Birding ! Driving ! Soul-searching !: May 2016

TRIP 2: January 2024

Summary:

Day 1: Drive from Hyderabad to Bangalore (Overnight stay at Taj Bangalore)

Driving time of 6 hr 50 min from 5-00 AM till 11-48 AM, 554 km.

Day 2: Drive from Bangalore to Kabini (Stay at Evolve Back Kabini)

Driving time of 4 hr 30 min from 8-40 AM till 1-15 PM, 270 KM

Day 3: Stay at Evolve Back Kabini (1 Boat safari)

Day 4: Stay at Evolve Back Kabini (2 Jeep Safari)

Day 5: Stay at Evolve Back Kabini (1 Jeep Safari)

Day 6: Drive from Kabini To Bangalore (Overnight stay at Taj Yeshwantpur)

Driving time of 3 hr 45 min from 9-30 AM till 1-15 PM, 240 KM

Day 7: Drive from Bangalore to Hyderabad

Driving time of 7 hours from 9-40 AM till 04-40 AM, 580 km

Jeep Safari Route covering both Zone A and B

In the above image, the dark green area is Kabini National Forest, out of which the blue lines are the route for Jeep safari. Just imagine, how big is the forest and how small is the area that we covered. No wonder it is so difficult to spot wildlife. One really has to be lucky to spot them in the safaris. In a way, it is better, as the wildlife isn't disturbed much.

Some points to note:

Saaya (The Black Panther) is not being sighted since last 7 months or so. So either he is injured or might have gone inside the core forest area.
Mr. Kabini (The elephant with the longest tusk) also passed away last year.
I booked my stay in Evolve Back because they guaranteed jeep safari bookings, unfortunately Serai told me that they cannot confirm the bookings for jeep safari as it is controlled by JLR. In a way they were correct, but if I'm making a booking 3 months in advance and if I'm going to Kabini, I would like the confirmation for jeep safari. So I went ahead and booked Evolve Back even though they charged more than Serai.
Evolve Back is a gem of a property. JLR and Serai stand nowhere close to it. From my first visit to JLR I can easily say, that it is not well maintained, food is average, stay is also average. Naturalists are good there in JLR, however Evolve Back is an ultimate luxury experience, with best of the amenities. This was my second property that I visited by Evolve Back after Coorg, and it was equally beautiful.
In Evolve Back Kabini, the naturalists are not that great for advanced birders like me, but for beginner wildlife enthusiasts, they would do just fine.
I took 3 Jeep safaris this time and 1 Boat Safari.

I will list down the mammal sightings first, followed by the bird sightings.

Tigress

She was guarding her 2 cubs which were inside the bush

Finally one of the cubs came out

The second cub was more shy

Wild Dog - Dhole

Indian Gaur Male and Female

Elephant Male

Sambar Deer

Spotted Deer

Ruddy Mongoose

Stripe-necked Mongoose

Indian Grey Mongoose

Monitor Lizard

Turtle

Wild Boar

Although Kabini is not in Western Ghats, however because of its proximity to Western Ghats, you could find a few species in Kabini that are essentially endemic to Western Ghats. For eg., the beautiful Malabar Giant Squirrel.

Malabar Giant Squirrel

Indian Grey Langur

Smooth-coated Otter

Some bird sightings that I could manage.

Small Pratincole

Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark Male

Common Greenshank

Pied Bushchat

Crested Serpent Eagle

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Black-headed Cuckooshrike Male

Common Hoopoe

Green Imperial Pigeon

Crested Hawk Eagle

Great Cormorant

Grey-headed Fish Eagle

Red-naped Ibis

Asian Openbill

Purple Heron

Darter

Great Egret

Grey Heron

Intermediate Egret

Lesser Goldenback

At the end it was a decent trip with some wonderful sightings of wildlife, combine that with the luxurious stay at Evolve Back, and you finish a near perfect vacation. Why do I call it near perfect? Because I got a little disappointed with the naturalists in Evolve Back Kabini. When I was checking out, a senior naturalist nicknamed Shyam (the one who keeps pushing his insta ID to all guests) told me that next time when i come, he will help me take a walk tot he nearby village where i can spot much better bird life. Apparently, he claimed he was writing a book on birdlife in Kabini. I was so shocked and disappointed to hear that, as he chose the last minute to tell me about that. I stayed there for 4 nights and 5 days and yet he never approached me with that offer, until the time of my checkout. This shows that the man was all about talks and no action. If he was really concerned to make my stay more enhanced, he should have told me this on day 1, when they all could see that I was roaming around in the property with my binocular and camera for all those 5 days. This is where I believe, Evolve Back Kabini has better naturalists, who actually help you out if they see you birding in their property.

Any which ways, besides this one incident, everything else was absolutely perfect and the vacation was really memorable.

One must enjoy the dinner packages that they have, like Cruise dinner and Dinner by the Kabini, both are extremely beautiful. Some guests are lucky to have an amazing wildlife sighting even in the boat safari, but jeep safari is always the best.

TRIP 1: May 2016

After an almost perfect wildlife trip in Bandipur, we headed to Nagarhole. On the banks of river Kabini,Jungle Lodges and Resort was a treat. We came here with the least expectation about wildlife sighting - only to realize by end of the trip that it became one of the most memorable.

The resort was undoubtedly serene and relaxing. We only had one night stay here which included only one jeep safari, little we knew that one jeep safari will become the experience of a lifetime. It was absolute wallpaper stuff. For any wildlife enthusiast, it would take years and scores of safaris to get to see the moments that I saw this time around - Outright Breathtaking.

I might have to write a separate post on my experience to spot the Tiger from a distance of 15 feet, that moment was incredible and it deserves its space. For now, enjoy the pics below.