Birding in Kabini - a photofeature

NTP member and photographer Radha Rangarajan visited Kabini last month and shared with us this beautiful photofeature along with some tips on birding


We start off with a couple of birds photographed in the forests when she went on a jeep safari. A photograph of the Malabar pied hornbill in flight which Radha says has the kind of blur that she likes , followed by a crested serpent eagle.

There is a whiskered tern that she photographed on the boat safari

A grey heron strikes a pose for her

The Indian cormorant and the Great Cormorant in flight shot during the boat safari


A barn swallow to end the feature


Radha suggests that the evening bird safari is a great time to capture some of the water birds , as you could get very good light. The migrants have arrived if you are planning a trip in December or January to Kabini. And if you like raptors, look out for osprey, peregrine falcon during the boat ride and the crested serpent eagle and changeable hawk eagle perched at mid level branches inside the jungle.

You can see more of Radha's beautiful photographs in her flickr account.

Naturalist Training Program – some random thoughts

I have always had a fascination for nature and the immense variety it offers. Usually the enjoyment that I derive is superficial - a state of ‘ignorant bliss’. It isn’t all that bad, I should say. But the desire to understand more has always been there. May be that would give me a better appreciation of the ways of nature. It was that search which led me to the Naturalist Training Program (NTP) run by Jungle Lodges. I was quick on the trigger to respond to the invite. Later on, I found out that it was good that I did so, for most participants had tried multiple times before getting a slot which goes on a ‘first come first served’ basis !

A program is usually as good as its mentor – true in this case as well. Karthik (S. Karthikeyan) who was our mentor for the program is a thin, bearded, soft spoken gentleman with a good sense of humour. More importantly his knowledge of nature was as luxuriant as the forests of Bannerghatta where the camp was held. We figured out during the three day program that Karthik did not just gray, he earned each strand of white hair on his beard through intense study of the subject of his passion – life all around us. The team of participants consisted of people with a wide range of background - from a complete novice like me to someone who earns his bread as a birding guide. It is not easy to handle groups with such diverse levels of knowledge. But, Karthik had something to offer to each one of us. He ensured that all participants returned a shade ‘wiser’ than what they were when they arrived.

The program covered overall biodiversity, reptiles, mammals, plants and even conservation. But, the stress was on birds and birding – a topic which I had no prior experience in. The program gave me an excellent insight into birds, bird behaviour and birding techniques as well as a little bit of practice through bird watching outings. For me, it was an astonishing discovery that so many species live in Bannerghatta area. An important lesson that NTP gave me was to go about birding in a scientific way and to take more effort in understanding bird behaviour. This is a little different (and way better, I should add) from the ‘check list’ approach where you have a look at the bird, locate the closest picture in the field guide and quickly tick off another name in the list!

Apart from the core subject, we also discussed a host of other topics like photography during birding, use of binoculars and modern day jungle tourism. My personal opinion is that one should enjoy nature with god-given eyes before seeing it through the view finder. I have found it difficult to do both at the same time for the simple reason that your perspective (literally) is very different while using a camera. But I could see that some of the participants could combine these very well. In the case of birding, I had no decision to make as my camera and lens were far from adequate to shoot little avian species always teasing the photographer by swift movement. We also got familiar with use of binoculars during the outings. It is again a matter of personal choice whether binoculars should be used or not. I felt the most suitable option for my aging eyes was to watch with naked eyes for an overall understanding and then zoom in using binoculars to see the details.

Modern day jungle tourism was another hot topic which brought out some varying points of view. As one would expect, all participants were in agreement about not disturbing the natural habitat in anyway, but there were differing views about the approach to tourism. I have always been annoyed by noisy tourists who are clad in unfriendly attires trying to capture their first tiger with the most modern digital camera for a pompous display when they are back in urban settings. But, that is just one perspective. I would admit that enjoying nature is not the monopoly of khaki-clad, binocular-wielding, researched elites. It is important to bring together both the categories that I have mentioned above and a whole host of others including children, to ensure that we conserve our natural resources. I feel that NTP alumni could put their heads together on this topic – it should be useful especially since we have divergent points of view!

By the time we were leaving our tents at the close of the program, all of us had gained tremendously as students of nature. I would now be equipped with my notebook and pencil whenever I am out. Field guide will be close by for reference and knowledgeable friends would be pestered for guidance. Fortunately, however hard we try to learn, there is enough knowledge out there to keep us sufficiently ignorant – a trait required to enjoy nature in an uncomplicated way. After all, I don’t want to completely lose my ability to sit back, stretch my legs and enjoy watching the birds flying around, with child-like innocence.

Posted by Rama Warrier ,a management consultant by profession, a traveller by passion, and now a naturalist in his dreams, who attended NTP on November 19-21, 2010. You could read his blog here

Welcomed by a rat snake - A NTP experience

How does it feel to be welcomed into JLRNTP-1 by a rat snake? Very special indeed :) Right after registration , we had a rat snake that was rescued by the staff at JLR which came over to welcome us.

The session started with a self introduction where Guru-G,(Karthik )asked each one of us to give ourselves a nick name- any name of animal/bird starting with the first alphabet of our name + our name. Well we had to remember everyone else's name and nickname too. By the end of the course we almost came to calling each other just by our nicknames.

After a quick refreshment of tea/coffee etc we started on our morning sessions. Did we have the necessary qualities in us to become a good naturalist?? We were going to find that out...

Some sumptuous lunch and a quick introduction to doing bird watching the right way where our drawing skills were tested and all of us had a good laugh too looking at our own and everyone's rendition of various birds on the whiteboard but Guru-G quickly made us realize the importance of sketching the bird when we see it and however bad our drawing skills maybe, it still holds valuable information with which we can attempt to ID a bird.

Armed with notepads and a pen ( first time for me) we set off on our first nature trail. Feeling like school kids on an expedition :) we tried sketching out the various feathered friends we saw and tried to ID it from the book.

The clean air around us , so many birds to see and identify, although I was sure we would have scared an equal number of birds away with the noise we were making..:)Some of us were getting used to birding with binoculars for the 1st time. Something we thought was so simple but to get the right picture through the binoculars was not so simple, especially for someone like me who was used to using the camera also as binoculars .

Back at the camp a quick snack, some break time and it was time for a movie on the wonderful life of birds. Though most of us had seen the movie earlier.. it was still a treat to watch.Post movie , there was a nice campfire with hot soup, almost full moon and a scops owl calling somewhere followed by dinner .

Saturday morning- 6 am coffee and 6:30 am nature trail.
The morning was bright sunny and amazingly beautiful with mist rising from the nearby water bodies and glowing in the sunlight - it was indeed breath taking. After sighting a few birds within the campus we set out to be greeted by a Blue Bearded Bee eater that came and perched very close, allowing us to gaze at it for a while. More sightings like the Asian brown flycatcher, white bellied drongo, golden fronted leaf bird, plum headed parakeets, cuckoo shrike and the brown fish owl to top off the morning . We headed back for a nice breakfast and some free time before our 1st morning session on the bird behaviors . I never knew that even the way a bird scratches itself could be differentiated into 2 different categories.. :)

We started off early for the evening birding session considering the sun sets a little early in November. We took a different route this time ,walking along and watching birds, sketching and ID’ing ,having the deer, gaurs and bonnet macaque for company and missing the owl (not sure which one) thrice which we could just see as it took off. It was quite an experience. The weather was kind to us and we got back post sunset after watching the beautiful moonrise and its reflection in the nearby water body. Some of us took pics - I did not..:) I just have it in my memory, we got back. Some snacks, tea, chatting and part 2 of the film followed by the campfire and dinner.

The discussion over dinner was always informative . Each one of us would just fire away questions at Guru-G who answered each one patiently and at times we were chided too.. :) but it was all in the game...:)

Day 3 - Sunday and the last day of our course,6 am coffee/tea and 6:30 off for Nature trail, a different route this time and it was equally breath taking. We saw a social spider's nest and climbed up near the watch tower, some of us saw a black redstart and the black naped monarch and everyone saw the Eurasian eagle owl perched handsomely . A hungry but happy group headed back to the camp for breakfast and some free time with some portrait photography also happening at the same time. It was time for our last session and we were joined by Sandeep one of the 1st JLR NTP candidates who talked to us about the efforts of his group - Clean and Green in clearing up the stretch near the Cauvery banks in the Muthathi area where 3 tonnes of plastic was removed and how we could help.

It was time for the formalities before we headed for lunch and a lot of goodbyes, exchange of numbers and group photographs . We set out on our different ways yet bound by the common love for nature and its various aspects.

It was an amazing experience that any write up will not be able to do justice to. Experience for yourself and you'll know why..:)

Posted by Tharangini who went for the Naturalist Training Camp that was held in Bannarghata between November 19-21

Kabini !!

Yet another visit to Kabini, and even this time it was extremely fruitful. Though I didn't see any big cats, I came back quite satisfied with a lot of excellent sightings and some good experiences.

On one of the mornings we were on the regular safari trail where we found this Monitor Lizard sitting peacefully in a small pool of water. Since being cold blooded, the lizard had not warmed up and so was very docile except for the movement of the eyes. We took our chance and manage to get some good photos before it got active and walked away.

In the evening, I decided to head out on the motor boat and try my luck. Our boat driver told us about the Peregrine Falcon and the Osprey that were sighted frequently these days. He even gave us a guarantee that we we WILL get to see the Peregrine falcon. The Osprey was very shy and flew away from quite a distance, but not before I managed a few images. The falcon though obliged us for a longer time and was able to make "good" images even in some poor lighting conditions.


My record of sighting big cats at every visit to Kabini was broken this time, but I was not too bothered with that small detail as I had got my money's worth in this trip with the osprey and the peregrine falcon.


I managed to make some images of the wild boar and the wild dogs that we frequently saw whenever we were out in the jungle. I especially like the pan effect here because these guys don't sit still and often run away at the first hint of disturbance. So this is how you see them quite often in the jungle.


The wild dogs were extremely playful and didn't have any such issues posing for us and we clicked away to our heart's content.


As I have always said, I am in love with Kabini. Regardless of whether I see any of the big cats or not, this is one place I will always keep visiting.

Contributed by wildlifer , NTP member, photographer and geek, Sharath who was in Kabini recently. You can read his blog here

Naturalist's Corner - The Spider Wasp Episode

When I sat down to photograph a spider wasp, little was I planning to sit rooted to the spot for over 2 hours witnessing one of the most fascinating dramas unfurl in front of me. The setting – The River Tern Lodge managed by Jungle Lodges and Resorts Ltd. a resort at the edge of the Western Ghats; the season - monsoon.

It was about 0930 hours; I had finished breakfast and stepped out of the dining area. The sun was bright. The lush wild growth was too inviting to resist. Armed with my camera I stepped out only to be taunted by a butterfly which would sit still only for a brief moment at any given place and not giving me a shot. I followed the butterfly through the brush for a while and reached a small clearing just a few paces from the dining area. Here, my attention was drawn by a black coloured wasp with orange wings. She was carrying a limp signature spider (Argiope sp.).

She placed the spider down and scurried around the area as if scouting for something until she reached a small hole. It dawned upon me that she was busy ensuring the safety and food supply for the next generation. She must have stung and paralysed the spider that she was carrying. She inspected the hole and returned to the spider. I was hoping that she would drag the spider into the hole and that I could get a good picture.

For reasons best known to her, she decided to abandon this hole. She scouted around and tried digging a fresh hole at a few places. Finally, having selected the spot she started digging rapidly with deft, coordinated movement of her front legs and hind legs. Between bouts of digging, she quickly visited the paralysed spider time and again as if to size up the spider. Before long, the hole was deeper than the length of her body. Now again, I was wishing to see the spider being dragged to the hole.

To my dismay, she scurried around located another spot and started digging again. The whole process of energetic digging and visiting the spider continued. During one of the regular visits to the spider she dragged in closer to the site of excavation. The digging continued. Here again she dug a hole deep enough to conceal her entire self. This done she came out and looked around. I got ready hoping to capture the act of dragging the spider into the hole. She in one swift move reached the spider, grabbed it in her mandibles and dragged it into the hole. This happened so quickly, that I failed to shoot the proceedings.

She came out briefly and went into the hole abdomen first. This entry into the hole, I presume was to lay her egg.

The wasp came out and started shoveling the excavated mud back into the hole. Having shoveled some mud, she packed the soil with rapid taps of her abdomen. This she did until the hole was almost full. Then she swept away, meticulously all the unwanted material away from the site. Subsequently, she dug some mud from the surroundings and covered the hole before venturing a few inches farther from the hole to gather small stones and debris to cover the nest.

Why the two tunnels that the wasp excavated were abandoned still remains a question in my mind. There was no reason that was obvious to me. This question was still wandering in my mind when something most unexpected happened.

The female had almost finished the job that she had started when another larger individual of the same species came by. A fight between the owner and the intruder ensued.

They would run into and grapple with each other before going their own way. This was repeated several times. The intruder tried digging up the hole on a couple of occasions when the owner was busy gathering material to give finishing touches to her nursery.

Finally, the owner of the hole was vanquished. She spent a little time in the vicinity before she was gone. During this time, she seemed to be very confused and was often seen trying to tackle stones too large for her. Whether this was a displacement behaviour or not would be difficult to say.


The intruder started digging up the hole again in a great frenzy. Having reached the spider, she, like the owner went into the hole backwards and emerged out after a brief moment. She repeated the entire process of filling up the hole and packing the soil well with her abdomen. Like on the previous occasion the taps were audible to my ears. Having completed her act, she too flew away. I was so engrossed watching the whole event unfold that I almost forgot that I had my camera in my hand in spite of the weight of the equipment trying to compete with the wasp for attention. I left the site to catch up with the work on hand.

The next morning, I packed my bags and as I walked past the stage where the drama was enacted the previous day, I decided to quickly check out the nest. I was in for a big surprise. The nest hole was dug up again with no wasp in sight! What transpired during the rest of the day when we left is anybody’s guess.

This whole episode left me perplexed. I had never heard of something happening nor had I witnessed such behaviour in the past. This will be something that I shall remember and recount for a long time to come.

Posted by S.Karthikeyan, Chief Naturalist of Jungle Lodges and Resorts in his blog Karthik's Journal .

A nature trained naturalist

For a long time now, at the K.Gudi resort of JLR in Biligiri Rangana Hills, the name of Thapa is a familiar one. Thapa, who has come a long distance from his native Nepal to the forests of Karnataka, is technically a driver with the resort, but his wildlife skills match any trained naturalist. Indeed, he himself is a trained naturalist...he's been trained by the forests of B R Hills!

I've always been lucky with Thapa driving; this Sunday was, perhaps, the first time that I did not have a leopard sighting when I went with him! Alas, he bemoaned the fact that sightings have been very poor lately..and truly, we did not even sight a Crested Serpent Eagle on the safari, which in itself is so unusual in BR Hills.

At the outset of the safari, we found that elephants had torn down a tree and blocked the path; here's Thapa and two other guests, clearing the path with a will:


He's able to spot animals, birds, and even butterflies while driving carefully through the forest tracks; and often, after he's told us what to spot, it takes us some time to see what he's seen!

I got a short video of him at the wheel on safari:

Thank you, Thapa, for all the memorable safaris you've taken us on!

Posted by Deepa Mohan, naturalist, writer, photographer and an inspiration to many..

Birding in Daroji and Hampi

After an overnight train journey from Bangalore, we were in Hospet bargaining with the autorickshaw drivers to get us to the new Jungle Lodges Sloth Bear Resort near Hampi. It is around 17 kilometres of a pleasant drive through fields and villages from the Hospet Railway Station. Why is it named Sloth Bear Resort? Because it is on the boundary of India’s only Sloth Bear Sanctuary – Daroji.

After breakfast at Karadi Cafe, we headed to the area around the Forest Department Guest House for a nature walk. As we got out of the jeep, a pair of wings landed in a bush nearby. It was a juvenile Shikra browsing the thorny scrub for brunch. As it hopped from one bush to the next without minding our presence in the vicinity, it got lucky! And I got lucky too - My first shots of the trip.

The area around Daroji and Hampi presents a few different mini-habitats – all linked together by hot, generally dry weather – from the thorny rock and scrub to the lakes and canals that dot the region to the farmlands to the River Tungabhadra. We did a lot of birding along the canal (a couple of kilometres from JLR) that is enroute to the Daroji Bear Sanctuary.

Ground birds were in plenty. Quails were commonplace in the Jungle Lodges campus. Every time we left the campus on a safari, at least one Barred Buttonquail would cross the road.

Hoopoes could be seen all along the canal road, pecking at the ground.


Grey Francolins and Indian Peafowls were common within the Bear Sanctuary.

Two Painted lifers presented themselves in the unique habitat – the Painted Sandgrouse and the Painted Spurfowl. We saw the Painted Sandgrouses on both the evenings that we drove past the fields on the way to the Bear Sanctuary. They are camouflaged very well in the dry fields.



Painted Spurfowls were common within the rocky habitats at both Daroji and Hampi.

Among the common birds, the Laughing Doves were everywhere. And they were the boldest of the species that I had seen anywhere. This one let me walk up to almost minimum focusing distance. And was still around as we started the safari vehicle and drove away.

Rose-ringed Parakeets flocked near the canals.

A Blue-faced Malkoha made a guest appearance one evening within Daroji.


While browsing for food and hopping from tree to tree (sounds familiar?), it popped out with a Praying Mantis in its beak. Well, the shyness took over immediately and it flew to a “safe” perch.

The quest to get a photograph of the Yellow-throated Bulbul led us to Hampi one afternoon. While waiting for the bulbul, this Purple Sunbird and White-browed Bulbul offered some nice photography opportunities.

A Short-toed Snake Eagle showed off its acrobatics in flight.

The ruins of Hampi finally played host to the Yellow-throated Bulbul. Snapped this record-shot before the bird disappeared again.

The migrants had started coming in. We saw a Western Marsh Harrier, Montagu’s Harrier, lots of Common Sandpipers and Yellow Wagtails.

An early morning walk along the canal proved to be a superb birding session. Indian Eagle-owl, Sirkeer Malkoha, a pair of Grey-bellied Cuckoos, Rufous-fronted Prinias, Oriental Honey-buzzard – it was a complete treat!

As we left Hampi, we were bid farewell by this pair of Green Bee-eaters.

Posted by photographer and naturalist MV Shreeram who blogs at Visual Quotient. The Sloth Bear Resort is the recently opened property at Hampi . Tourists and wildlife enthusiasts can get the best of both worlds by visiting Daroji , a sloth bear sanctuary located close to Hampi.

Bears and more from Daroji

Of course, going to Daroji also meant a chance of an encounter with the Sloth Bears. We were treated to wonderful views of these amazing mammals. Being mostly nocturnal, they descend from their caves in the rocks late in the evening. Their presence did not really disturb the birds in that area, though they maintained their distance.

As we were watching the bears, this Ruddy Mongoose came by. A close relative of the Indian Grey Mongoose, it is most easily distinguished in the field by the black tip to its tail.

As we made our way back from Daroji late that evening, an Indian Fox jumped across the jeep track and landed in the fields. It was lurking around on the fringes of the fields for some time and we got some really good views of it in the headlights of the jeep.

The Indian Grey Mongoose also showed itself while we were waiting for the Yellow-throated Bulbuls at Matanga hill in Hampi.

Of course, the Southern Plains Grey Langurs were all over the place at Hampi, along with the Bonnet Macaques.

We saw a Bengal Monitor by the canal. It was standing in the middle of the track. As we ventured closer, it got off the track, into the water and swam away.

The surprise package of the trip for me was this Indian Star Tortoise walking into the sunset in a field. It gave us a nice “catwalk” before disappearing into the safety of a shrub.



Posted by photographer and naturalist MV Shreeram who blogs at Visual Quotient. The Sloth Bear Resort is the recently opened property at Hampi . Tourists and wildlife enthusiasts can get the best of both worlds by visiting Daroji , a sloth bear sanctuary located close to Hampi.