stunningly beautiful spots, especially large patches of bright, finely textured grass. A tiger on this grass in mellow morning light will make for a dream photograph. Zone 4 also has a large lake teeming with aquatic birds, muggers and sambar – Malik talao.

This zone is accessed via a gate placed to the left of the approach road some distance before the Jogi Mahal gate is reached.

The anicut in zone 4 in the morning mist:

In contrast with these three zones, zone 6 is a drab and dreary affair, with no impressive landscapes or features – just dusty tracks winding through unprepossessing, stunted jungle. To make matters worse, this zone is accessed after negotiating the sewer-lined, congested bazars of old Sawai Madhopur. If this route is bad in winter, I shudder to think what it’ll be in the heat of summer. But to be fair, we did sight a tiger in zone 6, and a magnificent male in his prime at that.

Tiger centricity

At the outset, our very competent naturalist Satish Upadyay suggested that we get the tiger sighting out of the way before turning our attention to birding. GiK, my kid P and I were in one Gypsy and we started with zone 3. We reached Rajbagh and struck luck. Three 10-month cubs gamboling in the grass, the litter of the tigress T-19 or Krishna. This tigress is Machli’s offspring and the reigning queen tigress of Ranthambore. We didn’t see the mother though, just the cubs. They were some 40-50 feet from the jeep, by the water and we watched them for twenty minutes or so before they headed back into taller khus grass where a sambar kill was hidden.

As often happens, this spectacular start was followed by muted follow-through, with plenty of alarm calls but no sightings fructifying until the evening of the next day. That was the afternoon safari of day 2, in zone 6. A passing Gypsy reported seeing a tiger cross a nallah and disappear into the jungle. Scouting around we finally came to a cluster of jeeps with the tiger barely visible some two hundred meters away. This was T-34 or Kumbha, a tiger with a colourful reputation for intimidating behavior. He was lying on his back with his paws in the air.

Ranthambore allows safaris in Gypsies and Canters. The latter contain five seats to a row and it mustn’t be great fun to be stuck in the middle. Anyway there were plenty of noisy tourists in attendance and the din disturbed the animal enough to make him roll over one side to the other occasionally and lift his head up to see what the racket was all about. This went on for about fifteen minutes after which he was disgusted enough to rise and stalk away. The horde then started up to chase him, but by the time the jam could be sorted out and the vehicles turned around, a good ten minutes was lost. Meanwhile the cat disappeared without a trace.

Satish had predicted a success rate of 30%. We did a little better than that, with three sightings in seven safaris. On day 3 in the evening safari, we had spent the evening chasing alarm calls in vain all over zone 4. Often being in the unenviable situation of having calls emanating from two different directions.

An interesting feature of tiger tracking in Ranthambore is that when alarm calls are heard, whether chital or langur, Satish listened to see if multiple individuals were calling. Calls by single individuals evidently lack credibility and were actually ignored a couple of times, even when persisting for a while. Satish also mentioned that while chital or sambar calls may sometimes mislead, the nilgai’s alarm call, if heard, is a certain indicator of the tiger’s presence.

Exit time was at 5:30 and we’d spent much of the evening rushing from one set of calls to another. While we were stopped in one of the meeting points for a quick bio break, a gypsy rolled in and the woman in it asked why all of us were hanging around there while there was a sighting in progress elsewhere. Satish and the driver jumped like they were bee-stung and we began a crazy, careening hurtle at mad speed towards the spot indicated. This was quite a distance away and we had just about half an hour to go before exit time, with the exit gate a long way off.

Reaching the place we found that it was hardly a kilometer’s distance from where we’d waited a while earlier listening to chital calls. Some jeeps had gone ahead from that point but had returned without having spotted the tiger. Given the late hour, all the vehicles there were FD Gypsies, with our Gypsy and a canter that arrived later being the only commercial tourist vehicles. The tiger was sprawled on the grass across a ravine amidst some very pretty scenery. This was T-6 or Romeo a fine six year old male. We had around five minutes to take a good look and finish clicking pictures before it was time to hurtle back towards the exit gate. The driver incidentally clocked 85 kmph on that crazy drive and we spent much of it in the air, holding on tight to keep us from bouncing right off the jeep. Admittedly illegal but incredible fun though.

Leopards are at least as numerous as tigers in Ranthambore but as is typical of tiger-infested areas, rarely show themselves.

Both chital and sambar were numerous and the long-drawn rutting calls of chital stags reverberated through the forests at this time of year, sometimes startling innocent tourists who mistook them for the agonized screams of some animal being done to death.

Upwardly mobile chital stag:

Sambar stags sparring:

Nilgai are also fairly numerous in places, and GiK and I got some pictures.

Nilgai doe and buck in the mist:

Nilgai buck:

We also saw the Chinkara or Indian Gazelle for the first time, a very satisfying experience. Mugger are commonly seen on all the lakes.

There were several palm squirrels in the forest. After a desultory glance at one of them, I concluded that they were of the three-striped variety. Dr. R later told me that we were probably looking at Five-striped palm squirrels. I resolved to look more carefully and get a picture if possible on the next outing, but this slipped my mind and I didn’t see any more squirrels.

Birding

Most remarkable are the Indian treepies. They are exceedingly common all through the forest, and are inured to tourists feeding them, although that is supposedly banned now. We did see some tourists feeding the birds at the rest points though. The birds however have lost their fear of people and freely perch on heads and hands. They are fearless enough to hop into the gypsies and onto the floor right around our feet, hunting for crumbs. Stop at any spot and in all likelihood, a couple materialized, heads cocked greedily, inspecting us closely for signs of anything edible.

Peafowl are numerous as you might expect, and the persistent, two-note calls of Grey francolins rent the air frequently.

Babblers, especially jungle babblers are numerous too and make it noisily evident. Large grey babblers are easily met with and I initially mistook them for jungle babblers until Dr. R pointed this out. Rose-ringed parakeets are another noisy, frequently encountered bird. We met spotted owlets around half a dozen times, so they are not uncommon here.

Long-tailed shrike:

Ranthambore 133

Hoopoe on a Dhok tree:

In the waters of the lakes were Ruddy shelducks, Wooly-necked storks, Grey herons, Common snipes, egrets, cormorants, darters, White ibis, Openbill storks, River terns, dozens of Common moorhen, plenty of Black-winged stilts, more White-breasted waterhen than I’ve cumulatively seen so far and intrepid Red-wattled lapwings that stalked right up to the jeeps hunting for insects dislodged by the tyres.

Wooly-necked stork:

Black-winged stilt:

Black-capped night heron:

We noted that barbets were strangely absent, although Dr. R’s naturalist pointed out that Coppersmith barbets did occur and were heard in the summer. Junglefowl are conspicuously absent.

Indian Scops owl:

On the drive from Sawai Madhopur to Jaipur (we took the more sensible route on the way back), we saw Bank mynas for the first time whilst stopping for chai.

Crested serpent eagle:

Flora

The landscape of Ranthambore is dominated by the tiny-leaved Dhok tree (Anogeissus pendula). This species comprises a good seventy or eighty percent of the forest’s tree-count and is therefore ubiquitous. Next in terms of frequency are Babul or the Gum Arabic tree (Acacia nilotica) and the Flame of the forest (Butea monosperma).

Acacia nilotica:

Stunted Khair trees (Acacia catechu) are also frequently encountered.

On rocky slopes, the striking-looking Karaya Gum tree (Sterculia Urens) is commonly seen.

Several fine specimens of banyan (Ficus bengalensis) are found throughout the park including the iconic one draping the entrance a little before the Jogi Mahal gate. An exceptionally large specimen occurs near the Jogi Mahal, but is out of bounds for tourists.

Indian date palms (Phoenix sylvestris) are frequently met with. Tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon) is also encountered occasionally. Adusa (Adhatoda vasica) occurs in clumps in many places. The leaves, flowers and bark of this shrub find medicinal uses chiefly in the treatment of asthma.

Large clumps of the cactus-like Euphorbia plant are also seen.

A very common shrub in the Dhok forests is Grewia flavescens. At least that’s what I think it is. Our naturalist Satish identified the plant as Chameni in Hindi. I struggled to locate the binomial name and after considerable search, am leaning towards Grewia flavescens. This Grewia species is reputed to be a frequent associate of the Dhok and is supposedly commonly found in Ranthambore. The plant we saw is certainly found all over the place.

The lakesides are lined with the aromatic Khus grass (Vetivaria zizznioides). Large patches of striking red Water velvet (Azolla pinnata) were found on the surfaces of some lakes. This is a species of tiny-leaved aquatic fern.

Birds:

Asian pied starling
Ashy-crowned sparrowlark
Bank myna
Long-tailed shrike
Black-capped night heron
Black drongo
Black-shouldered kite
Black-tailed godwit
Black-winged stilt
Blue rock dove
Bluethroat
Brown rock chat
Cinereous tit
Common iora
Common kingfisher
Common moorhen
Common snipe
Crested serpent eagle
Darter
Eurasian thick-knee
Greater cormorant
Greater coucal
Grey francolin
Grey heron
Grey wagtail
Hoopoe
Indian Scops owl
Indian vulture
Long-tailed shrike
Indian treepie
Jungle babbler
Large egret
Large grey babbler
Lesser flameback
Little brown dove
Little green heron
Magpie robin
Oriental honey buzzard
Osprey
Painted stork
Peafowl
Painted spurfowl
Pied kingfisher
Plain prinia
Red-breasted flycatcher
Red-wattled lapwing
River tern
Rose-ringed parakeet
Ruddy shelduck
Spotted dove
Stonechat
White-belloed drongo
White-breasted waterhen
White-browed fantail
White-browed wagtail
White ibis
White-throated kingfisher
White wagtail
Wooly-necked stork
Yellow-footed green pigeon

Mammals:

Chinkara
Chital
Common langur
Nilgai
Ruddy mongoose
Sambar
Tiger

Reptiles:

Marsh crocodile

January 5, 2015 by Badri

Kaziranga/Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, Dec 2014

Trip: Kaziranga National Park/Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary

Camp: Wildgrass (Kaziranga)/FRH (Gibbon)

Dates: 29 Dec ’14 – 1 Jan ‘15

This is going to be a long post.

My son and I had visited Kaziranga in April 2013, along with my sister’s family. He was five then and we’d had some great sightings. This second visit was planned six months in advance, for just the two of us. As the date approached however the trip looked to be jinxed. First was SpiceJet’s wholesale disruptions (our Bangalore-Guwahati onward was with them). Alternate fares quickly climbed in excess of Rs. 43K. Thankfully services were restored a couple of days before our departure date (which was on Christmas day). And then there were the Bodo militant attacks killing 75 people that put Assam on the boil a couple of days before we left. We planned to visit friends in the Missamari cantt for a few days, in addition to doing Kaziranga. The route from the Guwahati airport to Missamari passed through one of the sites of the attack (Dhekiajuli) and a curfew was supposedly in effect. Further, it was 4:15 PM by the time we exited the airport and the early winter sunset was underway. Which meant four hours of driving mostly in the dark. In any case the drive passed off without incident.

Missamari

Missamari was cold and offered some little birding around the cantt. Brown shrikes and Red-vented bulbuls were aplenty, as were three species of myna – Common, Jungle and Asian pied, and spotted doves. Black-throated munias were also numerous and a pair of these had nested under the roof overhang of the house. I spotted a babbler-sized brown bird once that I couldn’t identify.

On the day before we left for Bangalore, a twittering something went sailing over the lawn, with a jerky uneven flight. Turned out to be a Brown shrike that had grabbed a munia chick from its nest. The chick screamed and struggled for all its tiny worth, and the shrike had trouble holding its course. It blundered over a hedge, landed on a pile of thorns some twenty five meters away, panicked at my approach and abandoned the chick wedged inside the thorny pile. The chick had sustained a bleeding injury around the mantle, but seemed alive enough. We extricated it and placed it on the lawn, from where it disappeared a short while later – spirited away either by its parents, or by the shrike.

The Itinerary

I had explored the possibility of managing three or four PAs with Ficus’s Ravi Kailash months in advance. Pakke, Orang and Nameri are all tantalizingly close to Missamari. As is Eaglenest. However considering that all these places entailed some degree of walking, and considering that my son is not a particularly accomplished walker, I had to limit the schedule to two nights in Kaziranga and a single night at Gibbon. Given this schedule, Ravi, considerate as ever, suggested that I dispense with Ficus’s assistance and book directly through Manju Barua of Wildgrass. This latter gentleman was enormously helpful and courteous, and patiently responded to my numerous emails promptly and in great detail. To begin with, he pointed out that I was visiting Kaziranga at the worst possible time as the week of 25^th Dec turns the park into a “circus”. And then Wildgrass was booked out and he put me on a waitlist, which eventually cleared.

And so my son and I ended up reaching Kaziranga by lunchtime on the 29^th, did the evening safari there, stayed overnight at Wildgrass, and left for Gibbon the next evening after completing both safaris on day 2. Overnighting at Gibbon, we finished with the apes before breakfast the next morning, rushing back in time to catch the evening safari at Kaziranga. The next morning, 1-Jan, was our last safari after which we departed for Missamari. So five safaris in all at Kaziranga, of which two each were in the Western and Central zones and the last one in Eastern.

Wildgrass

Although not as luxurious as the Iora resort, Wildgrass is probably the best place to stay at in Kaziranga. Manju Barua’s attitude being in no small measure a reason for this, the ambience accounting for the rest. He took care of everything for me very efficiently – accommodation, safaris, naturalist, my Missamari and Gibbon transfers and the Gibbon FRH booking. We enjoyed the place the last time too and this time was no different. If I must find something to crib about, it’ll only be the acoustics of the hardwood floors. These amplified sounds from the room above spectacularly and even if the occupant was tiptoeing in his socks, produced a din below resembling someone playing nine pins with propane cylinders. If you are a light sleeper, you want to ask for a room on the top floor. This little inconvenience aside, we had a spectacular time.

I didn’t get to do too much birding in the resort. I sighted Indian robin, a Magpie robin (I think), Black-hooded oriole, Baya weaver bird, Spotted dove, all the three mynas again and Red-vented bulbul. And heard the Blue whistling thrush. The resort grounds are the best place to spot the Hoary-bellied Himalayan squirrel and we sighted these as expected. And on the way in, we stopped to watch a Malayan giant squirrel that our driver Biju managed to spot in a forest patch around thirty klicks from Kaziranga. We also saw elephants, but these might have been domestic ones as they were not very far from human habitation.

Malayan giant squirrel:

Kaziranga

Safari 1, PM, Western Zone. The evening safaris were abbreviated ones, given the early sunset. We typically set off a little before 2 PM, with 15-20 minutes spent on the drive to the gate and another 15-20 minutes squandered in getting the entry tickets. Sometime before 3 PM is when we entered the park gates, giving us a maximum of two hours before the sun disappeared completely.

I had mentioned to Manju Barua that naturalist Tarun Gogoi had done a tremendous job with the spotting during our 2013 trip. He offered to book Tarun for us this time too. However the naturalist was held up with another group for the first safari, and so Biju Hazarika, the driver who’d picked us up from Missamari tripled up as safari driver, spotter and naturalist all rolled into one. And did a very creditable job of it.

A short while into the first safari, we ran into a fair-sized King cobra right by the track. We slammed to a stop after passing some twenty five feet past the reptile. Before I could get my lens to bear on it the snake raised its hood briefly before making itself scarce.

We made a brief stopover at the Donga beel viewing point. Rhino, buffalo, hog deer and swamp deer grazed on the far bank. We saw flocks of Yellow-footed green pigeons around this spot both the times we visited.

Elephant and rhino skulls at Donga beel:

We also ran into a pair of elephants in the elephant grass by the roadside later in the drive.

We opened the birding account with Asian openbill stork, Crested serpent eagle, Wooly-necked stork, Bar-headed goose, mallard, Red-breasted parakeet, Common stone chat, Black-necked stork and Lesser adjutant stork. We were to meet all these repeatedly on subsequent drives.

Common stonechat:

Rhino at dusk in the western zone:

Safari 2, AM, Central Zone. Hog deer, Swamp deer, rhino and buffalo were commonly seen on all safaris. As were enormous flocks of foraging Bar-headed geese, Greylag geese, mallards, Spot-billed ducks, pintails, Black-necked and Wooly-necked storks, egrets and Lesser adjutant storks in all beels. I’ll therefore avoid repetitive mention. To the birds list we added Barn swallow, Grey-headed canary flycatcher, Bronze-winged jacana, Purple heron, pintail, cormorants, White wagtail, Common snipe, Citrine wagtail, Asian pied starling, Ruddy shelduck and Pied kingfisher. And heard Puff-throated babbler, Lesser flameback and a Changeable hawk eagle.

Bar-headed geese are truly remarkable birds. Look them up online to learn why.

Greylag geese:

A barking deer turned up on the track. To the untrained eye or at least to my untrained eye, muntjac can be mistaken for the more commonly seen Hog deer, especially if the sighting is fleeting.

Hog deer stag & doe:

The road winds past the Kawoimari lake and the Diphlu river and is quite picturesque. On the lake, we saw an Indian roof turtle. A Grey-headed fish eagle sat silently surveying the river.

Indian roof turtle:

The road pauses at a viewpoint area where visitors can alight and use the malodorous bamboo toilets. A row of tufted ducks paddled in the water, along with the other usual suspects. A rhino grazed on the far bank, as did a small herd of buffaloes. We saw White (Rosy) pelicans in addition to the more commonly seen Spotbilled ones. As we moved on from the viewpoint area raising fine powdered dust that fouled everything, a Bengal monitor lizard was found basking beside the track, unmindful of the clouds of dust billowing onto it. A lone osprey quartered the skies. Indian treepies called.

Bengal monitor lizard:

Safari 3, PM, Western Zone. This was the safari we rushed back to catch, from Gibbon. The drive started propitiously with a Pallas fish eagle sighting. I was on the lookout for this species. The bird was evidently nesting there as we found it around the same place multiple times subsequently. A small troop of Rhesus macaques foraged nearby.

Tarun identified a small tree we saw repeatedly as jujube, Ziziphus jujuba – the berries of which are evidently pickled and served in the Wildgrass dining room.

He identified another commonly seen tree with large, ribbed leaves as Dillenia indica, the Elephant apple tree. The palm for the most common tree in Kaziranga however undoubtedly goes to the Red silk cotton, Bombax ceiba. It is abundant in the countryside as well.

Elephant apple tree, Dillenia indica:

At one spot, hog deer began calling in alarm in the grass. The calls were strident and we waited awhile. The sun was starting to set and great flocks of Green imperial pigeons flew past on their way to roost. A pair of Greater Indian hornbills swooshed past and the tiger was momentarily forgotten. Alexandrine parakeets squawked and flitted. Eventually giving up, we turned back. The light was fading fast and a little before the park exit, we came upon another set of alarm calls. The hog deer were calling and a herd of buffaloes hurriedly turned around to face the direction the tiger was evidently in. We could pinpoint the area the deer and buffalo were focused on, but the setting darkness and thick grass hid the cat only too well. Tarun caught a fleeting glimpse, but I could see nothing despite standing atop the Gypsy’s bars at a ten foot vantage point. The buffalo herd trooped out and the calls subsequently ceased.

Pintails at dusk:

Safari 4, PM, Central Zone. Mihi is a beel in the central zone with the Kothora watchtower overlooking its vastness. This place is sometimes referred to as tiger point owing to the frequency of sightings. Visitors can alight at the watchtower to watch the wildlife on the beel.

We spent the entire evening tethered to this spot by persistent alarm calls. The deer and a rhino were intently focused on a patch of tall grass to our right. Plenty of other jeeps came and went, but we stayed put. Tarun was determined to catch a tiger sighting after one too many near misses. Unfortunately for us hordes of noisy tourists made appearances. Tarun was worried they’d scare the feline away and that’s precisely what happened. The tiger made off in the opposite direction away from the beel, crossed the road some two hundred meters away, and disappeared into the grass.

Tarun was bitter about all the noise the tourists were making – he’d spent a good part of an hour with his eyes glued to his binocs atop the watch tower, watching for stripes. All for nothing.

Biju Hazarika watches hog deer calling in alarm on Mihi beel:

We went further up the track hoping the feline would return, but had to give up eventually. While waiting we found a couple of rhinos waiting to cross the track and positioned ourselves to catch the crossings, but noisy passing tourists scared those away as well. I now know what Manju Barua meant by the “circus”.

It was fully dark by now and that’s how we ended the last day of 2014. Would have been even better to end it with a tiger sighting that actually fructified but then we do not always get what we ask for.

The last sunset of 2014:

Safari 5, AM, Eastern Zone. I was anticipating a tourist-free forest, this being the 1^st of Jan. I had miscalculated however as hordes of people evidently consider it great fun to continue the festivities of the previous night in the forest on day one.

The Eastern zone is renowned for its birdlife more than large mammals. A Stork-billed kingfisher sat sentinel as we entered the park gate. Further up the track, a branch was heavy with Himalayan griffon vultures. We also sighted Black-hooded orioles, a Spotted eagle, Indian vultures, a Changeable hawk eagle, a Common kestrel, Indian treepies, Orange minivets, Red-breasted parakeets and Common teals. The track winds past the massive Sohola beel. A pair of Oriental pied hornbills flew from one tree to another, very close by and I hurriedly attempted a flight shot, having been caught unawares while handing junior the binocs to view a Pallas fish eagle sitting at a distance. The shot came out with one wing clipped.

A squirrel raced up a bole and leaped across to another. Tarun identified it as a Himalayan striped squirrel.

We saw a solitary brown fish owl that sat looking at us for a long while before flapping away on massive wings. A small herd of elephants posed for pictures further up the track. We then reached the terminus of the track at the Bramhaputra river.

On the way back I saw two lapwings I’ve never seen before – the Grey-headed and the Northern (Crested) lapwing. We saw the former multiple times.

Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary

Gibbon is around 135 kilometers from Kaziranga and we left after the evening safari, to reach there by 9:30 PM or so. The FRH at Gibbon has two rooms. The ever-smiling cook produced barely tolerable meals on a woodfire stove in an alluringly warm but sooty kitchen behind. A railway gate occurs not very far away and passing trains sound their horns frantically to warn off crossing elephants. To the sleepers in the rooms, it sounds like the engines are passing on the other side of the wall.

We awoke early to the calls of Puff-throated babbler, Black-hooded oriole, and Blue whistling thrush. Gibbon comprises some 21 square kilometers of evergreen forest with paths running through it. A forest guard armed with a rusty, double-barreled gun of ancient vintage accompanied us. He said the weapon was intended to scare elephants away as he broke open the breech to load a pair of red cartridges. We left junior sleeping snugly back in the room, with Biju kindly consenting to wait on His Little Majesty.

Blue whistling thrush at dawn:

Gibbon is home to seven species of primates – the Western hoolock gibbon, Stump-tailed macaque, Northern pig-tailed macaque, Bengal slow loris, Capped langur, Assamese macaque and Rhesus macaque. We sighted three of these in the couple of hours we spent walking through the forest. The morning was crisp, cold and utterly lovely. The first mammal sighting was of a very lively Malayan giant squirrel. A small troop of Capped langurs presently appeared, crashing about the canopy, leaping tree to tree.

Capped langur:

We then sighted an Orange-bellied Himalayan squirrel. The sound of breaking branches warned us of the presence of elephants further up the path and we back-tracked, finding an alternate route to skirt around the animals. We had spent a good hour and a half now traipsing through Gibbon with no sign of the eponymous ape. I was thinking that we might have to return without having managed a single sighting.

A troop of Pig-tailed macaques turned up next, shortly followed by junior in the car driven out by Biju, all rested and refreshed.

Pig-tailed macaque:

A second guard finally spotted a Gibbon family on the canopy, and we spent some fifteen minutes watching a male, female and a sub-adult swinging and feeding high up in the canopy. Gibbon-watching is good treatment for people afflicted with cervical spondylitis.

Gibbons, male and female:

The Gibbon sanctuary is a spectacular birding site. It reminded me of Thattekad in many ways. Tarun was in his elements and we sighted orange-headed thrush, White-throated bulbul, Bronzed, Greater racket-tailed and Spangled drongos, Grey-bellied tesia, Grey-headed canary flycatcher, Black-crested bulbul and Maroon oriole. And heard the Asian barred owlet. The highlight however was watching a pair of Red-headed trogans for a good many minutes as they flitted around the canopy. Tarun was elated with this sighting. Back at the FRH and after breakfast, we listened to Lineated barbets calling loudly before packing up to rush back to Kaziranga in time for a hurried lunch and the evening safari.

Here are some pictures from my 2013 trip.

The list

Birds:

Alexandrine parakeet
Asian barred owlet (calls)
Asian openbill stork
Asian pied starling
Bar-headed goose
Barn swallow
Baya weaver bird
Bay-backed shrike
Black-crested bulbul
Black-hooded oriole
Black-necked stork
Black-throated munia
Blue whistling thrush
Bronzed drongo
Bronze-winged jacana
Brown fish owl
Brown shrike
Cattle egret
Changeable hawk eagle
Citrine wagtail
Common kestrel
Common myna
Common snipe
Common stonechat
Common teal
Cormorant (Greater?)
Crested serpent eagle
Darter
Greater Indian hornbill
Greater racket-tailed drongo
Green imperial pigeon
Common greenshank
Grey-bellied tesia
Grey-headed canary flycatcher
Grey-headed fish eagle
Grey-headed lapwing
Grey heron
Greylag goose
Himalayan griffon vulture
Indian robin
Indian roller
Indian treepie
Jungle myna
Large egret?
Lesser adjutant stork
Lesser flameback
Lineated barbet (calls)
Indian vulture
Magpie robin
Mallard
Maroon oriole
Northern/crested lapwing
Orange-headed thrush
Orange minivet
Oriental pied hornbill
Osprey
Pallas fish eagle
Pied kingfisher
Pintail
Pond heron
Puff-throated babbler (calls)
Purple heron
Red-breasted parakeet
Red-headed trogan
Red junglefowl
Red-vented bulbul
Rose-ringed parakeet
Ruddy shelduck
Spangled drongo
Spot-billed duck
Spot-billed pelican
Spotted dove
Spotted eagle
Stork-billed kingfisher
Tufted duck
White-browed wagtail
White ibis
White/Rosy pelican
White-throated bulbul (calls)
White-throated kingfisher
White wagtail
Wooly-necked stork
Yellow-footed green pigeon

Mammals:

Barking deer
Capped langur
Elephant
Eastern swamp deer
Great Indian one-horned rhino
Striped Himalayan squirrel
Hoary-bellied Himalayan squirrel
Hog deer
Hoolock gibbon
Malayan giant squirrel
Orange-bellied Himalayan squirrel
Pig-tailed macaque
Rhesus macaque
Wild buffalo

Reptiles:

Bengal monitor lizard
Indian roof turtle
King cobra

October 8, 2014 by Badri

Trip Report: KMTR, Oct ’14

Trip Report: Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR)

Dates: 2-5 Oct 2014

Camp: Talayannai FRH, Mundanthurai Range Office FRH

Who: GK, VR

The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley… [often go awry] – Robert Burns

Dog’s breakfast

GK and I had prepared for this trip for weeks. We had spent time compiling lists of endemic or significant species that we wanted to look for, and in checking on what areas and routes to cover (I’ve included the list of target species at the end of this post). However the trip didn’t quite pan out the way it was intended to.

The jinx began right from the word go. GK hatched this plan of saving a day by driving the 600-odd kilometers to KMTR overnight. Shortly after reaching the place, I realized that I’d left behind my binoculars, notebooks and torch back in Bangalore. My eyesight being what it is, I was unable to ID a bunch of birds that weren’t close enough. And then we weren’t able to get permission to visit places in the higher ranges – places like Sengaltheri, Upper Kodayar and Kakachi. We intended to seek accommodation at the Kuduraivetti or Kodamadi FRHs – these are sited in spectacular locations – but had to be content with being put up at the Talayannai and Mundanthurai RO FRHs located at the fringes of the reserve, and at low elevations. Even these are available only if requested by someone in the FD. A tough new Deputy Director has taken over for the past few months and she has pretty much closed off many areas that were hitherto accessible. We saw several instances of people flaunting various degrees of influence being stonewalled and refused permission. While this effectively hamstrung our trip, it was heartening to see a young officer (this is evidently her first posting) take an uncompromising stand on behalf of our forests and wildlife. May her tribe increase.

Day 1, Talayannai

After a sleepless night spent driving from Bangalore and Chennai, we reached the Talayannai Dormitory near the tiny town of Kalakkad after a short break in Tirunelveli. This is the very same place I’d been to with my sister’s family last year. A short distance inside the reserve lies a small check dam and the resultant waterfall is a popular spot with local tourists, most of whom land up with towels slung around their necks. And understandably so, as the heat of the second summer was oppressive. The FRH lies a short distance from this check dam. The day was squandered in trying to get permission to access the upper reaches of the forest. Fourteen kilometers from Talaiyannai is a place with a spectacular reputation – Sengaltheri. This place is now out of bounds for just about everyone, and we finally gave up all hope of getting access to it after day-long effort. There’s a large dormitory in Talayannai with bunk beds and that’s where we camped for the night.

View from Talayannai watch tower

Standing outside the dorm at about 4:30 in the evening, we saw a couple of dhole canter across the road. Grabbing my camera, GK and I hurried after them, but they’d moved on and we got no pictures. There was some birdlife around, but I couldn’t do much without my bins. All we saw was Sambar, bonnet macaques, tufted langurs, Indian giant squirrel, Indian treepie, peafowl, Small minivet, coucal, Magpie robin, White-cheeked barbet, Grey junglefowl and Blue-faced malkoha. And we heard hoopoe, Savanna nightjar and what evidently was the Mottled wood owl calling (the latter two after sundown, naturally). A Changeable hawk eagle called persistently all day; we eventually located it and sighted it a few times. A couple of species of scorpion were met with around the dorm.

Fattail scorpion

Dhole spoor set in concrete

Offroading interlude

VR (who is a cop himself) had stumbled across a police inspector in Tirunelveli while searching for KMTR leads online. Inspector SE has a staggering range of interests including trekking, parasailing, paragliding, snake rescue, cactus cultivation, gardening, philately and offroading. Prior to the trip, VR had contacted the inspector to see if we could get some local guiding help. Finding that I was missing the bins, we contacted inspector SE again and he was kind enough to offer to lend us his for the duration of the trip. We therefore dropped by the police station in the morning to pick up the bins, when the inspector asked us if we’d like to join him for a spot of offroading.

We then ended up spending time until a very late lunch being bounced over rocks, ditches and other tyre-shredding obstacles. In the searing heat. It was spectacular fun nonetheless.

We then picked up the borrowed bins and headed for the Mundanthurai Range Office via Ambasamudram and Papanasam, and the amiable ranger there agreed to put us up (in the ‘Panther cottage’) for two nights.

The Panther Cottage

Day 2, Karaiyar and Servalar dams

The Mundanthurai range office is sited about ten kilometers inside the reserve. The road forks from here with one prong leading to the Servalar dam about seven kilometers away, and the other to the Karaiyar dam, also about seven kilometers away. The reservoirs of these two dams are linked by a massive tunnel three kilometers long – to equalize water levels. About halfway to the Karaiyar dam is a road that branches off to the Sorimuthu Ayyannar temple; and this draws a considerable pilgrim crowd. We covered the Karaiyar and Servalar roads several times in the mornings and evenings, with no significant sightings. Junglefowl called in alarm at a couple of places, most likely triggered by our presence.

Nilgiri langur on the Karaiyar dam

Since driving on these roads is banned after dark, we took a public bus on impulse at about eight thirty in the evening, to Karaiyar and back. The driver spoke of leopard and sloth bear sightings almost on a daily basis on this stretch, but we had no such luck. GK spoke to some tribals employed as watchers and they recommended driving along the Servalar route early next morning to look for leopards. Again no luck. However we saw Jungle babbler, White-headed babbler, Common iora, Black eagle, White-bellied drongo, Tailor bird, Ruddy mongoose, Brahminy kite, Brown-headed barbet, Grey junglefowl, Tufted langur, nightjar (possibly Savanna) and peafowl (the latter being especially numerous all over the lower ranges). And heard Common hawk cuckoo and coucal. We also spotted a malkoha-like bird which I am unable to identify – it appeared dark with a white terminal band on its tail. In the waters of the Karaiyar dam was a swimming herd of buffaloes – I initially assumed they were domestic animals, but a tribal watcher later told GK they were wild – perhaps a feral herd. An Indian scops owl called persistently after dark around the FRH without us being able to spot it. Sambar belled once in alarm late in the evening.

Incidentally, we saw no chital, wild pig or gaur in the course of the whole trip. Just the occasional sambar. The scanty prey base probably explains KMTR’s low tiger density, at least in the areas we visited. However leopards are reputed to be met with commonly (langurs, macaques, peafowl and junglefowl abound in these forests). Elephants are small in number. Dr. Johnsingh attributes this to the scattered and sparse presence of their food plants, and to the mountainous terrain.

From the Servalar dam, there is a rough road which leads to the Kodamadi FRH, three klicks away. Again a highly restricted route that we couldn’t get permission for. This FRH nestles in another wild spot and has a great reputation.

View from the Servalar dam. The Kodamadi FRH is sited somewhere around the conical hill.

The ranger – Mr. I – became very friendly with us once he realized we were there with a serious wildlife interest and not as casual tourists. He chatted transparently and disarmingly about his profession, and about forests and their management.

Day 3, Kuduraivetti

On day three, we finally got permission to drive upto Kuduraivetti, thanks to Ranger I’s intercession. Access to this place is heavily controlled, with a quota of five vehicles permitted daily. And all visitors are required to exit by 6 PM, with no overnight stay allowed either in the FRHs or in the estates. After crossing the Manimuttar dam, we climbed steadily to reach tea country and a string of estates leased to the Bombay Burmah Trading Company. Manimuttar dam is crowded with bathing visitors, but hardly anyone is allowed beyond this. Beyond lie Manjolai estate – Manimuttar estate – Naalumooku estate -Oothu estate and finally Kuduraivetti, in sequence. The drive took a good three hours and we spent a few minutes at Kuduraivetti chatting with the watcher on duty before turning back.

Kuduraivetti FRH

From Naalumooku estate, a road branches off to Upper Kodayar and Kakachi – places we badly wanted to visit. But again, these were out of bounds. Two famed birds – the Broad-tailed grassbird and White-bellied shortwing are reputed to skulk around those areas. We kept an eye out for the Southern birdwing – our largest butterfly – having been told that it was a common sighting on this route, but it is not easy to spot butterflies whilst driving through winding hill roads.

Between the estates are stretches of lush evergreen forests. It is a beautiful drive. A brace of Painted spurfowl went scurrying off the road. Flamebacks and Asian fairy bluebirds called repeatedly without showing themselves. Ashy wood-swallows flocked on an electric wire. A solitary Racket-tailed drongo went sailing across the road. We also saw a solitary Green imperial pigeon. And small flock of Black-throated munias on the way back.A shikra was perched near the Manimuttar dam. The estates were alive with noisy Red-whiskered bulbuls and Tailor birds.

Tea estates and evergreen forests

Ashy wood-swallow taking off

Besides streams at elevation were great clusters of Ochlandra reedbrakes (Ochlandra travancorica) – an endemic we were looking for. And plenty of Messua ferrea – a plant common to the W Ghats and the Himalayas – however these were not in bloom. GK pointed out Fern trees – Filicium decipiens – which were plentiful in the forest.

Ochlandra travancorica, these reedbrakes are found in clusters by streams above 1,000 meters altitude, and constitute one of the few sources of food for elephants in KMTR

Messua ferrea, an example of flora common to the W. Ghats and the Himalayas

Canarium strictum, another example of flora common to the W. Ghats and the Himalayas

A stream in the forest. KMTR spawns fourteen rivers and is the primary source of water for surrounding districts

Day 4, Kadayam range

Ranger I had encouraged us to visit an orphanage and speech-and-hearing-impaired childrens’ home near the Kadayam range run by the Gandhigram Trust. He felt they were doing great work and needed all the encouragement they could get. Perhaps as a sort of inducement, he also promised to send us trekking up the Kadayam range with a watcher to guide us. And so there we went on the last day.

The Kadayam range begins from the Sivasailam dam and drab, hot countryside sparsely dotted with Indian palm and Prosopis juliflora abruptly transforms into lush evergreen forest.

Approach to the Kadayam range

A trek of four kilometers from here brings one to the Korakkanadar temple. The path up was choked with pilgrims visiting the temple. We rested for a while in a tiny FRH that nestles just above the temple.

The path carries on from this point for another thirty kilometers until it reaches another temple, but access is restricted owing to elephant and bear presence en route. And there is no FRH at the path’s terminus.

Mohammed Ismail the watcher who accompanied us then brought us back through another route, this a restricted and therefore blissfully undisturbed one. And a pretty route at that. Elephant droppings were occasionally seen but signs of sloth bear were everywhere – by way of dug and scraped ground.

I should add that after the strain of the day’s activities, we were fairly drained and the daunting 600 kilometer overnight drive back through steady rain and horrendous traffic is not something I’ll remember fondly. I was pretty much done in when I reached home at about three thirty in the morning, after successfully having avoided falling asleep at the wheel between Salem and Bangalore. (VR who is evidently incapable of exhaustion drove the Scorp until Salem, and then drove GK’s car all the way to Chennai through the night).

Common sand boa rescued by Inspector SE

The target list

Here’s the list GK and I created prior to this trip. AJT Johnsingh’s Field days was of great use in compiling this. Some of these are so rare that we didn’t have a prayer of a chance of actually encountering them, but we got them on the list anyway. In any case, considering that we were mostly confined to the foothills, this effort came to naught and we saw just a couple of these candidates.

Endemic

Ochlandra travancorica
Discoria wightii
Gluta travancorica
Bentinckia condapanna – endangered palm tree
Dasia subcaeruleum – Boulenger’s dasia, tree skink originally mistaken for Dasia haliana, a Sri Lankan endemic
Broad-tailed grassbird
White-bellied shortwing
Cochin forest cane-turtle
Anamalai gecko

Flora common to the W Ghats and the Himalayas

Bishchofia javanica – Bishop’s wood tree
Canarium strictum
Messua ferrea

Other significant flora and fauna

Podocarpus wallinchiana – only coniferous tree native to peninsular India
Paphiopedilum druryi – Asian lady slipper orchid, on the verge of extinction
Gnetum ula – endangered woody climber
Brachycorythis splendida – orchid also found in Africa
Southern birdwing
Oriental bay owl
Brown palm civet
Brown mongoose
Black narrow-mouthed frog – rediscovered after a hundred years in Kakachi
Calotes andamanensis – Andaman lizard
Indian kangaroo lizard

September 23, 2014 by Badri

Trip Report: Kabini River Lodge/Nagarahole NP

Trip: Kabini River Lodge/Nagarahole NP

Camp: JLR’s Kabini River Lodge

Dates: 20-22 Sep ‘14

Who: GiK & SV

GiK and I had met SV and his family at K Gudi last, and we hit it off well considering our shared interests in wildlife. We had proposed a trip to Kabini together and SV promptly did the reservations as soon as he got back to Bangalore. By happy coincidence, BR who figures in my last K. Gudi post was also there, and it was a reunion of sorts. We did two nights at Kabini River Lodge, and GiK and I stayed back for an extra evening safari on day three, leaving for Bangalore late in the evening. This was a good plan as in addition to the extra safari, it allowed us to avoid return traffic on the Mysore road.

Kabini RL is considered JLR’s flagship property and their sightings are reputed to be second to none. Despite this I haven’t been there after a single trip ten years back. The scale of the establishment puts me off I guess. The safaris are indubitably spectacular, but the place lacks the sense of intimacy that the K. Gudi camp has, in my opinion. And BR agrees with me on this.

The “five kilometer” road. This is a disused and restricted (erstwhile) section of the highway to Kerala – SH17D. This road was fairly productive for us. Particularly interesting was a spot along this road known as the “burning place”, which bears the scars of the 2012 fire that ravaged the park.

Changeable hawk eagle. We saw at least three CHEs and only one Crested Serpent Eagle in a reversal of the usual proportions.

Sambar hind. Note the bald patch on the neck, which is a strange and not-fully-understood occurrence in the species.

I was trying to get a shot of these two stags sparring, but they took a break to stare back at us instead.

I saw Common langur without the tuft after a long while. The langurs that occur in Bandipur, K. Gudi and Galibore are all Tufted langurs, with a distinct tuft on their heads. Langurs helped us locate a she-leopard with a single cub that we sighted on two safaris, near the KV waterhole. Incidentally, there is a watch tower by this waterhole on which I’d spent an entire afternoon ten years back, with only chital and langur sightings to show for all my trouble.

Both gaur and wild boar were strangely missing. We saw just two herds of gaur, and that in the last couple of safaris. And just one token wild boar. This animal below was photographed in the “burning place”

We saw plenty of elephants right through the trip. This makhna crossed the road just behind our jeep.

We met this young tusker while he was grazing by the highway.

We watched a herd of three elephants systematically destroy a patch of teak saplings.

Elephants stand around all day and even sleep standing up. This cow gave her leg a break.

Another member of the herd of three approaching.

This cow approached very close to the jeep. And stood placidly grazing at spitting distance. I asked the naturalist Ravi if Nagarahole elephants were so habituated to human presence that they grazed like cattle around us. He replied that they do mock-charge frequently, and that the tolerance we were seeing wasn’t always present.

We sighted this large tusker with a broken tusk on two separate occasions, both on the “five kilometer” road.

Another massive tusker, this one in the “burning place”.

This tusker accompanied a small herd.

A pair of Golden jackals (Canis aureus) came cantering down the track, stepped off it to pass the jeep, and regained the track to continue on their way. Typical jackal behavior.

We encountered a pack of three dhole on the “five kilometer” road. Possibly the same pack was sighted by another group the next day in the “burning place”.

We had leopard sightings in three of the five safaris. This she-leopard was found on a tree by the highway, a little before the Balle gate. She stayed put for forty five minutes and treated us to a variety of poses. Two cubs were with her, and had descended out of sight before we arrived at the spot.

The cat was briefly distracted by something in the tree above. We later learned that there was a Giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista) on the tree, but none of us noticed at the time.

My jungle trees 101 progressed at a slow crawl. I learned to ID the Nandi tree or Crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia microcarpa). This tree is called the naked lady of the forest alluding to how it looks when shorn of its bark – the trunk resembles that of the Eucalyptus, somewhat. And the Belleric myrobalan (Terminalia bellerica). Both of which were fairly common. I also learned that the Axlewood tree has a handle too – leper of the forest – owing to its pale blotchy patterns. There were plenty of these trees in Nagarahole. My old friends Tectona grandis, Terminalia tomentosa and Phyllanthus emblica were there in force too.

The birding lacked the usual intensity. What came our way was what we saw. There was plenty of unrecognized birdlife we zipped past in our quest for megafauna. Incidentally, Grey wagtails had just started to arrive for the winter and were seen around the Gol Ghar. But what was truly striking was the sheer number of Grey junglefowl everywhere. On two occasions, I counted eight individuals foraging at one place.

The list

Birds:

Ashy prinia
Ashy wood-swallow
Asian brown flycatcher
Asian paradise flycatcher
Black-hooded oriole
Bronzed drongo
Brown fish owl
Bushlark?
Changeable hawk eagle
Common hawk cuckoo (calls)
Coppersmith barbet (calls)
Crested serpent eagle
Unidentified flameback
Green imperial pigeon
Grey francolin
Grey junglefowl
Grey wagtail
Hill myna
Hoopoe (calls)
Indian grey hornbill
Jungle myna
Jungle owlet
Magpie robin
Malabar parakeet
Paddyfield pipit
Peafowl
Pied bushchat
Plum-headed parakeet
Puff-throated babbler (calls)
Brown-capped pygmy woodpecker
Racket-tailed drongo
Red-whiskered bulbul
Red-vented bulbul
Rose-ringed parakeet
Streak-throated woodpecker
Tailor bird
Velvet-fronted nuthatch
Vernal hanging parrot
White-bellied drongo
White-bellied woodpecker
White-cheeked barbet (calls)
White-throated kingfisher

Mammals:

Barking deer
Chital
Common langur
Dhole
Elephant
Golden jackal
Indian flying fox
Leopard
Malabar giant squirrel
Ruddy mongoose
Sambar
Stripe-necked mongoose
Wild boar

September 1, 2014 by Badri

Trip Report: Wild Valley Farm/Sathyamangalam TR

Trip Report: Wild Valley Farm, Germalam/Sathyamangalam TR

Dates: 30-31 Aug 2014

Camp: Wild Valley Farm, Germalam

GiK and I drove to the farm for a quick weekend trip. We had not sought prior permission, so driving through Sathyamangalam TR was not on the cards. We thought we’d spend some time around the farm, do some birding, and some walking through the surrounding forests. Moreover, GiK was just recovering from a fever.

View from the dining porch; the fencing in the distance demarcates the forest boundary. Bilbo in the foreground.

The weather was lovely. There was intermittent drizzling, but never lasting more than a few minutes each. Strangely, it was colder now in August than it was in October last when I was there. Germalam is evidently well known for its wind at this time of year, and wind there was. Gusty spells that swept screaming across the forest and farms.

I renewed my acquaintance with my canine pals on the farm – Bilbo the GSD/lab mix, his brother Rover. Spike the deceptively intimidating looking Dobermann. And Patch, one of the two Lhasa Apsos. The farm is worth visiting just for this reason alone. As also for relaxed conversations with Mr. Daniel, these can be extremely pleasant as well. The story of his life is a truly remarkable one.

Bilbo and Patch. “The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs” – Gen Charles de Gaulle

Giving Spike a rub-down.

Reaching by the forenoon of Saturday, we pottered around the farm until lunch, and then went on the “short” trek. We crossed the stream that marks the boundary for a loop through the forest, Shankar the guide intently and ceaselessly scanning the route ahead for any sign of elephant. This area comprises stunted tree and scrub vegetation. Except by the streams, where towering riverine trees occur. Barring a solitary Asian paradise flycatcher and a herd of chital, we were the only souls around. Not counting a herd of cattle grazing in the forest that went crashing away in panic at the sight of us. The trail wound back and intercepted the same stream we crossed at some point and at this place was a Terminalia arjuna tree with very distinct (but old) leopard claw marks on it.

Since the trek was a short one, we were back on the farm in a couple of hours. We spent the time until dark tramping around the periphery of the farm, skirting the tiger reserve. On one side, the farm borders the main road, across which lies the reserve. There is a rocky outcrop on this edge that offers a sweeping vista of the landscape, all the way to the cloud-shrouded BR hills in the distance. Mr. Daniel talked of putting some sort of observation deck around this point, as the view is very pretty.

Dinner done, we tried driving on the road for a five kilometer stretch in the direction we hadn’t been on. The drive was a cropper, and all we did was roll through a few modest settlements on that side. And a very small stretch of deafeningly silent forest. The only fauna visible was tethered and ruminating cattle in these villages, bedded down for the night.

We spent the next morning hanging around the farm and with the dogs, taking in the Waldenesque charms of the place before it was time to leave. The best places on the farm to watch birds from are the dining area patio, and atop the work-in-progress roof of Mr. Daniel’s house.

Gooseberry

Sitting by the tent, we watched a pair of caterwauling grey cats flush a francolin from the shrubbery, sending it sailing over a rubble wall to safety. And a foraging pair of Scaly-breasted munias that came very close if we sat still. A little to our left was a pair of robins apparently nesting in a mud embankment, and a solitary Red-wattled lapwing. Bulbuls were all over the place, both red vented and whiskered varieties. Malabar parakeets were also numerous, rocketing overhead while screaming hysterically. As were spotted doves, with their soporific hooting. We crossed into the forest to sit on some rocks in the stream-bed along with Bilbo, savoring the lush silence. Mr. Daniel later told us that he discouraged the dogs from crossing the fence and that the ones that got into the habit of doing so never lasted more than a few months thanks to leopards. We should’ve shooed Bilbo back into the farm.

I should note that what wasn’t very Waldenesque about the trip was the food. It was delicious and I stuffed my face at every meal, making up for GiK’s tiny, fever-stricken appetite.

GiK tries his hand at silhouettes.

The list

Ashy-crowned sparrow lark
Ashy prinia
Asian paradise flycatcher
Baya weaver bird
Black drongo
Bushlark
Common hawk cuckoo
Common iora
Coppersmith barbet
Coucal (calls)
Grey francolin
Grey hornbill (calls) – Indian or Malabar I couldn’t see
House sparrow
Indian nightjar
Indian robin
Indian roller
Indian treepie (calls)
Little brown dove
Magpie robin
Malabar parakeet
Oriental white eye
Peafowl
Pied bushchat
Purple-rumped sunbird
Red-vented bulbul
Red-wattled lapwing
Red-whiskered bulbul
Scaly-breasted munia
Spotted dove
Tailor bird
Velvet fronted nuthatch
White-bellied drongo
White-browed wagtail
White-cheeked barbet
White-headed babbler
White-throated kingfisher

July 8, 2014 by Badri

Trip report: Agumbe, June 2014

Trip: Agumbe

Camp: Kalinga Center for Rainforest Ecology (KCRE)

Dates: 27-29 June ‘14

Who: SS, Dr. R and P. Ramesh (the last figured in my Meghamalai post)

All the pictures used in this post were shot by Dr. R.

This trip was different from our usual ones, as none of us had ever tried a herp outing before. It was put together for us by Ficus, and they did a pretty good job of it, taking care of all reservations and transfers efficiently and courteously. We stayed at Kalinga for two nights and three days. The camp was very basic with tented acco and a wash-your-own-plate policy, but we had a delightful time nonetheless. The rough-and-ready ambience didn’t extend to the loos though – the toilets were spic and span, with rustic red oxide flooring, something many of us hadn’t seen in years. The camp was managed by Prashant and had a couple of interns pursuing research – Sonu Soman and Udit Singh Chauhan, and all three went out of their way to make sure we were kept comfortable and entertained.

We took the slow train from Bangalore, the Karwar express that covered the 400+ kilometers to Udupi in an agonizing fourteen hours. That translates to an average speed of less than 30 kmph, though the actual distance the train covered was more considering that it wound its way via Mysore. Driving down was possibly a better option. From Udupi, we back-tracked by road to KCRE, a distance of about sixty kilometers. The road is motorable until a short distance from the camp and the short walk down the path into it is a great opportunity to make your first acquaintance with the leech.

Prior to the trip, we had been warned to expect heavy rains and millions of leeches. The former didn’t show and while Bangalore was experiencing heavy showers, Agumbe remained rainless. The leeches didn’t disappoint though. They were everywhere, millions of ‘em.

Shortly after settling in, we made our first foray around the camp and were instantly rewarded. There was a Malabar pit viper – Trimeresurus malabaricus – a foot off the ground on a wild turmeric plant right outside the bathroom building. And a green vine snake on some shrubbery near the dining area.

Green vine snake:

By the path leading out of the camp was a mating pair of Malabar pit vipers, under 24-hour surveillance by the interns who endured much hardship to record data around courtship rituals and the mating act. Sonu and Udit were running shifts almost round the clock, taking turns to sit by the mostly inactive pair.

Mating pair of Malabar pit vipers; the male is the smaller individual:

There are four trails that radiate out from the KCRE camp, and we did the stream trail in the evening. The trail was pretty enough, winding its way through areca plantation and evergreen forest, alongside the little stream that flows beside the camp. We didn’t see any snakes on that outing, but we did see a bunch of amphibians. Roux’s forest lizard (Calotes rouxii), Minervarya sp., Skittering frog (and tadpole), the endemic Bicolored frog (Clinotarsus curtipes), Tiger toad and another endemic – the Reddish burrowing frog (Zakerana rufescens).

Roux’s forest lizard:

Minervarya Sp.:

Bicolored frog:

And a bunch of bugs and spiders. Lantern bugs, Tiger beetles, Water spiders, Two-horned spiders and a rather reclusive Tarantula. I should mention that Udit, the intern who guided our trails did a spectacular job of spotting and identifying critters none of us would have otherwise noticed.

Night times at the KCRE camp are noisy. If the day belongs to the cicadas acoustically, the night belongs to a bunch of other equally vocal critters. Most noteworthy of which was a creature which produced a clear-toned, two-note whistle very reminiscent of birdsong. It was loud, distinctive and ubiquitous. Naturally, we were intrigued. Turned out it wasn’t a bird after all, but a bush-cricket or Katydid – Holochlora albida. Sonu clarified this, showed us a picture he had clicked, and then rummaged through an entomology book the next day to produce the identification. We saw the actual culprit on the night walk the next evening. There were also plenty of fireflies around, lighting up the night with their little lanterns.

There is a small bamboo platform in the forest a little above the camp that provides a nice, secluded camping site. Prashant was willing to pitch tents for us there if we wanted it, but a quick inspection showed the path to be packed with wet mud and leeches and we opted to stay down in the camp tents.

Early next morning, we walked over to the grassland area that is a kilometer or so from the camp. This is a beautiful area when the weather is pleasant, and it was brilliant that morning – cloudy, cool and breezy. We saw a Hump-nosed pit viper (Hypnale sp.) by the path a short way from the camp, and the day was starting to look good. Our plan was to do a couple of hours of birding along the edge of the grassland patch, and we netted a small bunch of the usual suspects. Yellow-wattled lapwing, Red-wattled lapwing, Crested serpent eagle, Red vented bulbul, Red whiskered bulbul, a solitary White ibis, Gold-fronted leaf bird, Flame-throated bulbul, Vernal hanging parrot, Orange minivet, Asian fairy bluebird, and White-cheeked barbet. And a bird none of us could identify, which Messrs Grimmett and Inskipp kindly identified for us later at the camp as the Grey-headed bulbul – a Western Ghats endemic. And on the way back, we ran into a juvenile Beddome’s keelback (Amphiesma beddomei) as it frantically slithered off the path and out of our way.

Bull frog:

Breakfast done, we were entertained by Draco Dussumieri – the Southern flying lizard. There was Draco action all afternoon as the little dragons constantly flitted between the Areca boles in the camp. We learned this was not typical at this time of year. Prashant also unearthed a Caecilian to show us – a fossorial amphibian that superficially resembles a snake or earthworm.

In the late afternoon, we took another trail to a nearby peak with a mouthful of a name – Akki Battha Rashi Gudda. The trail involved stiff climbs on some stretches, though the view from the summit more than compensated for the sweaty effort.

We saw Fejervaria sahyadris and bush frogs en route, and a Malabar pit viper on a bush beside the path on the way back.

Malabar pit viper:

We wanted to experience a night walk, and Prashant and Udit obliged us by taking us out some distance on the driveway. We saw three snakes – a Malabar pit viper and a vine snake that we passed by the next day too a couple of times, a Hump-nosed pit viper, Yellow bush frogs and another local celebrity – the endemic Malabar gliding frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus).

Hump-nosed pit viper:

Malabar pit viper:

Malabar gliding frog:

Yellow bush frog:

We repeated the trip to the grassland the next morning, though the weather was not quite as pleasant as on the previous day. The sun was out and we were all tanned three shades darker. In addition to the previous day’s avians, we saw several Malabar grey hornbills, Malabar parakeets, White-bellied treepies, Racket trailed drongos, Common Ioras, Bronzed drongos, Loten’s sunbird, a flowerpecker and two endemics that we identified back at camp with some help from Prashant – Malabar lark and Crimson-fronted barbet.

Being newbies to herping, we had requested Ficus and Prashant for a short classroom orientation session. Sonu and Udit did a masterful job of taking us through the basics of snake evolution, local species, snake identification, taxonomy and snake-bite handling. The session culminated with an informal test of our snake identification ability by having us study moults against a handbook to try and identify the species.

May 5, 2014 by Badri

Trip report: BRT TR & Bandipur NP, May 2014

Trip Report: BRT Tiger Reserve

Bandipur National Park

Dates: 1-3 May 2014

Camp: JLR’s K. Gudi Wilderness Camp & Bandipur Safari Lodge

All the photographs used in this post were shot by S. Balajee.

I was supposed to do KMTR this weekend with GK. Unfortunately he fell ill and we abandoned the plan at the last moment. I was however able to tag along with my sister’s family on this trip. We did one night and two safaris each at BR Hills and Bandipur. The two-destination idea turned out to be quite productive, adding variety without being inconvenient as Bandipur is a short 70 kms from K Gudi.

BRT TR/K. Gudi

Reaching the camp by 11:30 AM gave us opportunity for some pre-lunch birding, in the camp and around the little lake by it. We saw Cinereous tit, Magpie robin, Common myna, unidentified warbler, Asian brown flycatcher, Orange minivet, White-browed wagtail, Red-rumped swallow, Red-whiskered bulbul, Gold-fronted leaf bird, White-cheeked barbet, Jungle babbler, Brahminy kite, Oriental white-eye, Black hooded oriole, unidentified flameback and Spotted dove. And the Black eagle.

On my wish-list for this visit were four stars – Black eagle, Red spurfowl (don’t ask why), Rufous babbler (with a photo-op) and Southern tree shrew – and possibly an elephant mock charge as icing on the cup-cake. The first of these – the Black eagle – was knocked off the list within an hour of reaching camp. And this is not the first time I’ve seen this raptor over the K. Gudi camp.

Gold-fronted leaf bird:

Orange minivet, male:

Cinereous tit:

Incidentally, we stayed in the Biligiri and Nilgiri log huts, farthest down the line and abutting the jungle. I had referred to the Biligiri log hut in my previous K. Gudi trip report post.

The first safari was naturally the evening one. The weather was surprisingly cool and cloudy, a welcome change from the dry, sweltering furnace that was Bangalore. On my last visit, we had an extremely productive time with birds thanks to us being driven on safari by Rajesh. We asked for him this time too and Prasad, the new manager was kind enough to oblige. Rajesh has razor-sharp eyesight, spotting skills like you wouldn’t believe, and is a mustard-keen birder. A worthy successor to Thapa, the legendary driver/spotter of K. Gudi, now retired. With Rajesh, his bins and his copy of Grimmett & Inskipp along, there was not a dull moment on safari. And the forest was fairly throbbing with birdlife despite the time of year.

Barking deer, fawn:

The evening was therefore pleasant enough, with some involved birding. Early into the safari we found a pair of Racket-tailed drongos mobbing a Jungle owlet. These drongos were ubiquitous.

Racket-tailed drongo:

Fairly common also was Magpie robin, Indian blackbird, Jungle myna, Jungle babbler, Bronzed drongo, Indian treepie, Grey junglefowl, Common hawk cuckoo, White-bellied drongo and bulbul (both Red-vented and Red-whiskered).

Rajesh had marked a burrow in the earth tenanted by a Blue-bearded bee-eater and we spent some time watching the bird flit in and out. Both Rajesh and BIL B were keen on getting a picture of the event, but this posed a challenge as getting close enough for a clear line of sight was deterring the bird – although the nest was just off the road and barely a foot off the ground.

Blue-bearded bee-eater:

Other notables were Indian pitta (two separate sightings), Malabar whistling thrush, Green imperial pigeon, Orange-headed thrush, Oriental honey buzzard, Crested serpent eagle, Brown fish owl and Rufous babbler (second item off the wishlist). The much-awaited mock charge didn’t materialize, but we did see a trio of elephants in high grass.

Brown fish owl:

Waking up in camp the next morning to the calls of Jungle owlet, Indian Nightjar, Common hawk cuckoo, Black-hooded oriole, Magpie robin, Hoopoe, and Tufted langur, we set off on what turned out to be a sparkling safari.

Black-hooded oriole:

Common hawk-cuckoo:

We found a quartet of Nilgiri wood pigeons fluttering about a salt lick and spent some time there. We then ran into a Mountain imperial pigeon and the day was starting to look better and better. Red spurfowl went off the wishlist next, although the sighting was a tad too fleeting for comfort. That left just one worthy on the list – the Southern tree shrew.

And as luck would have it, we found a pair of these rodents gamboling on the grass and on a fallen tree, in the open, not very far away, and in perfect light. Of such moments is paradise made. BIL B got a bunch of very decent pictures, and I got a good clear look at Anathana ellioti. Suum cuique!

Southern tree shrew:

Bandipur

The evening safari started off with a spot of rain but this quickly subsided, leaving the jungle cool and glistening. This was a typical Bandipur safari, with plenty of flamebacks and intrepid Stripe-necked mongooses. If BRT is the place for Barking deer that aren’t human-shy, Bandipur is the place for Stripe-necked and Ruddy mongooses.

Stripe-necked mongoose:

Passing by the Anekatte waterhole, Kiran the driver thought he spotted a ‘brown shape’ disappearing into some shrubs, and we stopped there waiting. In a while, someone at the back of the jeep realized that there was an elephant standing just off the road and about seventy meters behind us. It turned out to be a magnificent makhna, and we rolled the jeep back a short way to watch this distraction. The elephant was not too happy with the situation, and showed signs of restless agitation. But he wasn’t sure what do to about it either. Turn tail and flee, or get all belligerent and nasty. And so he kicked his feet, threw dust over himself, stamped around, swayed and did a bunch of things to express his annoyance.

After a while, we decided to leave him to his devices and started up again, stopping briefly by the pool to confirm that the brown shape hadn’t materialized while we weren’t looking. It had not, and off we went. Later on in the safari, we saw another herd of four elephants at some distance.

Sambar hind:

The next morning was better. We entered the forest not by the usual gate right across the road from the reception center, but from the turn-off further down the road, towards the congregation of resorts. A couple of oncoming vehicles reported the presence of dhole further up the road. Passing by a massive herd of chital some hundred strong, we heard alarm calls and stopped. A lone, unseen sambar stag to our right responded with his own belling honk. Scan as we might with binoculars, nothing was visible and the calls presently subsided. This herd was within the perimeter of the camp, with buildings not very far away. Concluding that a snake was the probable cause of all the commotion, we moved on to look for Cuon Alpinus.

The pack came into view in a short while, with the remnants of a chital kill by the road. The dogs had demolished the carcass and were lying around worrying the larger bones when we appeared on the scene. One by one they took themselves off, pausing to stare at us before pattering into the thickets without showing undue haste. We counted six dogs in the pack. The morning light was fine and mellow, and BIL B got some impressive pictures.

Indian wild dog or dhole:

Much later in the safari, we passed by an anti-poaching camp (APC) and a while later, ran into a JLR safari van driver who had news of a tigress kill near this APC. K-turning back, we found what was left of the kill (a sambar hind) hidden just by the road. A lone jungle crow that was making the most of the opportunity and a waiting safari van pointed us to the spot. We waited for a short while before concluding that the tigress had possibly decamped after consuming the kill.

Streak-throated woodpecker:

I made a start with jungle trees during this safari. Six trees were most commonly seen on this route and I learned to ID the ones I earlier couldn’t. Flame of the forest (Butea monosperma), the Crocodile bark tree or kari mathi (Terminalia tomentosa), Axlewood tree (Anogeissus latifolia) with its pale, guava-like bark and clustered, drooping leaves, Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica) with its fern-like foliage, and teak (Tectona grandis). The sixth I haven’t been able to relate to; Kiran used the local term Jaaldar for it. This is a small-to-medium sized tree, vaguely reminiscent of Tabebuia aurea/argentea. I have photographs and should be able to take someone’s help to ID it in a day or two.

Not having paid more attention to trees in BRT TR too was a pity, and I should spend some effort on trees in upcoming trips.

Grey junglefowl, cock:

Black-naped hare:

The List:

BRT TR

Avifauna:

Asian brown flycatcher
Asian fairy bluebird
Black-hooded oriole
Black kite
Blue-bearded bee-eater
Brahminy kite
Bronzed drongo
Brown fish owl
Cinereous tit
Common hawk cuckoo
Common myna
Coucal
Crested serpent eagle
Flameback (?)
Flowerpecker (?)
Gold-fronted leaf bird
Green imperial pigeon
Grey junglefowl
Hill myna
Hoopoe
Indian blackbird
Indian cuckoo (calls)
Indian nightjar (calls)
Indian pitta
Jungle babbler
Jungle myna
Jungle owlet
Large cuckoo shrike
Magpie robin
Malabar whistling thrush
Mountain imperial pigeon
Nilgiri wood pigeon
Orange-headed thrush
Orange minivet
Oriental honey buzzard
Oriental white-eye
Pigmy woodpecker
Plum-headed parakeet
Racket-tailed drongo
Red-rumped swallow
Red spurfowl
Red-vented bulbul
Red-whiskered bulbul
Rufous babbler
Spotted dove
Warbler (?)
White-bellied drongo
White-browed wagtail
White-cheeked barbet
White-throated kingfisher

Mammals:

Barking deer
Elephant
Gaur
Malabar giant squirrel
Southern tree shrew
Spotted deer
Tufted langur
Wild boar

Others:

Terrapin

Bandipur

Avifauna:

Asian paradise flycatcher
Bay-backed shrike
Brahminy starling
Bushlark (?)
Common hawk cuckoo
Coucal
Flameback
Grey junglefowl
Hoopoe
Indian cuckoo (calls)
Jungle babbler
Jungle myna
Magpie robin
Peafowl
Pied bushchat
Plum-headed parakeet
Red-wattled lapwing
Shikra
Spotted dove
Streak-throated woodpecker
White-bellied drongo
White-breasted waterhen
White-browed fantail
White-throated kingfisher

Mammals:

1. Barking deer

2. Dhole

3. Elephant

4. Gaur

5. Sambar

6. Stripe-necked mongoose

7. Tufted langur

8. Black-naped hare

April 14, 2014 by Badri

Meghamalai Reprised, Apr 2014

Trip Report: Meghamalai Willife Sanctuary

Dates: 11-13 Apr 2014

Camp: Vellimalai FRH

Companions: GK, GiK, SS

Revisits to any place tend to be let-downs, primarily because a large part of the pleasure the first time around is in all likelihood, derived from the sheer unexpectedness of it. This trip was an exception. GK and I visited Meghamalai in January this year (blog post here), were unable to get permission to occupy the picturesque Vellimalai FRH, and swore we’d come back to stay there someday. We made good on our promise this time.

This FRH nestles in a spot of great beauty deep inside the forest, is dwarfed by towering riverine forests, and has a stream running by it. Armed with the requisite permission, we were eagerly looking forward to the experience of camping at this beautiful spot. And the experience did not disappoint, despite the heightened expectations.

In terms of the itinerary, we did pretty much the same things we did the last time around – driving up through the Pandian estate to the Vellimalai Murugan temple, and having Thangaraj jeep us up to the Anaikullipallam estate (these are separate outings). In addition to these, we spent the mornings and evenings absorbed in some very pleasant birding in the vicinity of the FRH. This last was probably the most fulfilling part of the trip, given the pleasant surroundings and richness of birdlife around.

We expected sunrise and sunset hours to be especially spectacular around the FRH, and they were. We woke up to the calls of Malabar whistling thrushes, Asian fairy bluebirds (plenty of them around), Hill mynas, Malabar grey hornbills and Grey jungle fowl. On a single tree in the camp, we counted four species of bulbul all at once – Red whiskered, Flame throated, White-browed and Yellow-browed. There were quite a few Black bulbuls around, but they regrettably did not join in the record attempt or else we’d have seen five species of bulbul all on one tree. And this was in addition to a Malabar giant squirrel, a Malabar grey hornbill and a couple of Green barbets that were foraging on the same tree. Elsewhere around the camp we saw Hill myna, Racket-tailed drongo (plenty of both), Malabar whistling thrush, Asian fairy bluebird (dozens of them), Golden oriole, Puff throated babbler, Brown-cheeked fulvetta, Orange minivet, Cinereous tit, Nilgiri flycatcher, Crimson-backed sunbird (plenty of these too), Pond heron, Common kingfisher (both by the stream), Lesser flameback and Nilgiri langur (there were plenty of Bonnet macaque in the camp).

On Saturday evening around sunset, GiK and I took a walk down the road towards a little culvert a short way from the FRH. Incidentally Muniswamy, the forest watcher who accompanied us on our drives had told us of having sighted a tiger on a kill (a cow) beside this culvert a while back. The road runs parallel to the stream that abuts the FRH, and we had gone some distance when we heard splashing and snorting noises from the water below. We were looking forward to (and dreading, at the same time) meeting elephants and naturally assumed we’d hit paydirt. GiK moved around to find a gap in the intervening shrubbery and three sambar went crashing through the water in alarm, splashing up a tremendous din in the silence of the forest.

We resumed our walk and went a little further ahead when sambar alarm calls erupted in the jungle across the stream to our right, and some distance ahead of us. The calls persisted and a Nilgiri langur presently took alarm too. This animal was just off the road to our left, and both calls some hundred meters ahead of us. (We could see neither sambar nor langur). Stealing ahead noiselessly on rubber-soled feet, we reached the culvert. I was desperately hoping for a tiger sighting on foot – an item on my bucket-list that has so far refused to fructify. We planted ourselves on the culvert and waited in silence, but were disappointed when the calls eventually died out. Incidentally, sambar alarm calls also erupted around the FRH a couple of times after sunset, when we were sitting on chairs outside our room.

The eight-kilometer drive through Pandian estate to the Vellimalai Murugan temple was pleasant as ever and very productive as far as birding was concerned. We entered the estate in the evening after the labour-force had departed and had the route to ourselves. Our luck was on a roll this time around. We had searched for but failed to find Lion-tailed macaque the last time around and here they were, a whole troop just off the road. I had mentioned a flashing tree shrew sighting which only GK got a clear look at in January and now I got a clear sighting of Anathana ellioti – the Southern tree shrew. We also saw the White-bellied treepie in the upper reaches. We saw this bird multiple times on this trip – once here and thrice on the Anaikullipallam track. SS was unwell and had elected to stay back, and he got the privilege of sighting Draco dussumieri – the Southern flying lizard – at the FRH.

Anaikullipallam if you recall is eight kilometers or so from the Vellimalai FRH. The road to get there passes through some very rough, lantana-choked, boulder-strewn terrain. The track is far too rough for the Scorp, and hence the need to have Thangaraj jeep us up. Having learnt our lesson from the last trip, we had requested Thangaraj to organize a cooked meal for us at Anaikullipallam.

En route are some three or four estates in various states of disrepair, all of them having been abandoned presumably due to labour shortage. Living quarters built for the hands are empty and dilapidated, having been visited by the occasional marauding elephant. There was an injured or ill gaur – bull or cow we couldn’t tell – just off the road that the men with us said had been sighted around the same spot for a couple of days now. The creature sat in the lantana by the roadside and made some effort to rise and move away at the sight of us.

We got off the jeep a kilometer or so before the Anaikullipallam estate house, and walked the rest of the way looking for birds. The upper reaches are cool and pleasant, with evergreen vegetation interspersed with plantation – coffee and cardamom. We saw what Muniswamy identified as sloth bear scat during the jeep drive, and Dhole scat in the last stretch (we had seen this the last time too). After a modest scratch meal at the estate house, we walked back the same distance and en route ran into a truly exhilarating encounter. GK who has eyes sharp as they come suddenly called out that there was a cobra just off the track. Since some people seem to equate all snakes with cobras, I rather uncharitably assumed he’d spotted a rat snake. Peeping over, I was astonished to find that we were in fact looking at Ophiophagus hannah himself – the King cobra – at a distance of less than six feet. Strikingly dual-toned in yellow and black, the snake had his hood raised two and a half feet off the ground and stood completely motionless. GiK and I were alternating between staring in fascination and fumbling with the wretched camera, which had chosen this of all moments to misbehave. The snake stood there for a full minute, and then lowering its hood, went slithering down the slope at great speed. Regrettably, we found the inadvertent setting change on the camera that had ruined our chance of a picture just after the snake departed.

Two quick points before I end this narration. One, I had been fretting over being unable to identify a call that is common in all our forests at night – it is a ping with a plop-like echo. On this trip, we traced the source to a tree and a torch beam revealed the culprit to be an Indian nightjar. I rechecked Xeno-canto and can only find the chuck-chuck-chuckrrrr calls that are typical of the nightjar.

Second, I had wrongly mentioned the named of the entry checkpost as Manjur in my last post. Turns out it is Manjoothu.

Here are some pictures GiK took – I seem to have completely abandoned my camera for binoculars.

Macaca silenus – the Lion-tailed macaque:

The Vellimalai Murugan temple:

The Vellimalai Murugan temple commands a spectacular view of the surrounding forests:

Malabar giant squirrel:

Indian nightjar, there is some camera shake as the picture was shot under trying conditions, by headlight:

Flameback around the FRH:

Malabar grey hornbill:

Here is a full list of sightings:

Avifauna

Ashy woodswallow
Asian fairy bluebird
Black bulbul
Black-hooded oriole
Brown-cheeked fulvetta
Cinereous tit
Common babbler
Common hawk cuckoo
Common kingfisher
Coucal (call)
Crested serpent eagle
Crimson-backed sunbird
Flame-throated bulbul
Green barbet
Golden oriole
Grey junglefowl
Hill myna
Hoopoe (call)
Indian nightjar
Indian robin
Magpie robin
Malabar grey hornbill
Malabar whistling thrush
Nilgiri flycatcher
Orange minivet
Pond heron
Puff-throated babbler
Purple-rumped sunbird
Racket-tailed drongo
Red-vented bulbul
Red-whiskered bulbul
Spotted dove
Yellow-browed bulbul
Warbler
White-browed bulbul
White-bellied treepie
White-headed babbler
White-throated kingfisher

Mammals
Barking deer (Ganesh only)
Black-naped hare
Bonnet macaque
Gaur
Lion-tailed macaque
Malabar giant squirrel
Nilgiri langur
Palm squirrel
Sambar
Southern tree shrew

Others
King cobra
Southern flying lizard (SS only)

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