Bandipur Calling!

The weekend after Pozu's birthday was going to be at one of favorite Jungle Lodges in Bandipur. Gowri's cub Prince was being sighted quite often in the tourism zone and we were hopeful of catching a glimpse of the young male tiger ruling the area that once his mother reigned upon. An early morning start ensured that we were able to do a customary stop at the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary. The migratory birds had yet to arrive and so we just decided to do a short boat ride and let the kids enjoy watching the crocodiles.



We reached Bandipur in time for lunch and got ready for our first safari in the afternoon. The weather was pleasant and the light was good, both conditions hinted towards poor sightings in the forest. And that's exactly what happened as well, the forest was nice and quiet and although one of the vehicles saw a glimpse of a leopard, the big cats remained pretty much elusive.

But we did have some good time watching a herd of elephants taking a dip in the pond as the sun was about to set in the background. Although this wasn't the best setup from a photography standpoint, it was an awesome experience just to witness how the jumbos helped each other down the steep incline of the pond and were enjoying in the water.



This lady streak-throated woodpecker gave us some nice opportunities to shoot with a clean green background.



Next day morning we spotted a Changeable Hawk Eagle sitting in between tall grass and we were wondering why it was sitting down there.



Just then it flew with a Pond Heron clenched in its talons and perched on a branch far away from the track. What followed was a series of feather tearing action to start feeding on the flesh. I am sure this was just a snack for the huge raptor who are known to hunt smaller monkeys as well.



A huge alpha males gaur leading the herd that was grazing besides the track was an awesome sight to watch as well. Although they're usually pretty calm and avoid proximity to the jeeps, there have been few reports of aggressive behaviors by these largest wild cattle. Weighing more than a tonne at times, these males can be a serious threat if provoked.



Overall, it was a good trip and more so because I hadn't been to Bandipur in quite a while and it was just nice to be there. Our luck with the big cats didn't really work out this time, but that's a part of these wildlife trips, you shouldn't read too much into that anyway.

A Quick Trip To Bandipur and K'Gudi

Having been to Kabini a couple of times already, we wanted to visit some of the other national parks around here. Bandipur used to be my favorite hangout a few years back but Kabini had taken over that position ever since. The sightings at Bandipur had slowed down after the tigress "Gowri" died early last year and her cubs have taken to their own separate ways. There is a handsome male "Prince" who is now the ruling champion of the tourism zone in Bandipur but it's not everyday that he is being sighted.

Bookings at Jungle Lodges are always difficult to get unless you're going on a weekday, we could barely manage to get a one day booking at Bandipur. So we decided to add another day at K'Gudi which is one of those places where I've always wanted to go but never ended up going. Being the peak summer time, we were thinking we may get a bit lucky at either of the places.



The safari ride in Bandipur was pretty quiet, there was a recent forest fire that had charred quite a large area of the jungle and the wildlife was just adjusting to it. With a little help from the summer rains new grass had begun to emerge from the otherwise parched landscape. Most of the water holes were running dry except a few which had minimal water remaining.



It was good to be back in Bandipur after a relatively long time. Our safaris however were pretty quiet and uneventful, to the extent that I hadn't pulled out the camera more than a couple of times. But that's how unpredictable these wildlife trips can be, sometimes you're busy throughout the safari with lots of action happening all around and other times you just sit around admiring the vistas without needing to pickup your camera even once.



The next day we reached K'Gudi, the JLR property here is within the buffer area of the forest so there is no demarcation between you and the wildlife. There isn't a regular power supply available and the power generator is intermittently used through the day. At night, there is no power supply and each tent is supplied with a kerosene lantern as emergency lighting system. It's a really nice experience to be staying in the wild and I could hear numerous chital and sambar calls through the night signalling the presence of the striped cat nearby. On checking with the staff, they told me that the resort actually falls into the area of one of the tigresses and the warning calls are pretty much an everyday affair. There were also some reports of a kill being sighted about a kilometer away from the resort behind the hill that surrounds it on the back side. No wonder that they discourage guests from loitering outside their tents/cottages in the night once the lights go off.



The safari at K'Gudi was a lot different than what we've done at Bandipur or Kabini. The whole area is hilly and visibility isn't all that great. The chances of sighting a tiger or leopard isn't as high as some of the other reserves, but if you do get lucky, people have had a wonderful time photographing them. The bird life on the other hand, is one of the highlights of K'Gudi, even a casual glance around the resort will yield a lot of different species to be recorded. Another difference is the barking deer population at K'Gudi is significantly higher than Bandipur or Kabini, it could be because of favorable terrain or the food availability.



There is a bird bath created just outside the dining hall and once the breakfast or lunch event is over, you can see a lot of birds coming down there for a dip and drink. The oriental white eyes, shyamas, robins etc are regular visitors of this place. We noticed it only on the next day while having breakfast and didn't get much time to spend there, but it's on my to-do list for the next time.

A Special Birthday Treat

It was time for my birthday and we hadn't done any trips to Kabini or Bandipur even once in this year. So it was decided that we will be spending a couple of days at Kabini to celebrate and I couldn't have asked for anything better.



The summer was just starting and the dry forests usually have a lot more action than the other seasons. The Kabini River Lodge is one of my personal favorite jungle resorts, and it is always exciting to be there. Pozu also enjoys the place a lot, she actually starts missing it if we don't visit there for a while. But more than the resort, this time I was more keen on getting some good sightings in our safaris, and I wasn't disappointed.



On the first day itself, we had an amazing leopard sighting for almost an hour where the huge male cat posed endlessly for our cameras. This guy is one of the boldest leopards we've seen in Kabini and he really put on a nice display of his dominance that day.



The next day's safari was also quite eventful with another leopard resting on a tree. But what was even more interesting was the jungle fowl posing for us in superb morning light.



A sambar deer at the backwaters made for an excellent shot with the glittering water in the background.



During our last safari, we saw a couple of elephants along with a baby crossing the safari track in a hurry. On closer inspection, we found that the baby had developed some kind of an infection on its right hind leg and wasn't able to walk properly. The mother and probably an aunt were being protective and keeping close at all times. It was painful to see the little one suffer, but that is nature's way of ensuring only the tough ones survive in the wild and strike a balance in the ecosystem. Hopefully, the baby will make full recovery and be able to walk pretty soon.

Birding at Ganeshgudi - Nov 2013

Pozu's b'day celebrations were followed by a quick weekend trip to Ganeshgudi. The Jungle Lodge guys have a property by the name of Old Magazine House there. It's an awesome place and offers excellent birding opportunities, especially for the lazy arm-chair birder like me.

The JLR team has setup water bowls around a specific area which attracts a lot of the resident bird population all through the day. The place offers excellent photography opportunities since the position of the bowls can be modified based on need to get a proper background etc.

All you need is patience to sit around waiting for the little birds to arrive and then your camera can be let loose. Here are a few snapshots from the place.

Orange Headed Ground Thrush


White Bellied Blue Flycatcher (Male)


White Bellied Blue Flycatcher (Female)


Asian Paradise Flycatcher (Male)


Flame Throated Bulbul


Sadly we just had a one day booking at the place and so the next day we went around Dandeli to see if we can get the Great Indian Hornbill, but instead returned back with some distant sightings of the Malabar Pied Hornbill and the Grey Hornbills.

Malabar Pied Hornbill