The first time I visited Pandharpur was back in 2007 . The names Vitthal and Pandharpur, were just names to me. I had heard of them, but that was about it. Seeing the lord standing on the brick, hands on his hips, was memorable, but more memorable was the sight that greeted us as we walked out of the main sanctum of the temple. In the mandap just outside were a group of devotees singing abhangs , and dancing. This was the first time I had heard abhangs , and even almost 15 years later, I can remember the welling of feeling within me, listening to the songs, and how fascinated I was by the sight of the devotees dancing, lost in their love of the Lord. Over the years, as I have read more about Vitthal, and participated in Ashadi Ekadashi programmes at Puttaparthi, that first experience has stayed clear in my mind and heart. Every time I tell my Balvikas students of the saints who sang of Vitthala, it is that experience that I re-live. I visited Pandharpur again, in 2010, but that experie
Criss-crossing the jungle in search of the tiger, it was birds that we most often came across. I have already written about some of the birds we saw, but there were so many more, that I decided that a photo-post was in order, to show you just how many there are! And these are just the few I managed to capture on camera... there were many, many more, that I didn't.
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| Spot Billed Duck |
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| Purple Swamphen... a pair. |
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| Purple Swamphen |
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| Little Cormorant |
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| Open Billed Storks |
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| Open Billed Stork - a closer look |
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| Purple Heron, with an Open Billed Stork |
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| Black Headed Ibis |
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| Black Headed Ibis, Egret and Black Ibis |
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| Black Ibis |
There were other birds too, though we hardly stopped for any.... our driver and guide were always in a rush to show us the tiger! Here are those we did stop for... or saw while we waited for the tiger!!
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| Male Asian Paradise Flycatcher. There were so many of these around, it was fascinating to see the long white tail as it flew amidst the trees... |
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| Juvenile Male Asian Paradise Flycatcher |
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| Golden Oriole. These were also plentiful, teasing us with a golden glimpse every now and then. Their cousins, the Black Hooded Orioles were also around, but I didn't manage to get a capture. |
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| I know this isnt a sparrow, but I can't identify it. Can you help? |
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| Some kind of Duck.. Any help with the identification? |
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| Pied Kingfisher |
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| Indian Roller and Rufous Treepie |
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| Common Kingfisher |
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| Woodpecker |
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| Shikra |
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| Black - Naped Monarch Flycatcher. This tiny bird (about the size of a sparrow or just slightly bigger, proved remarkably tough to capture. It was only cause we waited for almost an hour at the pond that I managed this blurry photo! |
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| White Bellied Drongo. There were so many of these around, I was so surprised I had never seen them before!! |
Among the birds we couldn't identify was this pigeon we saw, at a water hole. It was bigger than the usual ones, as you can see from this pic, where you can see how much bigger it is than a Bulbul....
Here is a better view...
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| Can you help me identify this bird? |
The Changeable Hawk Eagles we spotted were so impressive that they deserve a post to themselves. Then, there are other birds we saw that I have written about here. But these were just a few of the many birds we saw. The purpose of this post is twofold. Firstly, for me to remember which birds we saw, and yes, also to show you... and second, to show you just how much life there is, in the jungle, just waiting to be seen!!! I just hope you remember that, the next time you visit a jungle!
This post is part of my series on my #summertrip 2015, and I hope to take you along with me as I recount stories from my month long trip, which took me across the country. To get an idea of all the places I visited, and what you can hope to read about, click here.
Related Posts:
- On Tadoba
- On the Summer Trip
Awesome clicks Anu. Hope to see more of them. I am also planning to go there in a few months would be great if you could share your itinerary. Thank You.
ReplyDeleteThank you Vivek. Details coming up in the next post. As to itinerary, just plan for the number of days and simply go on safari as many times as you can!
DeleteNice. Very nice. Too many birds. Male Asian Paradise Flycatcher and Golden Oriole personal favorite. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThe best about this National Park is with Tiger one will watch birds too and so many birds. Wow.
Thank you Tushar
DeleteThank you Ashu! I will update the post.
ReplyDeleteAmazing pictures..
ReplyDeletehttp://zigzacmania.blogspot.in/
Thank you Anjali!
DeleteNature has put so much Colours and Creativity in them.. they are just so beautiful and adorable.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Andy! There is so much to enjoy and learn from nature!
DeleteHi! Your blogs are amazing reads. I enjoyed reading each one of them; they are very much informative as well. Also, I would like to invite you to read mine on http://blog.antilogvacations.com/. It would be a pleasure to know your opinion on the same. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you Bhaskar
DeleteWonderful birds.
ReplyDeleteThe last one, is it a Pied Imperial Pigeon ?
Thank you, Haddock! Nice to see you here after so long! I am not sure, but a couple of others have also suggested Imperial Pigeon, so I guess it might be.
DeleteFlycatcher and pied Kingfisher were best ones
ReplyDeleteActually, the best was one I didnt manage to photograph, Shrinidhi... a shikra and a serpent eagle fighting. It looked so wonderful, but i didnt get a single decent shot... but among those i did, these two certainly stand out.
DeleteHello Anuradha Shankar,
ReplyDeleteYour passion for capturing these birds is amazing and getting these still images of birds is a tough task that you have totally nailed. The water birds are interesting and thank you for this informative article. Keep going with it and I would be waiting for your next post.
Which is a decent place to stay in tadoba, if i'm only interested in bird watching? Can you help me please?
ReplyDelete