A Trip to BR hills.

This was the first time when I travelled to Kgudi ,BRHills. It has been nearly 3 or more years since then..but the memories are still as fresh as it was just a yesterday !

Trip to BR hills.

From child hood I have always been fascinated by forest and nature. Even today I like to explore more about nature and the more I explore the more I’m surprised ..

There was always something special going into the forest – especially in the rains.. The green is fresh and bright which soothes mind and heart immensely. The songs of birds ,trees and jungle friends gelled with scent of trees is something which is hard to describe. And when the forest is on a range of hills like BR Hills makes it a real paradise.

I’ve been blessed to have visited to BR hills couple of times; staying at JLR camp in Kgudi is a life time experience. The camp is situated in heart of WLS It has tents and log huts with all basic facilities and wonderful cuisine to enrich your taste buds.

We started early from Bangalore, after having our delicious breakfast of idlis and dosas at Kamath we reached the camp around 11:30 am. As we reached there the beautiful lush green forest welcomed us, we ware thrilled to see the greenery and birds etc.

After we checked into tinted tents,which ware neat and tidy with clean bedspread. We just thought of exploring the area, as the westernghats are one of the biodiversity hotspots in India .We can see lots of verities of ferns and other plants ,lots of birds which are endemic to these ghats. Its a treat for nature lovers and those who like to learn more about incredible flora and fauna which exists here exists no where in the world.

After having our lunch we started with the jeep safari into the jungle. The naturalist and the jeep drivers are very well trained and knows jungle sounds that we can’t even notice. we saw lots and lots of spotted deers , barking deers and sambhar deer when suddenly our jeep driver informed us to be still and quiet .as elephant was near by….by the time we reacted the big huge fellow came towards us charging. We had hearts in our mouth ..and to our surprise the jeep driver stopped the jeep immediately and let elephant pass ..as we started again the elephant again charged stopping just few feet from our jeep., by repeating the process the jeep driver gave full respect to the animal and let him go completely. Then further we saw lots of gaurs(Indian bisons) , no. of birds and amphibians etc.

The drive through jungle was wonderful, imagine the shiver with cold in mid of June and the chill breeze which was carrying jungle scent was accompanying us through undulating forest.

Coming back to camp we had much needed tea and pakoras and then nice camp fire with good heavy dinner. We spent lot of time watching the sky full of stars as the cloud cover disappeared and listing to jungle sounds.

Early morning again we went to jungle and saw a elephant family ,sloth bear, lots of deers ,wild bores ,lion tailed macaques, Nilgiris langur ,monkeys and lots of other animals.

These resorts have very restricted no. of guests and range of forest ,so that the wildlife on a whole is not disturbed and also a powerful medium to spread a message of conservation and being a nature lover there cannot be any more treat to be in jungle like BR Hills with so much to see and explore that whole life is not enough.

Though we did not see a tiger or a leopard it was an extremely interesting and satisfying trip. Needless to say looking forward to go there again 

Lastly from lines of “Willam Wordsworth” “I gazed –and gazed – but little thought what wealth the show to me had brought ..”----------

Shivani

Colors of Forest

My painting “colors of forest” was selected for display during the international canopy conf. plus art competition . Just wanted to share the “thought” which went into my mind while painting a forest :

Colors of Forest

When I thought to paint a forest,
I thought of trees that grows green and tallest..
Then I took colors that everyone knows,
mix them well so my imaginations can flow ..
But from where I’ll get that scent and the dew,
that only trees and the forest can give..
God has created such a wealth for you and me,
Keep it beautiful for generations to see..

A new year at Doddamakali

We wanted to do something special for this new year, so we decided to spent the last days of the year in the midst of the birds and trees .. and planned a trip to Doddamakali ..
As we reached there, we were enjoying the beauty of nature ..the Cavery as clam as ever.. flowing through the rocks ,generating music ..trees standing tall, welcoming the breeze .. it was very beautiful and peaceful ..
Suddenly I heard a loud noise .. lots and lots of rose ring parakeets stretching their vocal cords to the maximum , I took out my binoculars and started watching.. soon brown headed barbet and many golden fronted leaf birds , and other parakeets joined in the screaming .. I was wondering why they are giving such a big alarm calls..then suddenly I saw a big Shikra sitting on the same tree as I was observing it I saw a movement just behind the big bird ..on looking carefully there were two Indian grey hornbills also sitting on the same tree..eagerly waiting for more actions to come .. but nothing happened .. after sometime the Shikra, who was not bothered by parakeets screaming flew away and few minutes after that even the pair of Hornbills flew and the parakeets slowly stopped shouting ,restoring the tranquility of the place..
I could not figure out that the alarm calls of parakeets was for hornbill or for Shikra.. but it was fun to be a part of it.
Then next two days we spent in nature trek , saw lots of birds specially the nightjar..and also got a chance to jelly fish.. it was wonderful beginning to the new year .

Cheers
Shivani

A Trip To Wayanad

A Trip To Wayanad


For a nature lover there is always a pleasure going into the greens –especially after rains. The greens are so fresh and bright, the songs of birds and trees accompanying with chill breeze gives immense pleasure and happiness.

Itching to go out of Bangalore on a very short notice , we decided to go to waynaud. Although we have been there couple of times but still the place holds lot of surprises.
This time we have decided to stay at “vismaya giri”, it’s a two room bungalow at top of the hill offering 360 degree view. One of the most beautifully located places I visited in recent past.

Starting early from Bangalore, after having our delicious breakfast of idlis and dosas at Kamath we reached the Waynaud around 12 o’clock, the smell of fresh spices and lovely greens welcomed us.

As we reached Vismaya giri the place offered breathtaking view ,as far as your eyesight goes you an see ranges and ranges of hills. One side of cottage has westernghats to very close proximity and rest all sides hill ranges. Seeing this we have decided to stay there and explore the place.
After having nice Kerala style lunch, the owner took us through his coffee and other plantations.

The place offered excellent opportunity for birding. This is where first time I saw Malabar grey hornbill and was thrilled to see that, then lots of other birds like Greater racket-tailed drongos, red whiskered bulbuls etc.

The birds I could identify in and around Waynaud are :
1. Green bee-eaters
2. Indian rollers
3. Malabar grey hornbill
4. Greater racket-tailed drongos
5. Red whiskered bulbuls
6. Pond heron
7. Cattle egrets
8. Little egrets
9. Jungle mynas
10. Common mynas
11. White throated KF
12. Stork billed KF
13. Black kites
14. Jungle crow
15. Purple sunbirds
16. little cormorants
17. Black headed oriole
18. White browed wagtail
19. Pied bushchats
20. Doves collered and spotted
21. Black drongo
22. Sparrows
23. Red rumped Swallows
24. Asian koel
25. Great egret (not sure)
26. Red vented bulbuls
27. Yellow bulbul
28. Scarlet menivet
29. Parakeets
30. Oriental turtle dove


Because of my inexperience there were lots of birds which I couldn’t identify, but still it was a satisfying trip and a nice short break from routine.

Shivani