Wild West India- Rann of Kutch, where the thrill continues!

Driving through the early mist of sand scumbled the contrary outlines of the landscape, livestock and kids, who mirthfully waved at me. In other words, I was covered in sand and dust! wakakaka! So, if anyone plans to head up to Rann of Kutch, remember to bring along handkerchiefs, towels and bags to cover your camera gears and yourself!!

By the time we reach the lake in Little Rann of Kutch, the reflection of the sun had already shimmered relentingly on the waters! “This should exude good lighting,” I exclaimed! When my jeep halted in front of the 180 degree view of the wetland, I was astounded! There were a myriad of greater and lesser flamingos, great white pelicans, dalmatian pelicans, bean goose, common cranes, ducks and many others basking in the open sun! The view was ________!! I could hardly spew any form of emotion then, and even as I savour the moment now, I simply could not synthesize my thoughts and emotions and deliver in any word form! That majestic sight had strongly imprinted into my brain; in particular, the moment I nimble towards the flamingos with my bazooka lens, these erudite and elegant feathered friends somehow “had enough” of me and the whole flock suddenly took off in a trajectory path! Below were pictures of the greater and lesser flamingos taken in those great moments!

greater and lesser flamingo

greater and lesser flamingos

Great white and dalmatian pelican

Sublime moments with these majestic birds ended when Sam, my driver, beckoned to move on! Our jeep hurtled off again and soon we spotted the eastern imperial eagle, who was very obliging even when we were so close to him; the steppe eagle however, was quite the opposite! As soon as we steered close, it pooed and took off! Whichever way our jeep was positioned, it kept a close watch on us and had its butt “in position” ready for take off!

eastern imperial eagle on the left and steppe eagle on the right

Rann of Kutch was not just about feathered friends, despite that was key reason I landed in this place! Besides the Indian wolf and wild ass we already saw, we also spent an afternoon hurtling with the desert fox, who finally caved in as he needed to catch its breath (me too!!) and gave us time to take some pictures before it forged on again!

desert fox

“Red Bull gives you wings!!” is a drink advertisement I often saw on TV, but here in Rann of Kutch I saw the Blue Bull, and it’s not even a bull! It’s actually an antelope…! This weird looking beast looked clumsy to me, but it sprinted fast when my driver puts on another chase scene with the bull antelope!!

blue bull

The Rann of Kutch was truly an eye-opening experience for me! Staying at Rann Riders was unquestionably an explicit choice- good accommodation, good food, dedicated staff and great safari trips provided by them! I was more than pleased when the short eared owl came out in the open;  a nice, happy coda to this chapter of my trip in the wild west India!

short eared owl

West India- Rann of Kutch, where the thrill begins!

Maybe it’s a tomfoolery act to venture into the desert just like that, but being adventurous and all, I really wanted to venture into this little known area in West India, Rann of Kutch! In the early months of planning, I tried to contact a local tour operator to help cater to my accommodation and transportation needs…but the countless exchange of emails (language barrier) was a painful ordeal! I finally gave up and directly contacted Mr. Muzahid, owner of Rann Riders and he took care of everything.
Just as I thought everything went well as planned, my flight from Kerela to Mumbai delayed (Grr…)! I was totally frenzied at that time! I could miss my connecting flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad and the thought of it was enough to put me in panic mode! The frantic wait in the domestic airport was a nightmare…my eyes were practically “glued” on to that electronic flight departure board while I clutched my hands, and waited fervently for that magic moment! The torment finally ended when that “magic” electronic board announced that the plane would leave in 2 hours! Very quickly, I tried to do the maths…it seemed I would have to run to catch my connecting flight…if it waits for me!
The flight time from Kerela to Mumbai was about 2 hours. Upon arrival, I dashed to the transit hall to catch my flight…luckily, the plane waited for me… haha!
After a mere 50 minute flight, I landed in Ahmedabad and was soon picked up by the driver arranged by Mr. Muzahid! The lengthy 2 hour ride to Dasada was horrendous as the driver drove with speed without using his brakes! Yikes! Anyway, as the car drove deeper into the vast empty land in sheer darkness, the clear skies let the stars shine gloriously! Those huge clusters of stars looked like fine-cut jewels, and some even like chips of ice that left me overwhelmed with awe and amazement!
It was already past midnight when we arrived at the hotel, and I was immediately greeted by some ducks, a goat and a dog. The nights were cold at the Rann of Kutch in January, but thankfully I was kept in “mint” condition as duvets were provided at Rann Riders!

As the jeep sped towards the desert in the morning, I saw some birds on wires but the driver had no intention to stop! I had no choice but to call out to him several times to stop so I could take some shots of the birds! Apparently, the driver assumed that those birds on wires are very common and hence not worth for a stop! XD
By mid morning we arrived in the desert. This place is almost a monochromatic visual; no trees, just shrubs, barren landscape and plenty of Wild Ass!
But before I could get any decent shots of Wild Ass, my driver alerted me.

” Look, Indian wolf! It’s rare!” He exclaimed.
” Where, where?” I asked.
” It’s there over the white border…!” He replied.
” You mean that dog?” I asked naively…it looked like one to me, it still does!

Indian wolf

The Indian Wolf was a nice surprise, but we were actually looking for the Houbara Bustard at that time! We finally found 2, but these bustards were fast runners, we had to chase after them to get some decent shots!

houbara bustard (macqueenii)

As we sauntered across the land of sand, a long legged buzzard caught our attention-it had captured a short eared owl (sniff)! Despite we were so close, the buzzard refused to leave as he firmly guarded his catch of the day!

long legged buzzard captured short eared owl

By the time we began our journey back to the hotel, it was nearly mid noon and I was a little parched by then….what a morning!
Below were some of the birds and Wild Asses seen on that day!

sand lark and demoiselle cranes

Hoopoe, black winged kite, variable wheatear

desert wheatear and short toed lark

Indian roller, crested lark

rosy starling

Wild Ass

rann of kutch

Melbourne’s western water treatment plant- What a huge supermarket!

cape barren goose and pelican

When I was in Melbourne, I think I spent 70% of the time indulging in food! But surely I had to do some birding …and where’s a better place to bird than the Western Water Treatment Plant! It was truly an eye-opening experience (well, for me it was) to bird in Western Water Treatment Plant, which was only an hour drive from the city! This place was filled with lagoons, grasslands and coastline that provided an ideal and varied habitat for all sorts of birds! To bird in the water treatment plant, you need a permit! Click here for more information about permit application.

Pink eared duck and banded lapwing

To beat the heavy traffic, I headed off at 0630, and arrived at the plant around 0740. There were gates to open to enter each zone area in the plant! So every time you opened the gate and drove your car in, you would have to lock the gate. Once in the plant, there were no shortages of birds- raptors, water birds, shore birds, bush birds, you just name it!! Having only spent 1/2 day in the area, I saw abt 50 birds, but I only took photos of  30 odd species (all new ticks!)… As I am writing this, I feel like going to Melbourne again, this time to do some serious birding!

Royal spoonbill and Yellow Billed spoonbill

peregrine falcon and spotted harrier

straited field wren and straw necked ibis

hard head, Musk duck and Black fronted plover

zebra finch and white fronted chat

australian crake and white necked heron

fairy martin, bushlark, golden headed cisticola

red capped plover, banded stilt, red necked advocet

Taiwan, Taichung- Anmashan (great snow mountain)

Dear friends, Anmashan is also known as dasyueshan (大雪山 great snow mountain)! When I planned for the trip a few years, ago, I was so confused by the names, but they are no doubt the same place! I took a bird guide, recommended by a friend..and we headed off to Taichung from Taipei! But this was a long 5 hour drive, Zzzz! Anyway, the adventure began when there was some mis-communication with the guide, so in the end he dropped me off at my accomodation on the mountain and then I was on my own (gasp)!!

Now, without a car, it would be very difficult to bird at Anmashan, because the bird locations were widespread along the steep mountain! I was lucky to bump into a western couple at the place I was staying, who was very kind to let me join them.

Anyway, birding on the mountain started as early as 6am! So even though the hotel provided breakfast, you would probably have to skip it! Since birding was just up and down the mountain, you would find quite a number of birders along the the way and side treks were easy to walk, so birding was relatively easy!

Here are some of the birds taken on my 3 day bird trip at Anmashan!

Mikado and swinhoe pheasant

Eurasian Jay and Eurasian nutcracker

collared bush robin male and female

rosefinch male and female

white whiskered laughing thrush

white browed bush robin

white tailed robin

In my humble opinion, the best way to get to Taichung is to take a train from Taipei and then for arrange your rented car to be picked at the train station!

The only available accomodation on the mountain is An Man Hotel (鞍馬山莊). http://tsfs.forest.gov.tw/cht/index.php?code=list&ids=27  

Phone reception is poor up there, definitely no internet access, and there are only 4 TV channels (all in hokkien). The room itself is pretty basic and because its real cold up there, heated blankets are provided!   This place is only good for hikers and birders, so if your spouse doesn’t do any of those, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT bring him/her to Anma Shan!

Sydney Botanical Gardens

It’s not my first time visiting Sydney but definitely the first time as a birder. It was Christmas when i visited and as I predicted the shops were closed for the festival and not many people seen on streets. “Great, less people means more birds”, I anticipated with hope. Afterall I am not into shopping…hehe

On the day of arrival, I quickly made a trip to the park in the late afternoon; To my surprise, I saw many flying foxes hanging on trees….flapping their wings and making loud noises. I stood under a tree to get some photos (BAD IDEA)! Apparently one flew out and pooped on me (Grrr….)! Anyway, after cleaning up the mess, I made my way to the central pond area. Below were some of the birds seen.

Indian myna and noisy miner

Blue billed Duck and Australian Magpie

Pacific black duck and Bell myna

Golden whistler and little pied commorant

I read about a frogmouth and buff banded rail being residents in the park, but I didnt get to see them that afternoon. I knew I have to go back again. On the morning before I head off to Melbourne, I went to the park again and saw a park ranger. My instincts told me that I should ask him if he knew the whereabouts of the frogmouth (I was so smart!)… he pointed at the Pyramid and told me to search there. I took his advice  and soon found them! YAY!

tawny frogmouth

After bagging the frogmouth, I headed back to the store to get some soveniors for my friends…but the store is still closed. And as i walked around the back of the store, I suddenly saw this rail scurrying off! I sneaked behind him and to my delight, I found a family of buff banded rails! What luck!

Mission accomplished, and moving on to the next city- Melbourne!

buff banded rail

Kaeng Krachan National Park- The bird that stayed in the hole

When I first organised the trip to Kaeng Krachan National Park, my target was to get the banded kingfisher, which to my dismay, fledged shortly before our arrival (Grrr…). But our disappointment was shortlived as our 5 day trip was filled with loads of fun and laughter!
Below is one unforgettable memory!

The bird that stayed in the hole…like forever

With hides set, our long wait began. Our cameras were all pointing at a particular bamboo- a bamboo with a tiny hole….but no bird in it. After waiting for sometime, a tiny little orange colored bird flew into the hole, and out popped it’s head!

White browed piculet

But the bird stayed in that hole….with no intention to leave at all! We were about to Zzzz when our guide walked towards the bamboo area. “Perhaps the bird would fly out of the hole when he gets close”, Bonnie and I whispered to each other. We bet our chances and it flew out alright, but we were too slow to fire any shots (grrr…). It was another long Zzz wait before it finally perched outside the hole for 2 seconds before returning to the hole again! FINALLY. White browed piculet! :P

white browed piculet!

P.S. Kaeng Krachan National Park is just a 2 hour drive from Bangkok. We stayed at Samarn bird camp which is just next to the park entrance. Samarn’s wife is a great cook by the way!

samarn camp- Photo by Bonnie Chan

Uncle Sin’s “Pond”

Location: Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand

Guide: Tomorrow we will visit Uncle Sin’s pond. You can do half or full day there.
Me: What kind of birds can we get there?
Guide: Mainly forest birds…
I am baffled…did he just say forest birds? Surely this can’t be right! My basic understanding of a pond – fish pond, would be frequented by ducks, kingfishers or even terns! I am convinced there is some mis-communication between us.

“Where’s the pond?” I ask, when we arrive at location. Our guide beckons us to follow him. We trek deep in to the forest and arrive at a small open ground. No sight of pond, but only to see hides and trees enclave around the area. As we settle in to our individual hides, we are told to wait for Uncle Sin.
“Okay, this is totally weird…I simply don’t have a clue of what’s going on here”. I glanced at my friends and they look equally puzzled . Soon Uncle Sin arrives, carrying with him a huge container. He walks to the depression in the ground, opens his container and pours water in to the hole and leaves! By this time we all burst into fits of laughter! The mystery is solved, the so-called “pond” is actually a water hole!
We are highly entertained by a variety of  water forest birds…where most of them come for a bath! The mouse deer (mouse+deer=mouse deer) is another highlight at the pond!
Below are some of the birds taken at the famous “pond”.

Note to Self- Start my own “pond” when I retire.  

red legged crake in bath!

brown cheeked fulvetta

Tinkle Blue flycatcher-male and female

red jungle fowls- male and female

Silver Pheasants- male and female

mouse deer (mouse+deer=mouse deer, simple logic)

Here’s a photo of the hides at the “pond”…

Hides at the Pond area – Photo by Bonnie Chan

List of birds at the “pond” : Silver pheasants, Red jungle fowls, Lesser and Greater necklaced laughing thrush, Tinkle blue flycatcher, Brown cheeked fulvetta, Racket tailed treepie, Red legged crake, Black naped monarch, white rump sharma, Streaked eared bubul, etc.