After meeting with the elusive Jungle Cat previous day I wondered what will be there in store for me on Day 3! Apart from
the Jungle Cat encounter nothing was really great the previous day! So hoped for a better day ahead!
As planned initially we decided to try boat ride in the morning. We had been told that a Crested Serpent Eagle is a sure shot and if the stars shine for us then we will get the fella having breakfast! He enjoys snakes for the breakfast! For the matter of truth he enjoys snakes for everything - breakfast, lunch and dinner! ;) So we were dreaming of some action of that sort and praying for our stars to shine!
Sad news - Only one boat will be given and all the three people along with the boatman have to be accommodated in the same! - Shiv came back with this news! The wrong thing that happened was the ticket issuing person has saw us together and he was not ready to give separate boats for the individual even though there were free boats and boatmen were sitting lazily around a fire to beat the morning chill! Heck!! Even after little bit arguing nothing fruitful happened and we all ended up in jumping onto the same boat, struggling with 3 tripods, 2 big lenses and a medium one and 3 camera bags and a boatman to drive!
Morning was cold and all of were silent! After going for around 20-30 mtrs itself we saw the CSE sitting on a tough cut trunk and seems to be enjoying the morning Sun, who was struggling hard to knokoff the mist from the surroundings.Dammn!! strong backlight! even though the perch was good, the angle of light was bad for traditional photography! It opened up the opportunity for trying something different and we all were happy about that.
After making some images of that fella and as he took off (I swear we dint do anything! :)) we moved further....The water was deadly calm and the life underneath was very very colorful!As I was not in the mood to make any macro and as the conditions in the boat was also not favorable I decided to come another day for boating and that will be only for macro! Decided!....On the way forward we encountered some great views of WB Kingfisher and Darters and got some decent images as well....
Not very much activity around and hence decided to move back and try our luck with the CSE for the second time. We were not very optimistic though! But... He was there! This time on a branch of a green tree! But :( clutters...distracting branches and steep angle! But he allowed to go quite close and got some decent shots (though coudn't avoid the distracting background:( )
So...we finished our boating and planned for the rest of the session till afternoon. Ganesh and the rest of team were about to join us that day and they were planning to be on field in the afternoon.
As our search for the Longtailed Nightjar was pending, we decided to look for that during the afternoon. The Sun was up on the head and light was getting harsh! After a cycling of around 15 min we came to the spot. Our Rickshaw wallas got down and started to look for the nightjar.
There they go...found out the fella which was having a good nap in the bushes! If not for the local people, these Nightjars are real nightmeres to find in the field! Kudos to the locals who find them so easily!
After making some images of the Long Tailed Nightjar, I decided to spend some time in the Ghana Canal which dint have any water and the tree shades are providing very nice diffused light on the ground. Although I saw some species like Bluethroat, Lessar Coucal, Red throated Flycatcher, Indian Grey hornbill, WB King fisher and a Jackal, I couldn't make any decent images of the same.
It was time for lunch and we had to get ready for the afternoon session as well. We had decided to wait for Ganesh and Sudhir to join us for the lunch who were already on the field, after returning from Chambal!
While returning to the place where we regularly having our lunch, a hoopoe which was pretty regular around the area, was having a mudbath! It was fist time for me for having seen Hoopoe having mudbath.
After having waited for quite some time for Sudhir and Ganesh to join us for lunch, we decided to go ahead and have lunch. Later we came to know that they both were busy with a pair of Sarus Crane! Having known them in the field we strongly knew nothing will gonna get them here only to have lunch when they have struck a lottery with the Sarus! :)
When I met Ganesh and having some talks, my friend and reckshawalla Birender told me that Shiv and Pramod were very busy in shooting a raptor! Being lovers of Raptors they must be having a great time I guess! Birender and self rushed in hurry and I got down from the cycle rickshaw and saw that "Oh My God! So much in open! and Soooo close!!" I realised that both of my friends would have shot that till death! :) I clicked two frames and advanced a bit to get a closer one and.....here it went...leaving behind a smile on the faces of Pramod and Shiv! :) One could guess when one will smile if his subject flies away! Only when he has shot that to death!:) Yes they were! When I saw the LCD of their camera they showed almost all the angles possible and in various poses and not to say how many images! and there I was, satisfying myself 'I got atleast couple of shots atleast to identify it!' :)
After sometime we three joined the party and spent some time with this Sarus Pair as well! I tell you...being with Sarus is such a great pleasure! Their elegance, their gentleness, their beauty will make you go silent and you just couldnot resist yourself from falling in love with them.Even though I am strong opposer of 'Love at first sight' these made me to believe that :).[However only in their case :)]
It was already 5.15 and the Sun has said 'Pack Up'!
On the way back we all witnessed one of the most beautiful Sunsets till then! With the vast marshy land with loads of ducks and some trees in the middle and there was the Sun, glowing in various colors of Pink, Red, Yellow and many more showing up as a huge Fireball and about to go down the earth!
We all stopped our rickshaws and enjoyed the sight and I made some images but I was cursing myself for not being there at that place all these days to watch the Sunset!
So... the day was fine. Enjoyed the encounter with the CSE, some moments with the Hoopoe and Sarus and the fantastic Sunset was a Bonus!
Came back to hotel, transefered the images to my PhotoBank and closed my eyes...what I saw??
The surreal sunset again!!!
Cheers,
Ash
the Jungle Cat encounter nothing was really great the previous day! So hoped for a better day ahead!
As planned initially we decided to try boat ride in the morning. We had been told that a Crested Serpent Eagle is a sure shot and if the stars shine for us then we will get the fella having breakfast! He enjoys snakes for the breakfast! For the matter of truth he enjoys snakes for everything - breakfast, lunch and dinner! ;) So we were dreaming of some action of that sort and praying for our stars to shine! Sad news - Only one boat will be given and all the three people along with the boatman have to be accommodated in the same! - Shiv came back with this news! The wrong thing that happened was the ticket issuing person has saw us together and he was not ready to give separate boats for the individual even though there were free boats and boatmen were sitting lazily around a fire to beat the morning chill! Heck!! Even after little bit arguing nothing fruitful happened and we all ended up in jumping onto the same boat, struggling with 3 tripods, 2 big lenses and a medium one and 3 camera bags and a boatman to drive!
Morning was cold and all of were silent! After going for around 20-30 mtrs itself we saw the CSE sitting on a tough cut trunk and seems to be enjoying the morning Sun, who was struggling hard to knokoff the mist from the surroundings.Dammn!! strong backlight! even though the perch was good, the angle of light was bad for traditional photography! It opened up the opportunity for trying something different and we all were happy about that.
After making some images of that fella and as he took off (I swear we dint do anything! :)) we moved further....The water was deadly calm and the life underneath was very very colorful!As I was not in the mood to make any macro and as the conditions in the boat was also not favorable I decided to come another day for boating and that will be only for macro! Decided!....On the way forward we encountered some great views of WB Kingfisher and Darters and got some decent images as well....
Not very much activity around and hence decided to move back and try our luck with the CSE for the second time. We were not very optimistic though! But... He was there! This time on a branch of a green tree! But :( clutters...distracting branches and steep angle! But he allowed to go quite close and got some decent shots (though coudn't avoid the distracting background:( )
So...we finished our boating and planned for the rest of the session till afternoon. Ganesh and the rest of team were about to join us that day and they were planning to be on field in the afternoon.
As our search for the Longtailed Nightjar was pending, we decided to look for that during the afternoon. The Sun was up on the head and light was getting harsh! After a cycling of around 15 min we came to the spot. Our Rickshaw wallas got down and started to look for the nightjar.
There they go...found out the fella which was having a good nap in the bushes! If not for the local people, these Nightjars are real nightmeres to find in the field! Kudos to the locals who find them so easily!
After making some images of the Long Tailed Nightjar, I decided to spend some time in the Ghana Canal which dint have any water and the tree shades are providing very nice diffused light on the ground. Although I saw some species like Bluethroat, Lessar Coucal, Red throated Flycatcher, Indian Grey hornbill, WB King fisher and a Jackal, I couldn't make any decent images of the same.
It was time for lunch and we had to get ready for the afternoon session as well. We had decided to wait for Ganesh and Sudhir to join us for the lunch who were already on the field, after returning from Chambal!
While returning to the place where we regularly having our lunch, a hoopoe which was pretty regular around the area, was having a mudbath! It was fist time for me for having seen Hoopoe having mudbath.
After having waited for quite some time for Sudhir and Ganesh to join us for lunch, we decided to go ahead and have lunch. Later we came to know that they both were busy with a pair of Sarus Crane! Having known them in the field we strongly knew nothing will gonna get them here only to have lunch when they have struck a lottery with the Sarus! :)
When I met Ganesh and having some talks, my friend and reckshawalla Birender told me that Shiv and Pramod were very busy in shooting a raptor! Being lovers of Raptors they must be having a great time I guess! Birender and self rushed in hurry and I got down from the cycle rickshaw and saw that "Oh My God! So much in open! and Soooo close!!" I realised that both of my friends would have shot that till death! :) I clicked two frames and advanced a bit to get a closer one and.....here it went...leaving behind a smile on the faces of Pramod and Shiv! :) One could guess when one will smile if his subject flies away! Only when he has shot that to death!:) Yes they were! When I saw the LCD of their camera they showed almost all the angles possible and in various poses and not to say how many images! and there I was, satisfying myself 'I got atleast couple of shots atleast to identify it!' :)
After sometime we three joined the party and spent some time with this Sarus Pair as well! I tell you...being with Sarus is such a great pleasure! Their elegance, their gentleness, their beauty will make you go silent and you just couldnot resist yourself from falling in love with them.Even though I am strong opposer of 'Love at first sight' these made me to believe that :).[However only in their case :)]
It was already 5.15 and the Sun has said 'Pack Up'!
On the way back we all witnessed one of the most beautiful Sunsets till then! With the vast marshy land with loads of ducks and some trees in the middle and there was the Sun, glowing in various colors of Pink, Red, Yellow and many more showing up as a huge Fireball and about to go down the earth!
We all stopped our rickshaws and enjoyed the sight and I made some images but I was cursing myself for not being there at that place all these days to watch the Sunset!
So... the day was fine. Enjoyed the encounter with the CSE, some moments with the Hoopoe and Sarus and the fantastic Sunset was a Bonus!
Came back to hotel, transefered the images to my PhotoBank and closed my eyes...what I saw??
The surreal sunset again!!!
Cheers,
Ash
3 comments:
Nice to see you back with trip report. Enjoyed the details of CSE & its encounter story!:)
Mud bath of hoopoe & sunset images are too good.
-Sahana Balkal
Ashwin,
Super .... my wife and I have become your new fans..
Hahaha...
Thanks Karthik!
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