Over 2000 Km by road, in around 10 days. Stunning landscapes, wonderful people. That sums up our Ladakh trip. But how did it actually work? How did we make it happen? Read on to find out! Leh, the capital of Ladakh , is accessible by air and road. Flying into Leh is the easiest, and time-saving option, while the road is the time consuming one, but with the added advantage of driving past some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. Each option has much to recommend it, and we chose the road for just one reason – altitude sickness. Altitude sickness was one of my biggest concerns, since I suffer from motion-sickness. Yes, I do travel a lot, but that is despite my condition, and, over the years, have learnt how to handle it. I struggled with it when we visited Nathu-La in Sikkim, and wondered if I would be able to manage a week at the even higher altitudes that we would encounter in Ladakh. This was the reason we stuck to a basic plan, of only 9 days in Ladakh, though we
The drive from Wayanad to Mysore took us along the Kabini river, and through the Nagarhole National Park. On our way to Wayanad, we had surprised a Gaur and an elephant on the road, apart from numerous deer. The return journey saw the animals well out of the way, and it would have been a boring drive, except for the number of birds we happened to notice. While most were fleeting glimpses, barely enough for proper identification, this one made out day.....
From our bird book, it appears to be a Changeable Hawk-Eagle, a name which is as interesting as the bird itself!
Salim Ali, in his book describes it as "A slender forest eagle in various confusing colour phases. Normally brown above; white below with black longitudinal streaks on throat and chocolate streaks on breast."
Some subspecies among these birds have a crest. Others do not. And, as Salim Ali says, the colours vary too. This is what gives it its name. Interesting, isn't it? That a bird can either be a hawk or an eagle? or maybe we simply don't know what to call it!
No matter what it was, the bird surely made our day. It was one of the highlights of the trip, more so since it was Samhith who spotted it! Besides, it stayed put for a long, long time on that branch, while I tried to click a decent photo without getting out of the car and scaring it away. It took quite a bit of effort, but the results are worth it, don't you think?
That seemed to set the tone for the rest of our trip, and we seemed to see birds everywhere in Mysore!!! Watch out for my other posts to know which ones we saw!
What a sighting and what a click, particularly the last one!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mridula! we got lucky this time!!
DeleteLovely sighting Anu! Wish I could see it too. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Atula! we were really really lucky that samhith spotted this!!! keep your eyes open! you never know!
DeleteIt is certainly the Changeable Hawk Eagle. Wonderful sighting and really shots. Must have been very close
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Rajesh! yes, it was really very close. and i was so lucky that it didnt fly away while i was trying to get a better click, so the efforts paid off!
Deletewhat a spectacular bird! Great capture :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Amrita!
DeleteBrilliant click!!
ReplyDeletehttp://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2013/09/bandipur-into-wild.html
Thanks!!
DeleteNice capture. It looks like a combination of Eagle and Owl.
ReplyDeleteTHank you. yes, it does look a bit like an owl too!!! interesting bird, isnt it!
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