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.
“Cranes” whispered
Samhith, his voice filled with awe! “They are not cranes. They are Open
Billed Storks” replied our boatman-cum-guide. “When we go closer, you
can see how their bills have a slight gap and seem to be open. That’s where
they get their name from” he elaborated.
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| Open Billed Stork (Asian Openbill) |
We were at the Ranganathittu Bird
Sanctuary near Srirangapatna, and for once, my son didn’t need to be
reminded to keep his voice down. His awe far exceeded his excitement, and he
was spellbound!
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| Asian Openbill with young ones in nest |
The sight that stretched ahead
did deserve that kind of awe. We were on the Kaveri, in a boat, no other humans
around but us and the boatman, and, on the trees around, on the islands, were
perched, literally birds of all feathers!
There were Spot Billed Pelicans…
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| Spot Billed Pelicans - adults and juveniles |
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| Spot Billed Pelicans |
Cormorants…
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| Little Cormorant |
And Painted Storks…
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| Painted Stork (adult) |
The juveniles created a
racket, as the adults simply looked on, making me wonder if the young ones were
throwing a tantrum, as young ones are wont to do!
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| Painted Storks - Adult (right) and juvenile (left) |
We have seen Kingfishers
before, but never tire of seeing them!
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| White Throated Kingfisher |
We managed to sight a lone
Black
Crowned Night Heron, but it was the only bird which seemed to be shy!
It didn’t stay long enough for me to get a better shot!
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| Black Crowned Night Heron |
The Egrets, in their breeding
plumage, were a beautiful sight…
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| Egret in breeding plumage |
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| Egret in nest |
And a few Pond Heron made
their appearance too.
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| Pond Heron |
A pair of Stone Plovers
sat impassively on a rock, in the middle of the river…
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| Stone Plovers |
And Black headed Ibises
perched right atop the trees.
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| Black Headed Ibis |
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| Black Headed Ibis |
A number of crocodiles
swam around, probably trying to catch their breakfast, staring at us balefully
as we disturbed their habitat…
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| Crocodile |
 |
| Crocodile- up close! |
Under another rocky outcrop
in the middle of the river were these…
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| Nests of Indian Cliff Swallows |
…nests of the Indian Cliff
Swallows, and the birds rushed about their morning work, apparently
oblivious to our presence.
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| Indian Cliff Swallows |
A few bats hung upside
down amidst all this activity, peacefully sleeping off their exertions of the
night…
 |
| Bat! |
And a bird of prey waited
and watched, but unfortunately, I could not identify it. Can any of you help
please?
 |
| Serpent Eagle? Shikra? |
Our boat ride inside the
sanctuary lasted almost an hour, and it was an hour filled with nothing but the
sounds of birds, and whispered exclamations. It was only when we got out, and
back into our auto, that the suppressed excitement found an outlet, Samhith
eagerly scribbling down the bird names before he forgot them!
Incidentally, our
birdwatching jaunt had another interesting result - our auto driver was so
surprised that even a kid knew so many birds, that he frequently stopped along
the road, asking us the names of other birds we saw!
Information:
- Location: Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is located on the outskirts of Srirangapatna, about 16 Km from Mysore.
- Where to Stay: Both, Mysore and Srirangapatna are convenient places to stay to visit the sanctuary. Besides, there are also homestays and farm stays away from the city, and near the sanctuary.
- How to Reach: There are buses to Srinrangapatna from both Bangalore as well as Mysore. From here, it is best to hire a vehicle to the sanctuary.
Suggestions :
- We stayed at Mysore and hired an auto to the sanctuary, and also combined this trip with a tour of Srirangapatna. While one day is more than enough for the entire circuit, if you are an ardent birdwatcher or wildlife enthusiast, you might enjoy staying somewhere near the sanctuary and making multiple visits.
- The best way to see birds is to take a boat ride down the Kaveri inside the sanctuary. The normal rate is around 100 per head, but these are short rides, with a boat load of people. A longer ride easily costs around Rs. 1000 (as of May 2013), though the experience is worth it!
- The park timings are from 8:30 AM to 6:00PM. Go early in the morning, or in the evening, just before sunset, for the best experience. Tourist footfall increases after 10 AM and continues through till 5 PM. The times just before and after are best for watching the most birds and enjoying the peace and solitude!
- The best season to watch birds is winter, (usually December to March), but you can see birds here throughout the year. Which birds you see depends on the season though. We visited in May, so even peak summer doesn’t keep the birds away! In fact, seeing all the juveniles was an interesting experience. So, you can look forward to different experiences in different seasons! Calls for multiple visits, doesn’t it?
- Mysore
- Srirangapatna
I loved the egrets the most. They look like mad scientists :-D
ReplyDeleteThey are the most common among all these birds, Sudha, and yet, so full of character!
DeleteAmazing avian captures!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Niranjan!
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ReplyDeleteBeen there some 8 years back, and absolutely loved it then! Your pictures are very beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! It would have been so much more pristine back then... we were lucky to find it so empty. I have heard that usually during the holiday season, tourists flock there, and outnumber the birds!
DeleteAmazing photo series on Ranganthittu, those nests of Indian Cliff swallows are so unique.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Meghana. Actually, the cliff swallows are seen all across the country, near rocky outcrops near rivers. We saw them at Omkareshwar too, but I didn't have this camera then :-)
DeleteLovely pics, Anu! Samhith must have had a blast!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Chari. He did have a blast! This remains the best part of our Mysore trip :-)
Deleteloving the pics and the sanctuary, eagerly waiting to visit the sanctuary soon and thanks for the amazing pics.
ReplyDeleteHi, this is a good blog. I plan to visit Ranganathittu this week Fri. 19th Feb 2015.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to it. I am going along and not with family, main purpose to do bird photography. I am into Photography but trying my hand with birds this time....