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The Indian Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi​​​​​​ It was about twenty years ago that my husband gifted me with my first book about birds- ‘101 common Indian birds’ by Dr. Salam Ali and Laeeq Futehally. We were staying in Delhi at the time and he had got it from an exhibition at Pragati maidan. It was one of the best gifts he had given...

Orange-headed Thrush; a Guest Appearance…in my backyard Zoothera citrina   The other day, I was just standing by my bedroom window, enjoying the peace and serenity of my backyard which I often tend to do (I find it quite meditational) when I saw some movement on the ground.  At first, I thought it was a copper-pod flower, gently wafting down, this being the season for those golden-yellow blooms to fall...

QUARANTINE.....   The word Quarantine has the dubious distinction of being the most used word in recent history, I think!  It is not that I hadn’t heard this word before, it was mentioned in our textbooks during high school, that the patients suffering from communicable diseases causing pandemic situations (like tuberculosis, plague, Spanish Flu) need to be quarantined if my memory serves me right. However, when my left...

Sirsi Travelogue   In the previous blog, we had seen the avifauna and a couple of other vertebrates.  But Sirsi is so much more - now let us see the geographical wonders of this beautiful region.   The Yana Rocks were probably the most spectacular of these. These Monoliths are made of dark limestone formations of crystalline karst rocks. There is a very interesting mythological story about these...

A Place called Durshet... Nature at its best! It was a surprise birthday gift from my husband - a couple of days at a place called Durshet. It took us about four to five hours of drive from Vapi, to reach there in the evening, just before sunset. Nestled in the picturesque Sahyadri hills, Durshet is quite close to Lonavala and Khopoli.  In fact, it is situated on...

GANESHGUDI....WHAT A REVELATION!   I fell in love with North Karnataka when I visited Sirsi. I vowed to continue my affair with the region and visit it soon! It took me all of four years to visit again, this time to Ganeshgudi.  I was looking forward to this journey, specially after the lockdowns, and social isolation of  not meeting friends or relatives for...

  A LEISURELY AFTERNOON ON THE POOVAR BACKWATERS.   It was a pleasant afternoon in the middle of December.  I was on a short visit to Trivandrum or Thiruvananthapuram.  Knowing my passion for bird-watching, the cab driver suggested that I visit Poovar backwaters.....he said, 'I am sure, you would love it madam'! With nothing to lose, I thought, I would give it a go. ...

MY FIRST DATE WITH BANDIPUR   Bandipur National Park of Karnataka is famous among the birders, wildlife photographers, as well as wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers; especially for Tigers and Leopards. It has been on my "must visit" list for a very long time. Finally the opportunity to visit it came around in Dec 2022. My husband and I visited the place for three nights and stayed in...