Ray of HOPE

Thank you for your continued support, hope you all are safe and following lockdown rules.

Today’s topic is no wildlife, no species but today I am writing to you for a cause “Ray of Hope.” The support I need is nothing but the contribution for all those who served us in fulfillment of our hobby and ensured that we enjoy each moment of our trip and now its time for us to serve them so as they can at least manage their survival needs in this difficult situation. 

Here I am talking about gypsy drivers, guides, and tribal villagers staying and taking care of the forest area. The earning source is highly dependent on visitors for their living and is pushed to the edge of survival due to the current COVID situation. It is a difficult time for them to meet the necessity for self and family so managing critical hygiene materials like a mask, soap, and sanitizer is again a question mark for them. 

Knowing this situation we have come up with an initiative to help these struggling families who at some point in time were at our service. Please see the next section of the complete details. 

Your kindness is someone’s hope

Team Go Travellism (Mumbai Travellers, Book My Safari and Corporate compass) in association with 'CLAW community' and 'Last Wilderness Foundation' is extending its support to some of the most susceptible tribal and forest communities living around forest areas in India.

All the initiatives are being undertaken with active and transparent ground support from respective government authorities, as we cannot volunteer personally on ground due to lockdown.

1.      THE FRIEND IN NEED by CLAW 

The intention is to provide basic grocery for a total of 415 local families, comprising of 253 guides and 160 drivers serving

Community Area addressed: Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve

Fundraising Target: Rs. 415000/-

2. SUPPORT THE PARDHI COMMUNITY by Last Wilderness Foundation

Providing safe & sustainable living for the communities who are dependent on the forest in these 

challenging times

Tribe Pardhis, Panna Tiger Reserve

Fundraising Target: Rs. 2,00,000

3.      HELP THE TRIBALS by Mumbai Travellers Club

Providing basic grocery for every house in the village 

Community Area addressed: Tribal village Kuwaripada in Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary

Fundraising Target: Rs. 40000

Read our previous initiative details at

https://btwildart.blogspot.com/2019/10/diwali-for-all.html

https://www.mumbaitravellers.in/diwali-for-all-2019/

Where to donate:

For Initiative 1	For Initiative 2	For Initiative 3
Account Name: Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve Conservation Foundation Bank : SBI A/C No. 3071 4733 456 IFSC : SBIN0001941 Branch code : 1941	Name : Last Wilderness Foundation Bank : Axis Bank Account : Current A/C No. 912010031503388 IFSC : UTIB0000653 Branch : Worli Naka	Name : Go Travellism Pvt Ltd Bank : ICICI Bank Account : Current A/C No. 623805030086 IFSC : ICIC0006238 Branch : Mulund West
Contact person: Tanwi Chowdhary + 91 7022975222	Contact person: Bhavna Menon + 91 9619282264	Contact person: Saurabh Thakekar + 91 8422049888

For more details, you may also get in touch with me on 9821480008 (Bhavesh Thakkar /BT Wild Art)

BT Wild Art

Power Pack Martial Eagle

Dear followers, I hope you all are safe and doing fine. Please take due care and ensure the safety of your loved ones from this dangerous virus. With lockdown situation the condition has reversed, I mean now birds, animals are enjoying freedom, and we are under house arrest.

This situation is a revelation for the whole world; it is learning for all of us to open our eyes toward the destruction of Mother Nature, which includes wetlands, wildlife, forest, etc; this is an alarm bell, if not now than never. We are facing COVID now and god knows what our next generation will have to face, so it is better that we understand and respect and preserve our resources for our upcoming generation. 

Now let me talk about today’s topic, I am missing my forest visits and hence I jumped into all my old visits and while going through Kenya album I notice this power-packed bird and realized that I have not yet updated you with this super powerful eagle so today let us meet Powerhouse “Martial Eagle” and rejuvenate old memories.  

Magnificent & majestic “Martial”

First time I saw this majestic eagle at Masai Mara, the charm of this bird was just unmatched, it was sitting on perch in its typical style. We got mesmerized due to Eagle’s aggressive eyes, huge wingspan, and incredibly powerful long and sharp talons. It was the right time to capture the frame and enjoy the behavior of this killer bird. We were lucky to get at least 15 minutes which itself is recorded a long time that such rare quality bird can offer and that is too with flying shots. 

Let me write Saurabh’s favorite line from a book named Vapurza, this perfectly defines the power of this killer bird. 

"Wings of an eagle could probably be tied up to a pigeon, but craziness to Soar higher has to be in the blood because the passion for Sky can never be borrowed!”

Now you know why this bird is so special and why we are mad about it, so let's go little dip into its qualities in the next section.

Remarkable facts

Martial eagles are classified as vulnerable on the IUCN list 

That means they are under threat of extinction. Farmers readily shoot martial eagles as they can swoop down and kill their livestock, especially newborn cows

They are Africa’s largest eagle with a wingspan of 2.6 meters

They are also the fifth heaviest eagle on the planet

These eagles can spot prey from five kilometers away!

Their eyesight is over three times more acute than our own. They soar high above other birds of prey, using this incredible eyesight to spot a potential meal

They hunt silently and secretively

Martial eagles spend most of their day soaring on thermals. After a while, they blend into the sky. They don’t even flap their wings, but glide and glide high in the sky

Incredible acceleration when hunting from on high - Speed is their secret weapon

They are relatively unique in that they stoop from high in the sky. One tactic they have is to descend at great speeds, angling their approach to land directly on top of their prey

They kill using elongated hind toe-claws

Their incredibly long and sharp talons are capable of killing small prey instantaneously

Birds, mammals and reptiles are all on the menu

They are not too picky. One study showed that martial eagles in Kruger National Park fed on other birds 45% of the time, especially water birds like herons and storks. Monitor lizards and venomous snakes are favorite meals. Martial eagles will also hunt predatory cats such as jackals

Martial eagle pairs have an incredible home range

Pairs patrol large territories and will not tolerate the presence of other birds of prey. The size of their territory depends on the food that is available. A range will be 150 square kilometers on average, but it may be more than 1000 square kilometers

Martial eagles only lay one egg every two years

Slow reproduction is one of the reasons these birds are endangered. While other eagles will produce offspring every year, martial eagles rarely breed more than once every two years. This the erratic pattern makes them a very unproductive bird and ultimately means that when a martial eagle is poached or hunted, it is hard to replace

I am sure you will agree with me that this bird is actually different in all aspects from other birds, the power, the speed, the reproduction pattern anything for that matter is just unique. Now I would request you to visit the DSLR section to enjoy the pictorial view of this bird. 

Learning of the day

State Bird of Gujarat - Greater flamingo

Refer details here https://btwildart.blogspot.com/2018/03/beautifulflamingo-i-insist-readers-to.html

BT Wild Art

DSLR Section 

Social Message

Hi friends, I hope you are safe and taking care of your family in the lockdown period. As a responsible citizen, we should strictly follow the Government orders; it is for our safety from horrible virus, few established nations failed in implementing lockdown and we can see what is happening with them. The wise thing to do is be at home, stay safe and spend quality time with family.

Now let me get back on track for the blog, I thought a lot on what to offer today, it is challenging to find something new due to uncertainty of travel, nevertheless, rocking portfolio will help me to offer something till the travel opens again, like daily necessity I have stock of blog material but yes eager to travel again with the same spirit all over the place.  

While I was searching for a topic, a thought came to my mind to use these pictures for spreading the social messages. On social media university, so many messages are flooding the inbox that you just can’t stop negativity getting into your mind. It is very difficult to decide what to believe and what to ignore. so let us see how we can reduce the negativity. 

Considering the negativity all around I thought let me initiate some lighter messages that can bring a smile and spread the social message as well. The same wildlife photo book came to my rescue for offering a unique topic once again, so let us see how wildlife pictures can be utilized for a social cause.  

Wildlife in a style

No. 1 

ज्यादा मन करे तो खीडकी से देख लेना, पर घर से बाहर नही जाना. तोता समज गया पर ईनसान नही. Stay at home to keep yourself safe and keep our mother land safe from COVD. Soch Badlo Desh safe Rahega

No. 2

Life for a few days will be like this. But if we strictly follow this, then only we will be able to come out of our homes and enjoy like birds again. With this hope, stay home stay safe.

No. 3

Don't behave like Wildebeest and create a crowd on roads. Bhid ka Hissa banke Corona ko invite mat, Karo.

No. 4

Maintain social distancing. While going to a bank or for daily necessity stand in line with reasonable distance. Learn from Flamingos.

No. 5

If you go on the road without a valid reason, the police will be behind you like this. Don't try to be COVIDIOT. Stay Home, Stay Safe.

No. 6

Be a vulture to teach them culture. Sorry, it's Lockdown, you cannot go out of the home.

Parent's situation at home to keep control.

No. 7

Ideal position for sudden coughing, also do not forget to use a mask for a prolonged one and take doctor’s advice. 

No. 8

Loud and clear for small kids, they are more vulnerable to viruses and hence sometimes you have to communicate little strictly to them.  

No. 9

Small kids at home are like this, everyone focusing on them for taking care and they can’t even meet their friends. Engage them with indoor games, old stories, new learning etc.. so they don’t feel like they are in jail during the lockdown. 

No. 10

Elder’s situation at home is like this, office work from home, additional home responsibilities, family expectation since you are at you and many more, after delivering many of them we are like tired and lazy and constantly thinking “Yeh lockdown Kabhi open hoga”

BT Wild Art

Red Spur Fowl

Dear followers, I hope you are safe and taking the utmost care for staying away from COVD-19 infection. Information on social media is flooding like anything and hence it becomes very difficult for us to decide on what to believe and what is to be ignored. In this situation, the best thing is to stay at home, take the utmost care with hygiene, follow the instructions of the Government, and keep in touch with your doctor, don't take any chance with health and don't do any adventure to take your health at risk. 

Stay away from villages/forest for a while

The only advice I will give is please don’t plan any visit to any forest or villages until we get clearance that control over COVD is completely taken care of. As you know that compared to the city the facilities are not available in small places and it becomes challenging the cure if it spread over such places. My humble request is to keep a distance from villages and forests so as they are safe from this pandemic virus.    

Some people will have a view that it affects their earning but let me tell you that earning will have a temporary impact but with health, it will have a long-term impact, which will not only eat ways earnings but will hamper their savings as well. So let villages and forests stay away from this virus spread, once the situation improves we can surely restart things as normal. 

The topic of the day

Now, let me start with today’s topic, it is Red Spur Fowl. A very simple and commonly found bird because of which it is ignored as well. Let me tell you my own experience with spurfowl, in my trips I too ignored them initially assuming it like routine Hen, “Kombdi” 😂😂 but then realize that both are different and then started paying attention to it. 

Trust me it is a beautiful bird with dark colors, which can offer lovely pictures. Thankfully I got Red Spurfowl very near to my home (City birding), I found this sweet bird at Green Valley Park, Belapur, New Mumbai. You just need to keep observing the places around you it will offer you something unique. So now, let’s meet Spurfowl in the next section. 

Fact sheet 

The red spurfowl (Galloperdix Spadicea) is a member of *the pheasant family and is endemic to India. It is a bird of forests and is quite secretive despite its size. The legs of both males and females have one or two spurs, which give them their name

 *The Phasianidae are a family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, partridges, jungle fowl, chickens, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl

It is a bird of dry and moist forests as well as well-wooded villages. They are slightly smaller than a domestic chicken, but longer bodied and reddish in color. Females have more barring on the upperparts than males

Males have a distinctive, rapidly repeated “k-r-r-r-Kwek, KR-KR-Kwek, KR-KR-Kwek” call, often delivered in the mornings and evenings

Forages in the undergrowth and is generally secretive but often seen crossing roads or walking down paths in pairs or small groups

They feed on fallen seeds, berries, mollusks, and insects apart from swallowing grit to aid digestion

I hope you liked the content, I request you all to utilize this home lockdown time in reading and observing various nature pictures, go through various topics of our blog so as you can understand the perspective of nature and wildlife and benefits of its conservation

The Real Learning

The real learning is that we find out positive from this negative atmosphere and implement the same once things normalize for our better future. 

This is a time where you have a lot to think about what we lost and what we can do to gain. Every small effort from each one of us will help to conserve and gain what we have destroyed in the past

While ending the blog once again I want to request, please stay at home and take care of your loved ones at home, we hardly get time to stay at home even though it is forceful but you can optimally utilize it. 

Learning of the day

State Bird of Goa -

Flame-throated bulbul or Ruby-throated yellow bulbul

The flame-throated bulbul (Pycnonotus gularis) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found only in the forests of the Western Ghats in southern India

BT Wild Art

DSLR Section