Bandhavgarh - Land of Tigers

So we thought we had seen a lot of tigers at Ranthambhore, but here's somebody who has seen plenty too, and lovely photos to boot! Arun spent ten days at the Bandhavgarh sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. Bandhavgarh has one of the highest tiger densities if I'm not mistaken, and also has a fort atop the hill within the sanctuary. However, the forests are evergreen sal (like Kanha) and not dhok like Ranthambhore.

Enjoy !

BANDHAVGARH - - Land of Tigers - arun - Picasa Web Albums

Arun spots a Mongolian!

Arun of MNS "saw(and photographed) this female Barheaded Goose ( 2nd March, 2009
5.40 pm), in Koondhakulam (flock of about 120 birds). Contacted the concerned people and found out that -- it had been banded in Darkhad Valley of Northern Mongolia on 17th July 2008 by the Wildlife Conservation Society of Mongolia.... 5000 km journey"

Photo by Arun
I saw these birds for the first time in January this year, when I travelled to Bharatpur, the bird sanctuary in north India.  These geese are quite common in other countries I know, but for us they are definitely not-so-common.

I remember being amused at their honking and bossy ways in the marsh, as they quarreled with each other and waddled around in this most busy fashion!  But to find them all the way down south!  That's quite astonishing!

I wonder what these "Mongolians" thought about our country and our water tanks!  But it looks like their visit is not entirely unusual, as I came across this 2005 The Hindu article where it states that "bare-headed geese" expected to arrive from China are being monitored for the Bird Flu virus!

Koodankulam/Koondakulam, by the way is a sanctuary near Tirunelveli in southern-most Tamil Nadu.  Its well known for a nuclear plant located there.

Look out for wild birds marked in Mongolia

The Wildlife Conservation Society exhorts us to look out for marked birds and report to them if you see any such birds banded either as a collar or on the leg.

Photo by Arun

As I saw this picture of them in flight, I wondered, were they looking to return to their summer homes?

Great work Arun!  (Arun's a doc, by the way, no kidding, a medical doc. )

Update - 30th April, 2009

It seems to be the season to visit Koondakulam.  Other MNS members, (maybe inspired by Arun?) also visited and came back with a gallery-ful of excellent shots and poses of water birds.

Skandan witnessed quite a flamingo performance, reminiscent of the Bolshoi ballet performances of old.

Prof Chandrasekaran on the other hand, was at hand to record the Council Meeting of the Painted Storks, as well as the General Assembly, taking detailed visual notes all the while!

Skandan wrote in, "It ws a great birding trip for us as Mr Pal Pandiyan,the birdman of Koondakulam guided us perfectly to the right spots to have a closer look at many a species.... 

All the snaps are taken from very safe distance and the birds were not disturbed from their habitat at any point..."

Kanha Memories- Birds, a bear and a scorpion

Picture by ArunPeacocks everywhere!  Going from Madras, these spectacular birds really took my breath away.... for the first three days.

Then, we had seen so many of them, that we all became rather blase,"Oh just a peacock", and they would be dismissed!  Imagine that!

With the occasional rain, Arun was fortunate to even capture one of them dancing and in full show.
Arun's picture
Picture from Chitra




From Arun


Here, one strolled across the road, bringing traffic to a halt!

And Chitra clicked this beautiful picture of the peacock perched on a tree.  It was my first experience with flying peacocks as well.  Yes, they do fly and quite well.  It would make for a spectacular sight, when one would suddenly swoosh up to a tree top.

One sunny morning we found this peacock skulking by the side of the road, with the sun bringing out all the colours of its feathers, even when they were not in display mode.... mmm... would be a lovely colour for a saree, isn't it?  Now I know what the Nalli salesman means by peacock blue!

A changeable hawk eagle - picture from Arun - seen on our first outing, in the canter

A jungle owlet, which resided in a tree, just inside the gate.  We would take a peek at it every day while leaving the park.  This picture is once again from Arun.

Many more than this - plaintive cocukoo, alexandrine parakeets, scimitar babblers, a shama, black-headed oriole, an emerald dove, honey buzzards, vultures and an adjutant stork as well.

An account of our Kanha week will be incomplete without recounting the incident of Arun being locked into the dorm.  The culprit was my husband, who finding the room empty, (Arun had gone to the loo at the back, but which could be exited only via the room), locked it, pocketed the key and we all set off in our jeep, blissfully unaware of the locked Arun.

That was the day we were going off to Bahminidadar, and so went off, and then re-united with the other jeeps up on the plateau.  Chitra came hurrying up to us, and whisperingly (is there such a word?!) enquired whether we were the ones with the key to the dorm.  Very innocently, we said yes.  

It transpired that once we left, the jeep in which Arun was to go waited patiently, but Arun never came.  So they went back to the dorm to hear frantic thumping and yelling, and there was one very angry MNS member.  All the rooms open into the back verandah which houses the bath and toilets, so Arun could come out via the other rooms.  But his camera was in the locked room, and anyone who knows Arun also knows that he wont leave without it!   The netting on a window was ripped and he clambered in and out with his camera.

As a result of all this delay, Arun and his jeep mates saw this sloth bear.  None of us did!  I think that appeased him, and our "thousand apologies" was accepted in good humour!

The last night of our stay, it began to pour once again.  It was post-dinner, and all of us had gathered into our small little groups to look at pictures, gup-shup and generally while away the time.  A group of the men stood in a corner, tasting something from an unidentifiable bottle.  Their conversation got louder and louder, and then suddenly there was a shout!

Vijay came rushing in and said come look there's a scorpion.  So we all hurried to the back verandah and sure enough there was this black, shiny scorpion on the tiled floor, not getting a good hold and so scuttling along near the wall.  Being MNS members, there had to be a prolonged discussion as to what was to be done with it.  No, we cant kill it, lets just push it into the outdoors, no it will return, you know it is very dangerous, but we cant just kill it.... and so it went on and on, until one of the men (I forget who) went and brought the local attendant.  That boy/man just freaked.  I have never seen a look of such terror on anyone's face I tell you.  He rushed out, came back armed with implements to chase it out, and took it out of our sight, where we were quite sure he killed it, though he did not say so.

All my romance with the forest quickly dried up, as the dangers of the jungle were driven home. I can cope with trying to cross a busy junction in T Nagar, board a bus at Central Station or take precautions against chain-sntaching.  I am a city dweller, I have these skills, but what would I do when faced with a scorpion?  I just shrieked and climbed on to the bed!!

And so ended a wonderful week and it was time to go home.  Not before Dhruva went missing one night, and was hunted down in the Bagheera log huts chatting with the cook and not before the food bag was emptied.  

Rannu came back to take us back to Nagpur, and was greeted by one and all like a long lost friend.  But of course we had to have some flat tires along the way, which led to frayed tempers and loud words, through all of which are man from Seoni kept his cool, bought us breakfast at the neighbourhood eatery in Seoni and got us to the station well in time!