Sundarbans was the place we (a small group of family friends) had zeroed in on, for a quick year-end jaunt. All the plans set in motion, we finally landed up there.
Like all working parents with school/college-going kids who plan their vacations around weekends, typically including a Friday to make it a long weekend, we had done the same too. Our plan was to begin on a Wednesday and end on the Sunday.
Then came the twist! The FD (Forest Department) in West Bengal, after much deliberation as it seems, decided to close the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve for visitors on a Friday. What do you say to that!! I do not understand as to who comes up with such ideas and based on what logic, completely beats me!!
Anyways, whats done was done. Friday was going to be the Jungle’s day off.
We had to figure out a way to spend that day, while we were there. As per the discussion we had with our wonderful boatman, Gouranga, the plan was to visit an island called the Bird island which was known for attracting a lot of migratory birds.
The D-Day, the Friday, had finally arrived. We were ready to board our boats by around 6:30AM.
As we headed to the jetty, I caught sight of these domesticated geese which were up and about. A nice frame with the breaking dawn.
Just as I boarded our boat, our guide, Chinmoy and boatman Gouranga called out to me and asked me to join them as they headed towards the path leading towards the island village. Crossing a thin log-bridge across a canal, he took me to a dilapidated shed kind of a structure.
There, Gouranga pointed me towards a bunch of netted shelves which looked like the ones you see in a poultry farm, housing the chickens. In one of those racks were a couple of cute-little Jungle cat kittens! That was a wow!
Chinmoy and Gouranga were saying that these kittens seemed to have somehow managed to enter the netted shelves but were unable to find their way out. Their mom was also not to be seen around. In such a situation, the kittens would surely struggle to survive. We decided to rescue them.
Taking out the netted shelf which housed the kittens, we created a small opening at the bottom. We then put the shelf down on the ground, slightly raised at one end, to expose the opening we had created.
With a few pats on the shelf, the kittens started moving around rapidly and finally located the opening. They squeezed themselves out and ran away. Hopefully, they will be able to survive and thrive.
That was a great beginning.
We got back to our boat. Soon as we started, we came across a flock of Ashy wood swallows.
These little birds have a characteristic behaviour of bunching up together in large groups on the tree branches, more so during the winters. The cold, windy morning gets these birds to nestle up to share each others’ warmth perhaps. So amazing to see 😃
Having spent some time with the wood swallows, we moved on.
Within a short while, came by a tree which was home to a family of Spotted owlets. The owlets were using the hollow branches as their refuge and also as tunnels to move around from one part of the tree to the other.
The Spotted owlets, having just returned from their nightly adventures to catchup on a well deserved sleep, weren’t impressed by seeing us there. Couple of curious individuals came out to give us a quick glance before returning back to their slumber.
Once the Spotted owlets had disappeared into the tree trunks, we continued our journey. Soon, we came by a Jungle cat, resting on the thick roots and soaking in the sun.
The individual, upon noticing our boat approaching, got up and walked up to settle down at a different spot.
After making some good images of the Jungle cat, we moved on towards the ‘Bird island’.
Nearing the island, we could observe quite a lot of bird activity. Asian open-bill storks, Black-headed ibis, Pacific golden plovers, Whimbrels, Curlews among many others were in plenty and busy on the open sand banks.
The highlight was the Lesser whistling ducks though. Huge flocks of them dotted the entire landscape.
Having spent good time around the Bird island, we started heading back.
En-route, we encountered a Peregrine falcon, a majestic raptor, the speed daemon.
With the sun beginning to go down, we got back to our place of stay. However, birding wasn’t over yet.
We caught sight of a beautiful little owl, the Collared scops owl on a village path in the island that we were staying in. Good experience observing this bird and also being able to make some good images.
That finally brought the day to a close. Overall, it turned out to be a highly fulfilling day. The Jungle, having its day off didn’t really impact us the way I thought it would. We did have a very productive time.
Also, sometimes I feel that, when you are inside the jungle, there is this underlying, unseen pressure of having to sight a big cat. You keep chasing them, thus missing out on a lot of other opportunities.
Hope you enjoyed reading through. Adios until the next time.
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