BACK FROM MUNNAR

I was on a three day birding trip with K.V Eldhose and my friend in munnar. I don think Eldose needs an introduction. Almost all birders in India know about him. He usually doesn spot birds whereas he tracks them. He took us to a place and played the white bellied shortwing call and the bird came out from no where revealing its identity.

He showed me eight endemics and i got full frame pics of few endemics.The highlight of the trip was the white bellied shortwing, nilgiri pipit, and nilgiri thar.I was extremely happy as i got to spend my 18th birthday with them all( Thars, Pipits, Shortwings, Eldose and my dearest friend).I was presented the Birds of prey of the indian sub continent by Rishad naoroji, a book that i wanted to get for quite sometime.

We reached rather early around 7:00AM to take the bus at eight to Eravikulam national park.It was good we did that for two reasons as the crowd tothe park was a lot and I also managed to get a shot of the Malabar whistling thrush.Soon after we got off the bus we spotted two Nilgiri pipit,and i got good shots of them feeding each other.We walked up the road just for a few metres and we were surrounded by Niligiri Thars(Hemadactylus hylorchis).I got some decent shotsof saddleback(male thar)females, sub adult and kids.

BIRDS:
1)White bellied shortwing
2)Nilgiri pipit
3) nilgiri flycatcher( male,female, juvenile)
4)Greybreasted laughing thrush
5) Black and orange flycatcher
6)nilgiri wood pigeon
7) Rufous babbler
8)Crimson backed sun bird
9)Pacific swallows
10)Velvet fronted nutach
11)Malabar whistling thrush
12)Oriental white eye
13)Balck bul bul
14) White cheeked barbet
15)Little grebe
16)Pond heron
17)Common moorhen
18)Bronzed drongo
19)jungle crow
20)Grey headed canary flycatcher
21)Schimitar Babbler
22)Long tailed shrike
23)jungle babbler
24)Lesser cormorant
25)Yellow browed bul bul
26)Red spur fowl
27)Pied bushchat
28)Painted bushquail
29)Red vented bul bul
30) Red whiskered bul bul
31)Red watled lapwing
32)Asian palm swift
33)Paddy field pipit
34)Grey jungle fowl
35)Common kestrel
36)Crested serpent eagle
Mammals:
1)nilgiri thar
2)Dusky stripped squrriel

After munnar i am going to my native for a three day break then starting again to Badhra, Daroji and bhemeswari. then i am heading back to chennai on 10th as my college re opens on the 11th.i hope the connection is fast enough to upload pics from the field.

curent mood: happy

cheers,
ram.

Birthday with thars, shortwings and pipits

After kabini i set out on a long journey to munnar for a three day birding trip with the bird man Eldhose. I spent my birthday with nilgiri thars, white bellied shortwings, nilgiri pipits and few more birds. As the net is very slow here in munnar i will post my images and trip report soon.

current mood: celebration

cheers,
ram

Trip updates

A week in bandipur was kind of dull. Sighted few birds. Got few good shots of stripe necked mongoose,crested serpent eagle and streak throated woodpecker. I am listing the sightings below.





BIRDS:
1) common hoopoe
2) pied bushchat
3) common myna
4) jungle myna
5) streak throated woodpecker
6) red vented bulbul
7) yellow footed green pigeon
8) brahminy myna
9) white breasted water hen
10) grey jungle fowl
11) lesser flameback
12) black drongo
13) paddy field pipit
14) white bellied woodpecker
15) crested serpent eagle
16) peacock
17) spotted dove
18) yellow billed babbler
19) rose ringed parakeet
20) great tit
21) red wattled lapwing
22) chestnut headed bee eater
23) Indian roller
24) Pond heron
25) Grey heron
26) Dabchicks
27) Greater egret
28) Spot billed duck
29) Little egret
30) Tickell’s blue flycatcher
31) Fantail flycatcher
32) Red spur fowl
33) Indian bushlark
34) Brahminy kite
35) Indian robin
36) Lesser cormorant
37) Grey heron



MAMMALS:
1) spotted deer
2) sambhar deer
3) barking deer
4) wild dogs(A pack of 6)
5) elephants
6) stripe necked mongoose
7) common langur
8) Indian gaur
9) Wild boar

BRT was my next target just few hours drive from Bandipur.It was not all that great,as I missed leopard and wild dogs only sighted few birds(more or less the usual ones).

A long and tiring drive to Kabini I reached the place at 3:45 missing the route couple of times.I was just in time for the safari at 4:00PM.Dumping my luggage I rushed with my equipment taking the first jeep inside.Just 500 metres from the checkpost I glimpsed the royal being of the world.By the time we reached he was just moving away from the salt lick.I thought I missed the most exciting happening.But as I took out my new 200-400 with D2xs and clicked in continuous mode for half a second which made the tiger look into my new lens.I am always unlucky on the field,but that instance made me think I am lucky enough.I managed to get my first few shots of Tiger, from south India in the lush surroundings behind the backwaters of Kabini.

The second day as usual extremely dull sightings with just a few birds and the usual elephants at the back waters of Kabini.



Day Three was spectacular!!Ever since I saw the Planet earth footage of the complete wild dog hunt,I was yearning to photograph some what similar event in India and it happened today. It was a gloomy evening to be precise 5:45PM in the Nagarahole national park.The jeep driver and me were sitting in the front and having an eye level view of the hunt and kill. A pack of seven wild dogs( Cuon alphinus) was on a spotted deer(Axis axis) kill. I was urging the driver to stop the vehicle quite far from the happening but my driver cleverly stopped it parallel.It helped me witness and photograph the entire process of wild dogs on a huge male stag. When I started photographing the sky opened up and the golden evening light was falling on the dogs. Few dogs finished their share and were resting whereas One removed the eye of the stag and was feedingon it. My day was made, wild dog removing the eye of the stag on a golden evening light, eye level 25 feet near the jeep. Wow! What more could a photographer ask for?!i just clicked few pictures and witnessed how the wilddogs were feeding on the stag.

My trip was done.last day was again a normal day with elephants and few birds. The late evening of the last day turned out to be rather entertaining. If not for me it was definitely for the others. sipping cold whisky in the bar, I was showing the pictures I clicked in kabini this time to my naturalist friends at kabini.

current mood: happy and energetic

cheers,

ram