M.P Gajab Hai...Satpura National Park...

 M.P Gajab Hai...Satpura National Park...

 

After months of planning and hours of telephonic conversations 4 of us decided on our final travel plan and after doing all the bookings, lining up all the contacts and arranging all the road maps “Wilderness Explorers” as we called our group met in Bhopal on to accomplish our dream tour of “exploring M.P.’s Wilderness”, the most exciting part of this tour was the fact that although I being a native of M.P. state, I for no reason had never explored any forest or Sanctuaries of M.P. Whatever little I had seen forests of M.P. was either by being a passenger in a bus or a train via passing through the woods.

After having a sumptuous Bhopali food of fish fry and the most coveted “ Jameel’s Biryani” in the night, we decided to leave Bhopal early by 2 AM in the night so that we could reach the approaching road of Satpura National Park by 4 AM and this road with dense forest cover on both sides has a tremendous potential to surprise the passengers passing through its wilderness. People passing through this road early mornings or during the nights have spotted Tigers, Leopards, Sloth Bear and even Honey Badgers.

Our idea literally hit a road block when we found that due to a stone on the road both the tyres of our car got punctured. In a midnight conference on the sideways of a highway it was decided to not only to go ahead with the trip but also with the same car by getting the tubeless tyres repaired via inserting make shift tubes.. It took us over 3 hours to get the tyres repaired and move ahead.

After a highly turbulent and unexpected start to the trip we finally reached the road which leads from Hoshangabad to Sohagpur, besides the road the paddy fields were covered by a dense blanket of fog, Mynas and Parakeets were having gatherings besides the road, a flock of cattle egrets just took off from the road side fields and lead our way for a few meters it was a mesmerizing experience seeing the egret flock leading our car. Amidst all this drama we reached the right turn for Satpura National park and  just a few kilometers more we reached at the road which will take us to the Satpura National Park. It was already 9 AM and chirping of birds in the dense woody patches adjoining the road was in full swing and so was the winter. Now, instead of looking for big mammals we were looking for birds in these woods. It didn’t took us long to uncover the avian potential of this place. 

Conspicuous by its big body and long tail we spotted a Racket tailed Drongo doing sorties from one tree to another and as expected near “The Knight of the avian world” was lot of birds like lesser flameback wood peckers, Great Tits and Ioras hopping and looking for insects in to every nooks and crevices of branches for a good breakfast. Spending some time for a good click of the Racket tailed Drongo proved to be futile as it moved from one branch to other and continued to remain in extremely dark and shady patches.

Greater Racket Tailed Drongo

As we moved ahead and reached the serene backwaters of Tawa dam, it proved out to be a view to withhold for eternity. Calm Serene Blue ripple free waters, on the other side was pristine beauty of Satpura Biosphere Reserve. Unending Mountains covered with teak and sal trees. The combination of blue and green makes the scene worthy of a photograph. Just a view of forest from far away and one realizes that this park is a naturally gifted park with hills of panchmadi surrounding 3 sides of the park and backwaters of Tawa reservoir making the remaining border. 

Satpura Landscapes

ABOUT THE PLACE:

The Satpura National Park takes its name from the Satpura hills that range across central India. Satpura hill range is the southern mountain range of Narmada River valley, the northern mountain range is known as Vindhyachal.  The Satpura National Park covers 524 sq.km of protected forests. In 1999, the Madhya Pradesh Government created the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve, a protected region with an area of 4926.28 sq. km, covering three conservation units: Bori Wildlife Sanctuary (518.00 sq. km),

Pachmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary (461.37 sq. km), and Satpura National Park. This Reserve has a designated core zone which is the Satpura National Park. The remaining area is described as the Buffer Zone—a sprawling 4501.91 sq km area spread across the districts of Betul, Hoshangabad and Chhindwara that is slowly being reclaimed by the jungle. I have a distinct memory of sighting a huge tiger while travelling from Parasiya to Pipariya beside a Ghat road on forest slope while travelling in a bus. I was 16 years old then. It was such a spectacle then as well, as all the passengers of bus move towards one side of the bus to view the wild majesty and poor conductor and cleaner had to shout that bus may turn turtle with all the weight on one side.

The ripple less serene Denwa Backwaters are formed due to the tawa dam. The Tawa dam has been built at the confluence of Tawa & Denwa River. Denwa River is a lifeline river of Satpura National Park. This river originates from south-eastern part of the Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh State and flows from east to west direction before joining the Tawa river at south of Rainpur.

THE SAFARI EXPERIENCE:

After realizing that we were late for entering in to Jungle and taking a jeep safari would have been futile as most of Jungle folks would have got settled now and by 10 AM in the morning chances of sighting mammals become very remote. We quickly decided to have a boat ride in the back waters which is famous for size of its Mugger Crocodiles and plethora of Migratory birds that come in the winters. Indian Skimmer, Ruddy Shell Ducks, Bar headed geese, Greater cormorants, along with other 2 varieties of cormorants and many more make these waters their base camp for winters. Looking at the pristine water of Denwa I wished former one clean shot of an animal or a bird near water with its clean reflection in the water. 

Greater Cormorant

   
As our motor boat went in to the waters we came across Osprey and with this one of the birds on my wish list for this trip got ticked. We first went in to a patch of backwaters which had less open spaces and small islands and forest embankments nearby. River Terns were sitting on smaller rocks and islands, on the slope of the banks were spotted deer scouting for fresh green grass for eating. Watching an ungulate on a slope near a water body filled with Crocodiles is a fabulous experience. They come to these slopes as they offer water and most soft grass, but in doing so they get themselves exposed on two fronts, one they lose sight of any predator approaching from uphill and two the ever present risk of a sudden attack by a Crocodile. Only one though came across my mind, Can we humans think of facing such predicament for food and water?

Double Jeopardy- A spotted deer on the embankment slope

An oriental pied hornbill took a flight from one part of embankment to other, An Indian Golden oriole also took off, and my eyes were constantly looking for any bird of prey specifically Grey Headed fish eagle or Brown fish owl.

The Denwa Backwaters have a lot of small islands. These islands act as nesting as well as resting spots for birds and crocodiles. On one such island we spotted lime like white patches on stones and were quite sure that this is a frequented seat of some carnivore bird. The droppings of carnivorous bird’s looks like white patches of lime on rocks and perches, these droppings are so white because they are extremely rich in calcium as they excrete out the bones of their prey. Watching a perch closely can give you a clue where a bird would come and sit. The hypothesis got proved as a river tern came flying and sat on that particular rock itself. It was sitting in such a great sun light that it called for a photograph.

A river tern sitting on a frequented seat

An Asian open billed stork was standing patiently for its first meal of the day. As soon as we moved ahead without disturbing the stork we came in to more open zone of backwaters and could see the slopes facing the rising sun.   

 As Asian Open billed Stork

As we ventured further in to backwaters in search of Mugger Crocodiles we knew that weather was on our side. It was extremely cold and Crocodiles cannot remain in water for long. To increase their body temperature they will come out to bask in Sun. Shortly in to the trip we came across our first glimpse of the biggest danger of the backwaters and although this specimen was not big enough to put us in any awe but viewing the first crocodile in Satpura was an experience in itself.

This was just the start as more was in store for us. Almost on every curve and bend of the backwaters we could see crocodiles basking in Sun. The sheer size of crocodiles was mind boggling as they all had huge heads and long tails. Due to winter we could reach very near to crocodiles without them taking a plunge in water as a plunge in water would have meant loosing on the heat accumulated in the body. 

Ready to plunge- A mugger Crocodile in Satpura

Enjoying Sunshine

Back Waters of Denwa appear to be so calm and serene that no one could ever imagine that they could be home biggest of crocodiles in central India. Water remains ripple less till the time a boat enters in the water and moves ahead, but water remains ripple less even when a huge crocodile takes a plunge in the water. 

No i do not need a dentist

In about One and half hour in to the boat safari we could come across so many crocodiles and could learn so much about Satpura, considering the boat safari is just a starter to Satpura National Park, I now cannot wait for the main course and have made a promise to myself to come back to Satpura for a minimum of 4 to 5 days of wilderness exploration of Satpura. 

It’s the most pristine form of wilderness that one can come across..

Go..Explore…You will never regret…..

Roads Across Odisha-5- Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary

Roads Across Odisha-5-
Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary

In our attempt to explore more of the wild yet less explored wildlife sanctuaries in Odisha, in this trip our we identified Debrigarh Wildlife sanctuary as our first stop.

We started early in the morning at 4 AM from industrial town of Jharsugda for the entrance of sanctuary at Dhodrokusum. Jharsugda has all the making of a perfect industrial town with lots of construction equipment parked near the roads and factory Chimneys vomiting out smoke all around the horizon and dust in the air. As soon as we left Jharsugda and reached Sambalpur the pollution eased out and as we passed through the last human settlement on the way by the name of Burla town, the pollution was all gone. The Dhodrokusum entrance is approximately 30 KMs from Burla town and throughout the way the magnanimous water body of Hirakud dam accompanied us to the entrance. It was around 5:30 AM in the morning and amidst the faint sunlight at the stroke of sunrise, we could hear loud calls of Owlets and Night Jars on the way.

As soon as we reached the entrance of the sanctuary we were greeted by a large picture of a male bison at the entrance of the park along with do’s and don’ts to be followed. The area was getting echoed by the calls of Grey hornbill and as Satya was busy in spotting the chowkidar for the entrance, I went ahead to spot the hornbills in the nearby tree and hornbill couple Grey Indian took off from the tree in to the adjoining green cluster of the forest. Hornbill sighting has always augured well for me right from my trip to Anshi Dandeli reserve to Rangna forests; I kept my fingers crossed for Debrigarh.

Debrigarh is situated next to the back waters of Hirakud Dam, in Baragarh District. Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary has dry deciduous vegetation and I must say it stands amongst one of the most well managed sanctuaries in Odisha. The infrastructure inside the sanctuary is perfect for wildlife enthusiasts.

Geography: The geography of Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary make it an extremely prime place for observing untamed wildlife at its best. Also in my perception it stands amongst one of the best managed Sanctuaries in Odisha, and the passion and zeal with which the sanctuary staff works made me believe that this sanctuary would feature amongst the best in the nation. Debrigarh is a gifted sanctuary in terms that it has a perennial source of water in the form of back waters of majestic Hirakud Dam, and it also has a good share of undulated mountains which provide shelter and peace to animals from Humans. The water body from one side and the mountains on the other 2 sides also provide the sanctuary a necessary natural protection from poachers and timber mafia (which are rampant in most of the other forests of Odisha). Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary has 2 ranges Parbati Tang (P-Tang) and Chaurasimal.

This trip was more made more special as we were also honoured to meet Mr. Manoj Nair (IFS), DFO of Sambalpur area, in the sanctuary. I say this as an honour as it was first time that I met up with a wild life official who is so through in his knowledge and in having a holistic view in understanding of complex issues pertaining to wildlife and its conservation. Manoj sir also happens to be an avid bird watcher and a wildlife enthusiast and one of the very few who has been able to convert their passion in to profession. He has done extensive work on wildlife conservation. He is also pursuing his PHD on dragon flies and dam’s flies. Even after being so knowledgeable, he meets with you with in such a humble manner that it makes novices like us be so comfortable in his company that even we start sharing our very commonplace wildlife experiences.

Although the trip to Debrigarh was meant to be a trip dedicated to bird watching, but when you are in wild only thing that needs to expect is “the unexpected”. Now I have started believing that not being able to have any wildlife sighting makes one learn more than sighting.

Day 1:

As our jeep moved forward slowly, along the serpentine trail leaving behind a cloud of dust. We inhaled the fresh, sharp scent of the soil that is characteristic of all the well protected forests, and the ting of green makes the air so fresh that my eyes gets closed even at the slightest breath of it. A gentle breeze blows bringing with it a flutter of Butterflies in the shady patches of dense bushes. We started making ourselves acquainted with the terrain of Debrigarh as it was going to be our place for next 3 days. We were accompanied by Mr. Sanjib a very close look alike of legendary cricketer Mohd. Azharuudin, so we affectionately started calling him “Azzu Bhai”. As soon as we left Parbati Tang beat office of the sanctuary, some movement of flock of Egrets was enough to give indication to Sanjib that there is a high possibility of having a Herd of Bisons ahead. Egrets feed on insects on the body   Bisons as well as the earth worms which gets exposed by the hoofs of Bisons on the wet ground. Sanjib was dead right in his anticipation. I came across my first sighting of Bison herd and was just amused by the behavior of these gentle giants. As we went ahead we came across uprooted sign board and a big excretion full of saw dust like particles confirmed that the culprit behind uprooting of signboard is Elephants. Although Asian Elephants can also be considered as Gentle Giants, but when on song they can be at there menacing best. Debrigarh does not have its own native population of Elephants but around 4 years back a herd of Elephants from adjoining sanctuary has made Debrigarh home for themselves and since then the group has not moved out of the sanctuary and have become residents of the sanctuary.

A Male Bison

The soft rays of the setting sun filtered through the green canopy of sal trees. Vines and creepers wound themselves around the great trees as they reach out to exploit the most of the Sun’s offering. In the brown undergrowth, an elusive Jackal scampered across the path. We watch a woodpecker flit across from tree to tree, while a screeching nasal sound tells us that a Grey Hornbill is about to settle on its perch after having his evening meal. While heading towards Chaurasimal beat office, we observed that a strong stench of rotting meat was very predominant in a particular patch of forest. We stopped and inspected around that foul smell site, we also inspected nearby trees for any carcass left by a leopard but failed to gather any visual evidence.

A Jackal

As we headed to Chaurasimal beat office the sun started to set in, Sanjib informed us that Chaurasimal range is a habitat of horned antelope and spotted Deer’s.  Information provided by Sanjib again proved to be correct as we spotted a herd of around 6 spotted Deers. The herd of spotted deer’s grazed peacefully while keeping an eye us considering us a grave threat before losing patience and jumping and running far away in the meadows beyond our sight. I went behind the Chaurasimal beat office to watch the sunset and boy it was a treat to watch sunset in the clear sky with backdrop of thick green covered mountains with crystal blue waters leading the way.. After the mesmerizing sunset we started our journey back to the Eco complex.

Sunset from Chaurasimal Beat Office

As the light began to fade, the colours of the jungle disappeared to leave only silhouettes. We were greeted with our first sighting of Indian Night Jars on the way back on the forest road; we also came across stone curlew. It was pitch dark but the night was alive. The sounds of nocturnal life in the forest are unbelievable. From the beautiful to the bizarre, I could hear hundreds of species! The mating calls of frogs, the high-pitched sounds of insects, and the distinctly audible jungle owlet.

Indian Night Jar

Elated by recording of 2 new birds in our bird count we were going down the Ghat section, discussing more about the forest and keeping a keen vigil on both the sides of roads for any glittering eyes. All of a sudden brakes of the jeep screeched and we all looked forward, and to my amusement it was a Mama Bear, with 2 Cubs right in front of the jeep. It first stepped back, then crouched forward and dashed straight in to the thick bushes. The 2 pairs of glittering eyes in the shrubs nearby re confirmed the presence of 2 Cubs. This all happened too fast for me to comprehend. It was a moment of joy and elation for us. As we came to Debrigarh primarily for birds and on the very first day we came across so many mammals. As we proceeded ahead, Satya spotted something crossing the road and in a very serious tone asked driver to move the Jeep ahead quickly, the serious tone made me understand that we could be in for another surprise. Right there in the bushes some 40 feet away was the Ghost of the Jungle. We could not believe our lucks that we actually spotted a leopard. The big cat was moving carelessly in the thick bushes and all of a sudden vanished in the thin air; we waited for some time to get another Glimpse of the cat but failed to do so. What we witnessed in few hours of first ride in Debrigarh was like watching a condensed wild life documentary film, which we have strived forever but failed to get even a glimpse of it.  This was the moment when we decided to elongate our stay at Debrigarh for 1 more day. The day ended with an amazing dinner of freshly cooked fish and Dal.

  

Day2:

Early morning departure and as we were passing through forest road adjoining the reservoir, we saw an enormous activity of egrets in the meadows near the bank of reservoir. It was a signal of possibility of herd of Bisons in that area, and we un-boarded our jeep and walked in crouched position through dew drenched grass field, listening to the multitude of sounds of Jungle folk.  But in wild out of sight doesn’t necessary mean out of notice, the wind was blowing from our back towards Bisons and one alert male picked it up and spotted us. The neck became stiff and the tail started lifting up, giving us signal that proceeding ahead may result in something terrible and as the Bisons started to retrieve from meadows we also started trudging back in grass. As the Bisons started moving towards the bushes we proceeded with our drive on Jungle road and just ahead we saw a big male Bison about to cross the Jungle road. We stopped our jeep and went down and lay down in crouched position. The Bison came to the middle of the road and almost on cue stopped in the middle of the road and stayed for around 2 minutes to give us perfect Bison poster shots. Day 2 started with as much flare as the day 1 ended with.

Bison the perfect Shot

Again that particular patch of forest was full of stench of rotten meat and again we missed to spot the rotting carcass. As we moved ahead we spotted an area full of avian activity and we saw an Oriole sitting pretty on bare tree arm. Just a tree ahead were a pair of Alexandrine parakeet busy in storing dry leaves in tree hole for nesting. And we moved ahead on road so often, quails waddled across the road and vanished in the heavy undergrowth.

 Alexandrine Parakeet

Eurasian Golden Oriole

Sulphur Bellied Warbler

On the way ahead, near the Elephant excretion was a congregation of Butterlies of various species and size. 

Butterflies of Debrigarh

We reached Parbati Tang beat office and sent some time there and then went ahead to a Rocky River bed that we have indentified during our first trip as a good place for birds in day time.  As we approached the banks of river bed, it was filled with silence and the eerie silence was only to be perturbed by our voice. We saw some birds, some lizards and a few spiders webbing their net, and as we went ahead  we saw a tickles Blue flycatcher sitting, but after taking some shots and zooming them in we found out that it was not a Tickle’s Blue Flycatcher, but a Blue throated flycatcher. The flycatcher stayed for some time and then moved ahead. Thrush were busy in collecting dry leaves for making nest and white bellied Drongo saw us from a distant perch of a low lying tree. After spending patient 1 hour at that river bed we came back drove towards P Tang beat office. Day 2 finished with a prized photograph of a Bison and discovery of Blue Throated flycatcher.

A Water Skimmer

Black Caped Monarch

Final Day:

On the last day at the break of dawn, we left on our jeep to the Charasilaml zone, the start of the day could not have been better as just after leaving the eco campus, we were greeted with sighting of a solitary fully grown Sambhar Deer. The deer eloped in to the forest cover quickly. As were moving ahead we observed a pair of green birds, which in all probability we thought to be of Cloropsis, moving and fighting on the trees on the road side. We got down from Jeep to capture photographs of this magnificently camouflaged bird , the bird maintaining its alertness flew away after realizing us in there vicinity. A soothing calm enveloped the forest, hushing even the chattering langurs.  Just as we were about to board the jeep we heard a screaming call followed by an alert call coming from woods. The alert call was coming from tree tops and made us guess that it’s a Langur call, but the first call remained a mystery for us. The sudden and piercing call of an unknown animal in a Jungle where a moment before all has been silent is terrifying to hear and quite impossible to describe. We waited silently in that location to see some action but as the sun increased its presence the calls started reducing and finally went dead. We left the site with question marks in our head regarding those calls.  

After some time we realized that noise of Jeep is making many birds near the forest road disturbed and fly away, we decided to leave our jeep and walk ahead of it, with our driver shutting down the jeep engine and awaiting our hand signal to come to us. This strategy paid off, as we approached over to a slightly steep, curvy path following a call of a peacock. As we inched closer, we saw a peacock spreading its colourful wings and alluring the peahens around him with his Colourful wings repertoire. His brilliant colour filled spread out wings added a dash of coloured brilliance to the dull brown dried mud behind it. We strained our eyes for other birds and in a short while were rewarded by sighting of a yellow footed pigeon resting atop on a bare tree.

Peacock Dance

On our way back I was focusing on the Jungles on the right side and Satya was focusing on the meadows on the left side. All of a sudden Satya made the jeep stop and said to me to look at left for a bison, I in my usual anticipation looked at the meadows, and said I cant, Satya in his typical scratchy tone which he gets when I cant see the obvious said to me “Look at the window”… and the as soon as I enabled my myopic view, I found myself looking directly in to eyes of a fully grown Male bison. I was never prepared for such a close encounter and I was so much in Aw that it took me some time to remove my lens cap and put on my camera.

Bison- Too Close, too Dangerous

The Bison looked at us in usual disdain and opted to move to Jungles on the other side of the road from the front of our jeep. I mustered all my courage and got out of the jeep sitting in crouched position awaiting Bison to cross he Jeep so that I can get some good close ups of the Bison. I don not know what went in to my mind, that even after being so close to this Bison, I ventured out of Jeep that too with my injured Knee. Being maverick for that short while paid off rich dividends as I was awarded with some great pictures of a Bison up, close and personal. While going back after experiencing a Bison so close to me, a thought came across my mind that when wild animals and Humans are in close company with each other, both are subjected to common danger of being attacked or killed, each infuses other with a measure of courage and confidence which the one possesses and the other lacks.

Thankfully that day the Bison moved away unconcernedly and resumed cropping the grass.

An unbelievable trip to Debrigarh was coming to an end was giving us lessons that why wildlife exploration is one of the most unpredictable things in the world. I look back at approximately 80 odd cumulative days of wildlife explorations done previous to Debrigarh and found that two and half days spent at Debrigarh being more rewarding than those 80 days. We left Debrigarh, but with a promise of of coming back in the month of June next year…

The entire wildlife staff posted at Debrigarh made the experience more enriching and everlasting. 

Roads Across Odisha-4

Roads Across Odisha-4


Mangalajodi Bird Sanctuary

It was again an early morning start, and as always we had to be precise with our timings as it was also my last day at Odisha and I had to catch a train from a station nearby Chilka. We were scheduled to leave for Mangalajodi bird sanctuary situated in the Chilka waters. The Mangalajodi wetland (10 sq. km.) is a freshwater swamp to the northeast of Chilika Lake. Mangalajodi is home to over 3, 00,000 water birds of around 200 different species, both resident as well as migratory. Mangalajodi happens to be scheduled wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention as well.

Pair of Bramhiny Shell Ducks

 Little Cormorant

It was time for us to face our first instance of uncertainty, in what I should call a meticulously planned journey. Our driver for the first two trips had committed to us to be in front of the hotel at 6 o clock, but didn’t turn up. Also efforts to reach out to him on his mobile were futile. Thanks to a courteous hotel staff, an alternative cab was arranged for within half an hour and I and Satya left for our destination.

We had absolute no information on how to explore the waters of Mangalajodi, the geography and species as both of us were weak at recognizing water birds. A hoopoe greeted us on the banks of the back waters along with wagtails. But still we had no idea how to venture in to sanctuary. Nearby the banks were 2 men working on their boats and Satya ventured ahead to ask them regarding way to exploring the sanctuary. The person informed him that we had to get the receipt of the payment at the welcome counter of Mangalajodi, we informed him that it was close. After a short deliberation the person in blue shirt nodded and said that you can pay the money later and he will take us around. We looked at each other, no one in the sight till farthest of the points and to trust on someone like that and to go with him in back waters was a great risk, but somehow our instincts came in and we decided to board their boat.

We were not expecting much out of this trip while boarding the boat, but as soon as the boat went off, the boat man pulled out the bible of ornithology in India “Birds of Indian Subcontinent”, by R Grimmett, C Inskipp we were just spell bound. A person who hardly looks like literate person is referring to a book on birds??  Meet Madhu Behra, the eco guide and a proud conservator and member of Wild Orrisa. Wild Orrisa is the behind the scene catalyst for converting a tribe of Bird poachers in to avid bird watchers and die hard conversationalist.

Living Legend- Madhu Behra

Madhu Behera is true representation of modern day Valmiki, from being a poacher himself till mid 90’s when there were even less than a few thousand birds remaining in Mangalajodi area to making it a tremendous success story to make the latest bird census above 3 Lacs. Madhu bhai has been instrumental in conserving the birds of Mangalajodi. His own income had dropped from around Rs. 2,000 a day to around Rs. 2,000 a month. His life had changed and today protecting the birds seemed to be all that mattered to him.

With very few tourists coming to Mangalajodi made us ask him a question that how long can he and his family sustain such low income levels, and with so low levels of income why would he not go back to hunting? Madhu bhai smiled for a while and said “Ab to bird watching ka hi nasha hai, ab job hi ho bird watching hi pasand hai” (Now I like bird watching and no matter what happens he will not go back to poaching , but will continue bird watching only). And as we were just about to get emotional with this statement byMadhu bhai, Madhu bhai with all his excitement said “Black winged Stilt”. From “black headed Munia” to “blue throat bee eaters”, the names were flowing so smoothly out of his mouth that we felt that we were in company of a biologist. He was aware of breeding habits, eating preferences, migratory path of the birds… every thing that one needs to know about birds and was not even a high school pass out. Even some of the so called “bird experts” will run for their money in front of Madhu bhai’s knowledge. With all the knowledge about birds, Madhu Bhai comes to you with humility and openness to share his knowledge. Madhu bhai is not only an example of a conservation success story but also signifies where our education system has failed so miserably? Yes I am referring to the application part of education.

Pair of Black Winged Stilt

A Bronzed Tailed Jacana

A Purple Moorhen

As our boat rowed along the swamps we came across pacific golden plover, herds of Bramhiny Shell ducks, Bronzed tailed jacana, Non-breeding Pheasant tail jacana, purple moorhen, Terns, Weaver birds, Painted storks, Eurasian spoon billed…It was like watching a wild life film on water birds. On every stroke of the rower something new was coming in front of us.

Whiskered Tern

A Streaked Weaver

Large Egret

Black Headed Munia

Pacific Golden Plover

While on the boat we had breakfast of sweet bread and Banana along with Madhu Bhai and his cousin who was rowing the boat.

Just the time we were having our bread, some noises started to come from the grass lands and herds of small birds started flocking in the air all of a sudden and Madhu bhai made us point above, it was a Shikara on hunt in the skies, and the birds were alerting each other from the predator.

 Eurasian Spoon Bill

A Grey lapwing

While being with Madhu Bhai, many questions started coming to my mind, why forest officials are getting paid if they cannot protect the resources for which they are getting paid? Why academic and other qualifications like proximity to bureaucrats are more required then the on field knowledge of wild life? Why our government does require NGOs to apply common sense and bring change in the society? The questions are enormous and I am quite sure that answers to these questions will snatch many IFS officers of their jobs and colonial bungalows where they stay with all the royal amenities.