Birding ! Driving ! Soul-searching !: October 2021

In the last couple of months, we had been really pushing our driving limits. In August it was Chikmagalur from Hyderabad (approx 12 hours). In September, it was Coorg from Hyderabad (approx 13 hours) and finally this month in October, we planned for Bandhavgarh from Hyderabad (approx 14 hours drive). This one broke all records of my single day driving. This was by far the longest of all, both in terms of distance (approx 1000 km) and time (approx 14 hours). Until now the record was held by the trip of Gir National Forest, wherein I drove 900 km (Mumbai to Gir) in a single day.

Imagine what difference can a car bring to your life, when I'm ageing and not as young as I used to be 15 years ago. Can't praise enough this set of wheels, the way it cocoons you inside those 14 way electrically adjustable seats, the world outside doesn't make an iota of a difference. And it is not just the driver who gets those 14 way electrical adjustments, even the front co-passenger too gets those. Precisely why both of us reach our destination without much fuss on the fatigue part.

The even bigger one is coming next month, Hyderabad to Greater Rann of Kutch. I know I will thoroughly enjoy that stretch.

Hyderabad Home to Mahua Kothi Taj Bandhavgarh: 1000 km

Start time from Hyderabad: 4 AM

Reached Destination: 5-30 PM

Road condition: MP roads were great, the Maharashtra stretch was good last time when we went in February, however this time after the rains the Maharashtra stretch was a pain to go through. Huge potholes, can literally breakdown your car, if landed in a wrong angle. It was tough and brought down our speed and increased our travel time by atleast half an hour.

Here are the refueling stats from the car,

Bird watching was definitely not the primary reason why we made this trip to Bandhavgarh. It was more of a driving vacation, combined with nature / jungle stay, combine that with a touch of luxury of Taj, and finally some amazing bird sightings, thanks to Ramesh ji, one of the best Naturalists at Mahua Kothi Taj Bandhavgarh, we enjoyed every moment we spent there.

Ramesh ji was so thorough with not just the birds, he had a keen eye even for the dragonflies and butterflies. maybe that was the reason why we managed to click and document so many additions to our bird and butterfly category too. For now enjoy the pics of the birds below, followed by the pics of mammals, then the pics of butterflies and dragonflies and lastly the videos.

Black Redstart male

Booted Eagle

Grey-headed Fish Eagle

Black-winged Kite

Crested Serpent Eagle

White-eyed Buzzard

Crested Hawk Eagle

Shikra female

Jungle Owlet

Mottled Wood Owl

Spotted Owlet

Brown Fish Owl

Red-headed Vulture

Indian Vulture

Crested Treeswift male

Sirkeer Malkoha

Black Redstart female

Red-naped Ibis

Red-naped Ibis juv

Oriental Magpie Robin male

Black-headed Munia

Scaly-breasted Munia

Common Stonechat female

Common Stonechat male

Wooly-necked Stork

Indian Roller

Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

Grey Hornbill

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Ashy Drongo

Green Bee-eater

Common Hoopoe

Lesser Adjutant

Olive-backed Pipit

Painted Spurfowl male

Painted Spurfowl female

Red Junglefowl male

Red Junglefowl female

White-throated Kingfisher

Common Kingfisher

Stork-billed Kingfisher

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Black-naped Monarch

Wire-tailed Swallow

Golden-fronted Leafbird male

Lesser Whistling-duck

White-browed Fantail

Indian Pond Heron

Taiga Flycatcher

Indian Jungle Crow

Brown Shrike juv

Brown Shrike

Long-tailed Shrike

Little Cormorant

White Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Grey Francolin

Plum-headed Parakeet male

Alexandrine Parakeet male

Alexandrine Parakeet female

Rose-ringed Parakeet female

Indian Nuthatch

Rufous Treepie

Little Grebe

Lesser Goldenback

Brown-headed Barbet

Large Grey Babbler

Grey-breasted Prinia

White-rumped Shama

Lesser Cuckoo juv

Common Hawk Cuckoo

Eurasian Cuckoo

Common Woodshrike

Indian Golden Oriole male

Black-hooded Oriole

Coppersmith Barbet

Southern Coucal

Small Minivet male

White-throated Kingfisher

Indian Peafowl male and female

Indian Peafowl male

Black-headed Munia

Crested Treeswift male

Little Grebe

Indian Robin male

Spotted Dove

Red Avadavat male

Puff-throated Babbler

Black-naped Monarch female and Black-hooded Oriole

Indian Golden Oriole

Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo juv

Brown Shrike juv

Tawny Pipit

Sirkeer Malkoha

Indian Roller

Grey Hornbill

Taiga Flycatcher

Indian Vulture

White-browed Fantail

Lesser Adjutant

Booted Eagle

Black Redstart female

Common Hoopoe

Yellow-crowned Woodpecker

Crested Hawk Eagle

White-eyed Buzzard

Tawny-bellied Babbler

Indian Peafowl male

Plum-headed Parakeet male

Zitting Cisticola

Black-headed Munia

Sirkeer Malkoha

Lesser Whistling-duck

Crested Treeswift

We had an amazing luck with some Mammal Sightings too. I'm not just talking about the male and the female Tiger, I'm actually talking about the Civet and the Treeshrew which we witnessed for the first time in our life. Enjoy the pics of mammals below,

Female Tiger (Damadol)

Male Tiger (Mahamahi)

Female Tiger (Damadol)

Male Tiger (Mahamahi)

Common Palm Civet

Indian Treeshrew

Indian Jackal

Spotted Deer

Rhesus Macaque

Northern Plains Grey Langur

Spotted Deer

Barking Deer

Spotted Deer

Sambar Deer

Wild Boar

Rhesus Macaque

Skittering Frog

We also had some wonderful sightings of Butterflies, Dragonflies and Spiders, thanks to Ramesh ji (Naturalist at Taj Bandhavgarh). Here are some of the pics which we clicked.