My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
Looking at the photos of the birds I clicked during my recent Dandeli trip, I have been remembering all the birds we saw near Mysore during our vacation in May.... which reminded me that I had yet not completed that series. On that note, here is another one.. this one about some birds we saw in a marshy area just outside the city...
It was the Oriental White Ibis, or the Black Headed Ibis which first drew our attention and got us to stop in the first place. A closer look revealed that there were many waders around. Even among the ibis, we spotted this one, which I think is a juvenile...
This Grey Heron stood tall by the water, posing beautifully for us!
Pond Herons are a common sight for us, but still, it was impossible not to click this one as it stood prettily among the lily pads.
Among all these waders sat a lone Brahminy Kite......
A little farther were a few more interesting birds....
And among them, a flock of Purple Moorhen too...
Our tryst with birds during the summer vacation began with these birds just outside Mysore, and continued for the next week as we saw birds wherever we went - especially Kukkarahalli Kere and Karanji Lake. But the most spectacular sight was at the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary - an experience I have yet to write about. So, stay tuned, and you can look forward to loads more birds on the blog...
That is a whole lot of colourful birds. Nice captures.
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