Beautiful Bee-Eaters

Friends hope you are following your passion on weekend and enjoying the same to the fullest, if not trust me you are missing something. We have passion in our soul but we are not realizing and even if we know because of the busy life we are unable to optimize it. Take out one day, run away from city life and try to follow your passion, it may be tracking, music, nature, photography, wildlife, singing or blogging anything, just spent a day with it and see the difference in you. Best of luck for the trail, I am sure you will feel refreshing.

So now let me come back to the topic for the day, from past few weeks we have been reading trip reports that offered me the best opportunities for photography as well as topics for my readers. Therefore, from these trips let me pull out a beautiful bird, which is none other than Bee Eaters. A lovely little bird with superb color combinations, so let us meet Green Bee-Eater here in the next section.

The Go Green Bird

Part of Bee-eater family also known as little green bee-eater is mainly insect eater bird majorly found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water. Like other bee-eaters, this species is a richly colored, slender bird. It is about 9 inches (16–18 cm) long with about 2 inches made up by the elongated central tail-feathers. The color and pattern make this bird beautiful and photogenic, let me help you with a description so as you will get the idea. The entire plumage is bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat. The crown and upper back are tinged with golden rufous. The flight feathers are rufous washed with green and tipped with blackish, plus as a final touch a fine black line runs in front of and behind the eye gives the complete look and attractive for the frames.

Along with color pattern, the nature of the bird is such that all photographers get attracted towards it to make memorable frames. I have seen award-winning pictures of Bee-Eater on social media. Even I have experienced such a unique behavior of the bird in the wilderness. The habit is such that it will never sit at one place for a long time and will keep jumping here and there to catch insects or honeybee. While doing this activity if you are lucky and you have control over your gadgets well, you will turn truly a winner in this. So next time when you are on a trip ensure you get some lovely moments with you with this bird. Now, let us see some interesting facts of little champ.

The facts file 

This elegant bird usually hunts low to the ground, making short swoops before returning to their perch. They sometimes perch on the backs of cattle or grazing antelope and make sallies into vegetation close to the ground to catch insects

Green bee-eaters "disarm" dangerous prey by removing the stinger and eliminating the venom by means of hitting and rubbing a bee against a branch

Green bee-eaters are insectivorous; they eat bees, Hymenoptera, bugs, beetles, termites, moths, and many flies. They also eat butterflies, crickets, dragonflies, caterpillars, and spiders

The Green bee-eater has a distinguishing predator-avoidance behavior, in that, if a potential predator looks at the bird’s nest, the Green bee-eater will not enter it until the predator looks away. This remarkable behavior shows that the bird is aware of what the predator is looking at, but also suggests an awareness of a predator’s mental state. This ‘theory of mind’ awareness is typically only part of human behavior and several other primate species

There are 8 subspecies of green bee-eater that can be found in Africa and Asia. Green bee-eater inhabits arid woodlands, thicket, plantations, lakesides and open grasslands

Green bee-eater is a natural-born killer of bees. Even juvenile birds that have never encountered bees in their life know how to perform this procedure

Bee-eaters may be killed by raptors; rodents and snakes raid their nests, and they can carry various parasites

Isn’t it interesting that such a little bird is having unique qualities that can very well help you to create frames? Even it is pleasant for sighting the way it catches bees, I hope you enjoyed the blog so now visit the DSLR to complete the journey for this week

A Message of the Day 

After they disappear, will you then shed a tear? Save wildlife. Save life 

Author:

BT Wild Art

Life is Safari. Enjoy it.

Deadly DSLR

Jaipur Jewels

Hello followers, let me thank each and everyone for the following blog and supporting wilderness, every little step will help us reach the top floor that is saving our Mother Nature. After wonderful Tadoba it was time to enjoy the holiday with family so I opted to visit Jaipur but yes there also wilderness was continued as my best buddy, overall trip was fruitful with a combination of historical places and wilderness. So let us see more on Jaipur Trip report. 

The Jhalana Trail 

Are you even aware of Jhalana? If you are religiously following the blog, you must be aware of the quality of the place. So to start with let me update you on Jhalana visit, this time since I was on a trip with parents I had the opportunity to take them to the forest to make them understand my madness towards wildlife. Let me tell you we did only one safari but experience touched the heart of parents as well. The weather turned hostile by a drop in temperature around 4 degree which affected the sighting but still, it was good as an experience for first timers like my parents

During the Safari we were lucky to sight Long Tailed Shrike, Jungle Babbler, Owlet, Peacock, Purple Sunbird, Black Redstart, Magpie Robin, Rufous Treepie, Sambar deer, Blue Bull, Monkey, Eagle and many more. However, the sighting was low due to cold and remains without Leopard but still the experience and arrangement of Sumeej Juneja and humanity of Guide cum driver Ganesh was unmatched.

Unmatched Humanity

Let me update you on heart touching task of Ganesh Ji, when we entered the forest we heard continuous calling from Rufous Treepie that gave us a hope of leopard for a while but the way call was going on it hinted Ganesh some doubts in mind. He identified the area and we reached there to check the reason of such long calling, the moment we reached the place we noticed that Rufous Tree Pie was trying to move out of thread (used for kite flying) and shouting in pain. Immediately Ganesh rescued the bird without worry of being hurt by the bird because Rufous Tree Pie is a flesh eater and its beak is as sharp as a sword. He Managed very smartly and ensured that the bird is free from the pain, finally, the bird was out of trouble to fly high in its own zone. This how unmatched humanity of Ganesh saved the bird, this was a true example of humanity and care for the wilderness, hope this will motivate many more to save wilderness.

The Historic land 

This time along with birding I took the opportunity to explore the Pink City to know about historical values laid down by Sawai Mansingh and his family. We were lucky to see some part of history that was ruled by the Royal family. Though it was little portion we could evaluate but the same was truly worth knowing the Palace, lifestyle, ruling, weapons etc of one part of the history.

We could manage Sheesh Mahal, Amer Fort, Wax museum (fantastic replica of achievers), Hawa Mahal, Nahar gadh, Jai gadh, Jal Mahal, Birla Temple along with local shopping market. It was again added with a flavor of birding of Grater Cormorant, Great White Pelican, Indian spot bill duck, painted stork and many more. Overall trip was fantastic because of the variety we had during the visit. Do plan to visit Jaipur to see the best of both world Historic values and wilderness.

You can check below link to know more about Jhalana forest https://btwildart.blogspot.com/2018/06/hidden-jewel-jhalana.html.

A vote of Thanks: The blog cannot end without a vote of thanks, the contribution of each one is crucial without which the journey is incomplete.

Trip Arrangements 

Amey and Saurabh from Mumbai Traveler

Safari experts

Ganesh and Sumeet Juneja

Hotel 

Arya Niwas – Very good food, nice room

A Message of the Day 

After they disappear, will you then shed a tear? Save wildlife. Save life 

Author: BT Wild Art
Life is Safari. Enjoy it.

Deadly DSLR

Jungle Babbler  

Bay-backed  Shrike

Camel - The symbol

Painted Stork

Peacock

White Rumped Munia

Indian Robin 

Purple Sunbird

Spotted Owlet

Caspian Gull

Grater Cormorant 

Indian Spot-billed Duck

The Thunder World Tadoba – Amazing Animals

Thanks everyone for blessings, keep following the unique mantra of wilderness. Today’s topic as you all know it is nothing but the part of the Tadoba trip for which you had to wait for a week. So without taking much time here in introduction let us move to the story section.

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Nobody can assure you a Tiger sighting and that is the fun of it

The title defines the fun of chasing tiger in its home in just one sentence, there is all the possibility that tiger would have seen you but you are unable to sight a tiger. The best part is the nature of the forest and the tiger’s choice to meet you. The dense forest makes it more difficult to sight because tiger can easily be camouflaged and due to the thickness of the forest you cannot even realize that it is very much around you. Knowing this fact, we started our journey or say mission photography in search of madness, wilderness and nothing less 😃. To begin with, as I said we got luck from owl so we were confident to meet the King. After settling down with the area we were lucky to have a glimpse of Matkasur, Choti Tara and Chotta Matka. Here one of our group was more lucky to sight two of the above tiger bit closely than us but we all were at the same time unlucky to miss out on a drama between father and son (Matkasur and Chota Matka respectively) for the kill made by Chote Sarkar. This exactly the fun of the forest, you see more your greed gets bigger and bigger.

This is how the second day we spent having first without tiger but next was also interesting as I had to remove the label of unlucky person (Vishnu ki Maya) so next morning I changed the gypsy and went with Srinivas sir’s family (away from so cold lucky people) to prove my luck. Guess what we sighted two sub-adult cubs of Sharmily whereas so-called lucky people only got one of them.

Our luck game was not yet over as we still had to sight tiger closely as we are photo hungry people. the day came where we got chance to meet Sonam (we had missed her in 2016 because of tractor champ Anil) but this time luck favored us, we got a message from one the guide that Sonam is sleeping like Kumbh Karna at NBody location. Immediately Saurabh said let us not miss the chance this time let it take her own time to get up but we will not go away from the place. After almost an hour, she got up from the clutter area to show her glamour and style. She waited there for a few minutes and run away for something. It was wonderful to see the big cat so closely with such style in its own zone, unforgettable movement and its now part of the memory book of our heart. Now let us see what more we got in our heart. 

And many more

As I always mention, the forest is not only about tigers we need to focus on other animals as well to enjoy the forest in a complete sense. The story is around tiger because of effort it takes to search big cats including leopard rather finding a leopard is more difficult than a tiger. In our case, another group was lucky enough to sight a leopard absolutely with close-up pictures, thanks to Deepa’s accuracy and Sneha’s first-timer luck whereas Vishnu and Jatin enjoyed the readymade finding 😋

See how first-timer luck has worked on our trip, whatever Sneha wished it was in front turn by turn. Apart from many Tigers, the list includes Leopard, Bisons, Sloth bear, Wild Dogs (very difficult again), Sambar deer, Spotted deer, Barking deer, Monkey, Crocodile, Blue bull, Wild boar, Mongoose and many more.

This is how six safaris concluded in a very short time; we were like once more, why not one more, the trip was very much fruitful in terms of stay and food, sighting, tour arrangements, and new friends for more wilderness to come.

A vote of Thanks:

The blog cannot end without a vote of thanks, the contribution of each one is crucial without which the journey is incomplete.

Experts

Saurabh and Team MT

Lovely Co-Traveler family

Vishnu, Deepa, Srinivas Sir, Jaya Mam, Nitya, Sneha (the beginner lucky lady) Jatin

Safari experts

Guides, Gypsy drivers, drivers who ensure a safe journey for transport 

Home Stay

Salai Home Stay, Ashish Puranik, Vahini and team for such a warm stay and delicious food arrangements

A Message of the Day

No life without Wildlife – Preserve it – Respect it – Enjoy it

Wildlife is Mother Nature’s greatest treasure to protect it we must take every measure 

Author:BT Wild ArtLife is Safari. Enjoy it.

Deadly DSLR

Sonam up close

Sonam with Mark S

The fact of any Forest

Lovely View of Agarzari buffer Zone - Tadoba

Yawning  - Sharmily's Cub

Be Alert mode - Shramily's cub

The dangerous as ever - Wild Dog

It's not that easy to get me so close - Wild Dog

Sloth Bear

Wild Boar

Bison

Basking mode - Crocodile

Sambar Deer

Spotted Deer

Barking Deer

Mongoose

Sleeping mode Crocodile

The Thunder World Tadoba - Beautiful Birds

Hello dear friends, I hope you all are doing fine. I am sure you are thinking why the blog is not published yesterday; the reason is I was traveling to one of the best places for wilderness. Yes, I was in Tadoba to find variety for all of you. During this part of the year, I plan my annual holidays and ensure that I visit forest or wetland to experience the beauty offered by our own Mother Nature, so this time I went to my favorite place or you can say my second home. As usual, forest visit is always memorable and when it comes to your second home, the experience is just fantastic therefore without taking more time, let's start with the trip report.

The trip was full of fun and offerings hence it cannot be concluded in just limited words and need to do justice to every part of the trip hence I will provide you trip report in two parts. The first part will start with beautiful birds and next will be on wild animals. Trust me birding is more difficult than the capturing wild animals, but when you get them in such lovely land the scope of making frames is endless. So get set go for more details.

The Mission Unique

I never say no to Tadoba, this is my fourth visit but completely different experience, every time it gives something unique from the box. The trip started with lovely co-travelers including best buddies Saurabh and Vishnu. The trip started with drama at my end where I was on verge of missing the train but my family friend Mayank was the savior by helping me to reach the station on time with his two-wheeler. After such efforts, I manage the timing and we all moved ahead with various discussion and expectations on sightings.

We reached the place and got immediately ready for our mission “Unique” the reason to call mission unique because unlike others we were not targeting only tigers/leopards but our aim was to find anything and everything from the fruitful place. The interaction with birds is always different because of a number of reasons such as the colorful variety of each bird, the sound they make in a silent forest atmosphere which is impossible in City life, unique behavior in their natural habitat and opportunities to captures them in a frame, it’s just incomparable. So let see what all we interacted with during the journey.

Cool Cool Beautiful

We interacted with more than 80 birds even in a situation where we had to spend time searching wild animals. Sine list is long will update you on some unique amongst them. The journey started with Ullu 😊 though people misunderstand this lovely bird as bad luck instead it was super lucky to start the journey with Owl. 

The moment we entered we encountered with Mottled Wood Owl, a little colorful owl sitting on the branch of a tree. It was too adorable, see the picture you will surely agree with me. After mottled it was a turn of Jungle owlet to play hide and seek with us, this is one rare type of owl who wanted to tease us, we missed the picture of two jungle owlets in 5 minutes but it was owlet who wanted us to make its portfolio so finally on third chance we finally got pictures. Trust me it is not easy to find Jungle owlet and that is so close and three different owlets in 15 minutes hence I said it is a lucky bird at any point in time.

Mottled Wood Owl

Jungle Owlet

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After owl, we like the most was Purple Sunbird the dark color shining bird known for roaming around lovely sunflower or similar types of flowers, we got chance to capture in its typical behavior of playing around the flowers. 

Purple Sunbird

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The next in line was Shikra, unexpected sighting so close, normally raptors like Shikra are found on top of the tree looking for a hunt or in flying mode but here it was landed on the road like he is waiting for us to make a frame with its picture.

Shikra

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What next out of so many birds it is really difficult to mention each and everyone, next was hovering of Black-shouldered Kite, it was on a hunt and was continuously hovering for around 3 minutes. It is unlikely to see such hovering from kite which normally seen in flight or on wires.

Black Shouldered Kite

The list is long so let me give you the list of birds which was equally enjoyed by us during the trip, do visit Deadly DSLR to meet lovely cool cool beautiful birds. You can enjoy the trip through the blog and remember them for identification when you are on your trip.

The Lucky List

We were lucky to sight these birds as well, White-breasted and Pied Kingfisher, Comb Duck (knob-billed duck) , Black Redstart, Indian Roller, Ibis, Asian Openbill Stork, Green Bee-eater, Crested Serpent Eagle, White-eyed Buzzard, Pied myna or Asian Pied Starling, Bharadwaj, Sparrow, Yellow-footed green pigeon (State bird of Maharashtra) and many many more.

A vote of Thanks: 

The blog cannot end without a vote of thanks, the contribution of each one is crucial without which the journey is incomplete.

Experts

Saurabh and Team MT

Lovely Co-Traveler family

Vishnu, Deepa, Srinivas Sir, Jaya Mam, Nitya, Sneha (the beginner lucky lady) Jatin

Safari experts

Guides, Gypsy drivers, drivers who ensure a safe journey for transport 

Home Stay

Salai Home Stay, Ashish Puranik, Vahini and team for such a warm stay and delicious food arrangements

A Message of the Day

No life without Wildlife – Preserve it – Respect it – Enjoy it

Wildlife is Mother Nature’s greatest treasure to protect it we must take every measure

Author:

BT Wild Art – 

Life is Safari. Enjoy it.

 Deadly DSLR

White Eye Buzzard

Black Redstart

Pied Kingfisher

White-breasted Kingfisher

Indian Roller

Comb Duck

Green Bea Eater

Openbill Stork

Sparrow

Pied Myna or Asian Pied Starling 

Yellow Footed Green Pigeon

Flameback Woodpecker

Crested Serpent Eagle