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| Gliricidia seen in Goa |
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| ...and then in Rishi Valley too |
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| such beautiful bunches from this small tree |
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Gliricidia sepium
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Goa - post mining bans
Return of the flying jewel | Life | Times Crest
Rare orchids, butterflies and wild mammals have started reappearing in their natural habitat - the delicate biosphere mauled by the now-banned mining operations in Goa.
In the hullabaloo following the ban on mining in Goa, a quiet visitor arrived just before Christmas. A sprig of green glow (Dendrobium ovatum) blossomed on some laterite boulders on a road in Pilgao, a village in the mining heartland of Bicholim taluka. Yellowish-white and delicate, the orchid, though endemic to this part of Goa, has not blossomed for the last 25 years. But three months after mining in India's smallest state was halted - first on September 10 by the local government, then on October 5 by the Supreme Court - the dust-free air allowed the flower to bloom. The orchid spread its petals not just on its usual perch, the indigenous, moist deciduous or evergreen trees, but also on the orange stone that is mined for construction. Naturalists say this is one of the several signs that nature is springing back to life in Goa's badly mauled mining regions. In Mayem village, about 4 km from Pilgao, local resident Sandeep Gajanan Desai found a mouse deer stray into his house on October 31. "When mining was under way in Bicholim taluka, the noise and pollution of the operations kept wild animals away. With the operations stopped, the animals are slowly returning to these parts, " says Amrutsingh, head of the Bicholimbased Animal Rescue Squad.
With their natural habitat largely destroyed, the animals are straying into human settlements. "We have received several reports of wild boar being sighted in fields and plantations, that too during the day, " says Amrutsingh.
His words find an echo about 100 km away in Sanguem taluka's Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary. Range officer Prakash Salelkar says the sanctuary had been badly affected by mining. "But from the time the trucks transporting ore have gone off the roads we have had reports of animal sightings. We even spotted a gaur crossing a road. "
Residents of nearby Colomb village say they have heard the tiger lord over his territory again. While residents of Vaghurem, a village in Sattari taluka etymologically linked to the big cat, say they have noticed the movement of leopards again.
Although it forms just 0. 11 per cent of India's geographical area, Goa, till four months ago, was among the country's leading producers and exporters of iron and manganese ores. In its 2008 study State Of India's Environment, the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment found that Goa's majestic mountains - the Western Ghats - hold 4 per cent of India's iron ore and 8 per cent of its manganese ore reserves. About 8 per cent of Goa's total area is under mining - the highest in the country.
Tellingly, 70 of Goa's 105 mining leases, dating back to when the Portuguese ruled, are located in or near the Western Ghats and the three wildlife sanctuaries and one national park they hold. In its August 31, 2011 report, the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel documented 31 mining leases - seven of these working mines - within 2 km of wildlife sanctuaries and 13 leases within 1 km of the sanctuaries.
It recommended an indefinite moratorium on new environmental clearances for mining in ecologically-sensitive zones like wildlife sanctuaries and national parks as "these are significant for their biological, ecological, economical, cultural and historical values and are sensitive to external and natural pressures".
The Western Ghats, after all, are one of the 12 ecological hotspots of the planet. Traversing the eastern landscape of Goa, these mountains are home to 447 bird species, 1, 512 plant species, 48 genera of mammals and 60 genera of reptiles.
While the mining industry has often been described as the backbone of Goa's economy, irresponsible and environmentally-destructive practices have consistently damaged the ecological backbone of the state.
Thrilled with the revival sprouting post the mining ban, Madhav Gadgil, chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, says scientists must guide teachers and students of schools and colleges to document this biodiversity revival. "Villagers should also be educated to take note of these changes, " he says.
It could be a step in the right direction. After all, for over two decades, the Malabar gliding nymph butterfly had not been spotted in one of its home-pads - Sattari taluka's Pissurlem village that is home to four mines. Then on November 12, just two months into the mining ban, the 'flying jewel' was spotted in a plantation in the Avalimol hamlet. The Southern Birdwing, India's largest butterfly, was also spotted in the first week of November in a field in Goa's largest mining corridor of Cavrem in Sanguem taluka. Rejuvenation is under way in Pissurlem village. While the tailing pond of a mine in Panshem hamlet is slowly sprouting green again, there's revival also in the near-destroyed sacred groves - community-conserved forested areas that contain ancient idols and medicinal trees. No longer dust laden, the ancient trees are abuzz with chirping birds and offer a welcome respite to visitors. The scene is repeated at the Mhardano sacred grove in nearby Surla, while in Honda, resident Gurudas Samant, a retired school headmaster, says, "The sacred grove of Ajobachi Rai is full of bird song once again. The only sound we heard till a few months ago was the roar of the ore-laden trucks. " Back in Pilgao, about 7 km away, residents of Khandola have started clam harvesting in the River Mandovi. Till four months ago this section of one of Goa's two main water lifelines was deeply silted with rejects from the 25-odd mines in the vicinity. The River Kalai in Sanguem taluka would also flow blood red throughout the year. But with the mines shut and the hundreds of barges no longer clogging the water channels, the waters flow blue again, the beds, once more, serving up a bounty for the people.
BACK TO EARTH
While nature is sprouting a quiet revival, the ban on mining is also seeing residents of many villages in or near mines head back to their fields and plantations.
Once the only sources of livelihood, agriculture and horticulture in several villages along the mining belt-talukas of Sattari, Bicholim, Sanguem, Quepem and Dharbandora suffered quick deaths as miners excavated the earth's bowels and emptied out the groundwater table. Unable to cultivate in the absence of water, several ryots and horticulturists in these villages became mining truck operators or workers in the mines.
With mining in Goa under a ban since September 10, 2012, reports of villagers going back to their fields and plantations are streaming in.
In Quepem's Cavrem village, mining activist Nilesh Gaonkar says, "With no air pollution and reduced silt in the water bodies, locals are going back to tilling their lands. "
Raghu Gaonkar says the same is under way in his village of Sanvordem in Sattari taluka. "What is most heartening, " he says, "is that the youth, who were fighting for the ban on mining to be lifted, are slowly returning to their fields and to agriculture. "
Signposts
Return of the flying jewel
In the hullabaloo following the ban on mining in Goa, a quiet visitor arrived just before Christmas. A sprig of green glow (Dendrobium ovatum) blossomed on some laterite boulders on a road in Pilgao, a village in the mining heartland of Bicholim taluka. Yellowish-white and delicate, the orchid, though endemic to this part of Goa, has not blossomed for the last 25 years. But three months after mining in India's smallest state was halted - first on September 10 by the local government, then on October 5 by the Supreme Court - the dust-free air allowed the flower to bloom. The orchid spread its petals not just on its usual perch, the indigenous, moist deciduous or evergreen trees, but also on the orange stone that is mined for construction. Naturalists say this is one of the several signs that nature is springing back to life in Goa's badly mauled mining regions. In Mayem village, about 4 km from Pilgao, local resident Sandeep Gajanan Desai found a mouse deer stray into his house on October 31. "When mining was under way in Bicholim taluka, the noise and pollution of the operations kept wild animals away. With the operations stopped, the animals are slowly returning to these parts, " says Amrutsingh, head of the Bicholimbased Animal Rescue Squad.
With their natural habitat largely destroyed, the animals are straying into human settlements. "We have received several reports of wild boar being sighted in fields and plantations, that too during the day, " says Amrutsingh.
His words find an echo about 100 km away in Sanguem taluka's Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary. Range officer Prakash Salelkar says the sanctuary had been badly affected by mining. "But from the time the trucks transporting ore have gone off the roads we have had reports of animal sightings. We even spotted a gaur crossing a road. "
Residents of nearby Colomb village say they have heard the tiger lord over his territory again. While residents of Vaghurem, a village in Sattari taluka etymologically linked to the big cat, say they have noticed the movement of leopards again.
Although it forms just 0. 11 per cent of India's geographical area, Goa, till four months ago, was among the country's leading producers and exporters of iron and manganese ores. In its 2008 study State Of India's Environment, the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment found that Goa's majestic mountains - the Western Ghats - hold 4 per cent of India's iron ore and 8 per cent of its manganese ore reserves. About 8 per cent of Goa's total area is under mining - the highest in the country.
Tellingly, 70 of Goa's 105 mining leases, dating back to when the Portuguese ruled, are located in or near the Western Ghats and the three wildlife sanctuaries and one national park they hold. In its August 31, 2011 report, the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel documented 31 mining leases - seven of these working mines - within 2 km of wildlife sanctuaries and 13 leases within 1 km of the sanctuaries.
It recommended an indefinite moratorium on new environmental clearances for mining in ecologically-sensitive zones like wildlife sanctuaries and national parks as "these are significant for their biological, ecological, economical, cultural and historical values and are sensitive to external and natural pressures".
The Western Ghats, after all, are one of the 12 ecological hotspots of the planet. Traversing the eastern landscape of Goa, these mountains are home to 447 bird species, 1, 512 plant species, 48 genera of mammals and 60 genera of reptiles.
While the mining industry has often been described as the backbone of Goa's economy, irresponsible and environmentally-destructive practices have consistently damaged the ecological backbone of the state.
Thrilled with the revival sprouting post the mining ban, Madhav Gadgil, chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, says scientists must guide teachers and students of schools and colleges to document this biodiversity revival. "Villagers should also be educated to take note of these changes, " he says.
It could be a step in the right direction. After all, for over two decades, the Malabar gliding nymph butterfly had not been spotted in one of its home-pads - Sattari taluka's Pissurlem village that is home to four mines. Then on November 12, just two months into the mining ban, the 'flying jewel' was spotted in a plantation in the Avalimol hamlet. The Southern Birdwing, India's largest butterfly, was also spotted in the first week of November in a field in Goa's largest mining corridor of Cavrem in Sanguem taluka. Rejuvenation is under way in Pissurlem village. While the tailing pond of a mine in Panshem hamlet is slowly sprouting green again, there's revival also in the near-destroyed sacred groves - community-conserved forested areas that contain ancient idols and medicinal trees. No longer dust laden, the ancient trees are abuzz with chirping birds and offer a welcome respite to visitors. The scene is repeated at the Mhardano sacred grove in nearby Surla, while in Honda, resident Gurudas Samant, a retired school headmaster, says, "The sacred grove of Ajobachi Rai is full of bird song once again. The only sound we heard till a few months ago was the roar of the ore-laden trucks. " Back in Pilgao, about 7 km away, residents of Khandola have started clam harvesting in the River Mandovi. Till four months ago this section of one of Goa's two main water lifelines was deeply silted with rejects from the 25-odd mines in the vicinity. The River Kalai in Sanguem taluka would also flow blood red throughout the year. But with the mines shut and the hundreds of barges no longer clogging the water channels, the waters flow blue again, the beds, once more, serving up a bounty for the people.
BACK TO EARTH
While nature is sprouting a quiet revival, the ban on mining is also seeing residents of many villages in or near mines head back to their fields and plantations.
Once the only sources of livelihood, agriculture and horticulture in several villages along the mining belt-talukas of Sattari, Bicholim, Sanguem, Quepem and Dharbandora suffered quick deaths as miners excavated the earth's bowels and emptied out the groundwater table. Unable to cultivate in the absence of water, several ryots and horticulturists in these villages became mining truck operators or workers in the mines.
With mining in Goa under a ban since September 10, 2012, reports of villagers going back to their fields and plantations are streaming in.
In Quepem's Cavrem village, mining activist Nilesh Gaonkar says, "With no air pollution and reduced silt in the water bodies, locals are going back to tilling their lands. "
Raghu Gaonkar says the same is under way in his village of Sanvordem in Sattari taluka. "What is most heartening, " he says, "is that the youth, who were fighting for the ban on mining to be lifted, are slowly returning to their fields and to agriculture. "
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Pongal at Goa
Click the links below to read all about our weekend in Goa.
Read about Getting there
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| Seen at Nature's Nest |
Click here for the Trees at Bondla
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| Sunbirds and powder puff, everywhere |
A post on Birds
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| Trying to photograph the blue-eared KF via my iPhone, through the spotting scope!! |
Click here for Early morning at the Madhei river
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| Tree frog - Vikas' friend, was very fond of his room! |
Click here On the Cumbarjuem canal
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| Wolf spider, I think? |
Click here for - The 12th century Mahadev temple
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| A much newer temple at Bondla |
Pongal at Goa - birds, by Mr Ramanan
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| Crimson-backed sunbird |
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| the female |
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| Coppersmith at the Madhe bridge |
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| A very cold white-cheeked barbet |
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| A beautiful red-whiskered bulbul |
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| A vernal hanging parrot, seen at the resort |
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| Black-hooded oriole seen at Bondla |
I saw some 28 new species for the first time, on this Goa trip.
| Great Crested Tern | |||
| Terek Sandpiper | |||
| Peregrine Falcon | |||
| Slaty-breasted Rail | |||
| Collared Kingfisher | |||
| Fulvous Whistling-duck | |||
| Brown-breasted Flycatcher | |||
| White-throated Fantail | |||
| White-rumped Munia | |||
| Blue-eared Kingfisher | |||
| White-bellied Blue Flycatcher | |||
| Black-hooded Oriole | |||
| Spangled Drongo | |||
| Black-naped Monarch | |||
| Grey-breasted Prinia | |||
| Wire-tailed Swallow | |||
| Black-crested Bulbul | |||
| Grey-headed Bulbul | |||
| White-bellied Sea Eagle | |||
| Savanna Nightjar | |||
| Chestnut-headed Bee-eater | |||
| Malabar Trogon | |||
| Malabar Pied Hornbill | |||
| Rufous Woodpecker | |||
| Speckled Piculet | |||
| Large Cuckooshrike | |||
| Streak-throated Swallow | |||
| Crimson-fronted Barbet |
The Malabar trogon was my most special sighting, followed by that gorgeous ruby throated bulbul (aka black crested)
I saw some 88 species, and the entire list is here. The entire group saw "160 Birds, 9 Mammals, 5 Frogs, 9 Reptiles, 44 Butterflies, 8 Dragonflies & Damselflies and 11 other invertebrates"
Pongal at Goa - the trees at Bondla wildlife sanctuary
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| 13th January 10: 30 am |
It is hard to get to, and tucked away, and has a little zoo(which we didnt go to) for rehabilitation of injured animals.
I didn't see much bird life - some saw the trogon - but we heard the hornbills call for the longest time, before we suddenly saw them, scooting away from us noisy lot.
For me, it was the trees and the vines that I admired.
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| Look at the artistic natural curve of the vine! |
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| A sambar deer peeked curiously at our vehcle. |
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| Gliricidia sepium was in bloom everywhere |
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| As was the Terminalia paniculata |
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| ...more vines |
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| ...and roots, keeping the soill together |
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| Amazing. What was it though? Unfortunately no tree expert around. I missed the Nizhal people! |
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| The peeling bark of the Lagerstroemia giving it away. I have not seen such large specimens ever. And as I admired this one, along the fringes of the resort, the Malabar Trogon gave me a wonderful "darshan"! |
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| No, not a snake, just this massive vine! |
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| We climbed up to a large laterite rock crop that evening, in search of a night jar. The night jar sat looking like a rock, but we saw a most beautiful sunset. |
That eveningI wondered about the logic of a 8 sq km park. Which self-respecting mammal or reptile would be restricted to 8 sq kms?
Isn't this a way of inviting animal-man conflict?
I wonder if there are any plans to make a corridor connecting it to the larger Bhagwan Mahaveer?
Pongal at Goa - early morning at the Madhei river
7:30 am, 13th January
So much for Accuweather informing us that it was a nice balmy 25 degress in the night! It was some 12 degrees I swear, and we Madrasis were not equipped at all!!
Wearing T-shirts one on top of the other, and with hands in pockets, we set off, shivering, for this bridge across the river.
It was too cold for the birds as well, and there were a couple of wire-tailed swallows desperately seeking some sun on the electricity wire.
Our little seven-year old birder who definitely does not like the cold, chirped up only at about eight when it got warmer, and I loved the way he said "Brrrahminy Kite" and Rrrrufous trrrree pie", rolling his r's in a most endearing fashion!
We saw a lot of birds in the undergrowth by the riverside, a little later. I saw a black-lored tit, and various barbets sunned themselves on the highest branches. A Golden Oriole called sweetly and an Ashy Prinia hopped around busily without a second glance at us.
A white-bellied sea eagle glided across the bridge, and it was a magnificent sight! The crest of the Spangled drongo glinted in the sun, and looked amazing through the spotting scope of Pankaj.
What marvellous colours in the natural world, I thought, even as a white-breasted kingfisher darted from its perch and caught a fish!
So much for Accuweather informing us that it was a nice balmy 25 degress in the night! It was some 12 degrees I swear, and we Madrasis were not equipped at all!!
Wearing T-shirts one on top of the other, and with hands in pockets, we set off, shivering, for this bridge across the river.
It was too cold for the birds as well, and there were a couple of wire-tailed swallows desperately seeking some sun on the electricity wire.
Our little seven-year old birder who definitely does not like the cold, chirped up only at about eight when it got warmer, and I loved the way he said "Brrrahminy Kite" and Rrrrufous trrrree pie", rolling his r's in a most endearing fashion!
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| The Mandovi is called the Madhei in Goa. |
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| It originates in neighbouring Karnataka, and there is another river water dispute unfolding here. |
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| At this point, the waters were so clear we could see the stony river bed. I wonder if this part also had been affected by illegal mining. |
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| "Here comes the sun, tudududu. Here comes the sun, I say" |
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| A Magpie robin braved the cold winds |
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| A Wire-tailed swallow. See the clear waters. |
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| Photo by Mr Ramanan of the wire-tailed pair. The one on the left is the male with the wire tail. |
A white-bellied sea eagle glided across the bridge, and it was a magnificent sight! The crest of the Spangled drongo glinted in the sun, and looked amazing through the spotting scope of Pankaj.
What marvellous colours in the natural world, I thought, even as a white-breasted kingfisher darted from its perch and caught a fish!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Pongal at Goa - on the Cumbarjuem canal
15th January 2013
We packed, left Nature's Nest and headed for the mouth of the Zuari river, from where we were to go on a ferry ride.
It was a hazy morning, and a Brahminy Kite circled lazily overhead before going to rest on one of the buildings. For some reason it reminded me of the Bosphorus views from Uskudar. Maybe the network of ferries, and the river economy, maybe the terrace cafes.
We loitered around for a bit, before we set off in our little ferry, with Mr Kamath as our guide.
We veered off the river into a mangrove-lined canal. Mr Kamath said this was the Cumbarjuem canal (had never heard of it), and it connected the Zuari with the Mandovi further north. How amazing! I came back and checked it out on the map, and sure enough there was this meandering canal between Mandovi in the north and Zuari in the south.
Mandovi is freshwater and Zuari is tidal, so I wonder how it all works. We saw a couple of lock-like things along the way. Strangely (but happily), we didn't see much commercial traffic on the river, and as a result saw a LOT of birds!
Kingfishers everywhere, brahminy kites too, parakeets in the trees, cormorants and darters in the water, and greenshanks, curlews and sandpipers of all types at the water's edge.
A terek sandpiper too - all the way from Russia! Large egrets stood stock still as we passed, as did the pond herons and a lone green heron.
But this raptor was what caught our eye!
Strange, but Pongal last year we were at the mangroves as well- at Muthupet.
Then we headed back to shore, hungry for more than the puffs we could muster for breakfast!
On to Maina lake.
It was very warm by now, midday, and we all headed for lunch, which was pretty disappointing, and then off to the airport making our long way home.
We packed, left Nature's Nest and headed for the mouth of the Zuari river, from where we were to go on a ferry ride.
It was a hazy morning, and a Brahminy Kite circled lazily overhead before going to rest on one of the buildings. For some reason it reminded me of the Bosphorus views from Uskudar. Maybe the network of ferries, and the river economy, maybe the terrace cafes.
We loitered around for a bit, before we set off in our little ferry, with Mr Kamath as our guide.
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| Zuari, a tidal river - this I didn't know |
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| I daydreamed as I watched the fishermen in the distance, enveloped in my own silence as desultory snippets of conversation swirled around me. |
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| A goods train crossed the river and snapped me out of my reverie, and yes we needed to answer nature's call before we got on that boat! |
We veered off the river into a mangrove-lined canal. Mr Kamath said this was the Cumbarjuem canal (had never heard of it), and it connected the Zuari with the Mandovi further north. How amazing! I came back and checked it out on the map, and sure enough there was this meandering canal between Mandovi in the north and Zuari in the south.
Mandovi is freshwater and Zuari is tidal, so I wonder how it all works. We saw a couple of lock-like things along the way. Strangely (but happily), we didn't see much commercial traffic on the river, and as a result saw a LOT of birds!
Kingfishers everywhere, brahminy kites too, parakeets in the trees, cormorants and darters in the water, and greenshanks, curlews and sandpipers of all types at the water's edge.
A terek sandpiper too - all the way from Russia! Large egrets stood stock still as we passed, as did the pond herons and a lone green heron.
But this raptor was what caught our eye!
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| First up, was this magnificent Osprey, sitting on one of the poles, looking magnificent indeed. This photo of the fish eating large raptor is taken by Mr Ramanan |
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| So many kinfisher varieties! This stork-billed gave everyone a lot of poses. Photo by Mr Ramanan |
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| Photo by Mr Ramanan |
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| Mangroves |
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| Under the bridge and back on the Zuari |
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| Photo by Mr Ramanan. Peregrine falcon! The fastest member of the animal kingdom! But there it sat so innocuously, high up, under the bridge. Sadly, I did not witness its fantastic and legendary swoop - supposedly goes into a dive @380 kms/hr!! Check out some youtube videos on these birds. |
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| Further down the river, and there were a series of poles each with a tern perched on them, bobbing madly in the tide! |
On to Maina lake.
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| We drove through the city and little byelanes to come across this picturesque urban lake, filled with ducks! |
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| I gazed at the water lilies, as the whistling teals flew by announcing our presence! |
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| On the other side of the road was this vast expanse of paddy. A delightful green and I watched the farmers at work in the distnace. |
It was very warm by now, midday, and we all headed for lunch, which was pretty disappointing, and then off to the airport making our long way home.
Friday, February 1, 2013
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I am in a Chinese state of mind these days, as we plan to go off for a week to Beijing and Xi'an. And Mr Ramanan sent me this absolut... -
Mr Ramanan, along with his family, visited the Jaisalmer Desert National Park earlier this year. Jaisalmer is in the western part of Rajas...