Wild antelope in 2 hours!



Location: Jayamangali or Maidenahalli Blackbuck Reserve
Date: Jan 26th 2015
To get there: [Click here for Google Map].
From Bangalore take the Tumkur Road
Distance: About 115 kms from Bangalore and 60 kms from Tumkur
Trail type: Flat scrub jungle. It can be very hot in summer.
Facilities: Forest bungalow with skeletal staff. I believe overnight stay is possible with reservation done at Tumkur. Closest food places are at Madhugiri (20kms) so you need to pack a picnic and carry potable water. Many watchtowers are spread out on the sanctuary. Couple of them near the Forest bungalow are large ones from where one can do some relaxed nature watch. Many mud trails crisscross the reserve, most leading to a smaller watchtower.
Misc Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayamangali_Blackbuck_Reserve


Few people are aware that we have a sanctuary within a couple of hours drive from Bangalore primarily for the conservation of near threatened Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) which is the sole surviving species of the genus Antelope. And then there are some like us who knew about it but never got around to visiting! Well, that changed last week. :)

Republic day happened to be that magical day when we were all free, kids did not have any "must finish" homework and our friend and "guide" in Tumkur was also not tied up. We were up around 6 am, packed our sandwich lunch and were on the road by 7 am. About an hour later than what we had hoped. Thankfully, traffic was not too bad and we were at Pavithra Idli place, about 5 kms before Tumkur to rendezvous with and pick up our friend. After indulging in their famous "Thatte Idli" we were on our way towards the reserve by 9.30am which is quite late for birding. But as our birding focus was on raptors, specifically harriers on this trip, which stay active at high noon, it was acceptable.
Short-toed Snake Eagle

The drive which should have taken us around 90 mins instead took about an hour longer because of road construction activity and our own indulgence on birding along the way. The highlight was a large raptor perched on a boulder about 50 mtrs away from the road sometime before Madhugiri. We stopped and enjoyed its presence for almost 30 mins as it sat regally surveying the land around it constantly. Later, we were able to identify it as most likely a Short-toed Snake Eagle.
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse

We reached Jayamangali around 12 and as soon as we turned onto the mud road leading to the sanctuary, a peacefully resting Blackbuck under a tree gave us a fantastic visual treat. As we pulled away from there, my friend investigating what he thought was an odd-shaped rock at some distance realized that it was a Sandgrouse later identified as Chestnut-bellied. A wonderful sighting and a lifer for me. This elusive bird is hard to spot when at rest and we were indeed very lucky.
Southern Grey Shrike

Driving on, we saw many active shrikes including the rare Southern Grey Shrike found here which is a striking grey, black and white bird. Inside the Sanctuary we drove onto a nice area with a couple of pavilions, one at a height made for resting as well as bird or Blackbuck spotting. Binoculars is required as the area is vast and patience to let the animals show themselves. We had good views of Blackbucks ambling along or chasing each other. Harrier's activity was a bit less and our only luck was what we think was a Montagu's Harrier flying low on the ground, too far away to make any image.

Male ambling along
Male Blackbuck
We started back around 2.30pm and reached Tumkur at about 5pm with some stops along the way.

Female Blackbuck
The sanctuary itself is a scrub jungle and grassland. Some areas sadly have been destroyed in an ill-fated attempt at afforestation by planting trees destroying the habitat conducive to Blackbuck and Harriers. Many watchtowers and muddy tracks exists for those who wish to exert themselves a bit and walk around and get up-close encounters with the Blackbucks hopefully without disturbing them.

As always if you do visit, remember, Leave only Footprints, Kill only Time and Take only Photographs!



Male Surveying the visitors!


First big cat sighting!


After many Safari's in Nagarhole and driving through various Tiger sanctuaries, I finally saw my first big cat, albeit, in an unconventional manner.

Thoughts of wildlife sighting was not on my mind when I booked the overnight K(erala)SRTC bus from Bangalore to Nilambur, to go and see my daughter participate in the CBSE South Zone Swimming competition for 2013. I knew that we were going to pass through Bandipur but since that would be around 2am or so, I never really expected to be up at that time. However coinciding circumstances conspired to enable it. One, the uncomfortable seats ensured that I would not get into any deep sleep. Two, the midnight stop at Gundlupet for Coffee gave me the required stimulant to wake me up fully. Feeling fairly alert, I inquired at the hotel on how far we were from Bandipur. Informed that it was just 10kms, I decided to stay awake and test my luck on any wildlife that were either nocturnal or were also having difficulty sleeping.

After we entered the reserve forest area, I could see that to sight anything I needed to be upfront. I took a chance and asked the conductor if I could settled near the driver. Surprisingly, he nodded without any reservation. Good. I found it fairly comfortable to sit on the steps next the driver and get as best a view as I could from the vehicles headlights. I settled in quickly with my hands around the bars for support in the severely rocking bus as it navigated around the potholes on the curvy forest roads.

With delight, we quickly saw many herds of the Spotted Deer and pairs of Sambar as well. They all looked up alertly watching as we noisily trundled along.  I could also see Hares many times, as they hopped to the side as soon as the headlights hit them. A lone tusker stood stoically on side of the road at one point. Suddenly, the driver called out "Huli, Huli", as we saw a shadow move across the road about 100mtrs ahead. I sat bolt upright with eyes wide open trying to make out the details from the large dark shadow. As we closed in, it moved to the side and I was able to just catch sight of a fully grown cat which now sat next to the road in a depression staring as we went past. The spots could clearly be seen now and so it was a leopard and not tiger. Did not matter to me at all as it was still the First Big Cat sighting! It was a wonderful feeling to finally see one of these sleek and powerful animals in the wild, even for a few seconds.

So, for all of you having to travel by night bus through Kerala, if your seats are bad and the bus is rocking too much, instead of complaining, take a chance and sit up front and maybe you will also be rewarded!




Chennai's water source is birds paradise


Chembarambakkam Lake
Location: Chembarambakkam Lake near Chennai
Date: Feb 18th 2012
To get there: [Click here for Google Map].
It is close to Queensland Amusement Park on the Chennai-Bangalore National highway. To get on the Lake Bund Road, turn right into a narrow kutcha road next to corner temple (small) while going towards Chennai, about 3kms after Queensland and 10kms after Sriperambattur. From Chennai, this road comes about 4-5kms after Poonamallee,  right after some official water treatment plant and you have to turn left onto it.
Distance: About 10 kms from Sriperambattur or 25kms from Chennai.
Trail type: There is a motorable road on the Bund, wide enough for 2 cars that one can also walk on comfortably. We drove on it for about 4kms and I believe it continues for couple more and joins the highway near Sriperambattur. Ideal for car birding by stopping along the way or if you prefer, park the car at any widened area and walk the trial.

Facilities: None, though the highway has plenty of eateries and lodges.




It was a family get-together planned at an resort near Queensland Amusement Park near Chennai that prompted me to scout that area for potential birding sites. One look at the Google Satellite view of the area was enough to show Chembarambakkam Lake and its magnificent spread. As always, myself and my wife planned to get there early morning on Sunday for a much anticipated birding session.

Crow harassing Brown-headed Gull
Finding the turn-off road was a little tough as it is quite narrow from the main road but with help for several roadside vendors we finally found it and were soon bumping along a bad road. After about a kilometer, the road becomes a bit smoother as we reach the bund with the huge lake spread to our right.

Eurasian Wigeons
We stopped as soon as we reached the edge of the lake where there was much vegetation taking in the early morning freshness of the water body. Immediate sightings were of a many Open-billed Storks flying overhead. They were leaving their roosting trees in the periphery for some undisclosed destinations! The lake itself had plenty of common birds such as Herons, Phesant-tailed-Jacana, Moorhens, Egrets, etc.

Whiskered Tern
In addition there was quite a bit of fishing going on. As we slowly drove along the road stopping every few hundred meters at any spot which we fancied, we attracted the attention of the local people, who it turns out, were hanging around waiting for the catch to come in. They advised us to move further up as the birds were "better" there. Accepting the local knowledge we drove up further quickly as the sun was ominously climbing up higher and it was getting hotter.

Cotton-Pygmy Goose
As we moved towards the center of the lake, we were greeted by many flocks of ducks and water birds. Eurasian Wigeons, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Pelicans. Wigeons were by far the largest in number, about 300-400 in the stretch we traveled on.  Barn Swallows and Whiskered Terns could be see flying overhead all through. We also got lucky in watching a Brown-headed Gull struggling to feed on a large dead floating fish. It was however harassed badly by crows causing it to abandon the fish and move to another spot. The Crows were not anymore successful in getting a bite of the dead fish!

Early morning Fog over the Bund Road  on Day 2
On the 2nd day, ie Monday morning, only I ventured out to the lake. But the fog rolled in about 7am and pretty much covered the whole lake. Visibility was about 10mtrs which made birding near impossible. I still drove the trail and was rewarded with some Brahminy starlings, Grey-Francolin sightings on the other side of the bund. Spotting an unidentified Quail foraging in the shrubs was also exciting.

This is not really, what you may call a family trekking trail but surely a nice birding trail of a lake habitat if you happen to be near that area for whatever reason. Since you are on the asphalted road atop the bund, you avoid the usual unpleasantness when walking along edges of most lakes in India.

Highlights from the Bird Checklist:

  1. Eurasian Wigeon (100's)
  2. Cotton Pygmy Goose (50's)
  3. Spot-billed Pelican (50's)
  4. Lesser Whistling Teal (pair)
  5. Asian Open-billed Stork (100's)
  6. Barn Swallows (many)
  7. Brown-headed Gull (solitary)
  8. Pheasant-tailed Jacana
  9. Whiskered Terns (many)
  10. Little Grebe