Wednesday 14 December 2016

Birds and birds....Dandeli & Ganeshgudi

Day 1 - Safari to Kali Tiger Reserve - this place is supposed to have the maximum density of black panthers and leopards are also supposed to be quite a few in number. Tigers have been spotted too....well none of the above during our safari.
The Jungle Lodges & Resorts (JLR) property - Kali River Resort on the banks of the river Kali was our place of stay for 2 nights.
I was clear...irrespective of animal sighting, I needed to shoot birds and the same was communicated to our guide - Arjun.

A 2 hour safari over a 20km area yielded the following beauties -

Leaf Bird - Perfect camouflage

White Rumped Shama - a song bird with one of the sweetest voices. Its quite rare. This is a male.

A juvenile Serpent Eagle - Difficult to spot unless keenly observed

Kingfishers - the second one is a white breasted kingfisher


A group of Ashy swallows - very aggressive birds...observe the beaks!


A bronze winged Jacana - hope you can spot it!

Day 1 - Coracle ride - on the river Kali - some finds...


Red wattled Lapwing


Wooly necked Stork

The same evening, instead of another safari, we decided to go to Ganeshgudi - considered to be a bird watcher's paradise. It indeed was!
Old Magazine House at Ganeshgudi is a small JLR property. The land around the property has been cordoned off at a certain point with a screen, behind which people can set up their cameras and shoot the wild birds that fly in and out. 
A set up has been created with bird baths, artificial stumps and some orchids etc made to grow on these stumps....the birds enjoy the baths, play around, keep flitting from one post to another. 
It's a visual treat with all the yellows, blues, reds, browns, blacks and whites. 
Even if you are not an avid bird watcher or photographer, just watching nature's play is a soothing sight. It definitely will bring a smile onto your face:)

Robin after a bath

Frolicking in the bath

Oriental White Eye (OWE)


Tickell's blue flycatcher


Red backed sunbird

White bellied blue flycatcher



Blue Naped Monarch (BNM)

Yellow Warbler

Paradise Flycatcher



Artificial banana flower

Mushrooms

Yellow cheeked Tit

Emerald winged dove


Orange headed thrush

Black bird

Puff throated warbler


There are too many pictures and while I've tried to keep limited ones in this blog, to show case each bird, I have had to ensure that at least 1 picture is put up.
There is another whole story that unfolded the next day, but those birds are completely different from the ones here and so would like to keep them separate.

Images are a copyright of Supraja & TJ Shankaran
















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