As i last recall we were at Sakleshpur and were just a hop, skip and jump away from the final destination. As mentioned before Sakleshpur was COLD!! There's a reason i'm writing cold in capital and bold, and i'm sure you understand :)
My friend who joined me from Mangalore (his name's Ashwin) was six feet and 90 kilograms of muscle and bone; and he was trembling and shaking in his boots! So you'd imagine i would've been dead altogether of hypothermia, right? More wrong you could've never been! I had a jacket made in the White Man's nation, and it very well answered the challenge to Sakleshpur's chill. So here we were, i was at the jeep's door craning my neck out and enjoying the cool 'breeze' whilst Ashwin preferred to be buffered between me and the driver!
30 minutes of driving through Martian terrain brought us to the gates of Cullerhully Ayn Coffee Estate. Dr.H.Javid, the owner of the estate was our host for the next two days. The bungalow was a short two minute walk from the gates, and so we decided to walk it up even though both of us were 'smart' enough not to carry torches!
Picture this, a mild mist pervades across the terrain, the path is a dirt track cutting through tall, dark forest trees and shruberry dominates the base of the trees. And the land is bathed in the delightfully cool light of the moon. So bright in fact it seemed like the place was lit by a dim floodlight (i'm not kidding you!). Ah, so romantic!! Well, you could very well say that if you have forgotten the fact that this place is nestled in the Western Ghats.
"Imagine how will it be if a tiger comes across our path" mumbled Ashwin. A steady stream of steam marked his action of speaking. "I wouldn't worry much about the tigers as much as i'd worry about an elephant or a bison suddenly crossing our path" was my response. The silence was palpable after this short dialogue. But then my dear, it was 03:30 am in the morning, and sleep shuts the eyes of even carnivores at this time of the night. Elephant and bison included, but then why kill the fear factor!!!
The jeep driver had told us of elephants and bison inhabiting the surrounding forests. This is the case in most coffee estates in Southern India. They criss cross elephant migration paths, and many a times jumbo wanders into the estate causing much panic and concern!
"Yorf, yarf, yorf..." the piercing bark of a dog meant we had reached home! We later learnt we were greeted although indignantly by the President of the United States (i'm guessing you understood that the dog's name was Obama, and he had a playmate named Michelle too...)
Well, turn the clocks four hours ahead for there's nothing to write when sleep shut our eyes as well. "Good Morning", a rich, baritone voice greeted us with a large cuppa of home brewed coffee! Say hello to Dr.Javid!
He assured us of a rich bounty in terms of birds spotted in the estates early in the morning. The mist pervading in the night had lifted, and a fresh new morning greeted us with shrill bird calls, and Obama's barking...
I was rather lax in moving about in the morning given the idyllic surroundings but the prospect of bird photography egged me on!
The first bird to greet us in the morning was the Ashy Woodswallow. Not a very colourful bird, but nonetheless interesting indeed. For a few minutes we got to see a bird's idea of a warm up; after which we started the excursion in real earnest.
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| 'Will you be mine...?" asked the Ashy Woodswallow to his mate! |
I won't be giving an account of each and every bird we saw just because you'd say you're okay with this kind of armchair birding. Rather, i'll give you just enough information to generate an interest in Nature in general and respect toward our non-human neighbours; and perhaps fire a drive to protect and conserve them and their habitat.
For those who're venturing into the forest the first time for birding the first time; and that too in the Western Ghats, it can be a heckling time. Trust me, there'll never be a moment when you'd know just where to look...
'Chirp, chirp, chirp', 'Chirrup, chirrup, chripp', 'Tzeet, tzeet', 'Tswee', 'Toink, toink'...
Just a few calls illustrated out here. Multiply this by n, and this will be heard in every possible direction. A flash of green, a bolt of bright red, a shot of yellow...
"Where do i look? Where'd it go? Hey, i was looking at a yellow coloured bird, this one here's black!" will be more or less your first time's experience in the forest. I had my share of frustration and inability to spot birds in my greenhorn days, so spotting for me wasn't really that bad an experience.
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| The bolt of yellow! |
The ghost of the Western Ghats is the Yellow Browed Bulbul, the shot of yellow! They held sway in the highest trees, and would shoot past across the trail, of course at a neck craning height for us. For upwards of two hours, our necks were craned upwards, eyes focused and mouths shut whilst the camera spoke on our behalf; and photograph after photograph followed of these magnificent inhabitants of the forest. The light was favourable as the trees had been trimmed, and the bushes kept ordered; else in an evergreen jungle shooting is the most difficult task!
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| Yellow Browed Bulbul |
We were at the edge of the estate in a remote area when we spotted the spoors of a cat. It seemed like a medium sized animal judging by the paw prints. Leopard is the first thought that occurred to me, maybe a young fellow crossing over...
After this, we headed back home of course with strained necks and eyes, but happy and content hearts for some breakfast and some more coffee!!
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