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Odisha Part 4: Chilika – Experiencing the lake, in and out of season

My first visit to the Chilika Lake in Jan 2017 was for content for a resort. It was peak season, and I would have loved to stay near the lake, but the brief was to stay at Puri and cover areas that could be visited from Puri. And so, I did the usual touristy thing, taking a boat for half the day. Which is why, on my next visit to Odisha, if there was one thing I was clear about, it was that I wanted to stay near the lake, at least for a day, if not more. However, unlike my first visit, the second was in end of May, and the season was long ended. There would be no birds, I was warned by anyone and everyone I spoke to, including the people at the stays I was considering. But those who know me, know how stubborn I can be, and so I persisted. I eventually decided to stay at two of the Odisha eco-tourism resorts, at Mangalajodi and Rajhans, keen on experiencing the lake, even minus the birds. I had expected it to be hot, but as it turned out, the rains turned out to be even bigger spoilspo...
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Birds of Tadoba - Changeable Hawk Eagle

We first saw a Changeable Hawk Eagle while driving to Mysore from Wayanad. Since then, we have seen the bird often, but never managed to get as good a click as the first time. Then, at Tadoba, as we criss-crossed our way across the forest in search of the tiger, we saw these birds often, either near ponds or just by the side of the road.





It was easy to identify them, thanks to their trademark crest, but each sighting was just as fascinating as the first. It was even more so, to see how the bird sat perfectly still, yet moved its head and eyes, almost like a dancer, taking in its surroundings, keeping watch, for dangers as well as prey.












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Location: Tadoba National Park, Chandrapur, Maharashtra 442401, India

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 5, 2015 at 1:48 PM

    These pictures are amazing! Beautiful framing and great shot!

    ReplyDelete
  2. R Niranjan DasOctober 5, 2015 at 3:04 PM

    Nice captures.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Saachi AgarwalOctober 23, 2015 at 2:11 PM

    Spellbound! Great pictures depicting the minutest details of the bird. Thanks to your beautiful capture that I got an opportunity to see how a hawk eagle looks like. I hope if I ever get a chance to visit Tadoba, I can also get a glimpse of this beautiful bird.

    ReplyDelete

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