3:22 PM

A day in KGudi Wilderness

Posted by Avinash K J


Hello All,

A Heart Thumping Experience which happened yesterday at KGudi is worth Sharing. I prepared for a day's visit to BR Hills and left bangalore at 3.45 AM ( MidNight ) on Wednesday ( 25th APR ). With a One Pit Stop strategy, reached BR Hills at 7.30 AM. The Bird life was Amazing. Did some birding through car window all the way till JLR campus and hence missed the Morning safari. I got a sad news that Evening safari is also not possible because it'll go on till 7 and the gates close by 6. I had to return back on the same day ! I cursed myself for picking a Wrong day to visit BRHills. After Breakfast , I took a drive along main road uptil Biligiri Rangana Temple and spotted few more rare birds, A russels Viper, and a huge Cobra. After lunch, I decided to leave since the evening safari was also not possible. Just then my friend Vikranth, Asst Manager of JLR suggested me to trek inside the forest. It sounded great to me and I started off with Narayana ( naturalist, trekker ) , My cousin shashank, My cam and a Binoc.

Initial one hour of trek was really nice. Spotted some rare birds like Malabar Whisteling Thrush, Brain Fever Bird ( Hawk cuckoo ) etc. After a while something cought my eyes at a 20-25 mtr distance. Narayana told me " Guru, its a common sambar deer " . I took a clean look through the Binocs but it was staring at something on its left side. I watched it carefully but couldnt see anything towards my left as thick high grasses and bushes were blocking my way. We started to move and just then the sambar deer started Calling... loudly. We stopped , I took my binocs and watched it. The sambar kept on calling for sometime and never took its eyes off from the direction. After about 15 calls, came the REAL ONE ! THE CALL OF THE WILD ! A loud growl of a TIGER !! My heart thumped. Its growl was echoing all around the place.. narayana said " Dont move a step, We are very Close ".

It'd have been a joyful moment for me if I was in a safari jeep. But i was on ground with a cam and a binoc , Narayana with his Wireless set. We were tensed. My cousin started sweating !

Then some action. We could hear all that but I could never sight the Tiger. The drama went on for about 10 mins but the Tiger never got a clean shot ... Sambar Escaped.., The angry n hungry Growl got harder n louder. For a second I though " Is that it ? Im sure he can sense my presence here. Will I be his next target ? "

I probably would'nt have known what'd have happened if a call of a Barking deer had'nt cought his attention. Narayana gave me a signal " This is the time , lets push off " we cleared the place quickly. I was thrilled and Amazed eventhough I could'nt spot the tiger, I was close !

We waited in a safe hide next to a water hole nearby for about 30 mins, hoping to witness some movement after the Barking deer kill. But nothing more exciting happened. Tiger never came there as we expected. Everybody at JLR were thrilled to listen to the entire story me and naturalist Narayana narrated. I had my DAY ! I was DONE with what I had experienced. All that is still running in my mind. BRT is truely a WILD HEAVEN !

Should I say " I got lucky to see another Day ? " ..... I dont know ! But it was a Hellova Experience ! :-)

Sightings in KGudi

Red Wattled lapwing
Malabar Whisteling Thrush
Indian Hawk Cuckoo ( One More Bottle )
Common Hawk Cuckoo ( Brain Fever Bird )
Grey Jungle Fowl
Spotted Dove
Blue KingFisher
Forest Wagtail
Spotted Dove
White Breasted King Fisher
Indian Pond Heron ( while waiting for the Tiger to turn up near water hole ;-) )
White Cheaked Barbet
Jungle Myna
Common Myna
Green BeaEater
Rose Ringed parakeet
Pariah Kite
White throated Fantail Flycatcher
Brown FlyCatcher
Black Drongo
Tickels Blue FlyCatcher
Red Vented Bulbul
Red Whiskered Bulbul
Indian Robin
Oriental magpie Robin
Asian Koel
Spotted Owlet
Jungle Owlet
Brahminy Kite
Lesser Pied Kingfisher
Little Ringed Plover
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
Grey Wagtail
Red Jungle Fowl
Nilgiri Wood Pegion
Red Breasted Parakeet
Brown Headed Barbet
Collored Dove
Green imperial Pegion
Wood Pecker

Mammals --> Spotted Deer, Sambar Deer, Russles Viper, Indian Cobra, Hanuman Langur, Bonnet Macaque, Elephant.

Feild Guide - The Book of Indian Birds, 13th Edition by Dr.Salim Ali

Could'nt do much with my camera, but the ones I've Photographed are worth Sharing. Please do have a look
http://picasaweb.google.com/kj.avinash/KGudi

P S : Never Go to BRT , you will fall in love with it !!! :-)

Regards,

Avi

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3:18 PM

Ranganthittu trip report

Posted by Avinash K J


Hello People,

Apologies for posting the trip report a lil late. I had taken a day off from work and wanted to go out for some Bird Watching. The previous Day ( Second sunday of April ) , I met Karthik and he suggested me that I could try Ranganthittu which is about 130 kms from Bangalore, off Srirangapattana on well developed Bangalore-Mysore Highway.

I left Early in the morning and managed to reach Ranganthittu by 7.30 Am. We were at the right place on right time. I was amazed to see so much of Bird Life around. As it was a weekday, there were hardly any visitors. Me and my cousin were the Only guests there and the forest department people were really happy to welcome us !

Without wasting much of time, we hired a boat and a very experienced forest guard Venkatesh came along with us for a good 1.30 hr boat ride ! We got to know it was OBS ( Open Billed storks ) nesting season, and we could see a lot of OBS nests and chicks.. As per the policies, I dont want to share the photographs of the chicks though they were amazing to watch !

It was my first Bird watching trip after the Naturalist training camp and we could spot about 31 species in a lil over 2 1/2 hrs and the first one to be spotted was the Tickles Blue Fly Catcher. I remember me and Donkey Deepak had a good sighting of this bird in Gol Ghar ( Bannerghatta JLR Campus )

P S --> Please dont go there on public holidays and sunday's. Fair chance of spotting birds around the sanctuary but we wont get seperate boats to carefully observe water Birds.

The Photographs of this trip can be viewed here --> http://picasaweb.google.com/kj.avinash/Recent

List of Birds Spotted in Ranganthittu
Jungle Myna
Common Crow
Tickles Blue FlyCatcher
Pond Heron
Painted Stork
OBS ( Open Billed Storks )
River Terns ( there were only two of em )
Night Heron
Stone Plover
Small Egret
Cattle Egret
Large Egret
Purple Rumped Sunbird
Brahminy Kite
Little Cormorant
Fruit bat ( Not a Bird though :-) )
White Breasted KingFisher
Oriental magpie Robin
Forest Wagtail
Darter
Eurasian SpoonBill
Red Whiskered Bulbul
Asian Koel Small
Blue KingFisher
Grey Wagtail
Indian Peafowl
Common Kite
Purple SunBird

Field Guides

100 birds of Bannerghatta
Birds of Ranganthittu ( can be purchased there for 10/- )
Book of Indian Birds 13th Edition by Dr.Salim Ali ( Learning to use this )

Happy Birding ,

Avi

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11:44 AM

Kodachadri Trip Report

Posted by Avinash K J

Hi All,

After a considerable gap of 2 1/2 months, Me and Anil decided to give Kodachadri a try. This Place Kodachadri is located near Kollur ( approx 35 kms before Kollur )
The Place is known two important aspects. Its said and believed over ages that Sri Adi Shankaracharya did meditation here. There is Sarvajna Peetha on top of the peak to prove this theory. Another aspect being its a paradise for Adventure lovers, Trekkers and Hikers.

With not so supporting Physical fitness ( me and anil were having a lil fever and bad cold ), we set out to Shimoga on friday night by KSRTC Kempu Dabba ( Ordinary Red Box bus he he ). Last row seats were all that we could manage to get ( you can imagine to pleasure of the Journey !! ). We reached Shimoga by 4 Am and took a private Bus( hanuman Transports ) going to Kollur. After about 3 1/2 hrs journey we got down at a place called Kodachadri Cross, few mins after Hosa Nagara Town. From here the base camp to Kodachadri which is a Kaaka Angadi ( Malayali Tea shop ) is about 45 mins trek. As soon as we entered the jungle path, A strange noise cought our attention. After investigating for a few mins. We spotted a Grizzled Giant Indian Squirrel, one of the most Endangered squirrels, largely found near Cauvery Fishing camp. It was very fast and I could'nt photograph it. We reached Kaaka Angadi and had our Breakfast Puttu Kadale ( kind of Idly and a very famous breakfast in Kerala ).

We immediately prepared to climb Kodachadri peak as the weather was still cool and the sun was not harsh yet. Initially , there is some forest cover which gives a pleasurable trekking experience for beginners but not for long. After about 1 hr of hike, we are exposed to burning sun and this is a little difficult part of the trek. Once we hit the Grasslands, towards the right hand side, we can see the TB ( Travellers Bunglow ) on top of the peak.So, the chances of getting lost are very less. It is a short trekking distance ( about 4 hrs awt - average walking time ) to the TB. So, we decided to explore the beauty of the Nature around, took our own time and reached the TB by for lunch. Other than TB, there are two other small log huts which provide food and accomodation for budget concious trekkers to spend their night. We had decent lunch at the TB and relaxed for one good hour.

By around 4pm , we contiued our hike to the peak( sunset point ) which is about 45 mins - 1 hr from TB. We reached the peak by 5 and on the way we got to see Lord Ganesha temple ( Its a small cave temple, trekkers can opt to camp here too ).I saw the Sarvajna Peetha and wondered what a place Sri Adi Shankaracharya chose to meditate !!! It was truely amazing ! We met a few sadhus who had come there from distant places to meditate and got some information about the place from them. It was a very cloudy day, though the scenery from the top was pretty awesome , our hopes of seeing a gorgeous sunset was lost when the clouds refused to clear. we got a glimpse of beautiful sunset and before it got too dark, we decided to push harder to reach the TB as the route to TB is really dangerous. One side of the 3 ft path is a huge 1000 mtr cliff ! One has to be really careful during this small stretch of the journey.

We reached the TB and the rest of the day was a simple picnic. Lovely food was served for the dinner and we crashed off early as we had spent a sleepless previous night in the bus. Anil woke me up early in the morning and when I got up , he was really excited and shouting at me to come out of TB. I wondered what had excited him so much.. I rubbed my eyes and came out of TB n what I saw there was Unbelievable !!! Nature at its Best ! For a second, I felt like im seeing the great Niagara Falls.. I rubbed my eyes again to confirm it wasnt a dream. Both of us stood there dumb founded by the amazing beauty of the nature.. It took a lil while for us to realize it wasnt the Niagara Falls, but instead it was a Cloud Formation !!!


As there wasnt enough light, the Auto Foucs function failed on my cam and I had to manually focus with a polarizing Filter to get this Picture ! I had never photographed landscapes. I had to experiment for about 25 mins to produce this picture coz I had not carried my Tripod as most of the landscape Photographers do !

After having a cuppa tea , we got down to kaaka angadi in no time ( in an about 1 hr without any breaks ) as the weather was too very awesome for a trek. By 9, we finished the same malayali breakfast Puttu Kadale and realized it was all over.. Should we head back home ??? Few other trekkers decided to go to Varahi Dam for River Rafting, while other few decided to go to Kollur and then continue to Murdeshwar Beach which is about 3 hrs drive from Kollur.. We were not done yet ! I wanted more ! Yeh Dil Mange More !!! ... Really adventerous !! I enquired with the Tea shop owner and I was informed about a trek to kollur amidst thick canopy of Dali Forest Ranges ( Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary - rich in WIldlife ) which passes through a wonderful waterfall called Arishina Gundi .. The news bought a smile onto our faces and we decided to give it a try. We hired a guide who was well versed with the jungle trails and set out. We were accompanied by a group of young enthusiasts and we had company ! In no time , we were trekking deep inside Dali Forests and few places looked like they had not seen sunlight for years !! It was such close a canopy ! After 2 hrs of trek , we came across a small stream and we halted there for a while before crossing it.. The water was very sweet.we filled up our water bottles and continued our journey towards the water falls.. It was another 2 hrs trek from that place to reach an Untouched , heavenly place ... The Arishina Gundi Water fall . we all left a gush of Air in happiness and excitement after seeing such a lovely place.. We thanked our Guide Veerappa and decided to spend an hour playing in the water.. The water was too cold. It took some time for me to get comfortable inside the small pool formed by the waterfall.

It was so very refreshing and spending an hour in that place was never a problem for us !

But I had to shout at everyone to get out of the water as we had another 3-4 hrs of trek to reach our next destination , Kollur before dark .. We started from the place by 2.30 pm and the guide showed us the route towards kollur and he went back to Kodachadri ( we were happy to pay him 300 /- ) . Initally the way looked like a jeep track , but after about 10 mins there was hardly any way ! We had to make our own way and without the guide , it was a Task ! we were lucky not to get lost in that huge jungle.. Enjoying the silent and different noise of the jungle , we cleared the Dali forest ranges and reached kollur by evening.. We visited the famous Kollur Mookambika Temple after having some OK kinda food in one of the restuarants and moved towards Shimoga.

The funniest part was , we missed the Hanuman bus to shimoga and we had to hire a jeep to chase hanuman !!! The cost to reach shimoga was 40/- and to chase the departed hanuman was 500/- !!!! The 40 min chase was another adventure hehe :-) Overall, it was a fruitful expedition though it was not as trecherous as Mt. KP

Fact File
Geo ... place {kodachaadri} in Hosa Nagar taluq in Shimoga district in West Karnataka.
Trek Length : One day
Best Time : All time except Summer season.
Distance ... From Bangalore : 300+ kms
Nearest Town : Kollur 35 kms
Nearest Petrol Bunk : Kollur
Nearest Medical Help : Kollur
Nearest Hotel : Kollur

PS : Dont Expect excellent food at Hotels in Kollur ( Temple food is much better )
Conserve your BreakFast plans till Kaaka Angadi ( Base camp of Kodachadri )
Avoid Summer season as the place will be No so Lush Green and difficult to climb.
There is a Jeep track till the TB , so people can opt a jeep ride during emergency
Coverage of Cellular network ( Excellent BSNL coverage,manageble coverage of Airtel and Hutch )
The Kodachadri peak presents a Once in a Life Time view of the lovely Sunset and a Golden Glimpse of Arabian see can be seen from the peak !!

Expecting some Early Mansoon rains soon ! Our next Expedition will be the highest peak in Karnataka, Mullaiyanagiri located in the district of Chikmagalur !

More Photographs of this place can be seen here --> http://picasaweb.google.com/kj.avinash/KodachadriPhotos

Hope you all enjoyed the Trip report.. Please do drop in your comments .Thanks for Swinging by !!! ;-)
Regards,
Avi

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