Garden and Backyard Bird count : 61 and counting ....

About two years back around this time after lazily procrastinating it for Ages I finally got myself to compile a Bird list of the Winged Beauties seen in my Garden and Backyard.Then I had hit a half century at the first try itself !!!!!!! Doing this exercise again after a year as some awesome sightings have recently happened. 

So here goes the list and with it some Photo Highlights:

1.Indian Pond Heron  2.Little Egret 3.Cattle Egret 4.White Throated Kingfisher 5.White Breasted Waterhen 6.Shikra 7.Black Kite 8.Brahminy Kite 9.Spotted Owlet 10.Long Tailed Shrike 11.Common Myna 12.Bank Myna 13.Asian Pied Starling 14.Purple Rumped Sunbird 15.Purple Sunbird 16.Ashy Prinia 17.Plain Prinia 18.Orange Headed Thrush 19.Blyth’s Reed Warbler 20.Jungle Babbler

21.Asian Brown flycatcher 22.Little Green Bee Eater 23.Scaly Breasted Munia 24.Indian Silverbill 25.Red Vented Bulbul 26.Red Whiskered Bulbul 27.White Browed Bulbul 28.Eurasian Cuckoo 29.Common Hawk Cuckoo 30.Indian Cuckoo 31.Black Drongo 32.White Browed Fantail 33.Asian Paradise Flycatcher 34.Black naped blue Monarch 35.Tickell's Blue Flycatcher 36.Indian Golden Oriole 37.Rose Ringed Parakeet 38.Oriental Magpie Robin 39.Baya Weaver 40.House Sparrow 41.Common Tailorbird 42.Coppersmith Barbet 43.Zitting Cisticola 44.Common Iora 45.House Crow 46.Asian koel 47.Greater Coucal 48.Common Hoopoe

49.Pale billed Flowerpecker

50.Barn Swallow

51.Brahminy starling

52.Indian Roller

53.Asian brown flycatcher

54.Banded Bay cuckoo

55.Pied Cuckoo

56.Rosy Starling

57.Indian Cormorant

58.Green Warbler

59.Barn Owl

60.Grey-bellied cuckoo

61. Indian Grey Hornbill

Have a Birdaliciously Great Weekend.

Happy sightings...

AMAZING TRIP TO LITTLE RANN OF KUTCH (LRK)

Considering that it sprawls out over 5,000sqkm, the #littlerannofkutch #lrk seems inaccurately named. Its name makes sense only in comparison with the salt desert next door: the #greaterrannofkutch #grk , which stretches out across 7,500sqkm. The word rann means “salty desert” and while driving through the Little Rann of Kutch, a salty desert is all you see. The first drive into the terrain feels a little surreal. The ground is cracked, the air is dry, #mirages abound, and the parched earth unfolds endlessly in all directions. The Little Rann contains one of the country’s largest wildlife reserves, the Wild Ass Sanctuary, where the topography varies from large marshlands to brown-grey patches of soil with a few small thorny shrubs.But this seemingly dead piece of land supports extremely #rare #wildlife. Th Wild Ass Sanctuary is one of the few places to spot the ghudkar, or Indian wild ass. Other species here include the desert fox, jungle cat, jackal and several birds. Since there are no bushes or trees for animals to hide behind, they are easy to spot while driving around.
Posting a small collage of some amazing sightings we got . More will follow.Even though this was a quick trip, the Sheer number if wild life seen by us was amazing.
Sending some Love & wishes out to the universe
#semperfi 🖤🖤🖤🖤
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स्वप्नातला वालपराय

पश्चिम घाटातल्या निलगिरी पर्वतरांगेच्या कुशीत वसलेले चहाचे मळे.आकाशाला कवेत घेऊ पाहणार्‍या उंचच उंच गर्द असं मदुमलाईच गूढ जंगल.जंगलांमधून नागिणीसारखा सरसर धावणारा काळाभोर रस्ता व त्याला कुठतरी मधेच फुटणाऱ्या अशक्य उताराच्या आडवाटा. ह्या रहस्यमय जंगलाची कधी भीती वाटते तर कधी ते आपल्या विशाल अंतःकरणाचा खजिना उघडून आपल्याला हरवून,मोहून टाकते.क्षणा क्षणाला जिथे बघावं तिथे फ्रेम दिसत असतात.मध्येच एखादी लख्ख उन्हात चमकणारी प्रचंड दरी लागते व आपल्याला जणू काय पूर्ण कवेत घेते तर थोड्या पुढे वृक्षांच्या घनदाट जंगलामुळे प्रकाशाच एखाद किरण सोडलं तर बाकी गडद काळोखात आपण प्रवेश करतो.हि फ्रेम कैद करू की ती अश्या द्विधा मनस्थितीत आपण राहतो व कॅमेरा तसाच वाट बघत मांडीवर पडून असतो. ४० हेअरपिन बेन्ड्स म्हणजे भरीव वळणाचे प्रकार आपण ओलांडतो.सकाळच्या सोनेरी उन्हात मस्त डवरलेल्या व ओळीने कापलेलया चहा-कॉफीच्या मळ्यामधून रस्ता कापत गाडी हळूच एक एक वळण घेत उंच डोंगरावर विसावलेल्या एका विशाल ब्रिटिश कालीन बंगल्यासमोर येऊन थांबते.सगळ्या बाजूंनी दाट जंगल व मधे छोट्या छोट्या टेकड्यावरती पसरलेले चहा-कॉफीचे मळे नजर जाईस्तव समोर दिसत असतात. आपण कॅमेरा घेऊन समोरचा नजारा फ्रेम करायचा व्यर्थ उद्योग करत असतो.तोच आपल्या बाजूला कोणतरी व्यक्ती उभी असल्याची जाणीव होऊन आपण कॅमेरातून डोके बाहेर काढतो.पारंपारिक तामिळी पोशाख परिधान केलेला तो गृहस्थ मोठ्या अदबीने एक थंड प्याला आपल्या हातात देतो.....    

   

सकाळ.....

अजून काही पूर्णपणे उजाडलेलं नव्हतं .दरवाजा उघडताच उगाच ते थंडीमधे गुलाबी गुलाबी झाल्यासारखं वाटून बाहेरची गार हवा अलगदपणे घरात शिरते. मी दरवाजा ओढून बागेत पाऊल टाकतो .

समोरच, इवल्याश्या गच्च जांभळ्या फुलांनी नटलेल्या एक छोट्याश्या झुडपात बारीक हालचाल जाणवते. फुलांच्या नाजूक कांड्यावर बसून सूर्यपक्ष्यांचं एक जोडपं मध खाण्यात मग्न असते. मंद पावलांनी जवळ जाण्याचा प्रयत्न करतो तोच आईने लावलेल्या पपईच्या झाडावरच्या फुलावर ताव मारत बसलेली एक कोकिळा आवाज करत पळ काढते. 
कोकिळेच्या मागोमाग खाली किडे शोधत असलेला भारद्वाज अथवा कुंभारकावळा पहिल्या उड्या मारत व नंतर लांबच लांब भरारी घेत उड्डाण टाकतो. मी जागीच थबकतो.आजूबाजूच्या निरव शांततेत कानोसा घेत मी श्वास रोखन तिथेच उभा राहतो. 

समोर एक इवलंसं फुलपाखरू अगदी शांत व हळुवारपणे एका नाजूक वेलीवर अलगदपणे बसलेलं असते. त्याच्याकडे पाहताना मला उगाच त्याचा हेवा वाटतो. शेवग्याचा झाडावर रात्री वस्तीला असलेलं रान-भाईचं (जंगली सातबहिणी) एक अखंड कुटुंब खाली येऊन चराण्याचा बेत करत असतं.डाव्या बाजूला थोड्या वर पेरूच्या झाडात माझी जराही तमा न बाळगता पेरूचा फडशा पाडत वेडा राघू माझ्याकडे एक नजर फेकतो व दुसरं एक पेरू पंजात पकडून धूम ठोकतो .... सकाळ हळूहळू पुढे सरकते ....

CHANCE MEETING WITH THE KING

Your totally immersed in birding in the dense Forrest adjoining the Dr.salim Ali wildlife sanctuary,Thattekad.Crouching down on the Forrest floor With the camera glued to your eye you are busy shooting a Indian blue Robin. After firing couple of shots you bring down the camera to take a look at the preview screen.You think that your exposure settings need to be changed. Your fiddling with the settings when you see a slight movement on your right a couple of feet away. You watch intently in the scattered dry leaves and after a long pause this guy raises his hood. You almost piss in your pants realising that your inches away from one of the most deadliest venomous Snakes found in India.After giving you an uninterested look this guy quitely slides further off in the bush leaving you with your heart in your mouth and a experience your sure to not forget for some pretty long time.

King Cobra , Thattekad Kerela

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Unexpected & uninvited Garden Guests

We were visiting some friends last Sunday evening and returned at around ten in the night only to find that we were having uninvited and of course unexpected guests in our garden...that too around a 100 !!!.It seems that Some Bananas had ripened in our garden and we had forgotten to take them down and these guys had decided to have a gala  feast of them all.

Indian flying fox : Fruit Bat #Backyard  

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Airport Fantasy

You have a early morning flight to catch. You get caught up in the natorious mumbai traffic snarls. Huffing & puffing You reach the airport.Once there you realize that your office travel desk has errorneously directed you to the domestic airport while your flight is scheduled from the international terminal!!! You hear People around you snigger like asses.You curse your luck and start searching for a cab to take you there.No cabs are to be seen .A air crew with two stewardesses on their way home after duty have mercy on your plight and wave you in their chauffeur driven car and drop you off at the international terminal.You thank those beautiful angels profusely and run for the gate.You stumble inside the air-bridge just as they are about to close the thing.Thanking your stars for making it on time you make yourself inside the plane. Upon reaching inside  you learn  that the airline has allotted your confirmed seat to someone else. You  vent out your anger at the onboard crew chief manager. The chief Airhostess apologieses profusely and promises to make amends as best as she can.Ten,fifteen and then twenty minutes pass,all the while Your standing in the plane aisle feeling foolish, pissed off as the crew go about their preflight formalities. Fasten your seatbelts, oxygen masks,blah blah blah.... The hostess who promised you stuff has suddenly disappeared and is not to be seen. You look questioningly at the other stewardesses and get the same stupid plasticy smile in return.Your STILL standing in the middle of the aisle holding your laptop & luggage  all the while feeling really stupid. You are now getting weird stares and whispers from your fellow passengers who look at you as if your a uninvited guest who has crashed the party. Your about to explode at the nearest plasticy smile when you hear a "excuse me sir" from behind your back.You turn around to find the chief Airhostess who hands you a glass of chilled Sparkling water and  says "Apologies for keeping you waiting for such long Sir, Please be kind enough to follow me". You meekly follow her past the aam janta who is now staring at you with wide eyes.She takes you to the first class seating and pointing out a leather padded aisle seat in the second row says "Hope this would be ok with you sir. Have a pleasant flight". Your busy making yourself comfortable in the plush surroundings when you hear some stammering and a clearing of the thraot from the adjacent seat followed by the words "Hi Iam Rahul Dravid. Nice to meet you".....

**This is a work of FICTION. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.