Ranganthittu in the midst of a pandemic

 

A short trip to the bird sanctuary near Mysore. The pandemic had reduced the crowds, but not too much. The first wave had passed and people were already cautiously moving about. Being December, the weather was mild, and the water birds were there. With lesser disturbance from people, the flycatchers, fantails, thick-knees and grey hornbills had also grown bolder. The authorities though continue to charge an additional INR 500 for big lenses which seems unfair, but that still allows most casual visitors to still go for boat rides and walks.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JG2VAzR2SLwfiKY48

Masinagudi via Ranganthittu

The original plan was to head out to Valparai for the year end trip, but a last minute change got us heading out to Masinagudi for an extended family reunion. While the rest of the folks were coming in from Tamil Nadu, I drove down from Bangalore with a quick pit stop at Ranganthittu. Its been a while since I went there and the first surprise was the increased entry fee of 500 for cameras with lenses of over 200mm. The boating also has multiple options now with different costs. Being a Saturday morning, it was crowded, but the pelicans fishing were the highlight of the little trip.
 

A flight delay brought the rest of the folks late, but we still managed the evening safari in Bandipur. The driver told us a tiger was spotted sometime back and we just missed it. Seems to happen quite often there and I feel its just a nice marketing gimmick. Safaris outside of JLR are also much shorter with one and a half hour to a maximum of 2 hours through the forest office. The next 2 safaris were within the Masinagudi range on the buffer zone. A few good birding sessions but not much of mammal spotting. The ranges have their differences, but the jeeps and their seats are very uncomfortable and have a closed top. The rides are not too expensive but there is very little to see.

The area around the resort though falls right next to forest and had a quite a bit of bird activity. A fruiting tree and a flower garden right outside my room had multiple leaf birds, cuckoos, white bellied drongos, sunbirds and white browed bulbuls taking bites throughout the day. A nearby grassland had a few hares, yellow wattled lapwings, langurs and raptors around. Somebody at another resort at the edge of the jungle had even seen a leopard the previous day.

The final set of safaris at Mudumalai were more comfortable, and a little tip got us out for a longer trip. The morning safari also had a spectacular view of a waterfall. The evening safari had the usual elephants, mongoose and gaurs but the main highlight was the leopard. I had to head out early next day, but the drive through Bandipur on the way back was like another safari.

Mysore and Shivanasamudra

First long drive that I made on the verna. Spent the first half of the day touring Srirangapatnam and Ranganthittu. Being October, Ranganthittu did not have too many birds other than ibis and being a long weekend, the Ranganatha temple, Daria Daulat bagh and Gumbaz were quite crowded. After getting to Mysore, we found a place near the base of Chamundi hills with some difficulty due to the rush. The evening was spent at the palace watching the lights at the palace as they brought out the elephants to train for Dusshera.

The next day was an early morning trip to Chamundi hills before the crowds came in. We managed to spot a black eagle near the Nandi shrine and a few vultures at the foot of the hills near a dumping ground. The rest of the day was spent at the zoo and the palace. Both of them being much bigger than expected. The evening was spent at Brindavan gardens where rains threatened to wash out the evening but as the weather cleared up we saw that the lighting had been reduced as compared to the previous trips. The last day was spent watching the waterfalls around Shivanasamudra and driving back to Bangalore.