William from New York
A brief visit by cousin William from New York was an occasion to see the migratory birds at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary on the Kaveri near Srirangapatna, about 20 kms from Mysore in Karnataka, India. We reached the Sanctuary at 6:30 am and were first out on a “photography” boat on a 1-hour ride. We were in an open rowboat for 4-6 people, with unimpeded views in all directions. At that early hour, the weather was pleasantly chill with a light mist over the water. Later in the morning, covered rowboats carry larger numbers of visitors at lower cost. The oarsmen are knowledgeable about the birds.
The boats go close to a number of artificial islands with dense shrubs and trees that serve as nesting sites. Ranganathittu hosts 10s of 1,000s of migratory birds during November to February. Many come from North India, some from as far away as Siberia and Latin America. There is constant activity, nest-building, foraging, and socialising to delight the visitor. Spot-billed pelicans were abundant, with colonies of them nesting in each island. We saw a few juveniles, and many adults flying back and forth with food and nest-building materials.
A few trees were full of sleeping Indian flying foxes, a common species of fruit eating bat. A Pied kingfisher posed nicely on a branch. Then, an egret landed on the branch and chased the kingfisher away. Another Pied kingfisher posed against the sky.
A Purple heron perched on a tree with green and red leaves made a nice composition. Its long neck was folded up and almost invisible. A Great stone-curlew was another lone bird on a rock low in the water.
Cormorants were seen frequently flying up and down the river. Mostly, they were headed for a tree downstream hosting a colony of cormorants. Some had nesting materials. They flew singly and also in small flocks.
River terns in swooping flight were common. A couple of them perched on a rock preening. Nearby, some mugger crocodiles sunned themselves on rocks, or lay still in shallow waters.
On the way back as we glided between two islands, we saw a graceful Grey heron with extended neck, and a short, stocky Black-crowned night heron. A pelican descending to its nest was welcomed with open bill by a hungry juvenile.
Afterwards, we drove to Hotel Mayura Riverview in Srirangapatna for breakfast. The restaurant is on a secluded stretch of the Kaveri. The buffet at Rs. 300/person featured idli, vadai, dosai, pongal (Karnataka-style), toast-butter-jam and tea/coffee.
About the images
The images in this blog were taken by Timothy A Gonsalves, except for the group picture which is courtesy Kartiki Gonsalves. Most of the images are from December 2024, a few are from January/February 2024.
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