7th Jan 2012
Aye.. It's Saturday and well past the midnight as I hurried to get inside me a blanket. I set the alarm off my mobile to BUZZ at 6 A.M and the Ring tone of Reliance Flute, which I use in the case of emergencies (because I hate that tune :P)
I had a peaceful sleep, dreaming about what is in store for me during the trip tomorrow. The Clear blue sky, the clouds passing by, the blue water and birds and hundreds of birds flying by.
I was nearly closing to a common kingfisher in my dreams that when I heard the sound of Dhirubhai Ambani Flute fantasy tune and the bird flew away. Dreaming times are over boy, wake up .
I first wake up call went to Tanuja , who was sharing the bike ride with me ( and the petrol cost :P ) . The Meeting was about to start by 10a. m so we decided to leave Bhubaneswar By 7:30 am.
After having some Breakfast I headed towards patrapada to pick her .
Initially Partha was going to go with us, but due to some reason he and his 2 friends ( co-birders ) had to travel by bus .
Bag packs ready , petrol tanks full we started our journey greeted warmly by the climate . The cool breeze and the clouds shadowing over the mountains nearby made an ultimate view to start the trip .
With each passing milestone I kept on counting the Indian Roller on the wires by the NH . These birds are considered a good omen , and I kept on smiling, thinking about what is in store for today :) .
Around 8:30 am we reached somewhere near Khurda for a tea and snacks . I was just going to have some tea , but the Vada and green chilies were too mouth watering to be avoided :D . We Grazed like lazy cows on the hot Vada and curry until horror-struck me when I saw the time . 15min more and it was gonna be 9 . Had to do 65 odd km in an hour . I drove non-stop till we reached Balugaon well before 10 am , another 10mins and we were at the Chandraput Research Center where the briefing and grouping of members was to be done .
The scenic view inside the Research facility was very pleasing to the eyes , with the cool breeze flowing by the side I wished to take a nap near the banks but maybe some other time :P .
When we got inside we were greeted by some skeptical eyes near the entrance ( probably wondering what these two are doing here , well even I thought that too :p ) and then by two women in khaki at the reception .
She checked our names one a piece of white paper , but there was no info about it . Then She asked , which organization we are from ? . " Birds of odisha " I murmured .
We did get a confirmation call from the Dfo office .. I said
Only Birds of odishaa??.. Hmm. achhhaa !! She exclaimed and forwarded over the register to enter our names in it .
After which we got a file containing a notepad , calender , key ring , and a pen .
Tanuja asked me " abe.. hamara naam kyun nehi hai ? , hum jaa rahein hai to ? " ( Why isn't our names listed , we are going alright ? ).
I said : - Abe .. yeh to mil Gaya na.. ghar mein dikha dena ( referring to the file which we got :P ) saboot ki hum log gaye the :D . ( Show this in your home as a proof that we had gone for the census ) .
Instead of waiting outside , we decided to take our seats in the hall . I
Preferred the last rows where I expected least volley of Questions in case .
The hall was pretty much empty with only Shekar Dattatri ( about whom I was briefed by Partha later ) putting up his Cam on a tripod , accompanied by some other guys with a Big canon Gun in his hands .
Gradually the hall started filling up with, and I was still looking for a known face who were coming in the hall . Partha was the first to join , followed by sanjib Bhai ( whom I saw for the first time ) , Satya Bhai , Shakti Bhai and others .
The first group session started with a packed house probably with a “HOUSE FULL “ board outside the doors with many members standing up . There was an introductory speech about the wetlands which went pretty long , followed a briefing by Dr. Shri U.N . Dev . i was poked by satya bhai from behind asking me “ photo uthau .. photo uthaucha ta “ ( click the photos .. Are you clicking the photos “ ( referring to the slide shows ) . It was well past 12 and I could hear the stomach growl of the members by my sides , what I thought would be the most interesting part of the methods to count the birds , all flew like a cuckoo bird over my head .
Finally the session was over with the members being divided into smaller groups , to cover the huge area of chilika lake . It started out in a decreasing order from the group 17 ,
And as the number came down , with each group number we both were anticipating our names , as still skeptical as in the morning when we entered the room .
Tanuja asked me again “ abe , yaar .. naam hai ki nehi ? “
“ yeh mila hai na … ghar mein dikha dena saboot “ ( refering to the file ) i said again with an evil grin on my face :D .
At last our name came up in the group 1 . With Mr. Akash rath as our team leader , we got introduced to the other members in the group except Aditya . I joined the small Queue to quench my hunger with others, while Satya Bhai was the first one with the plate :D .
After the lunch Group 1 were off to “ Rambha” which was around 30kms from chandraput by road on a Bolero , with me at the back and our forest official Tapan Babu leads the way with a bike .
Our Team Leader Akash Rath said about his experiences at the Bird census , while Mr .Umakanta biswal re-introducing himself as “ Kuna bhai , every one knows me with this name only “ much like the our very own famous dialog by Actor Ajit from the movie kaalicharan “ Saara seher mujhe Lion ke naam se janta hai “ Plus to add his 20+yrs of experience in the bird census of chilika .
The newbies in the census were Sri S.K. Mohapatra ( ICZM) , Tanuja and me ( with a name typo in the group form typed as UDAYA , sounding like one of the south TV channels ) . I was really thankful to sanjib Bhai for that I got this chance to be a part of the bird census :) . Plus
I kept on counting the Indian rollers by the NH :) .
We Reached our hotel around 3:30 pm at Rambha , and were allocated rooms at the top most floor .Rambha was our base camp while we were to cover “Gaurangapatana , Kumarpur , Talatalanasi , Budhibaranasi , and samla in our census .
I had always seen Rambha in pictures , but now that I’m finally here I wanted to see its beauty with my naked eyes . None of us were interested in taking any afternoon nap either and we decided to take a small trip out to the places nearby .
A small Bumpy ride by the beautiful side of the lake until Kuna Bhai halted the jeep on watching a group of ducks nearby . Aakash Bhai was first to jump out with his cam ready soon to be joined by others . We were greeted by a Brahminy kite who was flying close enough , while I got a full frame shot of it Aakash Bhai was halfway inside the marshy lands among with the livestock to get a clearer picture of the ducks in the vincity. What we found out were two small groups of Tufted Pochard and Common Pochard .
After a few photographs of the Shepard kids and a photo here and there we started off again , after the sunset where the sun was getting into his most beautiful form for the second time in the day .
A kingfisher on the rock and this time Aakash Bhai halted the jeep , but the bird flew away . It was at this place when Tapan Babu spotted a turtle caught in a net , he went to off to call the local fisherman who could rescue the turtle . It was a fresh water turtle and Tapan Babu said that he would release him into a big pond ahead , and turned him upside down so that he couldn’t take out his head or claws :D .
The Turtle
The Best Sunrise Ever :)
Our trip continued with more bird sighting on the road , along with a freely moving peacock , about 300 odd egrets ( containing cattle , median and little egret all at a single place ) , a dead crow ( possible victim of disease )
Deceased crow
Egrets in view, black winged slit , jungle crows and others . The turtle was released into a pond on our way back and we ended our trip having pakodas and Chai. At the evening time I had a briefing with Kuna Bhai and Aakash Bhai about how to count birds , things to do and all . After having a yummy dinner at the forest office we headed for sleep .
8th Jan 2012
By 5am i was ready with my hairs combed , and then called up Tj and others including the driver whose snore could be heard far off . It was around 6am when we all got down waiting for our Guide in the census Purna ch. guru who fled from the scene with the car along with Tapan babu to make the necessary arrangements for the trip .
There was an odd pungent smell while me and kuna Bhai were standing in front of the hotel , “ Do you know what the smell is “ he asked. I was thinking about any clogged drain in my mind but preferred to remain silent so as not to make a mockery out of me. He said “ its the chilika lake , the marshy lands , and the ammonia released from it “ . I was nodding my head in affirmation until Mohapatra Babu came up pointing out to the clogged drain. Instead of saying anything .. I preferred nodding my head again :D .
Our transportation arrived and we reached Rambha Jetty in almost no time .
The Sunrise was a perfect blending in to the chilka lake , the warm hue , the sound of the bird , wish I could stay in this place . As the people started loading of bags into the boat we started counting up birds , with Mohapatra Babu with the notepad , Kuna Bhai and other counting including me of course :D .
3 kingfisher to start ( which I was seeing for the first time ) and they flew before I could get any shots too :P much like in a dream. Herons , Egrets to add-on along with tufted Pochard .
Soon we jumped in our boats , me , Tanuja and Kuna Bhai were siting a single place , Tapan Babu again leads the way sitting in the front , while our guide Purna Babu at the back and others , Aakash Bhai wanted to have his seat at the tip of the boat but he was snagged off by the boatman citing about the danger involved while the boat in the tides .
The sound of the boat engine was no less than that of a jet engine , or shall I compare it to a Yamaha with a worn out silencer pipe.. Whatever it was it was very painful .
And I was thinking to myself if I could get any closer look at any bird with this sound in the background . I was missing the boat ride of mangalajodi in this case which gave ample silence to see the birds .
Every Beautiful scene at chilika
The boat made the turn like an alligator and started off slowly . I saw some more common kingfishers along with the white throated ones . And then we were greeted by the Brahminy Kite . I have been always fascinated by the look and color of this bird ever since I saw his kind at Rushikuliya during the Olive Ridley turtles Nesting time , this bird flew from one of the trees to grab an egg with the sunrise on the back , a majestic scene that I can’t never forget .
So here he was giving a pose as the boat was passing by , Kuna Bhai , and Aakash Bhai shouted for the boatman to slow down , followed by me and Tanuja but he did as he wished :P . The kite flew away watching the bamboo aerobics of one of the boatmen in the front .
Moving a bit further I spotted another brahminy kite and pleaded to go near him , this time slowly . Our camera’s went on clicking like a machine gun capturing the bird on every approach such that one can produce a stop motion clip out of it :P . What we all wished to stop the motors of the boat and watch the bird more closely which the boatman did obliged when the bird flew away and we were far off from the perch that he was sitting .
The Very shot of Brahminy kite that i got
I had an instant grudge on the boat man , cursing him to be a fish and eaten up by the very bird .
He has no interest in birds and is probably a random hire by the census team .. kuna Bhai said .
To which again I nodded my head in affirmation :D
After sighting dozen of little cormorants on the perch , I saw some movement in the water nearby the light house in the Lake which were found out to be the Irrawaddy dolphins. This sight was also new to me as it was for all . The dolphins are predominant in the satpada side of chilika but none of them with me had seen them here . Purna Babu took out the Gps and his mobile phone to spread this news while we waited for more sighting of the dolphins .
We found there were around 2 dolphins who came for a morning swim this side :P and we were presented with Biscuits as a starter to our breakfast .
Light House in Rambha
Grey Headed Gull
As our boat moved , more cormorants were counted , along with a dinosaur ( probably a brontosaur ) , with Grey headed Gull to follow , and more cormorants . A whiskered tern following our boat while Brahminy kite up in the air keeping his eye .
It was around 10am , fishes were running inside my stomach .
And when Tanuja was about to get fainted out of hunger , bread jam , with boiled egg and bananas and oranges came to our rescue .
Our breakfast was almost finished When we saw a flock of tufted Pochard , we all pleaded again to stop the boat , but the boatman had already decided to accept my curse and Din’t stop. Probably he wanted to spend the evening with his Gf at the Chilika Banks :P .
We headed towards Talatalanasi , where we spotted a grey heron . We took a break there for coffee and more bread in the small island . Instead of waiting near the stove for our coffee we all moved out in different directions , where Kuna Bhai , Aakash Bhai and I were searching for the wetland dependent birds joined by Tanuja later after clicking for butterfly for a while .
Grey Heron
The coffee was ready , we all joined in the shady place to have the cup . There was roasted fish too which was cherished by all except me and Tj .
We soon left the place , and then started the journey of “ No birds land/water :p “ it was not until an hour till we saw a cormorant . The weather was playing his part , with dark clouds passing by and the sun playing hide and seek , while the water was changing its hues and saturation , with the pleasant and cool winds to collide with us , I almost heard 3 members of our group snoring :P ( I won’t name them :D ) . Although I woke them shouting “ 20 more Cormorant :D “ It was one of the most beautiful time of the boat ride in Chilika that I had ever experienced :) .
It wasn’t late when everyone woke up to hearing about a huge flock of Pochards again to which every1 got busy in counting . And when we were a Lil closer to the lands we saw a little grebe splinter running .
Tufted Pochards
It was around 1.30pm and I could almost see the place where we started off our journey in the morning when Aakash Bhai pointed out an osprey far off .
Pleading went to the boatman , but that did not please him .. “ The boat will overturn if we go there “ he said . And we all went into silence .
We reached around 2pm at Rambha Jetty . We escorted Tapan babu and other staff in the bolero to the forest office and then headed for Chandraput .
On the way back I saw an open billed stork , to which everyone got off from the bolero to have a look . Probably because no one saw it today .
We had our cold lunch at chandraput , before starting the counting process , that had been done on a rough pad and Kuna Bhai started listing those in the Official form .
Soon the other groups joined in , including that of Shakti Bhai , Satya Bhai , Sanjib Bhai , and Partha .
Satya Bhai asked “ Kano milila?? “ ( What did you get ? )
I said “ Brahminy kite “ , that when I saw another one flying :P .
Brahminy Kite :)
We all were having a Lil chit chat over the birds and founding that day when Satya Bhai asked us to go home as we were travelling by bike .
After bidding farewell to all , we started our journey back to Bhubaneswar with a little bit of chai - wai in the middle . I was pretty much tired from the day and preferred driving slow and we reached Tanuja’s home around 7:30 Pm .
While driving back to my home , I kept on thinking about the experience that I had today , the boat ride , the scenery , the birds , the weather .. Each moment of today shall be long inscribed in my memory . It won’t have been possible ever with the group “ Birds of Orissa “
What a day i had .. And what a night that is about to come , which I shall spend snoring and dreaming about today .
:)
PEACE :D
The group
List of Birds spotted: As per the final census record
Little Grebe
Little Cormorant
Cattle Egrets
Little Egrets
Intermediate Egrets
Grey Heron
Gadwall
Gargeney
Tufted Duck
Water Rail
White-Breasted Water Hen
Bronze-Winged Jacana
Black Winged Stilt
Little Pratincole
Yellow-Wattled Lapwing
Kentish Plover
Marsh Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Little Stint
Brown-Headed Gull
Whiskered Tern
Little Tern
Small Bee Eater
House Crow
Jungle Crow
Black Drongo
Brahminy Kite
Common Hoopoe
Lesser Pied Kingfisher
Small Blue Kingfisher
White Breasted Kingfisher
Osprey
P.S:- Special Thanks to Sanjib Sarangi , Satya Brata Mishra and Shakti Nanda :) .
Aye.. It's Saturday and well past the midnight as I hurried to get inside me a blanket. I set the alarm off my mobile to BUZZ at 6 A.M and the Ring tone of Reliance Flute, which I use in the case of emergencies (because I hate that tune :P)
I had a peaceful sleep, dreaming about what is in store for me during the trip tomorrow. The Clear blue sky, the clouds passing by, the blue water and birds and hundreds of birds flying by.
I was nearly closing to a common kingfisher in my dreams that when I heard the sound of Dhirubhai Ambani Flute fantasy tune and the bird flew away. Dreaming times are over boy, wake up .
I first wake up call went to Tanuja , who was sharing the bike ride with me ( and the petrol cost :P ) . The Meeting was about to start by 10a. m so we decided to leave Bhubaneswar By 7:30 am.
After having some Breakfast I headed towards patrapada to pick her .
Initially Partha was going to go with us, but due to some reason he and his 2 friends ( co-birders ) had to travel by bus .
Bag packs ready , petrol tanks full we started our journey greeted warmly by the climate . The cool breeze and the clouds shadowing over the mountains nearby made an ultimate view to start the trip .
With each passing milestone I kept on counting the Indian Roller on the wires by the NH . These birds are considered a good omen , and I kept on smiling, thinking about what is in store for today :) .
Around 8:30 am we reached somewhere near Khurda for a tea and snacks . I was just going to have some tea , but the Vada and green chilies were too mouth watering to be avoided :D . We Grazed like lazy cows on the hot Vada and curry until horror-struck me when I saw the time . 15min more and it was gonna be 9 . Had to do 65 odd km in an hour . I drove non-stop till we reached Balugaon well before 10 am , another 10mins and we were at the Chandraput Research Center where the briefing and grouping of members was to be done .
The scenic view inside the Research facility was very pleasing to the eyes , with the cool breeze flowing by the side I wished to take a nap near the banks but maybe some other time :P .
When we got inside we were greeted by some skeptical eyes near the entrance ( probably wondering what these two are doing here , well even I thought that too :p ) and then by two women in khaki at the reception .
She checked our names one a piece of white paper , but there was no info about it . Then She asked , which organization we are from ? . " Birds of odisha " I murmured .
We did get a confirmation call from the Dfo office .. I said
Only Birds of odishaa??.. Hmm. achhhaa !! She exclaimed and forwarded over the register to enter our names in it .
After which we got a file containing a notepad , calender , key ring , and a pen .
Tanuja asked me " abe.. hamara naam kyun nehi hai ? , hum jaa rahein hai to ? " ( Why isn't our names listed , we are going alright ? ).
I said : - Abe .. yeh to mil Gaya na.. ghar mein dikha dena ( referring to the file which we got :P ) saboot ki hum log gaye the :D . ( Show this in your home as a proof that we had gone for the census ) .
Instead of waiting outside , we decided to take our seats in the hall . I
Preferred the last rows where I expected least volley of Questions in case .
The hall was pretty much empty with only Shekar Dattatri ( about whom I was briefed by Partha later ) putting up his Cam on a tripod , accompanied by some other guys with a Big canon Gun in his hands .
Gradually the hall started filling up with, and I was still looking for a known face who were coming in the hall . Partha was the first to join , followed by sanjib Bhai ( whom I saw for the first time ) , Satya Bhai , Shakti Bhai and others .
The first group session started with a packed house probably with a “HOUSE FULL “ board outside the doors with many members standing up . There was an introductory speech about the wetlands which went pretty long , followed a briefing by Dr. Shri U.N . Dev . i was poked by satya bhai from behind asking me “ photo uthau .. photo uthaucha ta “ ( click the photos .. Are you clicking the photos “ ( referring to the slide shows ) . It was well past 12 and I could hear the stomach growl of the members by my sides , what I thought would be the most interesting part of the methods to count the birds , all flew like a cuckoo bird over my head .
Finally the session was over with the members being divided into smaller groups , to cover the huge area of chilika lake . It started out in a decreasing order from the group 17 ,
And as the number came down , with each group number we both were anticipating our names , as still skeptical as in the morning when we entered the room .
Tanuja asked me again “ abe , yaar .. naam hai ki nehi ? “
“ yeh mila hai na … ghar mein dikha dena saboot “ ( refering to the file ) i said again with an evil grin on my face :D .
At last our name came up in the group 1 . With Mr. Akash rath as our team leader , we got introduced to the other members in the group except Aditya . I joined the small Queue to quench my hunger with others, while Satya Bhai was the first one with the plate :D .
After the lunch Group 1 were off to “ Rambha” which was around 30kms from chandraput by road on a Bolero , with me at the back and our forest official Tapan Babu leads the way with a bike .
Our Team Leader Akash Rath said about his experiences at the Bird census , while Mr .Umakanta biswal re-introducing himself as “ Kuna bhai , every one knows me with this name only “ much like the our very own famous dialog by Actor Ajit from the movie kaalicharan “ Saara seher mujhe Lion ke naam se janta hai “ Plus to add his 20+yrs of experience in the bird census of chilika .
The newbies in the census were Sri S.K. Mohapatra ( ICZM) , Tanuja and me ( with a name typo in the group form typed as UDAYA , sounding like one of the south TV channels ) . I was really thankful to sanjib Bhai for that I got this chance to be a part of the bird census :) . Plus
I kept on counting the Indian rollers by the NH :) .
We Reached our hotel around 3:30 pm at Rambha , and were allocated rooms at the top most floor .Rambha was our base camp while we were to cover “Gaurangapatana , Kumarpur , Talatalanasi , Budhibaranasi , and samla in our census .
I had always seen Rambha in pictures , but now that I’m finally here I wanted to see its beauty with my naked eyes . None of us were interested in taking any afternoon nap either and we decided to take a small trip out to the places nearby .
A small Bumpy ride by the beautiful side of the lake until Kuna Bhai halted the jeep on watching a group of ducks nearby . Aakash Bhai was first to jump out with his cam ready soon to be joined by others . We were greeted by a Brahminy kite who was flying close enough , while I got a full frame shot of it Aakash Bhai was halfway inside the marshy lands among with the livestock to get a clearer picture of the ducks in the vincity. What we found out were two small groups of Tufted Pochard and Common Pochard .
After a few photographs of the Shepard kids and a photo here and there we started off again , after the sunset where the sun was getting into his most beautiful form for the second time in the day .
A kingfisher on the rock and this time Aakash Bhai halted the jeep , but the bird flew away . It was at this place when Tapan Babu spotted a turtle caught in a net , he went to off to call the local fisherman who could rescue the turtle . It was a fresh water turtle and Tapan Babu said that he would release him into a big pond ahead , and turned him upside down so that he couldn’t take out his head or claws :D .
The Turtle
The Best Sunrise Ever :)
Our trip continued with more bird sighting on the road , along with a freely moving peacock , about 300 odd egrets ( containing cattle , median and little egret all at a single place ) , a dead crow ( possible victim of disease )
Deceased crow
Egrets in view, black winged slit , jungle crows and others . The turtle was released into a pond on our way back and we ended our trip having pakodas and Chai. At the evening time I had a briefing with Kuna Bhai and Aakash Bhai about how to count birds , things to do and all . After having a yummy dinner at the forest office we headed for sleep .
8th Jan 2012
By 5am i was ready with my hairs combed , and then called up Tj and others including the driver whose snore could be heard far off . It was around 6am when we all got down waiting for our Guide in the census Purna ch. guru who fled from the scene with the car along with Tapan babu to make the necessary arrangements for the trip .
There was an odd pungent smell while me and kuna Bhai were standing in front of the hotel , “ Do you know what the smell is “ he asked. I was thinking about any clogged drain in my mind but preferred to remain silent so as not to make a mockery out of me. He said “ its the chilika lake , the marshy lands , and the ammonia released from it “ . I was nodding my head in affirmation until Mohapatra Babu came up pointing out to the clogged drain. Instead of saying anything .. I preferred nodding my head again :D .
Our transportation arrived and we reached Rambha Jetty in almost no time .
The Sunrise was a perfect blending in to the chilka lake , the warm hue , the sound of the bird , wish I could stay in this place . As the people started loading of bags into the boat we started counting up birds , with Mohapatra Babu with the notepad , Kuna Bhai and other counting including me of course :D .
3 kingfisher to start ( which I was seeing for the first time ) and they flew before I could get any shots too :P much like in a dream. Herons , Egrets to add-on along with tufted Pochard .
Soon we jumped in our boats , me , Tanuja and Kuna Bhai were siting a single place , Tapan Babu again leads the way sitting in the front , while our guide Purna Babu at the back and others , Aakash Bhai wanted to have his seat at the tip of the boat but he was snagged off by the boatman citing about the danger involved while the boat in the tides .
The sound of the boat engine was no less than that of a jet engine , or shall I compare it to a Yamaha with a worn out silencer pipe.. Whatever it was it was very painful .
And I was thinking to myself if I could get any closer look at any bird with this sound in the background . I was missing the boat ride of mangalajodi in this case which gave ample silence to see the birds .
Every Beautiful scene at chilika
The boat made the turn like an alligator and started off slowly . I saw some more common kingfishers along with the white throated ones . And then we were greeted by the Brahminy Kite . I have been always fascinated by the look and color of this bird ever since I saw his kind at Rushikuliya during the Olive Ridley turtles Nesting time , this bird flew from one of the trees to grab an egg with the sunrise on the back , a majestic scene that I can’t never forget .
So here he was giving a pose as the boat was passing by , Kuna Bhai , and Aakash Bhai shouted for the boatman to slow down , followed by me and Tanuja but he did as he wished :P . The kite flew away watching the bamboo aerobics of one of the boatmen in the front .
Moving a bit further I spotted another brahminy kite and pleaded to go near him , this time slowly . Our camera’s went on clicking like a machine gun capturing the bird on every approach such that one can produce a stop motion clip out of it :P . What we all wished to stop the motors of the boat and watch the bird more closely which the boatman did obliged when the bird flew away and we were far off from the perch that he was sitting .
The Very shot of Brahminy kite that i got
I had an instant grudge on the boat man , cursing him to be a fish and eaten up by the very bird .
He has no interest in birds and is probably a random hire by the census team .. kuna Bhai said .
To which again I nodded my head in affirmation :D
After sighting dozen of little cormorants on the perch , I saw some movement in the water nearby the light house in the Lake which were found out to be the Irrawaddy dolphins. This sight was also new to me as it was for all . The dolphins are predominant in the satpada side of chilika but none of them with me had seen them here . Purna Babu took out the Gps and his mobile phone to spread this news while we waited for more sighting of the dolphins .
We found there were around 2 dolphins who came for a morning swim this side :P and we were presented with Biscuits as a starter to our breakfast .
Light House in Rambha
Grey Headed Gull As our boat moved , more cormorants were counted , along with a dinosaur ( probably a brontosaur ) , with Grey headed Gull to follow , and more cormorants . A whiskered tern following our boat while Brahminy kite up in the air keeping his eye .
It was around 10am , fishes were running inside my stomach .
And when Tanuja was about to get fainted out of hunger , bread jam , with boiled egg and bananas and oranges came to our rescue .
Our breakfast was almost finished When we saw a flock of tufted Pochard , we all pleaded again to stop the boat , but the boatman had already decided to accept my curse and Din’t stop. Probably he wanted to spend the evening with his Gf at the Chilika Banks :P .
We headed towards Talatalanasi , where we spotted a grey heron . We took a break there for coffee and more bread in the small island . Instead of waiting near the stove for our coffee we all moved out in different directions , where Kuna Bhai , Aakash Bhai and I were searching for the wetland dependent birds joined by Tanuja later after clicking for butterfly for a while .
Grey Heron
The coffee was ready , we all joined in the shady place to have the cup . There was roasted fish too which was cherished by all except me and Tj .
We soon left the place , and then started the journey of “ No birds land/water :p “ it was not until an hour till we saw a cormorant . The weather was playing his part , with dark clouds passing by and the sun playing hide and seek , while the water was changing its hues and saturation , with the pleasant and cool winds to collide with us , I almost heard 3 members of our group snoring :P ( I won’t name them :D ) . Although I woke them shouting “ 20 more Cormorant :D “ It was one of the most beautiful time of the boat ride in Chilika that I had ever experienced :) .
It wasn’t late when everyone woke up to hearing about a huge flock of Pochards again to which every1 got busy in counting . And when we were a Lil closer to the lands we saw a little grebe splinter running .
Tufted Pochards
It was around 1.30pm and I could almost see the place where we started off our journey in the morning when Aakash Bhai pointed out an osprey far off .
Pleading went to the boatman , but that did not please him .. “ The boat will overturn if we go there “ he said . And we all went into silence .
We reached around 2pm at Rambha Jetty . We escorted Tapan babu and other staff in the bolero to the forest office and then headed for Chandraput .
On the way back I saw an open billed stork , to which everyone got off from the bolero to have a look . Probably because no one saw it today .
We had our cold lunch at chandraput , before starting the counting process , that had been done on a rough pad and Kuna Bhai started listing those in the Official form .
Soon the other groups joined in , including that of Shakti Bhai , Satya Bhai , Sanjib Bhai , and Partha .
Satya Bhai asked “ Kano milila?? “ ( What did you get ? )
I said “ Brahminy kite “ , that when I saw another one flying :P .
Brahminy Kite :)
We all were having a Lil chit chat over the birds and founding that day when Satya Bhai asked us to go home as we were travelling by bike .
After bidding farewell to all , we started our journey back to Bhubaneswar with a little bit of chai - wai in the middle . I was pretty much tired from the day and preferred driving slow and we reached Tanuja’s home around 7:30 Pm .
While driving back to my home , I kept on thinking about the experience that I had today , the boat ride , the scenery , the birds , the weather .. Each moment of today shall be long inscribed in my memory . It won’t have been possible ever with the group “ Birds of Orissa “
What a day i had .. And what a night that is about to come , which I shall spend snoring and dreaming about today .
:)
PEACE :D
The group
List of Birds spotted: As per the final census record
Little Grebe
Little Cormorant
Cattle Egrets
Little Egrets
Intermediate Egrets
Grey Heron
Gadwall
Gargeney
Tufted Duck
Water Rail
White-Breasted Water Hen
Bronze-Winged Jacana
Black Winged Stilt
Little Pratincole
Yellow-Wattled Lapwing
Kentish Plover
Marsh Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Little Stint
Brown-Headed Gull
Whiskered Tern
Little Tern
Small Bee Eater
House Crow
Jungle Crow
Black Drongo
Brahminy Kite
Common Hoopoe
Lesser Pied Kingfisher
Small Blue Kingfisher
White Breasted Kingfisher
Osprey
P.S:- Special Thanks to Sanjib Sarangi , Satya Brata Mishra and Shakti Nanda :) .
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