Archive for April, 2007
Airoli, Mumbai and the Green Heron
Took off at dawn today with Rakesh Dhareshwar and headed to Airoli mangroves. As luck would have it I got a few nice ones of a white cheeked bulbul.
Further along the path I got a crow up close 
Just as we were going to give up on the Green Heron, Rakesh spotted one in the middle of the water and sitting on a branch. Lucky for me since I had missed this guy at Karwar where I typically should have been able to grab a good shot. At Karwar I did get a shot but, the branch was wrapped in a plastic bulrap and I deleted the shot without a second thought. So Airoli was where I finally got my Green Heron finally!
Thanks Rakesh for a super outing !
Devbagh, Karwar
Day 6 — The lure of the Sea Eagle!
We were ready at 0630 sharp and caught up with Karthick at the dining hut. A quick cuppa tea and we moved towards the jetty. Just as we neared the jetty I spotted a White Bellied Sea Eagle (WBSE) juvenile brilliantly lit by the rising sun and managed to grab a few quick shots.
We went a little ahead and then stopped. Our naturalist ( who is actually the
night watchman) rushed, back with info that there were four WBSE’s again. We doubled back and Karthick was able to manage a beauty shot of them all four two adults and two juveniles on one single branch. Just as I caught up with Karthick, and set down my tripod, the formation broke and the guys flew away. Dang…must come here next morning I told myself. Besides I noticed at that instant, the WBSE nest on the same tree.
Of Hornbills, a Malabar Trogon and White Bellied Sea Eagles -Dandeli Karwar Devbagh Trip March ‘07
10th March ‘07— Rockin … Down the Highway…( Doobie Brothers Song)
We were packed and rolling by 0420H and strangely uplifted enough at the thought of the vacation that we decided not to put on music in the car till much later! Stopped for some sheera and some tea at Lonavala. Lonavala was warm and we really did not need the fleece jackets we had brought along. I was still very fresh and we hit Pune by 7 AM and had crossed Pune on to the new Pune Bangalore highway by 0800. We rolled on to Satara, Kohlapur and then on to Belgaum. What a great rod this is. Superb tarmac and such a pleasure to drive! A really good decision to do this road trip! Just short of Belgaum, we stopped for a quick bite of upma and tea again. A steady 100-120 Kmph, and Belgaum rolled in by 11 AM. Top up time and, we filled in fuel. I calculated that I had got a cool 16.666 km per litre of petrol on the Baleno.. Woohoo!! Baleno rocks!!!
No commentsAh…Finally some Flamingoes @ Sewri , Mumbai
Whew…was getting worried that this season we may not see them flamingos in Bombay. Those pink birdies are definitely back but so far their numbers are lower than expected.
Some pics from my visit.
