Hornbill Heights (Part 2) - February Frolic

February 10, 2014, 9:09 am

≫ Next: Hornbill Heights (Part 3) - Incarcerated

≪ Previous: Hornbill Heights (Part 1) - The home wars

$

0

0

The first part of this blog is here

It has to be something to do with the season. Every bird pair I lay my eyes upon seem to be in a very raunchy mood. February still has a nip in the air and the days still comes a tad late making you want to turn over and snuggle under a warm blanket long after the alarm clocks have gone off.

My hornbill pairs have been busy over the last few months setting up their nest to receive the incoming packages the storks would bring later in the season, that is, if the hornbills too believed that storks carried good tidings like us humans do! There has been a spurt in the stork population too but that story is for another time.

1st February, 2014

Turf wars were still not over. The myna pair has been relentless. I noted with surprise that if one of the hornbills were alone the mynas had no qualms about dive bombing it and chasing it off. They know that their tree hole is gone but they are not giving up without a fight. Feisty little birds; the mynas.

Pair 1 looked a little lost and confused at time when the mynas were at their aggressive best. They'd sit on a branch, a little away, watching as the mynas frantically tried to reassert their claim.

7th February, 2014

While Pair 1 was waging their war it seemed Pair 2 had no such problems; or so I thought. They were going about setting up the nest in earnest. Most often, it was the female that was hanging about and cleaning up the nest while the male would forage in the vicinity and bring food for her.

The female would hang on to the edge of the hole, push her head inside and scoop out stuff lying inside the cavity with her long beak.

She would then proceed to spit it out before repeating it many times. After a while she'd fly off to a nearby branch to rest while her mate would inspect the nest.

I have observed this in the morning hours till  around 9 AM after that they'd fly off somewhere together. I too would have to leave for office.

In between cleanings and inspections they would continue their game of  'pass-me-the-fig'. The male would fly off (and it was always the male) and return with a fruit or some such thing for his partner and they would keep passing it to each other without swallowing it with twisting and turning of their necks. (See previous post here for photos of this game)

I read that there was a method to this madness. It is not only a behaviour adopted to coax the female to enter the nesting hole, but also to 'train' her to grasp the offering without dropping it. Once incarcerated, only the beak and sometimes only its tip, can be put out of the small opening in the hollow. If the female drops it there is every chance that their hatchlings may not survive because the male has to go out far to find food again. It is also meant to reassure the female that he'd be around to feed her while she is incarcerated.

Meanwhile, on the main trunk, Pair 1 was also going through their nest inspection process. The male would inspect the inside and then go and sit next to his mate and coax her to do that same.

She would then swoop down and do her inspection.

All this was happening under the watchful eyes of the myna pair who had an expression of righteous indignation. After all they had lost a prime piece of real estate to a larger bird!

This 'pass-me-the-fig' game was also being performed by Pair 1 around their nest but I noticed they were doing something else too. The male had acquired a fruit from somewhere and had it in his beak.

He then flew down to his mate and started the game. Contorting himself over her and around the opening of the nest he handed over the fruit. What he did next was astonishing!

He presented his butt to her! From his posture, at first, it appeared that he was trying to push her head into the nest with his tail and butt.

Then I realized that the female was sort of rubbing the fruit on his behind and then passing it back to him.

Then she buried her face under his tail feathers again and this went on for a while!

It appeared that he was squirting his feces onto the opening of the hole to help create a seal for the nest. Sometimes, he would fly up and observe her progress, then break off a bit of bark from the tree and go back to give it to her.

She was very busy, meanwhile, giving finishing touches to the opening. She'd chip away in on one corner, rub her beak on another then try to squeeze herself inside.

The male would occasionally fly down and help her and probably trying to also coax her to settle inside. It appeared that she wasn't quite ready yet.

She would keep scratching the edges of the hole and induce the male to do the same for her.

Then she'd try again to pull herself inside but would withdraw after reaching half way inside. Indeed; a frustrating time for her mate!

He'd fly off, leaving her to her work and watch from another branch.

He wouldn't go far away because the mynas were always waiting for an opportunity to fly back into what, for them, was their nest. So he would have one eye fixed on them always!

This post isn't quite complete yet. There is more to come and I will add more about the hornbill's romance tomorrow. Meanwhile enjoy the tale till now...............

11th February, 2014 UPDATE @ 9.00AM
Very important day in my Hornbill Story. She has been INCARCERATED!!
I saw her struggling to squeeze out of her hole on 9th February evening. She mated with her partner so I had an inkling of what is to come over the next few day. Today I saw the female inside with the opening narrowed to a slit! She must have sealed herself in in the last 36 hours. Now it will be 90 days of masterly inactivity for the male and I!

---

Hornbill Heights (Part 3) - Incarcerated

February 12, 2014, 10:41 pm

≫ Next: The Man on a Bicycle

≪ Previous: Hornbill Heights (Part 2) - February Frolic

$

0

0

The second part of this blog is here

I had been looking forward to this weekend. Usually, when Woodcrawler Jr is around we plan a trip somewhere. Unfortunately he broke the gears on the rear wheel of his bicycle and his priority was getting it repaired at the earliest. If that was not done, his daily trips to his friend's place would not happen. Since the bicycle shop would open on Sunday we decided to stay put in town to drop his bicycle for repair. So when we woke up it was with a lazy Sunday mentality!

After dropping off the bicycle we were wondering what to do. Our plan to go to Silent Valley was out because we would have to have started before daybreak. Then I remembered the hornbills. I was free so I could spend some time observing them from close quarters. We loaded up the cameras and drove off. In retrospect, it seemed that the broken bicycle gear was a blessing. If not for it, I'd have missed some serious action!

WARNING: Some of the videos (& photos) in this post are rated PG. In case you are following this blog with young children be ready to tell them about 'the birds & the bees'!

9th, February 2014 @ 11.15 AM

The mynas were still at it, harassing the hornbills but it seemed the bigger birds were not too bothered. They had a settled look about them. Even though the mynas were still trying to take their nest back, their attempts looked half-hearted. There wasn't much activity from the hornbills and the second pair was nowhere to be seen.

I had a good look at the hole the second pair was trying to nest in. There were two holes close to each other and both were smaller than the hole on the trunk. I was wondering if the second pair had abandoned it because of its size. It seemed more suited for myna sized birds.

There wasn't much hornbill activity so I returned home planning to go back later in the day.

9th February, 2014 (4.45 PM to 6.00 PM)

I reached the tree a little past 4.30 PM. Things looked quiet and I walked up slowly not wanting to disturb the birds. I was surprised to see the myna pair at the smaller hole. Perhaps they found the smaller hole more suitable than the bigger one. After all, it's foolhardy messing with a bigger bird armed with a formidable beak!

As I walked around to the main hole I found the male sitting on guard and he took off startled by my sudden appearance.

Seizing the opportunity one of the mynas flew down to re-take what, to them, was rightfully theirs. I noticed it was hesitant to go into the hole for some reason. Under normal circumstances it would have flown straight to the mouth of the hole and entered it.

It called out to it's mate who came and sat on a branch just above the hole, making no attempt whatsoever to reoccupy their old nest. Both of them were squawking their protest but showed no inclination to reassert their claim.

The male hornbill was just watching these antics, probably amused by it.

Even the crow that was also getting ready to start its family wasn't looking very happy at the disturbance!

One of them was  flying around all over but it's mate settled down on the branch. Obviously, it had given up or was waiting for an opportune moment.

Suddenly the myna got up and called to its mate. Then they were both looking towards the hole. I thought, perhaps, they had decided to give it an attempt despite the male sitting just above them and looking them over with a keen eye. Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw a movement and at the opening of the hole there was a small pointed protuberance (see in the yellow circle).

The pointed thing gradually grew in size and then it dawned on me why the mynas were keeping their distance.

 It was the female hornbill crawling her way out of her nesting hole!!

It appeared to be a tight squeeze but she managed to wriggle out; head first, then a wing and then another. She flew up to join her mate waiting for her. No sooner had she vacated the hole the mynas were back!

One of them seemed to accepted the fact that the hole was now gone from their control this season but the other wasn't giving up so easily!

 The two hornbills, meanwhile had no worries about the myna. They had full control over the hole now. It was now time to put the next plan into action. Making babies!

The male sidled up to his partner stretching his neck and making displays with his bill. His intention was clear. He was in the mood for something erotic!

WARNING: The photos & videos coming up after this are PG rated. As I had mentioned earlier, if you are reading this blog with young children, be ready to tell them about 'the birds & the bees'!

The female hopped off to the next branch, reading her partner's intentions. She wanted to be on a stable perch for the action to follow. As soon as he got his invitation the male mounted her. (Time: 5.25 PM)

The mating lasted for more than a minute with violent flapping of wings and crossing of bills.

Then the male dismounted and they sat together a little apart, catching their breaths! The female, who looked visibly exhausted, was lying pressed against the branch.

The male then called out to her and she seemed to respond. Maybe he was telling that a voyeur was standing below and watching them!

They flew off to another tree but didn't hang around too long. The male was showing his intention but the female was too tired to mate again so soon I guess. She flew back to the tree followed by the male.

The male kept giving me looks with his beady eye, as if asking me why I was intruding on their romance?

He then hopped to another branch and was looking for a gift to coax his beloved to have another session of lovemaking!

He came back with a fruit and the game of passing the fruit started again, even though the female still looked tired after her exertions.

I guess the urge to nest was strong in her too. The pair moved away to another branch and another bout of mating occurred (Time: 5.54 PM). This time it went on for more than two minutes.

After the second bout of lovemaking the female just lay on the same spot, too drained to move immediately.

I packed my gear and walked to my car. The light was fading and I had been given the privilege of witnessing something unique. I had been intruding on their privacy all day. It was time to leave them in peace.

The Tree Hole over the weeks

The tree hole that I have been observing too underwent a change. What was a round wide opening in November became half its width, and then a small slit. The female had confined herself inside and only her bill was visible occasionally.

Early November 2013

11th February, 2014

11th February, 2014

Peek-a-boo, 11th February, 2014

12th February, 2014. The final appearance of the slit like opening.

As I watched the hornbill's beak withdraw inside I realized that I have been witness to a miracle of nature.These events that I have recorded have played out in the heart of a bustling town, on a piece of land sandwiched between a railway station and a bus stand. I am sure, not many would have had the fortune to witness these scenes coming one after another in sequence. I am blessed.

I have also realized another truth.Woodcrawling is not, only about walking around the jungles. It can happen right at our doorsteps. We only have to keep our eyes open!

Now the period of anxious waiting starts. I haven't seen the male the last couple of mornings. It has probably gone foraging for food, to feed his confined beloved. For him, and me, the next 60-70 days are crucial. We are not going to see the female lay her eggs and incubate them. We'll know only when the chicks hatch and the activity in the nest picks up.

Watch this space for the appearance of the fledglings and a break out! 

DISCLAIMER:
All photographs in this series (Parts 1 to 3) have been shot using cameras with telephoto lenses (Olympus E3, Olympus OM-D EM-5, Zuiko 300mm f.28 with 2x TC & M.Zuiko 70-300mm). No bird was harmed or disturbed during the shooting of pictures or videos. No flash photography was done. No means to access the nest was used. All photographs were shot from ground level from a safe distance.

The Man on a Bicycle

October 11, 2012, 9:30 am

≫ Next: Authors, Poets & Woodcrawling - Part 1

≪ Previous: Hornbill Heights (Part 3) - Incarcerated

$

0

0

Woodcrawling has taken a backseat and academics is keeping me busy. Agumbe was a damp squib, or should I saw 'dry' squib? There was no rain in the second most rainiest place in India. Can you believe that?
I'll keep you updated, my faithful follower, over the weekend.

Meanwhile enjoy thislittle tale about a Man on a Mission

Authors, Poets & Woodcrawling - Part 1

October 15, 2012, 11:14 am

≫ Next: Authors, Poets & Woodcrawling - Part 2: Agumbe & the elusive Hamadrayd

≪ Previous: The Man on a Bicycle

$

0

0

Let me place on record here that I'm not a very literary person. Once I outgrew the fantasy world of Enid Blyton (no J.K Rowling then!), I took to swinging through the trees with Tarzan of the Apes, courtesy Edgar Rice Burroughs, or'ghooming' in the jungle and tracking a man eater with Kenneth Anderson. On the rare occasions I stepped out of the jungles and returned to civilization it was to pick up a gun against Germany in the company of Alistair McLeans war heros. Sherlock Holmes did drop in occasionally but the great outdoors always had me riveted.

College days saw me devouring Robert Ludlum, Jefferey Archer and the like. Back then I could squeeze in the time to finish a fair sized book in about a week and the local library served up interesting fare to whet my appetite.

Things have changed since I plunged into my profession. Time is premium, and my tastes have changed too. Nowadays I pick up classics from literature but Amitav Ghosh has had the favour of my attention recently."Hungry Tide" was finished in a flourish since Sunderbans is a place on my list of "things to do before I die"! The only problem is that I've been wading through a "Sea of Poppies"for a few months now; not because the book is uninteresting but because I am hard pressed for time!

You might be wondering why the Woodcrawler is rambling about literature. There is a sound reason. I have been a resident, first a student and then a teacher in the famous university township of Manipal in Udupi District of Karnataka (formerly South Canara). Two of Karnataka's literary personalities trace their origins to Udupi and the neighbouring districts of Shimoga. Late K.Shivarama Karanth is from Kota in Udupi district  and late Kuvempu (K.V Puttappa) was from Kuppalli in Shimoga. While the former was an author and social activist with a genuine concern for the environment, the latter was a poet, author and educationist.

K Shivarama Karanth

Kuvempu (K.V Puttappa)

The point of interest for me was both of them have illustrious sons.

Ullas Karanth

Poorachandra Tejaswi

Ullas Karanth, the son of Shivarama Karanth, is a tiger conservationist and one of the main influences in my interest in wildlife. I have never met him but I own many books authored by him on tiger conservation. (Now you have an idea why my mail ID is tigertracker!).















Late Poornachandra Tejaswi was the son following the footsteps of his father, writing in Kannada and also doing many other things. Of the many interests of his, I share a couple, photography and bird watching.




I had an occasion to interact with him in his house in Mudigere since he is 'related' through my wife! It was just the time I was transitioning from film to digital photography. He reminded me of the bird man of India Dr.Salim Ali.

This meeting was many years ago but it was about to change my view of photography on it's head. I was one of those skeptics who swore by film but when I saw what a 5 MP digital camera could achieve, I reluctantly decided it was time to switch. Not only did my outlook on digital photography change but I started looking at birds differently. Till then only large mammals were visible to my myopic eyes. When I saw birds through the eye of someone who really loved them I started noticing these prettiest of God's creatures.

The Woodcrawler had matured. A jungle was not only about tigers, leopards, elephants & gaur. There were little creatures too that caught my eye. If it caught my eye, it had to be recorded and I needed to change my gear. Gradually, over a decade, I graduated from a prosumer 5MP 10x digital camera to a DSLR with a range of lenses that reached from 9mm to 600mm. It has left a big hole in my pocket but I've never regretted it.

In late July I got a call from my Alma mater. They wanted me as a speaker in the conference they were conducting. I couldn't refuse so I had to find something to do when I was there.

Agumbe beckoned, so did Kuppalli; the birthplace of  Kuvempu and Poornachandra Tejaswi. A plan was born..........
................................................................................. watch this space for more

Authors, Poets & Woodcrawling - Part 2: Agumbe & the elusive Hamadrayd

October 22, 2012, 7:15 am

≫ Next: Authors, Poets & Woodcrawling - Part 3: Kasturi Akka & Doddamane

≪ Previous: Authors, Poets & Woodcrawling - Part 1

$

0

0

Link to previous post is here

6th October, 2012

As I had mentioned in my last post I was in Udupi to be a part of the Alumini Meet hosted by my college. The meet was scheduled to for 6.30 PM on Saturday but since we had taken a night train from Palakkad we were deposited in Mangalore station at 4.30 AM. Fortunately, the taxi agency had sent the car to pick us up and we were in Udupi by 6.30 AM.

We had 12 hours at our disposal so I had planned to utilize the day to make a trip to Agumbe. The road passes through Someshwara WLS and the drive itself is beautiful.

Agumbe, for those unfamiliar with the name, is nothing more than a little junction with a few houses and government buildings clustered around. It's claim to fame is that it is the 'rainiest' place in all of South India and second only toCherrapunji. It was identified as the perfect habitat for the Hamadryad or the King Cobra by Romulus Whittaker and the main purpose of my visit was to drop in at theAgumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS), established by him in 2005 for research on the King Cobra and the ecology of the rainforest in which it lived.

I lived in Manipal between January of 1985 and June of 1996 and had traveled up the Agumbe Ghats or more than one occasion, mainly as a part of the team conducting cataract screening camps in rural Karnataka. Agumbe was just a village on the route because there was nothing much there to stop over for. The only place, in those days. to get decent food was in Thirthahalli, 30 kilometers away.As a student and later as faculty the beauty of nature in and around Udupi and Shimoga bypassed me. Perhaps, the beaches and parties were to blame!

As I researched Agumbe I realized that 12 hours was too short to explore this pristine area but since I had made up my mind I decided I'd use this opportunity to recce the area before planning a longer trip. One of my friends put me through to someone in Karkala who informed me that the smallest trek around Agumbe would need half a day. It was disappointing. My search for the Hamadryad would have to wait. Besides, it seemed that the rain God's aren't partial to anyone. The failure of the monsoon had its effect in Agumbe too. The reputation as the second most 'rainiest' place in India sounded hollow as we reached Sunset Point at the top of the ghat road.

 The bonnet macaques were also busy grooming themselves in the warm sun occasionally reaching out for the tidbits thrown by passing tourist.

One of them seemed pretty upset with a hoarding that was blocking it's route up the hill and it was going about systematically tearing it up. I guess the simian's action was justified since the eyesore was put on the road side where there is hardly any space for parking.

 

There was not a rain cloud in sight and the place was crowded with day trippers. It was supposed to be a bandh in Karnataka to protest against the Supreme Court's decision on release of Cauvery waters to Tamilnadu but the people in this part of the world were seemingly unaffected.

The view was great but it was not time for sunset so we drove on towards Agumbe.












No rains meant more crowds & less chances for an encounter with leeches and king cobras. We decided to push on to Kuppalli and do the ARRS on our return leg. (So the rest of this narrative is actually the part of our drive on the way back from Kuppalli.)

The Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS), is not on the road side and there is no board or sign post to show you the way. Once you reach Agumbe, from Udupi, the road that goes straight ahead from the junction is to Sringeri.

The road to Thirthahalli and Shimoga turns left and goes past the bus station on your right.














 A 100 meters down the road is a group of houses with a board of the local chicken center hanging on the fence. Turn left onto the mud track between the houses and follow your instinct! If you happen to cross a church or a bridge after Agumbe on the main road, you have most likely shot past the track to ARRS (like us!). Make a U-turn and keep your eyes peeled for that little board  with the picture of a chicken!

The ARRS lies at the very end of the track. The forest department has started fencing off the jungle now so I guess you'll have a fence to guide you in the not too distant future. The issue is that as the track proceeds it becomes narrower, barely sufficient for a car to pass. Even if a motorcycle comes opposite to you you'll probably have to back up. A better option would be to park your vehicle just before the narrow stretch and walk down the last 100 meters or so.

The ARRS is an old farmhouse, renovated to be used as a research center. The researchers usually stay onsite with a few permanent staff. We were hoping to meet Gowri Shankarbut we were a little too late. He was away, apparently doing a PhD somewhere. I was told that the King Cobra project was for a period of 5 years and the Karnataka forest department (KFD) had not renewed the permit for the team to enter & research in the surrounding jungles. The current researcher was doing something on the snake headed fish but he was still waiting for his forest entry permit! KFD also has been grappling with a naxalite problem which is probably why they are wary of giving new permits now.

The elusive Hamadryad would continue to remain elusive till our next visit. I walked down the track for a little distance hoping to see some movement in the undergrowth but the only thing that caught my eye were a pair of amorous bugs!















As we drove back towards the village my wife spotted three hornbills on a tree. I wasn't prepared for birds. I had come with a head filled with images of reptiles, amphibians and bugs so the camera I had packed was not meant for birding. Even if I could switch lenses the reach of a 150mm would have been inadequate from our position. Besides, birds aren't going to be waiting for you to do that. I just jumped out of the car and scampered back to the tree. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be my day. The birds were off looking for better prospects on some other tree. From one grainy shot (due to the inbuilt 2x Digital Teleconvertor) it looked like juveniles of the Malabar or Lesser Pied Hornbill.

Back at the village we dropped by atDoddamane, made famous by R.K Narayan's  creation Swami.The TV serial "Malgudi Days" was shot in the 150 year old house and it is the only option for home stay in Agumbe. I have posted a separate blog for Doddamane because I think the BIG HOUSE deserves it.The inspection bugalow is apparently the other alternative but I didn't even bother to ask. I have a phobia about getting booted out of Goverment property at odd hours because some "babu" turned up!! Another option is the ARRS provided there are no volunteers of ongoing research staying.

We didn't stop at Sunset Point it was more crowded than the morning and cloudy too. Besides, we had a party to attend in Manipal......

(Please note: All the words highlighted in YELLOW above, open links related to that word)

Authors, Poets & Woodcrawling - Part 3: Kasturi Akka & Doddamane

October 22, 2012, 8:14 am

≫ Next: Hornbill Heights (Part 1) - The home wars

≪ Previous: Authors, Poets & Woodcrawling - Part 2: Agumbe & the elusive Hamadrayd

$

0

0

Link to previous post is here 

DODDAMANE
We dropped by on Kasturi Akka, the matriarch of Doddmane. She has soaked in all the adulation that comes out of being a gracious host to a variety of back packing individuals. I say 'back packing' because Doddamane is for the back packer. If you are looking for the comforts of a three star hotel (forget five star) you will be better off looking for accommodation in Udupi (55 kms) or Sringeri (25 kms) depending on which direction you come from.

It is also the centerpiece of the TV Serial"Malgudi Days", directed by Late Shankar Nag, based on a collection of short stories by R.K Narayan, in the same name.

It s evident that Doddmane has seen better times. In it's heydays there were some 45 people living together under it's roof. Even in it's current state it was impressively big. The front door opens into a central courtyard open on top.

The kitchen and dining area was opposite the front door and the rear portion had the well and bathrooms.

There are cots all along the corridors with clothes hangers above them. I guess, if you were not very particular about having a room to yourself it is a good option. The natural ventilation of the courtyard will make sleeping a wonderful experience.









In any case, I think it is THE better option because the bedrooms on the ground floor (where the doors were open) seemed a little cramped. Unless you need place to store lots of gear the corridors should do fine.

Kasturi Akka is a gentle but firm lady. She is strict about timings (5AM to 10PM) and your habits (no smoking or drinking on premises). Meal timings are slightly flexible but supper order closes by 8PM. No fancy menu but simple local fare.

As a matter of fact we had a demo of how 'strict' she can be as we were talking to her. One of her guests who was on his way for a trek came to inform about his dinner order. He wanted chapatis with vegetable curry and 'white rice'. Kasturi Akka very firmly told him, chapatis would not be a problem but 'white rice' would, because "None of us like 'white rice', we prefer 'red rice' because it is more tasty". The conversation ended there. There is no arguing with the head of the house especially when it is told with a smile that says, "take it or leave it" !

You can stay in Doddamane or just eat there. You'll have to inform or request in advance. That she'll even pack food if you are going on a trek is what I read in one blog but another says "No take aways"! To contact her just call 08181233075

We were served a glass of butter milk and given an orange (home grown) each. The butter milk was heavenly, so was the sight of the food two other visitors were eating! I have no doubt in my mind that whatever she served would be fine if you liked home cooked vegetarian food.

Kasturi Akka's daughter was at home since it was a Sunday. Usually her job takes her to Manipal, a journey of 3 hours daily (two-ways), so she is around to help only on weekends & holidays. On the other days Kasturi Akka manages with the help of another lady.

I'm in my elements when I take pictures in the wild or outdoors and when my subject is not human but I am more than a little squeamish about taking pictures in someone else's house especially a complete strangers so I took very little pictures inside the house.If you want to see more click this link to another blog on Doddamane. 

We weren't sure if we should pay for the butter milk and oranges and when we offered to, she refused saying, "If you came to your Ajji's house would you pay?" To her we were house guests on that day, not a paying guest. She promised she'd take money when we came as a tourist. If you plan a visit to Doddmane, remember that there are no fixed charges. Kasturi Akka will take anything you give without even counting, in complete good faith. What you pay is based on your judgement of your experience at Doddamane. I'm sure if your tastes are simple you'll not be disappointed!

We bid goodbye to Kasturi Akka promising to return. ARRS and Agumbe deserved more than a couple of days and Doddamane is the best base station in Agumbe.

The next post on Kuppalli will come up shortly. The delay is due the translation of Kuvempu's poem, "Mane Mane Muddumane"

Hornbill Heights (Part 1) - The home wars

February 2, 2014, 3:01 am

≫ Next: A Tragic Tale of a Little Flowerpecker

≪ Previous: Authors, Poets & Woodcrawling - Part 3: Kasturi Akka & Doddamane

$

0

0

Urbanization has its evils. Destruction of patches of green that causes habitat loss for creatures living in it and displaces them. But, it also proves that Nature can take over an heal the damages wrought by man. This is the tale of one such green patch in Palakkad, my hometown in Kerala, and its inhabitants. The main characters in this tale are the Indian grey hornbills, a very common bird seen in our urban areas. They are true survivors and they pair up for life. This is their story.




In the heart of my town, Palakkad there is a bit of land on which stands the Palakkad town railway station. In the old days this was the junction for the meter gauge track from the Palani-Madurai route. There used to be a depot of the Indian Oil Corporation Corporation (IOCL) on the western side of the tracks and we had, and still have, a retail outlet of IOC on the eastern side opposite the Municipal bus stand.

 

The depot is long since gone as IOCL apparently found its running nonviable. They shut it down in 2004 and dismantled the huge storage tanks. Soon after, the meter gauge to broad gauge conversion work was started by the railways but that is not progressing even at snail's pace, because a snail would have crawled from Palani to Palakkad and back a 100 times in the intervening period! To cut the long story short, because this is a bird story and not a railway story, these two happenings had a beneficial effect.

The green belt in the middle is the railway land. Click the link above to go to Google Maps

The railway's yard already had huge trees in it's premises. With the stoppage of rail traffic the goods yard was shut down and human activity came to a standstill. Once the IOCL depot too was dismantled the rear approach to the railway station became an abandoned area. The only activity now is after 9 PM when passengers bound for Thiruvanathapuram come directly to the platform from that side. The IOCL depot is a wild unkempt area now with anti-social elements prowling around within its crumbling walls and poor people using it as a large open air lavatory! The trees grew with gay abandon, till some were cut recently for widening of the tracks. (The photos were clicked with my cellphone camera)

This tree still stands and our story plays out on it

 The buildings are overgrown now and wear a haunted look. However, there are still many that provide shelter for a variety of birds in the heart of my town. These trees were used for nesting by a large number of birds. Egrets were in plenty but after the trees were cut they have not returned.  Barbets too have gone. The drongos, kites, mynas and cuckoos are still around. There is however one tree, a rain tree (albizia saman), that has, mercifully, been spared the wood cutter's power saw. I hope it stays that way because that is where the real estate wars are going on. 

This tree has a hole in a strategic location some 30 feet up on its trunk. For any self respecting bird that would be the hole to which he would bring his mate to! It has been a prized nesting location for a generation of Indian grey hornbills. Come the breeding season, they make a beeline for it and there is serious competition. Of course, only one pair will have the privilege of occupying that cozy little hole!

Of course, such a strategically placed tree hole would have attracted the attention of 'encroachers' when the hornbills were away. This hole was no exception. I noticed a pair of mynas flying around agitatedly. Obviously they had occupied it and now they were about to get 'evicted'!

When the season arrived, as usual,  the annual 'house hunting' started in earnest. It was in late October that I noticed the first pair. They were the earliest to stake claim and inspection went on in earnest. I'm not sure if they are the same pair that nested there last year. Technically this is not the breeding season for the Indian grey hornbill. That comes later between March to June. However, courtship, pair feeding, mating and nest searching starts in November or December.

30th October, 2013

For the next few days they were the main pair, identifiable by a single white tipped black feather on the right side of the male's tail.

8th November, 2013

Then there was a flow of 'couples' to inspect the new 'apartments' on this tree. I counted nine pairs on one morning. They were sitting on different branches of the tree and would patiently wait for one pair to finish their inspection before moving in for their turn.

Pair 2

Pair 3

"Ok. The doorway is fine...."

".......and the inside looks cozy, except for those darned myna's poo!"

Pair 4

Pair 5

While they waited, some of them would go around looking for other tree holes with potential to be their next home.

"No hole here."

"Hmmm.....this place has potential."

"Hey! There is a hole here!"

"Anybody home?"

"Darn it! My beak barely fits!"

Pair 6

"Nice hole here baby!"

".....and a nice view too."

Pair 7

I couldn't get pics of two other pairs.

Eventually it dwindled down to two pairs. The second pair has found another hole on a branch on the same tree but I'm unable to get a clear view because photography is not allowed in railway land! I have one distinct advantage though, my retail outlet lies adjacent to this green patch so I have an unhindered view of the tree and the activity that goes on around it.

Every year the pair that got the right for this tree hole would occupy it for the rest of the season. I have seen the nesting pair go in and out setting it up for living but the mynas too were not giving up. Every opportunity they got they'd also get inside and stake claim.

"Ok! They've gone!"

"Mine!Mine!Myne!....Myna's!"

Over the last few weeks this drama is played out every morning. I'm not sure who gets to occupy the hole at night. Every morning the main protagonists are always in action. When the hornbills are around the mynas keep a safe  distance. Perhaps they are aware that a vicious knock with that huge beak could be fatal. Once the hornbills go on their foraging flights in the morning the mynas scamper back trying to establish their claim. I'm not sure how long they can hold out but they are not giving up just yet.

31st January, 2014

It seems that the first pair have agreed that this hole was where they were going to start their family. Every morning they would do some cleaning despite the mynas raising a ruckus around their heads. 

Even if the female left the vicinity of the hole the male would hang around a little longer.

Then he too would move off after her.....

...hopping and flying in short spurts..

...to bask in the morning's sunshine.

The hornbills didn't seem unduly concerned about the mynas. Maybe they knew that when push comes to shove the mynas wouldn't stand a chance. They were more worried about other birds in the area, the black kites.

The male was giving looks at the kite feeding above it. It seemed more worried about the kites than the mynas looking to occupy their nesting hole.

The initial hesitation passed and it seemed to make up its mind that the kite was no threat to his mate. After all it had a very nice meal to finish.

The mynas were a different kettle of fish. They were more hawk like in their attitude. Hanging around for the opportunity to get back their hole.

The mynas are also probably in their breeding mood and like the hornbills, a myna pair is mated for life. I read somewhere that mynas are messy so the hornbills can be expected to have a hard time cleaning up!

Seeing the mynas hanging around, the male flew down and stuck about the hole for a while. 

Eventually both of them settled on a branch nearby, making sure the mynas did not get back into the hole. 

It is going to be long summer for both the pairs. Who will eventually retain this prime piece of real estate remains to be seen. My bet is on the hornbills. Not because they are bigger and have a formidable looking bill but also because once the female gets in to lay her eggs, she gets sealed in for the rest of the incubation period and while the chicks are in their early days. 

As for the second pair on this tree. They were a very contented looking couple. They had a nest on another branch which was away from prying eyes and my camera's lens. I could just about see them go in and out occasionally

.

A nest that is already setup is a catalyst for romance. It was evidenced by their courtship on the branches. She had a morsel in her bill, and was offering it to him.

 He would take it in his bill gently......

.... then return it to her without swallowing it.

Sometimes he'd take it again, chomp on it.....

......hold on for a few seconds.....

....before returning it to her lovingly again! I thought romancing was old fashioned! After all romance nowdays, is confined to social networking sites and is usually very brief and eminently forgettable! Paired for life seems very strange term as far as us humans are concerned. Perhaps we can take a leaf out of the hornbill's life story.

These two pairs will be under my constant surveillance. I can't wait for the females to get walled in. I'm only worried the mynas will try to break the wall even as the first hornbill pair starts building it. It is a story that is building up. We have another five months to go for it to play out to its end.

5th February, 2014

Things have been happening at the Nesting Tree. 

The Pair No: 1 still continues their war with the mynas and they are still struggling to assert their claim on the best hole in the tree. 

Meanwhile Pair No: 2 have no such problems. They are busy with their courtship and house cleaning. I hope to get a closer access to their hole soon. It also means that the Trilogy is going to have more sequels than I have planned. 

Watch this space closely

A Tragic Tale of a Little Flowerpecker

March 3, 2014, 9:12 am

≫ Next: Hornbill Saga - A Lesson in Faithfulness

≪ Previous: Hornbill Heights (Part 1) - The home wars

$

0

0

My house, though built in the middle of the town, has the fortune to be set in the midst of a garden with a variety of fruiting trees. Sometimes I feel I'm like Gerald Durrell, surrounded by a menagerie of creatures of all sizes and shapes. Among the many birds that adorn the trees and bushes in my garden, the three smallest are the tailor birds, the sunbirds and the pale-billed flower peckers.

I find the tailor birds flitting about on the ground and the sunbirds and flowerpecker on low bushes, always busy rushing about as if that was the last day of their lives. Most often, they would be off even before I could line my camera lenses on them. It was under very tragic circumstances that I finally managed to get them within shooting distance.

15th February, 2014
I was returning for lunch from my clinic and I heard the agitated calls of a flower pecker from a bush next to  my verandah. I knew they had a nest on the mango tree that spread its branches over my lawn. I used to see them hopping around the branches all day.

Today they were sounding very upset about something, and I realized why as soon as I set my eyes on a fledgling sitting on the ground, looking very weak.

It had obviously been dislodged from its nest, probably by a marauding crow.Since it had fallen the ground from such great height, it would have been in a complete shock. And when I looked closely I realized that the poor little creature was being eaten alive by the fire ants.

The mother bird was anxiously trying to get its little one to move. It was an obviously futile exercise. The little bird was in no shape to respond or move anywhere in its condition. I had to intervene, though it was against my policy to get involved in Nature's, sometimes cruel, ways.

I picked it up, all the while followed by an anxious mother bird, pulled out some seven ants from the little bird's body and placed it inside a half portion of coconut husk. This I placed on an old tea bush so it would be visible to the mother.

This little bird gave me some of my best close up shots I have ever got of a feathered creature. Perhaps it knew I was helping it. It had such a trusting look in its deep dark eyes.

I knew it was not destined to survive. It's right wing seemed broken and was devoid of feathers at the joint. Maybe the crow that attacked it was responsible for that. Even the leg seemed oddly twisted.

The mother bird was circling overhead and calling to it's baby but was refusing to come down to this artificial nest.

I then decided it would be better to move it to a place where the mother could have more access to it's little one. There was an old birdbath that I wasn't using because it had developed a leak that would never stop despite patching it many times. I shifted the bird to the pot with the 'nest' I had made for it. It was placed between a neem tree and some palms whose fronds were arching over this pot.

It was almost as if the mother bird had been waiting for this. She came flying down to a low branch on the neem tree and kept calling to the baby bird, as if encouraging it to fly. 

The little one, which had already hopped out of the coconut 'nest' onto the edge of the pot, appeared to go to sleep. Perhaps the toxins from the bites of the fire ants were kicking in. One bit to us is so painful; I could imagine the effect of seven or more ants biting in tandem.

A few moments later the mother appeared on the stem of the palm frond with a neem fruit in its beak. 

Despite its best efforts the little one was not looking in her direction and seemed to have slipped into a stupor. The mother bird then popped the fruit down her own throat when she realized that her baby was not interested, or maybe she'd regurgitate it later when the little one cried for food.

A few minutes later Papa bird too appeared on the scene and joined his mate in trying to coax their baby into doing something. 

I was wondering if they were telling it to fly and join them but their effort didn't seem to have any influence on the little bird that continued to be in some sort of daze. I was worried it would fall off the edge of the pot though it seemed to have a strong grip on it.

I had to go off to a hospital where I was a visiting consultant. I was in a dilemma whether I should take the little bird inside and keep it in some shoe box till I could get some information on how to nurse it back to health. However, I wasn't too keen on interfering with Mother Nature's plans so I left the little chick in the care of it's parents till I could return.

I left them sitting guard over their precious offspring. That was the last I saw of it.

When I came back an hour later the chick was gone. The parents were somewhere in the palms. Perhaps the chick had jumped or fallen off and they had managed to take it somewhere safe, though I doubted it. I did not have much hope for it. It was too tiny to withstand a concerted assault, first probably by a crow and later by an army of deadly ants. In any case I did not want to think something unfortunate had befallen the little chick. 

I hoped Nature found a way........

---

Hornbill Saga - A Lesson in Faithfulness

May 11, 2014, 7:30 pm

≫ Next: Hornbill Saga - The End of the Days

≪ Previous: A Tragic Tale of a Little Flowerpecker

$

0

0

The link to the last Hornbill post, Incarcerated, is here

It is said that hornbills mate for life and, between the time the female was incarcerated, sometime in early February (10th or 11th) and through the subsequent two months till the female broke out of her confines in early April (? 8th), I was witness to one such saga of faith. The male hornbill after sealing his beloved into a dark and musty hole in the tree hung around for the rest of the period ensuring that his beloved would remain in good health during her enforced confinement.

11th February, 2014

He had to ensure that she was fed and her nest was ready to receive the chicks. The pair had been practicing how to take things from each other's beaks before the female entered it for the last time in the season. Hornbill beaks are not short and round like most birds. They have long beaks that are flattened from side to side and are gently curved. It seemed perfectly designed for the job at hand. Passing of food and building material through the narrow slit in the closed tree hole. At any given time only one bird's beak could go through it. It remained to be seen how that would work.

During the courting period the male practiced passing things to the female for many weeks before the confinement. (See the previous posts). That was done, sitting next to each other on an open branch. Now it was a different situation. He would only have access to her protruding beak and he would have to hold his beak perfectly angled to allow the female to grab what he had brought to her, without dropping it 20 feet below to the ground.

14th February, 2014

He had perfected his technique. He would fly in, grab the edge of the tree hole with his talons and hang on. Clinging on to the nest's edge precariously, he'd pass on the stuff he gathered to the waiting beak of his mate.

In the initial few days it was often pieces of wood or clods of mud that he gathered. Despite her confinement, the female seemed to take her housekeeping duties very seriously.

 The male would fly off in search of food and building materials. Wood was always at hand. A dried tree branch provided plenty of rotting bark. For lumps of mud, he flew elsewhere.

If the pieces were large, he'd break them into smaller pieces before offering it to his mate.

Food was a variety of berries and fruit. Mostly sourced from the fig trees found within a short distance of the nesting tree.

In each trip he would gather a number of the fruit or berry and sitting on the edge of the tree hole he'd regurgitate them one after the other with a peculiar bobbing of his head. A vigorous up-down, backward-forward movement of the head and a fruit or berry would appear in its throat.

 The most  amazing thing about this process is that only one fruit or berry would be brought up each time.

 The fruit, thus regurgitated, would then be presented to his hungry mate through the narrow slit.

After a session of feeding he would go up into the branches of the tree and wait till it was time to go foraging again.

He would spend time preening himself and probably also contemplate on the world outside. He had to kill time. 60 days is a long time in a hornbill's life!

On a few occasions I also observed a smaller bird, which appeared to be a juvenile male, join the male in feeding the confined female. Perhaps it their own child was from a previous season.

The male would fly off in the mornings and return with something for his beloved prisoner. He had, by now perfected his feeding position. Perhaps, realizing that grabbing the lower edge of the hole and trying to give stuff to the female was more risky, he was now coming in from above the nest.

17th February, 2014

23rd February, 2014

Sometimes he'd fly from the side and wedge himself in the groove between the two main branches and then hop onto the ledge formed by the upper part of the bole. This was the most effective way of getting things to his mate.

His weight would be borne by his legs and the tree against which he'd press his body. Then he just had to swing his neck down to align his beak with the opening in the hole.

He could sit like that and regurgitate each fruit or berry without the fear of slipping off. Brilliant!

There would be two main sessions in day, early morning and evening. In the mid-morning and afternoon he;d be away a little longer but always returning to check on his mate. He would sit at some vantage point and survey the scene below. The mynas were still around and he'd have to shoo them away occasionally. More worrisome were the humans. There was a constant flow of people through the abandoned depot. It appeared that there was something going on like illicit arrack or dope sale. This activity was usually in the mornings and it disturbed the birds very often.

Occasionally the male would come back with large pieces of bark. It appeared they were readying for the arrival of the chicks.

26th March, 2014

Most other times it would sit just above the hole. The broken end of the branch housed the nest of a pair of mynas. One one occasion the male seemed to get very irritated by the mynas and was trying to reach inside their nest and destroy whatever was inside.

Fortunately, he never got at whatever was inside and seemed content with the discomfiture he was putting the mynas into.

Summer this year has been harsh. Even the normal thunder showers failed to put up a show. I was wondering how the female was coping in its hole. The male would unfailingly bring her things to eat or line the nest with but it is a wonder how she was surviving in a hot and confined tree hole surrounded by her shed feathers and waste materials. 

It seemed the the female was also playing her part in housekeeping and making herself comfortable. On more than one occasion I have seen her clear the hole by taking out some stuff that seemed like the seeds from the berries she ate or residual mud and feathers. Some she'd throw out and other she'd line the edge of her tree hole which she or the male would knock down later.

All through February and March these daily events continued. The male would always ensure his mate had her fill so that she and her chicks would be healthy. 

Towards the end of March I was tied up with a wedding in the family and the camera remained at home because I could not spend much time watching the nest. Then it happened. I had calculated her confinement period to be about 60-65 days. Since February had only 28 days this year my estimated date for her break out was between the 12th and 20th of April. I had miscalculated and almost missed the day.

8th April, 2014

The wedding was over and I was free, so I had carried my camera after a short break. I saw the male come to feed but to my utter surprise the hole had been enlarged. Till the previous day the opening of the nest was a slit now it was a wide oval opening. It could only mean one thing. The female had broken out and the male was bringing food for the little ones!

He had carried his torch for his beloved for two months and now he was taking over the responsibility of being a good father. The female was not to be seen anywhere. She'd be exhausted and feeling like a dirty rag after so many weeks of confinement in a cramped space. Till she recovered father hornbill's work was not over.

That story will follow. Watch this space...................

Hornbill Saga - The End of the Days

May 17, 2014, 8:11 pm

≫ Next: Hornbill Saga : The Last Post - End of the Turf Wars

≪ Previous: Hornbill Saga - A Lesson in Faithfulness

$

0

0

The hornbill blogs in series are here. Click the links for the previous posts

1. Hornbill Heights - Part 1
2. Hornbill Heights - Part 2
3. Hornbill Heights - Part 3
4. Hornbill Saga - Faithfulness

8th April, 2014

I looked, and looked again. The opening of the nest was larger than it was the previous day. It only meant one thing. The female had let herself out! The male, obviously, with the fruit in its beak was going to feed the chicks. A doting and dutiful father, considering that the female was nowhere to be seen! I was about to have my first look at the little ones but that would be another day.

He was hovering around protectively. Not flying too far away or for too long. The mother, obviously, would have gone elsewhere to recover her strength and get her plumage back in order after two long months of confinement.

11th April, 2014

I did not get my look at the chicks for another three days. Then on the 11th of April I saw a tiny head reach out with the beak wide open to get it's share of fruit from papa bird.

He would regurgitate the fruit one after another, and place them lovingly into the waiting beaks of his little chicks.

Immediately after each short session of feeding the male would leave to look for more food. In his absence I was given a reminder that the turf wars were not over. Mynas, the old occupants of the hole, seemed to have been waiting for the right opportunity. The minute the father hornbill flew off the waiting myna descended to the opening.

It would peep and go away unsure of what to do. Perhaps the hornbill's formidable beak was a deterrent.

12th - 14th April, 2014

The male was suddenly very busy. He had two mouths to feed and so had to go out more frequently. The mother bird had still not made a return or I was not seeing it during the times I was there. It was always the male arriving with food and nest material. 

Even a wasp in the mud below the tree was a potential source of nutrition for his chicks. I had never seen him come to ground level when the mother bird was incarcerated.

16th - 19th April, 2014

It seemed the air was full of hornbills. There were other pair in the vicinity of my hornbill's tree and it seemed that their chicks were also growing. The pair was sitting on a casuarina tree and going through some ritual dance moves!

As I wondered where the female was, she suddenly appeared on a branch with her mate. He feathers had grown back but she looked still worn out from her experience. It had been a full week since she broke out and I hadn't seen her.

The male still was doing what he did best, feed the hungry inmates......................

........... the female was just perched above and observing him. She just did not seem to have built up her strength yet.

However, it was evident that she had passed on some of her skills in confinement to her chicks. They too were adept at shooting out their poo out of the nest with unerring accuracy!

The first few days after her reappearance she made no attempt to feed the chicks.

It was the male who was feeding the chicks who always appeared very hungry.

On occasions the male attempted to coax the female to feed the chicks by passing the stuff in his beak to the female. Perhaps he realized that she was lacking in confidence to deliver the food to the waiting beaks of her little ones.

20th April, 2014

The growing chicks and their ever hungry cries was testing the male's perseverance. 

He not only had to feed them but also had to ensure that the nest was maintained for their comfort. He was now collecting mud from directly under the tree from a track frequented by vehicles and humans.

The father bird was now ferrying clods of dry mud from the heap below the tree. There was some serious renovation going on inside. Now that the female was out the chicks would have a little more space. That would soon become uncomfortable as they started growing bigger.

It seemed that the danger he was putting himself into jolted the female out of her lethargy. She first went and tested her ability to cling at the edge of the nest.

It seemed that the mother bird had finally made up her mind about her role in bringing up her babies. She flew to a nearby tree and returned with what appeared to be some fruit. Her first attempt was very comical. It was obvious that she was woefully out of practice and she just couldn't get it right.

I wasn't sure what the problem was but after a few attempts at passing the fruit to her chicks she gave up and flew to the end of the broken branch above the nest to catch her breath. Maybe the fruit was too large or too smooth that she wasn't able to grip it properly. Perhaps she was afraid of dropping it.

After a few seconds she flew back again to  make another futile attempt.

Back again to the perch to rework her strategy. She was obviously out of practice, more used to receiving stuff than giving it. I though it should have been instinctive!

Attempt after failed attempt occurred over the next four and a half minutes. Somehow, she wasn't able to get it right. Maybe the chicks weren't ready to take something from her because they were so used to getting it from their father. He would have had time to give 20 fruits if he had 4 minutes!

The last time she tried it, I thought I saw the fruit slip out to the ground below. In any case she never made another attempt that morning!

The chicks were growing and their needs were increasing each passing day. Two hungry mouths meant that the father had to take over feeding duties again while mother did other things. 

Nest maintenance was a constant affair so the mother took over the easier chore, bringing mud and nesting material. She would bring a clog of mud and place it on the edge of the hole for the chicks to take inside.

So much more easier than trying to put a fruit in the little beak! I guess the male wasn't very confident in her abilities. He'd sit over her and fix her with a sharp look while she was at it!

2nd - 6th May, 2014

Each time I saw the beaks of the chicks through the slit the seemed to have grown slightly bigger than on the previous day. The frequency of feeding too had increased though the mother still confined her duties to nest maintenance and the father to feeding. 

It seemed that the father shared a special bond with his children. Sometimes I would see him bend over as if to listen to something that the chicks had to tell him.

9th & 10th May, 2014

By my calculation the time had come for the chicks to leave the nest and when I reached the nest on the 9th May I realized I had been been right. The opening was wider.

Initially I thought the chicks had already left but the presence of the mother on the branch above the nest reassured me that they were inside

The chicks were very much there and as hungry as ever. Now the two beaks, when they projected from the nest's opening, looked almost adult width. 

Both the parents were busy running around and there seemed to have been an exchange of duties too. I saw the male flying down to the papaya tree below to pluck leaves for lining the nest. 

That left me wondering. According to my recordings the female had exited the nest on the 57th day after incarceration. I was expecting the chicks to make their move some 30-35 days after that. It was the perfect time but the parents seemed to have other intentions.

11th May, 2014

I had my first real look at the chick(s). The hole was bigger and the chicks had started putting their heads out while begging for food.

It also seemed that the mother bird had regained her confidence. She was also feeding her children now, with assurance!

Papa bird, though, was the children's favourite. They always seemed to look forward to his arrival than their mother's!

The tidbits he carried were more colourful and interesting! Even to me, an observer! He had even carried a garden lizard to his beloved when she was in confinement. A visual, I had missed recording.

Meanwhile the little ones were now always peeking out to survey the world they had to move out into. They would learn how tough it would be to survive sooner than later! A lesson I also was to learn shortly.

The final post will come in the next few days. Things have developed, that was totally unexpected. I will update once I'm sure that the End of the Days has really come!

Watch this space..............

Hornbill Saga : The Last Post - End of the Turf Wars

May 20, 2014, 9:10 am

≫ Next: Thattekad (Part 1) - Of Birds, Snakes and Rainforests

≪ Previous: Hornbill Saga - The End of the Days

$

0

0

For those who came in late:
This is a tale of Mrs & Mr. Hornbill whom I had the chance of getting to know a couple of years ago. I had been just a casual acquaintance of theirs but things changed over the last six months. I have had the rare privilege of being witness to their courting, mating, confinement & birth of their two chicks. If you are not the impatient type, I suggest, you go back to the last post here. You'll find the links to all other posts in this series on the top of the page in that previous post. I have deliberately avoided putting the links here because this post is unique. I have, over the last six months, shared the joys & sorrows of parenting that these hornbills went through. I want people who have been following this post not to get distracted at this truly important point in time.

The events in this final post, on this pair's activity this season (2013-2014), happened over a period of five days, from the 13th to the 18th of May. This particular post is longer than the previous ones, and rightly so, though this covers only one tenth of the entire breeding season of the hornbills. Please bear with me.

13th May, 2014

It seemed to me that the parents had decided that it was time for the chicks to move into the real world. There was a drop in the frequency of feeding. Though the parents were always in the vicinity of the nest they rarely responded to the cries of the chicks. They were maintaining a certain aloofness that suggested they wanted the chicks to venture out of the protective walls of the nest if they wanted food.

The little ones would poke a beak out and keep looking out for their parents without knowing that they would be sitting on a branch somewhere above them!

14th May, 2014

Children can be stubborn and hornbill my chicks were no different. They were not playing ball. Other than just craning their necks out of the hole they refused to budge out of their cozy nest.

When the exasperated mother once tried prodding them out with a piece of bark, they only became more adamant.

 

Sometimes they seemed to realize that the parents were sitting above them and so every now and then they would make their pleading cry and look up expectantly.

The mother knew that her plan wasn't working so she tried another strategy. She would go and sit at the edge of the hole with a tempting fruit in her beak. She would make no attempt to give it to the chicks. After waiting for a few seconds she'd fly back to her perch on the overhanging branch and wait expectantly.

Even that ploy was a failure. It seemed that the more the parents tried to induce the chicks to get out, the more they refused. Occasionally, the parents would succumb to the pleading cries and give the chicks a small meal. This, however, happened only rarely. The parents seemed to realize that their only chance of success was keeping the chicks hungry!

Both the parent's and the chicks were playing a game. The question was, who would blink first?!

So far the chicks seemed to have an upper hand. The adults went off to roost on a branch a little farther away and perhaps rethink their strategy to get the chicks out of the nest.

15th May, 2014

It was apprent that the curtains were coming down on the hornbill breeding season. The other pair on the casuarina tree that I had seen earlier came for the last goodbye. I haven't seen them since.

The hornbill near my house too came to say farewell for the season!

For my pair, however, it was another day of relentless effort. They seemed to have run out of ideas. The mother hadn't given up the tempt-with-fruit strategy but I wasn't sure it was working.

The mother bird would put her head inside and try to coax her babies out but it seemed they were still acting stubborn, or so I thought.

She repeated this act a few times but the chicks didn't seem to show any interest in moving out of the nest. As a matter of fact, they did not peep out from their nest at all, that morning!

The pensive parents would just sit on their regular perch above the hole and keep calling. I started getting worried. Almost an hour of waiting the chicks hadn't peeked out or cried for food. Had they flown away? I would know tomorrow.

16th May, 2014

I unpacked my camera and trained the lens on the hole. It was my usual habit. The reach of the 600mm would let me know when the chicks were moving inside the darkened tree hole. Today I was in for a shock.

What popped out of the hole was not a hornbill chick's beak but a whole bird; a myna!

Papa hornbill was sitting on the end of a broken branch and after the myna took off he bent down as though to see if he really saw a myna!

It certainly was a myna. It went and perched itself above the hole as if to assert itself.

The female hornbill was on another tree, looking despondent but the male was still hoping that his chicks would come out of the nest.

Just to be sure, he went down to inspect the nest while the mynas cackled angrily from above.

The female kept a safe distance since the mynas were especially rude to her, chasing her away every time she came near the nest. It was the male who was now trying to make the little ones come out.

The attitude of the mynas had changed. They were acting like they had achieved something. Though they were wary of approaching the male hornbill they'd ruffle their feathers and act like Tarzan of the Apes after he succeeded in subduing an animal in a fight...............

.................. complete with the scream and waving of their wings, like Tarzan beat his chest and let out his famous victory yell!

The mynas were now entering and exiting the nest with impunity and I realized that the chicks were not in the nest anymore.My manager, who has by now become an expert in hornbills, told me that he had seen the mynas chase the two chicks away in the morning. They had also thwarted an attempt by one of them to get back inside. According to him the chicks had flow to another tree some 100 meters away.

I was not sure if the parents were waiting for the chicks to return or whether they still thought that the little ones were in the nest.

After a while it became evident that they too realized that the mynas were occupying their nest because their children had been driven out. They were going down to the hole on the broken branch where the mynas had been nesting temporarily and inspecting it.

I couldn't tell if they were searching for their chicks or simply seeking to avenge their loss by destroying whatever was in that nest.

Perhaps it was already too late. The mynas were doing their own cleaning up. They would pop in, pick up something and come up and throw it out.

17th May, 2014

Suddenly there seemed to be a whole horde of bullies. Mynas were gathering together and heckling the hornbills.

The hornbills, on their part, bore everything in dignified silence. The were flying between the trees in the immediate vicinity calling out and searching for their little ones.

There was no sign of the little ones still. I could only pity the parents. After three months of patient vigil I was left wondering who felt the chick's absence harder, the father, mother or I!

I am sure, dear reader, that you too are left a little shaken & shocked by the turn of events like me. I am praying that the chicks are fine somewhere and the parents will be united with them eventually.

I have packed my gear and carried my tripod back home. I've not given up just yet. It is that a long awaited trip to Bandipur is around the corner and I have to get my gear in shape. I'm hoping that during the intervening period my hornbill family will be reunited.

EPILOGUE

Nothing happened on the 19th of May. Literally nothing. I was not greeted by the raucous calls of the hornbills outside my window when I woke up. It was like the hornbills had switched off till the next season. At my post near my hornbill's treehole it was only mynas, drongos and crows now. There were no hornbills to be seen or heard.

On 20th May I carried my camera again hoping something would have turned. Turn it did but not in favour of the big birds but for the little resilient mynas. The hornbills were still there; the male flitting from tree to tree restlessly. I watched the mother sit and wait, hoping her little ones would come back. She made no attempt to go near her former nest.  

 It was the mynas who were going about their jobs as if nothing had happened. It had come full circle. They had been driven out of their nest in November and for six months they had to make do with a temporary home. Summer is bidding good bye and the monsoon is gathering. It rained today.

To the mynas it is a signal to get their house in order. 

I watched as one dipped inside and came out with an orange thing in its beak. A remnant perhaps, of the succulent looking fruit papa hornbill had got a few days ago. The myna flew out with it, knowing well that its house would belong to her for the monsoon. 

The hornbills would return in late October. That was a very long time away, especially when measured in terms of a bird's life. Turf wars were over for the season. It would start all over again when the rain tree started shedding its leaves. Till then peace would reign on the tree in the old depot. 

I'm only hoping the would still be there next season. The track replacement work has pick up speed again and this tree looks like it is standing in the way of the grand plans of the railways!

DISCLAIMER: 

1. The entire series of blogs from late October 2013 till mid-May 2014 have been shot with an Olympus E3 DSLR with a 300mm f2.8 + EC20 2x tele-convertor attached & OM-D E-M5 with a M.Zuiko 70-300mm lens.
2. The shooting was done from the rooftop of a building about 60 meters away. The nest was never accessed or disturbed in anyway. 
3. No flash photography was done. 
4. The birds, both adult & chicks were never disturbed or handled at any time during this period. 
5. No intervention happened to disturb the natural course of events. 
6. All events have been presented in chronological order.
7. I don't claim to be an authority on the nesting or breeding habits of the Indian grey hornbill. 
8. This is only a record of my observations over a single breeding season of a single pair of hornbills as they unfolded before me.

Thattekad (Part 1) - Of Birds, Snakes and Rainforests

August 24, 2014, 7:46 am

≫ Next: Thattekad (Part 2) - 5 Frogmouths & a Bird bath

≪ Previous: Hornbill Saga : The Last Post - End of the Turf Wars

$

0

0

I don't know if I am an inherently lazy chap or someone who suffers from some form of amnesia.

Sometime earlier this year I made a trip to Thattekad, the best birding destination in Kerala. It was a long pending desire to spend a few days but circumstances weren't giving me the right chance. Then, Skanda's school announced a week of holidays courtesy the Kerala School Kalolsavam! January was right in the middle of the birding season and so we hastily put together a three day trip to Thattekad. Since Valparai was another place on the 'must go birding' places we thought we'd return home through a rather circuitous route. This is the record of the first part of that trip, Palakkad to Thattekad.

Coming back to the first sentence again. This post was supposed to have gone up immediately after we returned but sheer laziness and distraction by an interesting Hornbill Saga delayed it. Then I completely forgot about it till I saw the Malabar trogon in Siruvani, but that is another tale for later, which I hopefully will not forget!

(Please note. Pink is a Link! Click to open the related pages.) 

So finally, here it is; the Thattekad story. Forgive my laziness!

Thattekad shot into fame after Dr. Salim Ali called it the "richest bird habitat in peninsular India". The first designated bird sanctuary in Kerala is home to an extraordinary number of birds confined to a small (25 sq km) triangular area between the Periyar river and it's tributary the Idamalayar. The Salim Ali Bird Trial is only a small portion that lies at the apex of this triangle.

To reach the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary you have to reach Kothamangalam first. My plan was to drive up to Thattekad directly and on my return, take a detour through Athirappalli and Valparai.

The Route

Reaching Thattekad from Palakkad is not a problem. (All distances from Palakkad.) The route takes the NH-47 bypassing Trichur at Mannuthy (63 kms) to reach Angamaly (105 kms) through Chalakudy. From Angamaly you have to turn left onto the Main Central Road (on the Kottayam route). You will reach Kalady (112 kms), then Perumbavoor (119 kms) where you have to take a small deviation within the town before getting back onto the M.C road. Kothamangalam (137 kms) is 18 kilometers from Perumbavoor. A the Thankalam junction (land mark: TVJ Eye Hospital) you have to take a left turn for Thattekad. From the junction it is 12 kilometers to the Salim Ali Bird sanctuary. Once you cross the Periyar river, you reach Sivakshetrapadi (149 kms) the entrance to the sanctuary and the ticket counter. The Salim Ali bird trial is a few hundred meters further down the road from the ticket counter. The entire journey takes around three and a half hours depending on the traffic.

Accommodation

Thattekad itself has little to offer in terms of accommodation. There are a few resorts but they are a few kilometers before you even reach the Periyar. Cloud 9 Hotel in Kothamangalam is an option if you don't mind the 12 kilometer drive. It has an excellent restaurant and good rooms for those of you who insist on the luxuries! For the serious birder, who isn't unduly concerned about where you sleep or what you eat, there are two lovely homestays within the sanctuary area. You have to get past the ticket counter to reach both of them. We stayed in theBirds Song Homestaywhich is slightly deeper (some 200 mts from the main gate) and abuts the forest. The other one, Jungle Bird Homestay is just adjacent to the forest department's dormitories.

What to carry

Once you reach Thattekad there is nothing else to do; well, except scouring the trees for the birds! It is a place for serious birders and if you are one you can skip the rest of the paragraph!. If you came for a walk in the park, make a three point turn and drive right back. The entire day, from 6.00 AM to 6.00 PM, is spent in the pursuit of the feathered kind. When you pack your bags, don't forget the customary binocular and bird books. Wear a shoe or sandal that can last the rigours of an  8 hour walk in the forest (spilt in two trips) and carry a satchel that will hold a few fruits, energy bars and a bottle of water. I promise you, it will be a sweaty, tiring experience but well worth the trouble.

What to do

Bird activity peaks in the early mornings and evenings but that is not saying that they go to sleep the rest of the day. You have to be up at the crack of dawn, down your morning's brew and walk off into the crisp air  that greets you early in the morning. Unlike in Bandipur and Silent Valley, in Thattekad, you don't have to look for birds. They'll come to you! Just keep your eyes and ears open.

19th January, 2014

We reached Birds Song at half past one because we stopped for an early lunch at Cloud 9, which has a lovely afternoon buffet. Our host Vinod's father was in hospital in Kottayam and he was on his way back. It wouldn't make sense to land in his place without him around. We settled in and waited for him. Birds Song has only two rooms with attached bathrooms on the first floor. The ground floor is the residence of Vinod and his family. Food is served in the family dining hall unless you are very picky.
After tea Vinod will lead us on a walk to explore the neighbouring forests.

Darter

As was always the case, when we crossed the Periyar,  the cables adjacent to the bridge were occupied by the terns.

Whiskered terns

Once you leave the road and step into the forest you realize why the experience of a person like Vinod is useful. His eyes and ears are always alert. A flash of colour, the slightest movement in the canopy or a call that comes from some vague direction he will lead you to the bird unerringly.

Chestnut tailed starling

Southern hill mynas

Lesser yellow naped woodpecker

Plum headed parakeet

White belled tree pie

And as we walked back across the bridge again in the fading light the cable was getting crowded. A flock of ashy wood swallows were also huddling up against each other for the night.

Ashy wood swallows

20th January, 2014

We were woken up with a hot cup of coffee before the sun was up. The birds were already active and as we moved towards the sanctuary gates Vinod stopped near the ticket counter and asked us to get out of the car. There was a pair of Brown Hawk owls that lived in the clump of bamboo and we were just in time to see them settle down.

It was stretching its wings before settling for the day.

Noticing us peering through the fencing it widened its eyes to glare at us before deciding the there was no point wasting time over a few curious homo sapiens!

As we drove out to the first stop for the morning, the Kinacherry (or Knacherry as it is pronounced) Tribal Colony, the Periyar flowed languorously on our left.

The mist was just lifting and the river looked inviting for a morning dip. However, our plan for the morning did not include that indulgence!









The tribal colony, if you could call it that, was on a hillock. There were a few ramshackle huts scattered over its top. The folks were going about their morning chores when we reached there.

Vinod asked them about the morning's bird life. The gent laying out something to dry said the birds had already moved on as the sun had come out a little early.

Not a nice thing to hear after a rather stiff walk in the early morning with all the gear. Timing does matter and if you could wake up with the birds and reach there before the sun came up you would be feasting your eyes on a large choice of birds!

Flame throated bulbul

Malabar grey hornbill

Malabar grey hornbill

Black rumped flameback woodpecker

Malabar parakeet (male)

Oriental honey buzzard

Malabar parakeet (male)

Small minivet

Blyth's starling

Orange minivet (male) back view

Orange minivet female

White cheeked barbet

Malabar giant squirrel

Orange minivet (male) front view

Ashy drongo

Thattekad won't disappoint you. The birds are there at any time of the day. You just have to keep your eyes open, and really wide if you want a glimpse of Thattekad's most famous residents the Srilanka Frogmouth and the Malabar trogons.

If you are an avid trekker and don't mind a few slimy, loving leeches having breakfast at your expense, without hurting you like a mosquito, then Thattekad is for you! Vinod took us through the forest to another clearing.

The first of our frogmouths for the day (and the first time in our lives) was encountered on the way to this place. I will put a separate post for the frogmouths we encountered.

Sri Lanka frogmouth roosting

 So were our first Malabar trogons. Vinod has sharp ears and he asked us to move in a direction where we heard the calls and the pair was there as if waiting for us.

Malabar trogon (male)

Malabar trogon (female)

 We were following them deeper into the forest and as the ground underfoot started getting more and more soggy I felt a thrill go up my spine.

Vinod had told us this was prime King cobra country and I was hoping I'd meet up with one!

The fallen trees were rotting along with the leaf litter and every time I passed a mound I was hoping it would be a nest.

Then something came crashing down from the canopy and Vinod hissed, "Snake!" I was thinking my day was made but it was not to be. It was a humble rat snake, the King's breakfast, that had probably slipped of a branch and nearly landed on top of us. I only had a fraction of a second to whip around and click this shot of a very frightened snake!

 That was enough excitement for the morning. After a small break for bananas and biscuits we were off to Urulanthanni for the day of frogmouths!

Thattekad (Part 2) - 5 Frogmouths & a Bird bath

August 26, 2014, 8:37 pm

≫ Next: Thattekad (Part 3) - The Long Road Home (Thattekad-Athirapalli-Valparai-Pollachi)

≪ Previous: Thattekad (Part 1) - Of Birds, Snakes and Rainforests

$

0

0

Let me confess. Our trip to Thattekad had one very important agenda. A tryst with the Srilanka Frogmouth. It would be patently untrue if anyone said they went to Thattekad "just to see some birds". The truth is that Thattekad is now synonymous with the frogmouth and everybody who goes there has the Srilanka Frogmouth on the top of their bird list!

More about these birds here from Wiki

Most of the guides in Thattekad, if not all of them, know one or two places where these singular birds roost. Being nocturnal in their habits they need to conserve energy during the day and they roost on low shrubs till dusk. Which means that after your birding in the early hours you can devote a leisurely hour or two, after the sun has climbed up, in pursuit of these lovely birds!

Frogmouth Fotography For Dummies!!

I never thought I'd add this section in a trip report but after seeing some photographers describe their experience in Thattekad and elsewhere I thought it I had to put my thoughts on record. Unfortunately, with the sudden upsurge of wannabe wildlife photographers, these birds have to face a lot of unwanted attention. The Srilanka frogmouths have a bad habit. They roost in the same branch of the same tree for months unless they get disturbed too much. It would have been alright if they were high up in the canopy but they prefer branches closer to the ground, perhaps a couple of meters from ground level.

My belief is that most  travelers to Thattekad are serious bird watchers. They know how to behave in the presence of these beautiful creatures. However there are people who would do anything to get 'the perfect shot', which means a little bit of clearing of leaves and twigs to get a better access for their cameras. Some even use flash in broad daylight.

If you want to photograph the Frogmouth just follow some basic rules.

1. If you have been brought to the presence of a frogmouth, especially with a chick, DON'T GO TOO CLOSE. 
2. DON'T poke your camera in the face of the bird. Use a telephoto lens to 'reach' it instead.
3. DO NOT try to move any branches or leaves to gain access. Once disturbed they may abandon the branch.
4. AVOID FLASH photography. If you have a fast lens use its widest aperture and hike up the ISO. 
5. If you have a monopod or tripod set it without knocking on the branches.
6. If needed lie down on the ground or kneel in any odd position but don't shake the perch!

20th January, 2014 (10 am - 11 am)

 
After our mornings sojourn at the Kinacherry area we packed up to move to Urulanthanni. We took a small detour thorough the forest just to enjoy the sounds of nature.

I was hoping we'd run into another snake but the reptiles were not willing to play ball. I guess the sun wasn't beating down strongly enough for them to consider leaving their hiding places for a warm up!
















On the way we said hello to the first Frogmouth of the day again. It was there in the exact same spot where we left it. It was like a frozen toy, only the big eyes giving away the fact that it was aware of our presence.

Lugging heavy gear on a humid morning is not a very pleasant experience especially if your stomach was grumbling something about breakfast!

Urulanthanni is some 10 kilometers from Sivakshetrapadi along the Kuttampuzha- Pooyamkutti road. You have to report at the checkpost for permission to drive into the forest. Right where we parked the Duster, on the edge of the track, a white gentleman and his partner were peering into a bush. There was, apparently, a  frogmouth in it. We moved off without disturbing them. The Duster was parked there and we'd be returning to the same place later anyway. 

After a circutous walk in the forest we reached a temple and Vinod took us to a bush just a few meters from the track. He asked us to bend down and look inside it. A first we did not see it. All we could see was dried leaves swinging gently in the breeze. Then we saw them, a pair of Srlanka Frogmouths, Nos 2 & 3 of the morning!

It was tricky trying to get a good shot of the pair but I managed to get off a few from an awkward position without causing much disturbance. The one looking at me must have thought that I was off my rocker!

To give you a fair idea of how difficult it is to spot a pair in the wild, look at this next photo.   If they had not been where they were, right in the center, I guess most of us would not have picked them up at all! We would have walked past, without even giving a glance at what looks like some dried leaves!

It was past almost a quarter to 11 in the morning and our stomachs were really protesting. We decided to go back to the home stay and grab a well deserved breakfast. When we reached the Duster there was nobody around and we peered into the bush where we had seen the old man looking. It was there, our 4th Frogmouth of the day!

 

Not the best lighting despite being so late in the morning but we did get some records shots.

On the way back we stopped to check on some owls but it was so well camouflaged that I wasn't really sure if I had got the owl at all! This Indian Scops Owl could take the prize for the best blended bird on this trip! This was a blind shot and I'm lucky that anyone can spot  the bird in it!

Back at the home stay we tucked into some late breakfast and went off to rest our weary legs. The best part was yet to come. 

20th January, 2014 (4 pm to 6 pm)

After a late lunch and a small siesta we got ready for the evening's bird walk. Vinod had told us about a natural 'bird bath' that attracted many small birds exactly between 5.30 and 6.00 pm. Before that, he said, he'd take us to see another frogmouth en route. We drove half way along the same road we had taken in the morning. After parking the car on the side we walked up through a rubber estate to the edge of the sanctuary. The first bird that greeted us was a Malabar trogon.

Then we walked on past the 'bird bath', about which Vinod had told us. Some 100 meters from the bird bath Vinod stopped us and pointed to a small tree not 10 feet away from where we were standing. At first we did not know what he was pointing at and then a few seconds later realization dawned. Here is 'nearly' what we looked at. I say 'nearly' because the field of view that our eyes could take in was much more wider than what is seen on this photograph.

It is one of the two wide angle shots Skanda took before switching lenses! What looked like a broken branch with moss on it was another frogmouth. It was on its nest, incubating an egg. Our 5th Frogmouth of the day!

I count myself as fortunate to have witnessed this unique scene. Nesting frogmouths are rare and not easily seen. Records of nesting behaviour are sketchy and based on the limited observations of these birds, mostly from Srilanka. The one we had the fortune to behold was a male, characterized by its grey brown plumage.  

During the day it is the male who takes it's turn at incubating a single egg. It is assumed that the female takes over at night with intermittent exchanges of place with the male.

When disturbed at the nest the bird apparently just stretches upward and positions itself at an angle of 45 degrees to the branch. It blends remarkably with the rest of the tree that a casual glance will give the appearance of a broken branch covered with lichen!

The nest itself is a circular pad constructed with down feathers and moss gathered from around the site. A single egg is laid in it and once the chick hatches the nest is destroyed by the male.

It was time to go. Our presence was making the bird restless. When it dropped its nearly immobile chin, it was the signal for us to move!








We moved back up the track to the 'bird bath'. The 'bird bath' itself has an interesting story. It is nothing more than a shallow depression on a rock. During the rains it would fill up with water but in the dry months it would be filled with nothing more than fallen leaves. One gentleman, who worked in the rubber estate adjacent to the forest started filling the depression with water. Now he has taken it as a daily duty and fills the little depression with water everyday. This daily practice ensured that the birds came in small groups to the same spot in the evenings. It goes to show the lengths the people of Thattekad go to care for their feathered friends.

Red whiskered bulbul

Orange headed thrush & Yellow throated bulbul

Orange headed thrush

Flame throated bulbul

Flame throated bulbul & blue throated flycatcher

Dark fronted babbler & blue throated flycatchers

Blue throated flycatchers

It was a long tiring day but every minute we spent wandering around the forest was like a never ending treasure hunt. I'm not sure how many people have had the privilege to see five frogmouths on a single day, but I count myself as one of the fortunate few. When we planned a trip to Thattekad I had told Skanda I'd show him a bird he'll rarely ever see again but I had not expected that we'd see so many, that too in under 12 hours!!

The Srilanka Frogmouth and the Malabar trogon will remain the enduring attraction of Thattekad but to any genuine bird lover it will the best place for  tryst with the feathered folk. With people like Vinod and the unnamed rubber tapper of the 'bird bath' the birds were in safe hands. 

We would be returning to Thattekad very often. That was for sure. We were so entangled in it's beauty!

(There are not many articles on the nesting of the Srilanka Frogmouth but I thought this one was one of the best.)

We returned to the home stay to retire early. We had a long drive the next day. Not that we were in any hurry to get back home, but Athirapalli and Valparai were beckoning. 

Watch this space

Thattekad (Part 3) - The Long Road Home (Thattekad-Athirapalli-Valparai-Pollachi)

October 11, 2014, 7:42 am

≫ Next: A Flashback on my Photographic Journey

≪ Previous: Thattekad (Part 2) - 5 Frogmouths & a Bird bath

$

0

0

I admit now, I've become really lazy these days. It is more than a month since I promised to upload this post but somewhere along the way I lost the plot. I'm afraid I'm losing my touch!

In my last post on the frogmouths of Thattekad I mentioned that we were planning to return through a rather long route. For both of us, Skanda and I, when we want to go somewhere we are always in a hurry. We pick the shortest and easiest route to reach our destination. Once it becomes time to return home the entire thing changes. We always have to drag ourselves away very reluctantly. After a wonderful time in some beautiful green jungle we loathe returning to the concrete jungle where our home is situated in. Consequently, return journeys are always long and slow! We choose, wherever and whenever possible, the longest and most unfamiliar route. Just so, that we can dawdle and enjoy new places.

Palakkad to Thattekad is perhaps one of the most uninspiring roads to drive on. Town after town are located within few kilometers of each other, unlike in Tamilnadu or Karnataka where vast empty spaces have to be traversed before the hint of civilization hits you again. Kerala with its heavy traffic and narrow roads is not something for sedate drivers like me. Therefore, there was little hesitation in making a decision to take the long road home!

Vinod had left very early in the morning to Kottayam to be at his father's bedside and we were left to fend for ourselves. Bags were packed and loaded early and having said goodbye to Vinod's family we drove out to the Salim Ali bird trial for one last round of birding. Thattekad will rarely disappoint and in the half hour we wandered around we returned with these.

We wanted to be in Kothamangalam for breakfast. There is an excellent Udupi Hotel in the heart of the town. The early morning walk had made us hungry and we tucked in. We were also unsure if we would get any decent lunch on our chosen route!

The Route(all distances from Kothamangalam)

The first part of route is the same as the one going to Thattekad till Kalady.  Once in Kalady the fun starts. After crossing the bridge over the Periyar you have to look for the right turn to Neeleswaram in the heart of Kalady town (26 kms from Kothamagalam). It is the Kalady Malayatoor road you get onto. Six kilometers from Kalady you reach Neeleswaram (32 kms), where you have to take a left turn near a church. When we were traveling there was some repair work going on so the next stretch was through some interior roads.

From Neelesawram the next way point is Manjpara (36 kms). There is road from Kalady to Manjapara but we were directed to go through Neeleswaram. From Manjapara it is a fairly good road through Chulli and Marygiri upto Edalakkad (47 kms). At Edalakad take a right turn onto the Munoorpilly- Ezhatumugham road. Two kilometers after Edalakad is Munoorpilly (49 kms) and the right turn to the Ezhatumugham is hidden behind a twist that you might miss it if you are not looking for it.

Once you reach Ezhatumugham (51 kms) you will enter Plantation Corporation of Kerala Ltd's oil palm plantation. The Planatation road, as it is called, runs almost parallel to the Chalakudy river. Once you reach the Vettilapara bridge (58 kms) take a left turn, cross the bridge and then immediately turn right onto the Athirapalli- Anamalai road.

From this junction it is another 11 kilometers to Athirapalli (69 kms). After leaving Thattekad at 7.45 AM  we reached Athirapalli at 12 Noon. It had been a journey of more than 4 hours with many breaks in between. We still had more than three-fourths of the journey to complete before we would reach home but we were in no hurry to there!

We spent more than an hour at Athirapalli, going down to the bottom of the falls and exploring the place. The crowd was slowly building up and our stomachs were reminding us that lunch was overdue.

We did not stop to visit Vazhachal (74 kms). That would have to wait for another trip. Lunch was the priority now. If you have not, by chance, carried a packed lunch and if you happen to be one of those discerning travelers it might be difficult to find a place to eat after Athirapalli. The better hotels are all located between Athirapalli and the the Vettilapara bridge. We would have had to go back 10 or 15 kilometers so we settled for a simple lunch in a  roadside eatery near the Vazhachal check post.

At the check post you have to declare the list of plastic in your vehicle. There will be an inspection by the forest officers at the check post but if you look to be an honest chap with a kid in tow they will take your word for it! The slip they issue has to be produced at the Malakapara check post for verification. The road after Vazhachal is narrow but good. There is hardly any oncoming traffic and if you drive leisurely you can take in the beautiful sights that come one after another.

A little further on the road turns right over the Vazhachal bridge. We had crossed the Chalakudy river at Vettilapara bridge from south to north and now crossed again to the southern banks. If you look at the river flowing serenely below the bridge you'll never suspect the a kilometer down downstream it would transform into a frothing avatar that would eventually culminate at Athirapalli.

Here on the forest gets wilder and more exciting. You expect an elephant or gaur to cross your path at every turn. Unfortunately, for us, it did not happen. The road leaves the Chalakudy river to swing around the end of the catchment area of the Poringalkuthu (or Peringalkuthu as it is called in some places) reservoir. We did not explore that part as it was past 2.00 PM and we had a long way to travel. In any case, I have heard that we need permission to get to the dam as it is deep inside the forest.

17 kilometers from Vazhachal is Anakkayam (91 kms). The Anakkayam bridge is worth a stop. The narrow bridge looks so rickety you wonder if it will hold the weight of some bus or truck. If one came from the opposite side we'll have no option but to reverse all the way.

The river below meandered between sculpted rock formations. It was a place where, I had heard, you could take a dip but Skanda was fast asleep after a heavy lunch so I just stopped to click  a few pics of the bridge and the river.

 I was warily looking out for elephants. This was a spot where they gathered to drink and bathe but it was mid-afternoon and the rocks would be hot enough to fry an egg. Elephants would know better than to get their sensitive soles blistered! A noise above my head made me look up with the hope I was going to be greeted by the lion tailed macaques but it was only group of langurs feeding on the flowers of the red silk-cotton tree, with an expression of studied disinterest.

Crossing the Anakkayam bridge meant that we had now gone back to the northern bank. It was as I got into the car that I suddenly discovered that the batteries of my camera were all dying on me. This, despite carrying three for my OM-D! I had forgotten to charge it the previous night. The cell phone charging had been priority because of the route we had planned to take. Now I only had the E3 attached to a 600mm equivalent.

As we climbed again towards Valparai the sights became more mesmerizing. Somewhere along the road we cross the penstock pipes going from the Sholayar reservoir to the power house.

 

The Sholayar was full as we drove further and I had to stop for a photo. I managed to squeeze out the last bit of energy from my dying battery before it finally gave up.

Panoramic view of Sholayar reservoir

The last few kilometers past Sholayar upto Malakapara was unpaved and going was slow. It would be foolhardy to risk a puncture on this road. I hadn't crossed many vehicles  going down and help, in the event of a break down, would not come immediately. So we drove slowly enjoying the avian life  in the forests around us.

We reached Malakapara check post (124 kms) ten minutes before 4 PM and handed over the list given from the Vazhachal check post. The forest officer there looked at Skanda and I, decided we were not the littering type, and let us through!

About 4 kilometers from Malakapara is the Sholayar dam check post of the Tamilnadu forest dept. You have to take the left fork going downhill. It goes past the spillway of Upper Sholayar Dam bypassing Valparai town. It joins the Valparai-Pollachi highway at Iyerpadi (146 kms). It was 4.45 PM.

The road from Iyerpadi is superb. It is downhill all the way to Aliyar dam and swinging around the 40 hairpin bends is a real pleasure. My only regret is that I did not have a camera to record this part of the trip. The Anaimudi Tiger Reserve gate at Aliyar (184 kms) told us that the best part of the journey had ended, at 6.10 PM. Now the only thought was to reach home for dinner! We bypassed Pollachi town and reached Palakkad (267 kms) at 7.45 PM, exactly 12 hours after we left Birds Song Home Stay in Thattekad that morning.

The drive from Palakkad to Thattekad was only about a 150 kilometers and was completed in three and a half hours excluding stops for food. The return journey was almost double the distance.  It is not a route you'd want to hurry through, but one on which you want to stay and soak in the beauty of nature. We had done a total of 280 kilometer over 11 hours, excluding stops for food, through some of the best forest areas in Kerala and Tamilnadu. Now we want to do it in the reverse direction! After all there are some pending photographs to be clicked!

This route is much longer and more demanding on both driver and the car but it is journey I would have no hesitation repeating any number of times. Next time I'll base myself at Valparai and travel from there. In any case it will happen, in the not too distant future. I'll update on the photographs after that!

Till then enjoy the drive with me on the Long Road Home!

A Flashback on my Photographic Journey

December 16, 2014, 4:55 am

≫ Next: My Photographic Journey - Part 2: E-M1 visits Bandipur

≪ Previous: Thattekad (Part 3) - The Long Road Home (Thattekad-Athirapalli-Valparai-Pollachi)

$

0

0

Of Wildlife and Wild photographers

There wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and tiger reserves strewn about the length and breadth of the country. The the ones lying north of the Tropic of Cancer and a few south of it suffer from over exploitation by camera totting tourists. Bulk of them are a product of the software boom. Lots of money and nowhere to spend, so the natural inclination is gadgets and gear. If you did not own the costliest DSLR and the heaviest 500mm lens you are a nobody. Come weekends, these 'bazooka' owners want to 'shoot' nothing less than the tiger!

The fallout of this is that many of these gentlemen and ladies suddenly realized the potential of wildlife photography tours. So, now we have techies turned tour operators who pursue their tigers with the wannabe wildlife photographers tagging along! Some conduct serious workshops on photography with field visits to the jungles to give these wannabes an experience of shooting in the wild. It is good thing when it is done with a restricted number and when respect is given to the wildlife and environment. It is quite another thing when, in the mad haste to climb up the ladder, these chaps pay scant respect to the creatures they shoot and compromise both photography ethics and forest rules.

I know of a chap who jumped out of a safari jeep in Bandipur and grabbed the tail of a python just to get a 'good' photograph. It happens with the connivance of the so called naturalists and drivers of the resorts that cater to the needs of such folks for a small 'something'! This chap chucked his job, sold all his stuff and in about three short years, has gone on to become a renown wildlife photographer. He has a more than 5000 'friends' on Facebook and has his own FB photography page that has garnered more than 30,000 'likes'! Life is like that!

To me, a trip to the jungles is to rejuvenate my sagging spirit or tired body. I love every little thing about the forests; right from the grass, trees, insects,birds and the animals both small and big. The mongoose is as interesting as the tiger and the black naped hare as mysterious as the leopard. Seasons mean little to me. The dense green forest in the monsoon is just as lovely in the dry hot summer. After all they are two faces of the forests I love so much.

The after effect of this'photography epidemic' is that I've stopped enjoying my trips to Bandipur, especially if it is weekend or holiday time. That does not men I stopped enjoying my photography. I love to make a photographic record my trips like anyone else but of late I find that most of the jungles I visit are not the same places any more. After every trip, it's time to show off the tigers and leopards that have been captured on camera. Not many are keen to stop for a bird or an insect, or even the beautiful forest. The hunt is on, but only for the predators.

Let me also confess, these developments have not dimmed my passion for photography. In fact, as I told someone, my only vice is the addiction to gear! As I type this, my mind is on my new baby; the Olympus OM-D E-M1 that arrived last week! I was taking a count of all the cameras I've possessed over the last 20 odd years and I realize I have a sizable collection. So I thought there is no harm in bragging a bit about it!

My Photography Trail

The Era of the Film Cameras

I first got my hands on a proper SLR sometime in the late 1980s. I had borrowed his Canon T50 when it was time to graduate. I neither have good memories of it nor very many pictures to show off!

Probably impressed by my enthusiasm rather than the skills I exhibited, my father gifted me my own SLR, a a humble Minolta Dynax 300si! This was the camera with which I learnt the rudiments of photography really. I first realized how much difference a camera with a set of additional lenses can make, to the way I viewed the world.

Early 1990s saw the Dynax accompany me everywhere on my trips. Those were the days that shutter speed and apertures were still words I was grappling with. ISO was just a number on the film. 'Zoom' lens was the one that really grabbed my attention! It was also the camera that accompanied me on my first serious trips to wildlife sanctuaries. First Ranthambhore then later, Nagarahole and B R Hills. It was also the camera that 'impressed' Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin, who was travelling incognito) in Kabini! Till today I am not sure if he was really impressed or whether he was just being nice to a star struck fan!

Transition to Digital

This fixation on 'Zoom' was perhaps the reason I shifted to digital. Lenses were expensive and digital cameras came with impressive specifications in a small package. I realized the advantage of carrying a small bag with a camera that sported, what was then, an impressive 10x zoom! No more lens swapping in a jerking safari vehicle with all the dust flying around. Thus, then, I got hold of my first digital camera, the Fuji S5500.

In those days, megapixels was everything and 5MP was king when I got my S5500! Then 'zoom' faded into the background and the fixation shifted to megapixels. So I upgraded to the 9MP club with my Fuji S9500 but that was not a very memorable experience. I always felt the S5500 was better.

The experience with the S9500 made me realize that I had to overcome that mental block about the  DSLR. I was always happy with the prosumer Fujis. They were  handy and had good reach so my aim of just recording nature as it were, was going on without too much trouble and distractions. Then, over the course of the years I made many friends who shared the same passion for the environment and wildlife and I realized they all carried significantly better gear that resulted in much better pictures. My idea of an all-in-one package just to avoid carrying extra load and the risk of getting dust on the sensor while changing lenses, suddenly, seemed a little narrow minded! I started making discrete enquiries with my friends who possessed the gear I had started craving for. Those were the days of the Canon EOS 40D and Nikon D80, both 10MP and had APS-C size sensors. The Nikon D90 had been announced and my mind was gradually swinging the Nikon way.

The Switch to Oly

That was till the man who supplied my cameras came up with the Olympus E3. He reminded me that in the part of the world I lived in, it rained for six months. He suggested that I go for a weather sealed camera and lenses. That is how I fell for the E3. It was love at first sight and after that I've never looked beyond the Olympus cameras and lenses.

Every time it rained on a safari it would be a mad scramble to pack the Canons and Nikons while I calmly went about shooting to my heart's desire! The E3 had features that few other cameras had at that time. Some were industry firsts, like the swiveling LCD, in body image stabilization, live view and the ultrasonic dust reduction system.The E3 is still my favourite body and remains permanently mounted to the 300mm f2.8, also another weather sealed lens. Together they weigh in at around 4.5 kgs!

It was after I got the heavy lens that I realized it wasn't a great idea or easy thing to change lenses midway during a trip into the forest. Having procured a 2x teleconvertor the reach of my main camera was doubled. It was great for birds and things far away but if the elephant was too close I'd probably get the tip of its trunk or a corner of its ear! The need for a second camera body was acute and the E5 didn't have too many upgrades to keep me interested. I opted for the Olympus E620.

My relationship with the E620 can be best described as bitter sweet. I was a nice camera in the day time but in low light it really struggled to come up with any pictures worth remembering. I don't know if it was the consequence of this troubled relationship but one day, on a trip to Nagarahole in April of 2012, I dropped it! My best all round lens, the Zuiko ED 50-200 f2.8-3.5, was in two pieces!

That was the time I really felt upset about Olympus. While I have no complaints about the quality of their lenses I can't say the same about their service, especially for the lenses. I had to ship it to Singapore to get it fixed! The E620 was also behaving as if it was in a coma. After the fall many of its functions were dead though there were no externally obvious damage to the body. Accidents can happen, however careful you are. The E3 has also taken its fair share of knocks but it has never malfunctioned, a testimony to its ruggedness. Eventually I got it fixed but that incident hastened my decision to look for another body with better capabilities than the E620 but it was not going to be easy to find a replacement.

Whither Olympus? 

Then Olympus appeared to be giving up on its faithful. The E5  was released in September 2010 as an upgrade to the E series but for someone with an E3 there was no real reason to change. The rumoured E7 could possibly have more reasons to consider a change but it remained just that;  a rumour!  It seemed the end of my photography dream. I would be stuck with the old Four Thirds bodies and lenses and the thought of having to shift my faith to a hitherto unthinkable Canon or Nikon was a little hard to digest. To add to my woes, the Olympus scandal had broken in 2011. Here was a company that seemed to be on the brink and my affair with Four Third seemed destined to be doomed!

That Olympus was moving away from the classic Four Thirds was confirmed when they had quietly thrown a bombshell, the E-P1, the first of the Micro Four Thirds in June 2009. It had been released some three months after the E620 was launched, without much fanfare, and a mirrorless interchangable lens camera was never considered a threat to the DSLRs! Mirrorless interchangable lens cameras (MILC) had been around from 2004 so Olympus was not the first to test the waters. It was thought of as an alternative for point and shoot owners who wanted to have an interchangable lens camera.

If anyone underestimated the PEN series, they were in for a rude shock. It went from strength to strength and Olympus set an example which others soon followed. Suddenly, mirrorless was cool! So much so that Canon and Nikon too have joined the trend.

OM-D & the transition
I was not sure how long I could hold on to my Olympus affair because my E620 never really recovered and I was having to manage with my E3. It still performed brilliantly but it was getting a little old in the tooth. Then things changed suddenly. Olympus announced the OM-D E-M5 in May 2012!

Realization dawned, for me and for countless other fans of Olympus, here was the 'E7' that we had been waiting for. It wasn't named the E7 because it was not a true DSLR. It was smaller, lighter and faster. The best part of the OM-D was that it would accept my four thirds lenses with an adaptor! In true Olympus tradition it was weather sealed and came with in-body image stabilization. I finally had my E620 replacement.

Of course the E-M5 wasn't perfect. For starters, as a camera for photographing moving subjects it wasn't the best. Like all mirrorless cameras it comes with the CDAF (contrast detection auto focus) which really searches especially when the light is low. My old Zuiko four third lenses were great for photographing birds sitting quietly or elephants and gaur ambling along placidly. However, when a fast moving dhole or tiger came on the scene it couldn't quite keep up.

I still love the E-M5 with all its quirks and countless buttons. It is light, fast and takes beautiful pictures. My gear, which includes 5 Micro-four third lenses, weighs less than the E3 with the 50-200 mm f2.8-3.5! Eminently portable.

Then in September 2013 Olympus released the OM-D E-M1, the camera I had really been looking forward to. It could shoot in a blazing fast 1/8000 sec, had a 5-axis in-body stabilization, time-lapse shooting, Wi-Fi connectivity to transfer photos or remote fire your camera and the latest Dual Fast AF as Olympus likes to call it. It is a combination of the CDAF in the E-M5 with an on-chip Phase Detection auto focus (PDAF) like you find on the DSLRs.

 

One disappointment, as I had mentioned earlier, was that the auto-focus in the E-M5 wasn't really keeping up with moving targets and C-AF in Tracking mode was an utter failure. I had to do with the type of auto focus employed by the camera, the CDAF. Unfortunately, DSLR lenses were optimized for PDAF so my E-M5 wasn't well suited to be mated with my Zuiko four-third lenses.

The E-M1 is expected to change all that. It has a hybrid auto focus that normally uses the CDAF with the Micro-four third lenses but utilizes PDAF simultaneously when the regular Zuiko lenses are mounted with their adaptor. On paper it is designed to overcome the flaw of the E-M5 but I am yet to test it out in the field. I am off to Bandipur later this week so I'll update here after my experience in the jungle.


This is how it now looks with the E-M1 body mounted on the Zuiko 300mm f2.8!

 

You can barely see the body behind the lens when viewed from the front because the camera itself has become so much smaller than it's predecessors!

My collection of  Olympus cameras has swelled over the last few years. The final count is 2 DSLR bodies, 2 Micro Four Third bodies and a waterproof point and shoot! It is complimented by 4 Zuiko , 2 Sigma Four Thirds and 5 M.Zuiko Micro Four Third lenses. There is no plan to look at either Canon or Nikon any time in the near future. For a serious amateur, Micro Four Thirds is the way to go. Full frame DSLRs are for professionals, which I'm am not. I don't have an inclination to lug heavy gear any more and it seems I've discovered my niche!  

My affair with Olympus is destined to continue!

If you want to know more about AUTO FOCUS in cameras, click the link here.

Here is the update of E-M1 + 300mm f2.8 in Bandipur.

Note: Most photographs on this blog have been sourced from various websites. I lay no claim to their copyrights and they belong to the websites or photographers who shot or posted them.

---

My Photographic Journey - Part 2: E-M1 visits Bandipur

January 3, 2015, 9:14 pm

≫ Next: The Aftermath of an Elephant Attack - Part 1 : Behaviour Guidelines for the Wilderness visitors

≪ Previous: A Flashback on my Photographic Journey

$

0

0

The trip to Bandipur on December 20th did not really turn out the way I would have liked it to. In the first place I have never made a trip to Bandipur with time constraints. This was one. I had been able to book only one night and it seemed the wrong time. With a depression over the ocean and the weather had been looking ominous. Besides, I had the reputation of leading rain to Bandipur!

At the end of the trip we knew the weather had cheated us. Even the evening safari was unproductive. One solitary elephant and a small herd of gaur was unbecoming of Bandipur. The morning drive was a mere formality. It was extremely cold and misty so it was unreasonable to expect any animal or bird to stir out before the sun was high in the sky. If you love the jungle for what it offers you can't be disappointed. Every thing about Bandipur is beautiful.

The morning safari started with the news of a buffalo kill, the previous evening, at the Mangala reservoir. This reservoir on the eastern part of the tiger reserve abuts the farmlands surrounding Mangala village. It is not unusual for cattle to stray into the forest from the village and very often some of them fall victim to the tigers of Bandipur. So the expectations were high though I knew better. The formality of signing at the reception center was over and all the vehicles made a beeline for the reservoir.

Atop the Mangala dam at half past seven in the morning

Nothing stirred as we lined up on the dam. The kill had obviously been dragged into the bushes and the tiger would be sleeping on a full belly.

The small pool of water was mirroring the mood of the skies on its glassy surface. It looked cold and uninviting. No tiger would want to soak itself today morning. The sun was probably debating whether to wake up or sleep on! 

Few of the other vehicles went down into the reservoir hoping to drive out the tiger from its hiding.

It seemed the herd of chital were amused by the arrival of the vehicle. They knew that a well fed predator was no threat to them and it would not be disturbed by its arrival.

After a while we were wondering why we were wasting our time waiting for the tiger which, obviously, was in no mood to oblige. Others were there much earlier than us and had not seen any movement.

For a brief moment we were all woken up from our thoughts by the excited chitals that suddenly started rushing off away from the edge of the water.

Something had spooked them they had bolted in panic.

Then just as quickly they settled down to graze again. Luck was not with us this cold morning. It was turning out to be a pointless waste of time.

Eventually we moved away too. It was bitterly cold and only a very hungry tiger or leopard would step out to hunt on this unpleasant morning. The morning trip never looked like it was going to throw up any excitement. After a futile two and a half hours, during which the only animals we encountered were a pair of stripe neck mongoose we returned to pack our bags.

This was my first trip into the wilderness after having laid my hands on the E-M1. It is the continuation of my previous postin part.  Not too many opportunities presented themselves but on the few occasion I could use it, it was exemplary. The body of the E-M1 has now replaced the E3 on the 300mm f2.8. 

It looks so tiny when compared to the E3 so I've got myself the HLD-7 battery grip for making her presence more obvious! My EC-20 2x teleconvertor, the one that is coma, has yet to return from her rejuvenation trip to Singapore. I was therefore dependent on the digital 2x convertor on the camera. 

The few shots of birds that I got have left me suitably impressed. It looks like this combination will be my birding gear for the foreseeable future. The 5-axis in body stabilization kicks in whenever you feel your hands swaying with the nearly 4 kilos I have to lift and handhold. 

All the following pictures are uncropped, tweaked a bit for light and resized. (Click on pictures to enlarge)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 300mm (Aperture priority, f4, 1/1250 sec, ISO 400)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 600mm (Aperture priority, f4, 1/1000 sec, ISO 400)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 600mm (Aperture priority, f4, 1/1000 sec, ISO 400)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 300mm (Aperture priority, f4, 1/800 sec, ISO 400)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 600mm (Aperture priority, f4, 1/800 sec, ISO 400)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 600mm (Aperture priority, f5, 1/100 sec, ISO 400)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 600mm (Aperture priority, f2.8, 1/2000 sec, ISO 500)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 600mm (Aperture priority, f2.8, 1/1600 sec, ISO 500)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 600mm (Aperture priority, f2.8, 1/800 sec, ISO 400)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 600mm (Aperture priority, f2.8, 1/800 sec, ISO 400)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 600mm (Aperture priority, f3.2, 1/2500 sec, ISO 400)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 600mm (Aperture priority, f3.2, 1/2500 sec, ISO 400)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 600mm (Aperture priority, f3.2, 1/2500 sec, ISO 400)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 600mm (Aperture priority, f3.2, 1/800 sec, ISO 500)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 300mm (Aperture priority, f3.2, 1/500 sec, ISO 400)

OM-D E-M1 with 300mm f2.8 @ 600mm (Aperture priority, f3.2, 1/2000 sec, ISO 400)

It was a new toy I held in my hands and I'm yet to familiarize myself with the E-M1's nuances. There are more than a few differences and all the buttons have been shuffled around. It takes a bit of learning and with the E3 and E-M5 still fresh in my mind it will take another trip to get my fingers to move instinctively. 

I'm only wondering how it will behave when the EC-20 comes back. It had been a permanent attachment between the E3 and the 300mm f2,8. On the E-M1 it will have the MMF-3 adaptor between the body and the teleconvertor. On paper, it looks like a potential 1200mm but in the real world situation I wonder how the camera's focusing will be affected when targetting fast moving subjects. That is for later because I don't know when the TC will come back!

Meanwhile I'm looking forward to the next trip to Bandipur a couple of weeks from now. Will keep you posted on my experiences.

The Aftermath of an Elephant Attack - Part 1 : Behaviour Guidelines for the Wilderness visitors

February 6, 2015, 11:44 pm

≫ Next: The Aftermath of an Elephant Attack - Part 2: Guidelines for Trekkers

≪ Previous: My Photographic Journey - Part 2: E-M1 visits Bandipur

$

0

0

On 21st January the unthinkable happened in Gavi. Two over enthusiastic tourists fell victim to the anger of an upset herd of elephants!

(Pinks are Links, Click to open a related page)

Before I go further watch this video shot by a set of foolhardy young men exhibiting their testosterone levels! Then, watch this man do something very incredible, though I personally wouldn't recommend this strategy unless you have a large insurance and a high threshold for pain in the event the elephant really decided to take you to the cleaners!

While it is easy to pin the blame on the elephant for the Gavi tragedy, it will be better to introspect first. Forests are shrinking by the hour and there is no space for the wildlife. If the recent tiger census figures are to be believed we'll soon be encountering them in our backyards too.

Who is to blame for this? Unscrupulous developers, greedy politicians, timber mafia, poachers, the tourism industry or toothless government policies? It is hard to pin the blame on a particular group but every one has contribution to make when an incident like this happens.

Gavi is a hidden gem. Mind you, I've never been there yet and looks like I might not make if the forest department decides to enforce restrictions. Gavi made it into public view in Kerala after a Malayalam movie was shot in that area. The movie was a hit and public wanted access. The government decided to promote it like any other tourist spot. I've never been there yet so I'm not qualified to comment on the current scenario but I'm sure it is vastly different from what it was a few years ago.

I'll leave my comment on Gavi and proceed to what I really want to say. How to behave in a wilderness area so you will be safe and the wildlife too. I have been holidaying almost exclusively in such places for more than a decade. Not for me are the concrete jungles and the colourful, vibrant malls. My colours are very restricted. They are confined to a many shades of green and few shades of brown and khaki. Where else but in a forest can I find these colours? As for why I prefer the jungles, ask me if you are interested. The purpose of this post is to help you avoid an unhappy or fatal encounter.

Wilderness tourism or eco-tourism as it is euphemistically called is now, is being promoted as an alternative to regular tourist circuits. During peak holiday season tourist hot spots overflow but since most wild life sanctuaries and national parks have restrictions on the number of visitors and timings for visits you have a more relaxed holiday! However, if you really want to enjoy such places there are a lot of things to keep in mind.

Driving inside a wildlife sanctuary
The unfortunate thing about progress is that our forest have shrunk so drastically. The last of these islands of wilderness struggle to cope with encroachment from all sides. They are, in some places, criss-crossed by highways connecting important towns. During the holidays and weekends traffic flow through these highways are extraordinarily heavy. There are some rules to be followedwhen you drive through forest areas.

1. Restrict you speed to 40 kmph or less. Enjoy the drive and ensure you are not responsible for a roadkill due to reckless driving.
2. Don't honk unnecessarily and try to overtake the vehicle ahead. 
3. Don't play loud music. Enjoy the sounds of the forest.
4. Don't drink and drive. Your reflexes are slowed and judgement is poor.
5. Don't stop and get out of your vehicle in a wildlife area. You are endangering yourself. 
6. Don't feed wild animals especially the monkeys and deer. They are prone to get bolder and may eventually end up under a vehicles tyres in their excitement.
7. Don't throw litter, especially plastic waste. A banana or orange peel will degrade but plastic will degrade the environment. 
8. DO NOT SMOKE. A carelessly thrown cigarette butt can start a forest fire that can destroy a whole forest.
9. Don't stop for picnics or to answer nature's calls. There are designated areas near the park reception centers for eating food, disposing waste and toilet facilities. 
10. Adhere to timings and don't argue at the check post. Many wild life sanctuaries restrict vehicle movement from dusk to dawn. Respect the rules and the right of the animals.

The following photos are mostly from Bandipur taken during holiday seasons. We Indians love to break rules and sadly, we do it with impunity. When someone stops to tell you what is right and what is wrong we ignore them or abuse them. Judge for your self.

Don't encourage animals to take feed from you...........

.....or they might just end up under the next speeding vehicle!

Forests are not studios...

.....nor are they a place to play hero!

They certainly aren't public toilets!

Who is more uncivilized, the forest beings or idiots like this?!

If you are wonder what wild creature they are photographing, just look at the above photo! That is the 'animal'!

Suddenly everyone spots this 'wildlife' after me.....................!!

More wild creatures, in Mudumalai

Picnic in a forest in unsafe and downright foolish!

Accommodation & Food
Most wild life sanctuaries have limited accommodation within the forest. They are mostly operated by the Government departments like Forest & Wildlife, Electricity boards, Irrigation departments and such. Accommodation is basic, with absolutely no luxuries including television, intercom, mobile networks and even sometimes no electricity, So if you are used to such luxuries, it is best to avoid such places. You may not get running water or even hot water for bathing.

Food is always simple fare that can be cooked easily. You have NO CHOICE. Some places expect you to carry your own provisions while the caretaker doubles up as cook. In any case, it is usually vegetarian fare that can be put together in a jiffy.

Of course if you stay in a luxury resort that is located outside the park boundaries things maybe a little different. They might provide more than just luxuries including Ayurvedic massage in case you are bored counting trees and plants!

Vehicle safaris into the forest
Once you are inside the forest keep in mind that you are entering the home of the denizens of the jungles. I refuse to call them 'wild animals' because I have felt that we humans are more wilder on many occasions. These creatures behave in a very civilized manner according to their species' hierarchy. Remember, these creatures are not out to get you, but when provoked, they might just decide to show you who is the boss!

Most sanctuaries have restrictions on the number of vehicles and timings of safaris. There are places where these safaris are conducted in forest department vehicles but in other places private vehicles are allowed with guide deputed by the authorities. The forest gates open early morning and close by around 9.00 AM. They reopen at 3.30 PM and close for the day at sunset. Which means we have permission to wander around for some 6 hours. The other 18 hours belong to the rightful owners of the forests.

When going on a safari or driving in a forest keep these points in mind.

1. Your naturalist, safari driver or guide is the person in charge. Listen to them always. 
2. Do not make noise during the trips. Small children are best left at home.
3. Wear earthly colours. Greens, browns, greys or darker colours. 
4. Don't make sudden movement and pop up like a jack-in-the-box at the sight of an animal.
5. Don't open the door or get off the vehicles. Animals rarely attack vehicles. 
6. Don't throw litter in the forest.You are endangering the animals.
7. Food and water will not be available in the forest. Carry adequate supplies but don't throw empty wrappers and bottles in the forest. 
8. When you see an animal or bird don't make noise or try to attract it's attention. 
9. Use your camera by all means but avoid flash photography. It irritates some animals.
10. Do NOT smoke. A carelessly thrown cigarette can destroy a whole ecosystem.

Sometimes there might be a small crisis....

.....but stay inside the vehicle at all times, unless instructed to get out.

Keep your hand inside or you might find it a costly loss!

This post is mainly for those of you who drive or get driven into forest areas. If you really want to experience the beauty of the wilderness, my suggestion is to exercise your feet. I mean, get off the vehicle and take a walk in the jungle. You can see from up close, the small things you'll miss while driving around. Having said that, I will also emphasize here that walking around wildlife sanctuaries is not something that you can do on a whim. There are rules to be followed and they vary according to the place you are visiting. Most wildlife sanctuaries and national parks that offer trekking packages put the details on their website. Wherever you chose to go, adhere to the basic guidelines for trekking. That will follow in my next post.

The Aftermath of an Elephant Attack - Part 2: Guidelines for Trekkers

February 7, 2015, 8:19 am

≫ Next: The Aftermath of an Elephant Attack - Part 3 : Thinking like an Elephant

≪ Previous: The Aftermath of an Elephant Attack - Part 1 : Behaviour Guidelines for the Wilderness visitors

$

0

0

See previous post here

If you are an avid trekker there is no better way to experience the beauty of the forest than on foot. You are literally hugging the earth while you walk the trails. The sights and smells of the forest are felt more intimately while walking than when rattling along on a safari vehicle. Many wildlife sanctuaries in Kerala including the Periyar tiger reserve and Parambikulam tiger reserve offer trekking packages. If you are a regular trekker you will know most of the rules but if you are just another tourist who stopped by after seeing the board offering trekking into forests, read the following

Before embarking on a trek

1. Research the place you plan to visit. The internet offers you a lot of information and it is always good to be prepared. 

• Look up timings, distances and the difficulty gradings. 
• Check the terrain and type of forest you will be trekking in.
• Check the weather and take clothing accordingly.
• Check facilities available (food, accommodation, sleeping arrangements etc)

Always plan to reach the trekking point on time, especially if it is only a day trip.

If you are older and not used to strenuous treks get yourself checked by your physician before starting on the trip.

Inform some responsible person where you are going and leave the details of your proposed trip with them.

Carry all medicines that you take usually. 

Get a pair of comfortable footwear suited for the season and terrain. Street footwear will hinder you. It has been suggested that you get a pair of shoes that is half size bigger than your normal size since feet can swell up during long hot treks.

Try to organize a group of 5-10 individuals. In case of an emergency some of the group can stay back while others can go for help.

Most often the organized trekking in wildlife sanctuaries are under the guidance of the local Eco Development Committees (EDC). They allot one or more guides for a group. These guides know the trekking areas and the local wildlife behaviour better than anyone else. Always give respect to their instructions and DO NOT ever transgress them. The Gavi incidence is a direct result of ignoring the guide's instruction.

Once you have reached your destination and your trek gets under way, there are the general trekking guidelines you have to follow.

1. An ideal trekking group should be not more than 10 in a group. 
2. Don't stray from the group at any time. If you want to answer nature's call make sure the group knows and that you don't stray too far from the track.
3. Stick to the trail. Don't go wandering off if you see another track that looks more adventurous. You might get lost and also destroy some part of the forest, it's plants or small creatures when you go stomping off from the main track.
4. Carry sufficient water and food but don't overburden yourself. High energy chocolate bars and bananas are ideal. Use a canteen for water that you can refill in clean streams or springs.
5. Don't litter. Carry back your waste and leave only your footprints.
6. Don't smoke and if you make a camp fire ensure it is stamped out completely.
7. Carry the tools you might need depending on the durartion of the trek.

• A torch, knife (Swiss army or any other), & whistle; just in case. I carry a Swiss knife, a hunting knife & cutlery kit.   
• Carry a handheld GPS or a map of the place you are planning to trek in. 
• A foldable shovel is useful in your pack if you plan camping. 
• A muli-utility whistle that has other bits & pieces usefulness like compass (always useful if your GPS batteries drain out), temperature gauge, signalling mirror or flash  LED and a lens for starting a fire in case you need a signal fire.

On a short trek theSwiss army knife and a whistleshould be adequate for most circumstances.

Don't make noise. You are not attending a party. Silence allows you to listen to the sounds of the forest.

Don't expect to see wildlife at every turn. They see you though you don't. Most animals avoid human presence and lie low till you have passed.

Wear comfortable clothes and of colours that blend with the forest. Green, brown and khakis or camouflage patterns. 

Avoid perfumes and deodorants. The best perfume in a jungle is the smell of your sweat!

Appropriate footwear for the terrain. Preferably ankle high hiking boots. 

If you are queasy about leeches, wear gaiters or leech socks but remember there are no fool proof methods to avoid leech bites.In any case their bite is harmless. It might leave you with an ooze and an itch.

Don't handle animals, reptiles, amphibians and insects especially those that you are unfamiliar with. 

Don't try to get close to large mammals especially elephants. Keep a safe distance even if you want to just take a picture.

Avoid flash photography in the presence of large mammals. They may be scared off or react in annoyance.   

Do not carry back 'souveniers'. The only thing you should carry back is memories and photographs.

Do not vandalize or destroy forest department property including boards, fences and boundary markers. 

Mobile phones maybe of use in places where there is a network but put it in silent mode.

These are some of the things that come to mind as I type. Other experienced trekkers may have more to add. Please add it in the Comments.

I hope this will give you an insight into how to become a woodcrawler. The next post is about the elephants; the reason why this series was started in the first place.

The Aftermath of an Elephant Attack - Part 3 : Thinking like an Elephant

February 8, 2015, 8:19 am

≫ Next: Hornbill Saga - The Death of a Tree

≪ Previous: The Aftermath of an Elephant Attack - Part 2: Guidelines for Trekkers

$

0

0

Note: This is a really long post, please have patience for the pictures to load. If you have not read the first two parts please click here. 

The Gavi incidence is rare but not unusual. I have run into these gentle giants on my woodcrawling and on more then one occasion, been charged. 

(Pinks are Links, Click to open a related page)

All these charges have been only an assertion of who is the authority in the jungle, never with any intention to hurt or kill.Just take a look at this video recorded just under a month ago.It gives you an idea how much damage an elephant can do even if the intention was not to kill!

Know the Elephant
Elephants, as a rule, are placid creatures. If a day had 48 hours they'd love nothing more than just crunching on some juicy bark or tearing off tender grass and stuffing them inside their cavernous mouths. They spend 80% of their life feeding. They consume about 150 kilograms of vegetation and drink upto 100 liters of water everyday. Not very surprising, considering that a full grown elephant can weigh as much as 3000 - 5000 kgs! Their shrinking habitatshave now ensured that large herds have to be on the move constantly looking for fresh feeding grounds. This brings them into direct conflict with man.

We humans are unreasonable creatures. After encroaching and destroying the elephant's territory we block their movements by building roads and settlements, after which we go about converting vast tracts of forest into agricultural lands! Then, we expect these gentle creatures to understand our superiority and avoid the areas we have usurped from them!

Why, then, do these gentle giants turn killers sometimes? I quote from Vivek Menon's book 'Tusker'."A large number of elephants captured in Kodagu district and near Bandipur had multiple bullet wounds on them, caused by .12 bore and .22 bore shots sprayed on them by resisting farmers. In adjoining Kerala, two elephants of the Guruvayoor temple had bullet wounds with small lead pellets when the temple acquired them". Further, he also writes, "In Wayanad, Kerala, a large tusker was captured in 1995 because of crop raiding problems. It had over 25 bullet wounds on various parts of its body". No wonder some elephants, especially those that live near human habitations or come into contact with humans, behave aggressively. They are simply being defensive.

This is not meant to be a treatise on elephant behaviour but I though a small introduction will give you an idea why we should not take these creatures lightly.


Elephant senses
Elephants have small eyes and their range is limited, approximately 25 meters. They see better in low light and are slightly handicapped in very bright light. Due to their location on the sides of the head they afford a better peripheral vision than binocular vision. To compensate for this anomaly, nature has provided the elephant with very powerful hearing and the best sense of smell in the animal kingdom. Their large ears help to gather sounds well beyond the range of our small ones.            (More about elephant senses here.)

The versatile trunk of an elephant is the best smelling organ of all animals. It is five times more sensitive than the humans. It is so powerful that the African elephant can smell water 12 kilometers away!(More about the fascinating trunk here.) The elephant keeps feeling the air every now and then with the trunk. 

When you are in the forest especially on foot you can smell the elephant's presence easily. It also means that the elephant can know you have arrived much before you. For an animal that weighs a few tonnes it moves very silently so the human ear or nose is incapable of detecting it before it has detected you. The strategy is to always be downwind of the elephant. It means that the wind should blow from the elephant towards you and not the other way around.

Elephant behaviour
Most often elephants go about their business of eating and caring for the young very quietly. On occasions they show an aggression that is expected from an animal of that size. If you know a little bit about how elephants display their aggression you can judge if the animal you encountered is really a threat to you.

Elephants, as I mentioned before are generally peaceful animals. Females show aggressive intent when the herd has very young calves. Bulls are solitary and become extraordinarily aggressive when in musth. All elephants are aggressive when they are harassed, injured or sick.

Reaction to threats by the elephants differ. Most often they put on a dominance display to scare of the intruders by raising their heads and tusks with the ears pushed forward to appear larger than they are. This maybe accompanied by much shaking of the head swishing of the trunk.

This young bull was about to cross the track when we surprised it.

Beginning of the dominance display, the head raising

Tusks thrust forward and the ears spread out

It took a couple of steps out of the lantana....

... but realized that, though we were not a serious threat, we were not budging.....

...... and so, retreated into the lantana again!

The other reaction is the charge. They are most often they are mock charges and are broken off before any actual contact is made. The intention is to drive of the threat with a display of aggression. Female elephants are more prone to give you the charge.

In the presence of a herd with small calves you are better off keeping a safe distance. The matriarch is very protective and will charge without any provocation.  Once the threat has been dealt with the herd forms a protective ring of adults and sub-adults around the calves.

Very small calves are under the care of the entire herd

If they perceive a threat they close rank around the little ones

If the matriarch decides that the intruders are harmless they break off to feed again....

... but the smallest calves are led away from danger by the mothers with gentle nudges and pushes!

Sometimes the herd itself moves away if they are not comfortable in the situation.

Occasionally the mock charge can become converted to a real life threatening charge. This video was recorded in Kruger National Park on 15th January, 2015. It was being streamed LIVE!

You can see how incredibly strong even the small tusks of the female African elephant is. Imagine how much damage a full grown bull can do if it decides to really handle the threat!

When you happen to encounter a solitary bull in the wild leave him alone. They are much maligned because they are solitary (termed 'ottyaan' or single one in Malayalam) and very unpredictable when they are in musth. Every solitary bull is viewed as a trouble maker though in actual fact, they are not. Solitary males in musth are best avoided at all cost.

The opening of the musth gland can be seen inside the green circle.

 It is not difficult to identify a bull in musth. Look for the opening of the gland located about halfway between the eye and the ear hole.

A cropped version of the above picture. The red arrow shows the opening of the gland.

If an elephant is in musth there is a trickle of fluid from this hole towards the mouth. It leaves a very distinct wet patch of skin between the mouth and ears.

You can see the wet track of the secretion, temporin, as a darker patch. (blue arrow)

Temple elephants of Guruvayur are chained up and isolated during the cycle as they pose a danger to their handlers, other elephants and anything that they take a fancy to including vehicles and electric or telephone posts!

 Asian elephants can attain sexual maturity by 15 years but the musth period is not intense till they are 20-25 years old.(More about musth here.)  The African counterparts go into cycles about 5 years later.

This old bull was estimated to be over 70 years and is one of the oldest in Punnathoor Kota, Guruvayur. It was in musth but wasn't behaving as aggressively as the younger males.

There is no clarity on the upper age for musth or if the intensity reduces over time but it lasts throughout life as observed in captive elephants.

In the wild it might not be always easy to identify an elephant in musth because they tend to be hidden by the vegetation and suddenly pop out on you without warning! It has happened more than once especially after a good monsoon. The vegetation is rich and dense. Even a very large tusker will be invisible till you almost knock into it!

As we rounded a turn this large bull was feeding on the foliage on the side of the track.

Mature bulls are generally calm and just want to be left alone with their feeding

They will move slowly feeding as they go along............

.......... before going off into the bush eventually.

Younger and inexperienced bulls are more demonstrative and put up the dominance display more often and accompanied sometimes, by a half charge. This young bull was about to cross the Campanmutti Circle in Bandipur National Park. It appeared that it had just crossed the highway from the eastern part of the park into the western part. The bull and our vehicle reached the junction almost simultaneously.

The young bull ambling along peacefully

It realizes that there are others waiting to cross its path.

Walks forward with the trunk casually wrapped on its magnificent tusk.

Continues to walk towards the track nonchalantly, trying to ignore our presence

Decides to show its superiority; ears forward, trunk swishing and tail up!

For good measure it threw some mud and grass onto its back.

After all that belligerent display............

....... it decided, enough was enough.......

............ and ran away squealing in protest!!

Occasionally turning to see if we were following.........

......before eventually disappearing into the lantana on the opposite side of the track!

Recognizing a dangerous charge
As I mentioned earlier an occasional charge can be genuinely dangerous. You have to learn to differentiate a mock charge from a real killer charge. When an elephant charges there are a few signs that can forewarn you if it is going to end unhappily for you. Each elephant is a distinct individual with its own distinct behaviour therefore all of them may not behave predictably but in most instances they do. Although it may not be perfect it is useful to know these signs as they can be the difference between life and death.

When it is a mock chargethe elephant is more demonstrative. It trumpets, opens the ears and flap them, lifts its head and twists it from side to side. It may pluck grass or mud and throw it in your direction. If it is a mock charge you can hold your ground, that is if you really have the nerve to face up to a few tons of solid bone and muscles bearing down at you at trumpeting loudly! It might just halt as abruptly, wheel around and retreat.

On the contrary if the charge is truly with malicious intentthe animal curls up its trunk, lowers its head and charges with the ears laid back. Then it is time to take flight. The only intention the elephant has is to catch you, trample you, impale you with its tusk and probably dismember you! A very painful death is the only possible result if it gets to you.

Running from an elephant is a challenging affair especially if your fitness levels are suspect and the terrain and forest favours a bigger animal. We can run at about 15-20 kmph on level ground. Usain Bolt is clocked at 37 kmph over 100 meters! The elephant has been known to run at about 25 kmph but has been clocked at 40 kmph on one occasion! The idea is not to outrun a genuinely angry animal. Try to find something to climb onto or keep between you and the elephant. If there is a deep trench or ditch, jump in.

Click here for the link on 'How to Survive a Charging Elephant'

Mature bulls, unless in musth, are rarely very demonstrative. The observe you with quite dignity and once they have assessed your threat potential the simply ignore you and walk off unhurriedly.

A slight lifting of the ears and a careful sniff with the trunk.....

..... and he knows we are no threat. A few seconds of eye balling to let us know he is not alarmed.....

......he crosses the track with no care in the world. "Wait till I'm gone" is the message!

Without a backward glance the majestic tusker disappears into the jungle.

Some bulls will just ignore you and get about their business. While waiting at the Subbarayankatte waterhole in Bandipur, late in the evening on a safari, this bull came down to the water, drank its fill, had a shower, then went and scratched itself on a low tree. All the while it seemed oblivious to our presence!

Pleasurable itch!

More often than not, an elephant in the wild would prefer to avoid a confrontation. Most killing happen in areas where we humans have encroached into its territories or and places where domesticated elephants have been ill treated by drunk mahouts. There is no need to panic in the presence of these gentle pachyderms if you adhere to the guidelines mentioned in my previous blog.

The same rules apply to the gaur, the largest wild cattle in the world. They are found in large herds and in the morning come out onto the safari track to warm up in the morning sun. They will move off at their own time and remember gaurs don't charge like elephants. When a herd stampedes, just keep out of the way.

Road block

Even large bulls are very benign

They would rather herd the calves off rather than charge at a human

More road blocks!

I have, on one trek in Chinnar, crossed the path of a gaur. The guide and me had smelt elephant and were scouring the forest on either side of the tracks for the herd. Suddenly, out of the trees the head of a young gaur pops up!

If the gaur was not right in the middle of the frame it would have been difficult to spot it in the dense vegetation!

 That was the first time I had taken Skanda on a real trek in the wild because he was growing up into a real Woodcrawler! I wasn't sure who was more surprised, the gaur or us!

So if you are out in the wilderness, either on a vehicle or on foot, if you adhere to some simple rules you can ensure that you won't have any unhappy encounters.

1. Stay in your vehicle at all times. Getting out makes you an isolated target and even with poor eye sight an elephant can pick you out for showing its irritation.
2. Start your trip after at dawn and finish it off before sunset.
3. Don't switch off the engine and light of the vehicle. The vehicle is seen as a larger 'creature' and the people sitting inside are not perceived as separate from the vehicle.  
4. Don't drive too fast. Animals crossing suddenly maybe knocked down and killed unintentionally. Keep to the speed limits; usually 30-40 kmph. 
5. Animal crossing areas are marked with boards. Slow down and drive carefully.
6. Don't make noise or speak excitedly. Some people have the annoying habit of trying to attract the attention of wild animals by making loud noises. Loud noises can alarm the herd. What happened in Gavi was a result of an alarmed sambar running out of forest into the herd's presence.
7. Don't attempt to get too close to an elephant. They will misread your intention as a threat and react accordingly.
8. Photography is encouraged but keep your flash switched off. Elephants hate the sudden flashes of light. Remember, the see poorly in very bright light. 
9. If you are trekking on foot ensure that you are fit for the trip. 
10. Follow the guide's instructions and don't wander off the track. Stick to the route designated by the forest department.
11. Ensure that the guide has instruments or avoiding attacks by wild animals. They usually carry fire  crackers, a large bush knife and sticks. Some places have guides with firearms.
12. Carry maps or handheld GPS especially while on foot.
13. Carry water and food sufficient for the trip. Ensure you carry your litter back with you. 
14. Wear clothing and footwear suited to the place you are trekking in. Avoid loud colours and flimsy street footwear.
15. Consider getting travel insurance!

This is one of my longest posts and is a direct result of the Gavi elephant attack. I call myself a Woodcrawler and encourage others to try woodcrawling. I felt it is my responsibility to also share with you some tips for safe woodcrawling. 

Part 1 of this series is here

Part 2 of this series is here

If you found this series useful please share the link to this blog with others who might also like to travel or trek in wilderness areas. 

Happy Woodcrawling!

Hornbill Saga - The Death of a Tree

February 13, 2015, 8:08 am

≫ Next: BioBlog 100 - The Flashback of a Woodcrawler

≪ Previous: The Aftermath of an Elephant Attack - Part 3 : Thinking like an Elephant

$

0

0

Finally, it had to happen!

A little over a year ago, in the February of 2014, I had typed the first of the series of posts in the Hornbill Saga. Perhaps it was the instinctive feeling that it would be the last time that I would see a successful breeding pair at close quarters that converted an usually very non-obtrusive Woodcrawler into an person, or should  I say voyeurist,  follow the life of a pair of lovelorn hornbills obsessively throughout a season. Many hundreds of photos later I realized that I had been given a rare privilege to peek and record the intimate life of a pair of birds that are bonded for life. That series started here.

Now on a February morning in 2015, I gazed upon the last standing portion of a once proud rain tree, the one that had survived the woodcutter's chain saw. Devoid of leaves it was already looking very sickly. I say that because the other trees in the same area were already shedding their winter garb and a dense new canopy was covering their branches.

Scene on February 11th, 2015

It was only a few days earlier that I noticed the female had been incarcerated again, almost exactly a year from her last confinement. The romance, it seemed, was undiminished when I saw the male go over to the opening with some berries for her.

6th February 2015. It seemed that the next brood was well on it's way

I did not carry my camera since I wasn't keen on prying into their lives again. Unfortunately for them, their romance was to be shattered by the vicious chainsaw. Sometime in the morning of the 10th February their home for many years came crashing down to the ground!

The sight that greeted me on the morning of 11th February was not something any person who loves birds or green cover would to see even in their nightmares. The railway's engineers, in their infinite wisdom, had decided that the tree was an obstruction for electrification of the tracks being laid beside it. They had cut one of the main branches, the one in which the hornbill pair were nesting, because it was overhanging the new tracks!

The branches were in small transportable pieces

What is left of the the part of the trunk where two of the three main branches divided out.

The two main branches. The one on the right had the hornbill nest

I do not know how many birds lost their homes but my hornbills and their constant enemy, the myna pair. were rendered homeless. I had seen many crows nesting and even a barbet appeared to be using a small tree hole.Mercifully, it seemed that the female had wriggled out unscathed. She was sitting with her mate on a surviving branch and as if to tell me that all was well, they mated with their usual vigour! I was relieved. Not only were they safe but were also in a very amorous mood and not averse to showing it!

I spotted the male first.......

.......then the female flew down from a nearby tree and joined him

She seemed to be suffering from the after effects of her loss but her mate was more active.

He hopped off down the branch......

......to another hole nearby.

 For a moment I was wondering if he had already found a new home in the same tree. Then I was starting to think that it would be a foolish decision because that tree would eventually be cut down completely! Then I realized what he was doing.

He stuck his head in .....

...... and emerged a moment later with a beakful of something!

It was fruits for his beloved!

 They appeared undecided about their next move. This was a tree in which they had probably raised many generations of chicks and now, so late in the season, it was too late to move house. All available holes would have been occupied and it looked like the end of the road for this pair! At least this year.

 They hung about for a while before flying to another rain tree just next to my building. Almost as if to say their goodbyes. We've known each other for a long time and last year we had become good friends!

The male seemed to be contemplating his next move

It was also a rain tree he was sitting on......

.....but this was an unlikely tree for nesting.

He seemed to be searching

This tree, however, has no thick branches or tree holes.

The female seemed lost in a world of her own....

......but her mate was looking very composed. Almost as if he had made up his mind.

Tomorrow is Valentines Day. I'm not sure if I'll see the pair again, ever. If they go out in search of a new nest this will be the last time I see the pair. Maybe they will come back occasionally but there won't be a tree for them to nest.

I wonder how many more hornbills will lose their home in the name of Progress! I hope this loving couple will find a nice new nest tomorrow. After all Valentines Day is for people in love. I'm sure they'll find something more exclusive.

Good bye and God speed, my friends.