India Nov (2020 - postponed) (2021 - postponed again) 2022: First time (for Alex), mostly birding (for all)

[xelas]

While our 3rd day of birding started at a "normal" morning time of 6am, outside was still pitch dark. Just outside of the lodge gate's Savio spotted a movement along the gravel road. It was too dark to even understand what or where the subject was. However again the modern technique and software came to the rescue. Warning: heavy duty post processing was used on below photos (bar the first one). Anyway, the animal might be a Jungle Cat ... or just a domestic cat gone astray. The answer to this question only the cat knows .

 

 

 

 

 

Half an hour later another wildlife alert! This time it was easy to ID the subject.

 

Golden Jackal

 

 

Driving further we have passed by some rice fields and stopped at a small village, where the main attraction was the tree. Not just any tree but a fruiting tree. And with the fruits comes the birds. In our case two target birds.

 

 

 

 

Malabar Grey Hornbill

 

 

Malabar Pied-Hornbill

 

 

After taking a couple of hundreds shots we moved to our next birding destination - Timber depot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Galana]

Some good birds there. Loved the food.

[xelas]

Just around the corner there was our next birding location. Timber depot is a governmental owned, and obviously an attractive place for both locals to do some jogging and for birders. And for all kind of domestic wildlife.

 

That is how an average truck looks like in India. I am sure that it would not pass our technical inspection. Too many non-homologated changes on it .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is not a proper forest, more like a tree plantation. Logs of all varieties and ages are just laying around. Our main targets here were woodpeckers. They were all staying up in the treetop but many trees were without leaves so at least the views were not obscure ... but not always.

 

 

 

White-bellied Woodpecker

 

Black-rumped Flameback

 

Brown-capped Woodpecker

 

Also some smaller birds were there, like this Jerdon's Leafbird.

 

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by xelas

[Soukous]

We almost had to delay our visit to the timber yard while @xelaschecked out the local practitioner

 

I was not sure which ailment he wanted attending to 

[Dave Williams]

38 minutes ago, Soukous said:

 

 

I was not sure which ailment he wanted attending to 

More than one perhaps?

I think I need to book a trip too!!!

 

 

[michael-ibk]

Oh my @Soukous, not the way you´d want a trip to start - really sorry to hear about all the difficulties you had!

 

Other than that, great start to the report, really enjoying it. Love all the birds, even those on bottles. I do have fond memories of Kingfisher beer.

[Galana]

9 hours ago, Soukous said:

I was not sure which ailment he wanted attending to 

Fans of Jerome K.Jerome would suggest 'Housemaids knee' is missing from that list.

 

@xelasForgot to mention that your moggie was just that. Jungle cat does not have such bold markings.

[xelas]

Sorry for delayed second part of Birding Day 3 (11/Nov) report. Here it is now.

 

For lunch Savio took us to a place where he knows we could get one more kingfisher. And that the food is also good. Wild Kasarwadi - www.wildkasarwadi.com - is about 25 km / 45 min from Dandeli (Timber depot). Once out of the town there are rice fields and nature and generally nice countryside.

 

 

 

 

 

Wild Kasarwadi is relatively new property owned by a young and enthusiastic owner. It is kind of a work in progress the owner wants to establish it as a birding and general wildlife lodge but not for mass tourism. There are two different types of cottages and both looks very comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is one bird hide (and more are planned) yet we did not go to the hide as it was noon and not much of a bird activity there. Instead we went to a nearby creek where we hoped to find theBlue-eared Kingfisher. After some waiting and playing the game of seek&hide it finally get to the branch where a decent photo was possible. It is very similar to the Common Kingfisher, both in size and in colours. Judge for yourself.

 

Common Kingfisher

 

Blue-eared Kingfisher

 

And one more small blue bird (is it any better than yours, Martin?).

 

Verditer Flycatcher 

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by xelas

[xelas]

Before lunch we have walked around the property. Flowers are attracting nice butterflies. These are even more difficult to photograph in flight than birds.

 

Malabar Tree-Nymph - Idea malabarica

 

 

 

 

Lunch was served in the main house. Open plan and no walls let the breeze to cool the interior. As elsewhere food was buffet style, very tasty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our way back to the Old Magazine House we have encountered one more Woodpecker and a surprised mongoose.

 

Greater Flameback

 

Indian Grey Mongoose

 

 

Savio has arranged with the HQ that we can get back to the bird hide at Old Magazine House in the afternoon, to see if there will be an appearance of a White-tailed Shama. No luck for us, and also the bird activity on that day was much less than the day before. 

 

 

So it was time to return to Goa. At some point Savio stopped abruptly (just at a small bridge over a river) and he was really excited to show us what we could only hear but not see. Then the birds decided to move out of the dense bush. At 6pm it was almost completely dark. Both Martin and I we have taken shots like a blind persons. For below photo my camera settings are: ISO 6400, f/5.6, 1/50 sec!! Handheld of course. But our efforts were rewarded as we have a rare encounter with a noisy bird(s).

 

Rufous Babbler

 

 

A long night drive with border crossing got us home late again.

 

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by xelas

[Soukous]

18 hours ago, xelas said:

And one more small blue bird (is it any better than yours, Martin?)

 

as a gentleman I will say "Yes, of course it is"

[xelas]

1 hour ago, Soukous said:

as a gentleman I will say "Yes, of course it is"

 Always a gentleman, Martin! But with croissants ... 

[Soukous]

6 minutes ago, xelas said:

 Always a gentleman, Martin! But with croissants ... 

 

Q - when is a croissant not a croissant?

 

A - when it comes in a plastci packet and is filled with jalapeno cheese flavoured goo

 

only in India 

[xelas]

With first 3 days of birding we have reached the half time of forecasted 6 days birding with mr. Savio. And he must have also reached his threshold of guiding two not-that-very-focused and not-that-very-silent gentlemen. So for day 4 we have had a new guide & driver ... his son Aidan. Not that the two persons described above were unhappy. And also Zvezda enjoyed some change in her birding life .

 

What did not changed was the middle of the night wake-up call. We were promised to see a very rare woodpecker. Been there seen the tree (no photo as posting a photo of a palm tree trunk is not all that interesting) but no woodpecker at home. Thus we drove a bit further to a village where there was a fruiting tree. We walked around the villa and along the small stream and did get some nice birds.

 

 

 

Black-throated Munia

 

A curious Jungle Babbler

 

And even more curious Vernal Hanging Parrot

 

An almost adult Asian Koel

 

 

Zvezda has her eyes also for other animals, domestic and wild.

 

 

 

 

Indian Jezebel - Delies eucharis

 

 

Aidan is a bright young man and he realised that the two older gentlemen can have only that much birding without some kind of a breakfast ... and rest. Time to check our morning photos.

 

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by xelas

[xelas]

The main location of this day was Bondla Zoo. Not the zoo itself but the approach road to the zoo which goes along a creek and through the forest. Another location where I and martin were having problems to focus on the bird "in that tree, branch on the left side". Luckily Aidan understood our age and eyesight problems so he did not forced us to find each and every bird he has found. 

 

Before starting to bird along that road we have stopped at a location that was more open. After parking the car, Zvezda and Martin has the fun time with a Purple-rumped Sunbird who was apparently in love with oneself! He was doing a birdlife variant of a selfie !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by xelas

[xelas]

More photos and sights from that location. 

 

Plum-headed Parakeet

 

Red-vented Bulbul (haven't posted one for days)

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I was positively impressed by nature side of India I was, let me say politely, quite unimpressed by its other side. At least where I was able to experience the daily life, it was kinda drab when I compare it to the colourful sights we have encountered all over Sri Lanka. It might be that we have not been to the right places. Above is the best I could find in our photo library.

 

[xelas]

Bondla Zoo road is highly valued among local and foreign birders. It is a twisty tar road where there are not many places to park the car. Luckily there is no other traffic than those going to and from the zoo (at least that was my impression). Bird photography is challenging here, forest is dense and light is low.

 

 

 

Coppersmith Barbet

 

Gray Wagtail

 

 

Along the road there is more sunshine however most of the birds preferred to stay in the shade .

 

A young Rhesus Macaque and his older brother (or cousin)

 

 

King Crow - Euploea klugii

 

Crimson-backed Sunbird

 

 

And back to the shady side of the birding .

 

Black-hooded Oriole

 

Indian Paradise-Flycatcher (because it is one beautiful bird)

 

Brown-breasted Flycatcher

 

 

 

[xelas]

At the zoo entrance we have met Savio; he did not take a free day but was guiding another client. I have stayed with them two for some time and can say that this client was much more focused on birding than me ... plus it only has binoculars so spotting and moving around was much quicker.

 

 

Local biker's chapter

 

Only dreams

 

 

By 2pm we were on our (happy) way back to the lodge. Finally Martin got the opportunity to explore the gardens ... and the pool. For obvious reasons no photos of him enjoying the refreshing moments in the pool ; nor anymore of me.

 

 

 

 

That evening we have been invited by Martin to join him for the dinner at his friend's house who are living in Goa. It was a special evening where we met two very kind and interesting persons ... Sucheta and Hans. Thank you both to let us into your wonderful home, and for sharing your extensive knowledge and memories with us!

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by xelas

[Soukous]

There is not a lot I can add to the narrative, @xelashas it well covered and I have a dreadful habit of not taking photos of things that I will not want to look at later, so very few roadside shots and absolutely no selfies.

 

The most colourful moments of the day were the Purple-rumped Sunbird that was obsessed with the mirror on our car. He just could not get enough of himself. The other was when we found a Malabar Grey Hornbill eating some fruit. It was our best sighting of this bird as it was close to us, at a good height rather than being in a tree-top and he stayed there long enough even for slow people like me to get photos.

 

 

and when he had finished, an Asian Koel took his place at the table

 

 

The half an hour we spent staring at a dead palm tree trunk in the early morning murk is time I will never get back.

 

The other memorable moment for me was Savio sulking because my frustration had got the better of me and I chastised him (verbally) for his useless directions when he was trying to help us locate a bird he had seen.

Seriously, we were in a forest so directions like ' in amongst the leaves' or 'on the branch' were not a great deal of help.  

I asked him why he didn't just use a laser pointer like other guides in India and he told me 'we don't do that here' .  Really???

Edited December 19, 2022 by Soukous

[xelas]

1 hour ago, Soukous said:

an Asian Koel took his place at the table

 That is a juvenile bird thus without signature red eyes.

[Galana]

A great tour with many insights. Thanks for sharing. Gray Wagtail but Grey Hornbill. eBird's corruption continues.

8 hours ago, Soukous said:

Seriously, we were in a forest so directions like ' in amongst the leaves' or 'on the branch' were not a great deal of help.  

If you have not been, do try Uganda. You ain't heard nuthin yet.

I have found that even a few inches left or right, back or forth can show or hide the bird from two viewers. Even ones height or lack of it can be a problem. My guide is trained just to stand still whilst I move directly in front or behind so that our line of sight matches. 99% success rate. The 1% is when the little bugger has flown off.

[Kitsafari]

stunning shots all around but that narcisstic purple-rumped sunbird is spectacular! all those shots of the food are making me droool, reminding me the yummy food we had in India. 

 

@Soukous I share your frustration with terrible direction guidance. it reminded me of our time on the lakes in the Belum primary forest, and the guide pointed to a hornbill on a tree somewhere on a hillside full of mature tall trees, and he said "that tree". full stop. right. 

 

fortunately, not all guides are like that otherwise we would never ever get any birds in the jungles or forests! 

[janzin]

13 hours ago, Soukous said:

I asked him why he didn't just use a laser pointer like other guides in India and he told me 'we don't do that here' .

We make it a practice to bring our own.  That way if the guide doesn't have one we can lend it to him. Unfortunately I've yet to find a reliable one (laser pointer, not guide They always seem to break.

[Soukous]

4 hours ago, janzin said:

We make it a practice to bring our own.  That way if the guide doesn't have one we can lend it to him. Unfortunately I've yet to find a reliable one (laser pointer, not guide They always seem to break.

 

I do have one, but for some reason I never take it with me. That may change. 

[xelas]

Refreshed and rejuvenated and with not that early of a start time, we have started our 5th birding day. Savio was also back, and he took us to a different location ... to the open spaces of Banastari Wetlands near Carambolin Lake. It is a large lake with a marshy part. It was a lovely sunny day, excellent conditions for bird photography ... finally.

 

 

 

 

 

There is a small path crossing the marsh however in the middle a dip for the water to move was too deep for Martin and me to cross it. Zvezda and Savio were wearing their rubber boots thus we split our birding locations.

 

 

Zvezda's main targets were smaller birds in the grass while I was trying to get a few useable birds in flight shots.

 

From Zvezda:

 

Long-tailed Shrike

 

Pied Bushchat

 

Siberian Stonechat

 

Indian Jezebel

 

 

From Alex:

 

Purple Heron

 

White-fronted Kingfisher

 

Pied Kingfisher

 

White-bellied Sea-Eagle juvenile

 

 

Also present were waders and when we came back to the small village at the edge of the marsh, an injured bird on the wire.

 

Wood Sandpiper

 

Indian Roller

 

 

While India is not known to be among the countries that have good record with recycling waste, the amount of the garbage found in and around that tiny settlement was really disturbing. 

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by xelas

[Soukous]

31 minutes ago, xelas said:

Zvezda's main targets were smaller birds in the grass while I was trying to get a few useable birds in flight shots.

 

and I was coming to terms with the futility of trying of compete with the dynamic duo