Jul 152014
 
So Where is Denwa Backwater Escape Resort ?

Resort Review: Stay at Denwa Backwater Escape  Pugdundee Safaris The driver who picked us from Itarsi railway station was calling the resort to confirm that he has picked us up. I could overhear him, “OK, so I will call you once I reach the Big Banyan Tree” In the remote hamlet, the Big Banyan tree turned out as the largest landmark before you reach the last stretch of the dirt track on the way to Denwa Backwater Resort. Now if you are like our neighbors ( who are pretty nice people actually), you too may ask “ Denwa Backwaters? , where [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Jun 172014
 
The Indian Grey Hornbill-A Wonderful Father

  Indian Grey Hornbill-The adoring father from the world of Birds On this father’s day I was travelling so I missed celebrating the same at home with my daughters who have made beautiful cards for me. So when I came back I thought of writing a post about Father’s day but could not think of a topic, till I was browsing through my pictures of the recent trip to Satpura National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Along with a lot of other birds and animals one common resident of Satpura jungles is the Indian Grey Hornbill, the least flamboyant of the [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Apr 082014
 
The Frog and The Princess: A Fairy tale told again

The Princess who saved a frog:  A Modern day fairy tale Once upon a time there was a little girl, her mother called her “Sona” her granny called her “Guddo”, and her dad called her “Princess” Of all the names the little girl loved was “ Princess”, everything else for her was immaterial, so she always failed to react  when somebody called her with one of her other names.  “ Guddo, lower the volume of your TV, I am praying”…. Granny will scream, but Guddo would be busy being Princess, in a fairy tale of her own. “Sona,  drink [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Apr 052013
 
Watching Flamingos In Gandipet Lake Hyderabad, India

Watching Flamingos At Gandipet Lake in Hyderabad, India   Recently we went to look for Flamingos in Gandipet or Osman Sagar one of the bigger lakes among the lakes encircling Hyderabad, some of these lakes are natural and others were specially made or enlarged during the reign of the Nizams to ensure water security. Over period lakes like Gandipet, Manjeera, Pocharam, Ameenpur, Shamirpet, Peerancheru etc have become a natural sanctuary of local as well as migrant birds. These visits were part of a GHAC Nature club and we visited Gandipet Lake twice in last one month. My main purpose was to [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Mar 182013
 
Bird Watching with BSAP at ICRISAT

Bird Watching with BSAP or Birdwatchers’ Society of Andhra Pradesh– A Visit to ICRISAT I have been to ICRISAT last year for bird watching with GHAC, but this year I have not been able to go there till I came to know of BSAP or Birdwatchers’ Society of Andhra Pradesh, a dedicated society of bird lovers, very active in Hyderabad, and also organizing field trips outside of Hyderabad. On 3rd March 2013 I visited ICRISAT once again with Bird Watchers’ society of Andhra Pradesh. This was a special trip as the purpose was to see the migrant birds one more time [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Oct 082012
 
Tal Chapar-Rajasthan for Bird Watching

  Tal Chapar: A Hidden Birding Paradise in  Rajasthan   Tal Chapar in Rajasthan a bird watching trip If you are ready to look beyond the forts, and palaces and tigers of Rajasthan then Tal Chapar ( also spelled Tal Chhapar) is for you. Tal what? You may ask an obvious question as Tal Chappar is still not an on the tourist circuit unless you are a raptor from Central Asia from countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,   Russia etc. Tal Chappar is to bird watching what Ranthambore and Jim Corbett are to tiger spotting. Situated in a hidden corner of [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Aug 152012
 
Durgam Cheruvu With GHAC Nature

Rediscovering Nature in the IT Corridor of Hyderabad at Durgam Cheruvu The Birders at Durgan Cheruvu Durgam Cheruvu was named because it meant Secret Lake and was very difficult to both find and reach. During the times of Qutub Shahi Sultans the lake was surrounded by jungle so thick that except for few locals nobody knew of its existence. Its water was pure and potable, so the sultans built secret system of pipe lines to take the water from the lake to the Golconda Fort around  10 KM away to the top of the fort using a very innovative [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

May 012012
 
Birdwatching at Mrugavani National Park  Hyderabad Telangana

A Visit To Mruguvani National Park for Birdwatching  Recently I went again to Mrugavani National Park in the morning,  I got up without an alarm at 7 am on Sunday and thinking this is some divine sign decided to hit the road. It is only about 5 km from our home and is one of the last surviving green lungs for the city of Nizams. It is approachable both from Mehdipattnam via Lunger House and Hitech City via Outer ring road on the way to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Shamshabad. You take exit 18 on the airport highway on the Vikarabad [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Apr 282012
 
Purple Sunbird is not Hummingbird

Hummingbird vs Sunbird in India As mentioned in the earlier post I was able to capture the hummingbird or more accurately the purple sunbird in the camera.  Why I say Sunbird is that Hummingbirds are only naturally found in the Americas, what we have in India are Sunbirds. They seem to have developed independently and as their habitat and feeding habits are similar they look and behave very similar to each other. But scientifically there are no Hummingbirds found in India or Asia for that matter.  I am totally amazed at the way nature works. Two continents separated by thousands [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]

Apr 252012
 

Today was my lucky day, while walking in the compound I noticed a bush outside the boundry that had fragnant, though non descript flowers. I decided to investigate and to my amazement a female humming bird was doing acrobatics on the flowers. I took out my phone to take some pics but she was too fast to be captured by a phone camera. I was in too mind to continue my walk or get the camera. The Nikonian defeated the walker by a wide margin and I went back to get the camera. But by the time I returned [Continue Reading By Clicking Here…]