31 March 14 - Indian Mammals Fest

Having completed all the daily posts on my recent Indian trip, I thought I would put a post together of all the mammals I photographed on the trip to Calcutta, the Andamans, the Western Ghats, Gujarat & Rajasthan. I only spent a couple of half days birding around Calcutta, but I saw a Brown Rat at about 04:00, as I was waiting for the night watchman to open my hotel on my first night. The only other mammal in Calcutta was an Indian Mongoose. On the Andamans, a Five-striped Palm Squirrel & some unidentified Bats were the only mammals seen. However, I saw a good variety of mammals on the rest of the trip. In total, I managed to photograph 27 species (excluding the Water Buffalo) & saw another 6 species. Here are the mammals I did get to photograph. No doubt my mates, Richard Webb & John Wright, will tell me if there are any misidentifications.

Rhesus Macaque: Bharatpur, Rajasthan (27 Jan 14)

Bonnet Macaque: Travelling from Jungle Hut to Ooty, Western Ghats (30 Dec 13)

Southern Plains Grey Langur: Mount Abu, Rajasthan (21 Jan 14)

Tufted Grey Langur: Jungle Hut, Western Ghats (28 Dec 13)

Nilgiri Langur: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (1 Jan 14)

Jackal: CEDO, Gujarat (19 Jan 14)

Jackal: Bharatpur, Rajasthan (28 Jan 14)

Indian Fox: Desert Coursers, Gujarat (17 Jan 14)

Indian Mongoose: CEDO, Gujarat (20 Jan 14)

Asian Elephant: Periyar Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats (10 Jan 14)

Wild Ass: Desert Coursers (15 Jan 14) 

Wild Boar: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (1 Jan 14)

Chital Deer: Male. Bharatpur, Rajasthan (27 Jan 14)

Chital Deer: Jungle Hut, Western Ghats (28 Dec 13)

Chital Deer: Bharatpur, Rajasthan (27 Jan 14)

Sambar Deer: Male. Periyar Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats (10 Jan 14)

Sambar Deer: Female. Parambikulam, Western Ghats (2 Jan 14)

Muntjac: Periyar Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats (10 Jan 14)

Gaur: Ooty, Western Ghats (30 Dec 13)

Gaur: Periyar Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats (10 Jan 14)

Nilgai: Male. Sultanpur, Rajasthan (29 Jan 14)

Nilgai: Female. Bharatpur, Rajasthan (27 Jan 14)

Water Buffalo: All the Water Buffalo I saw were probably domesticated. Jungle Hut, Western Ghats (30 Dec 13)

 Chinkara: Family Party. Tal Chappar (24 Jan 14)

Blackbuck: Male. Tal Chappar (24 Jan 14)

Blackbuck: Females & an immature male. Tal Chappar (24 Jan 14)

Nilgiri Tahr: Eravikulam, Western Ghats (4 Jan 14)

Nilgiri Tahr: Eravikulam, Western Ghats (4 Jan 14)

Three-striped Palm Squirrel: Thattekad, Western Ghats (5 Jan 14)

Three-striped Palm Squirrel: Bharatpur, Rajasthan (27 Jan 14)

Western Ghats Palm Squirrel: Periyar Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats (10 Jan 14) 

Five-striped Palm Squirrel: Mount Abu, Rajasthan (21 Jan 14)

Nilgiri Palm Squirrel: Thattekad, Western Ghats (5 Jan 14) 

Indian Giant Squirrel: Jungle Hut, Western Ghats (28 Dec 13)

Indian Giant Squirrel: Jungle Hut, Western Ghats (29 Dec 13) 

Indian Giant Squirrel: Chinnar, Western Ghats (3 Jan 14)

Indian Giant Squirrel: Thattekad, Western Ghats (5 Jan 14) 

Indian Giant Flying Squirrel: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (1 Jan 14)

Indian Giant Flying Squirrel: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (1 Jan 14)

Black-naped Hare: Jungle Hut, Western Ghats (28 Dec 13) 

Black-naped Hare: CEDO, Gujarat (20 Jan 14)

Frustratingly, I failed to get a photo of two of the best mammals seen (Caracal at CEDO, Gujarat & Jungle Cat at Tal Chappar, Rajasthan). Less exciting & not photographed (although I tried) was a Mouse feeding in the drinks stall at Bharatpur. Additionally, I saw several Foxes & photographed one, but the photos were too poor to keep, (given the species extends as far as the UK). Additionally, I didn't photograph a medium sized Bat at Bharatpur (too tedious) or the many Fruit Bats at Periyar (never saw them when I had the camera).

The Indian trip was focused on birding & all mammals seen were a result of bumping into them whilst birding, rather than a specific attempt to see the mammals. On my 91 trip to India, I was lucky to see a female Tiger with 3 cubs & so no attempt was made to see Tigers again. Likewise, I've seen Lions in Kenya & Wolves in Tibet, so no attempt was made to get to Gir in Gujarat (mainly as it would have meant dropping at least one of the birding sites).

29 Jan 14 - Searching For A Sparrow

The last day in India got off to a slow start. Woke early as I had an early taxi booked from the hotel near the airport to go to Sultanpur Bird Reserve, about 25 miles away. However, I wasn't feeling right after something I had eaten the previous night & ended up changing the taxi time by a couple of hours. Fortunately, the problem cleared up a bit & by 09:00 I was on my way. The main target was Sind Sparrows which look like a small House Sparrow & it's a fairly recent addition to the areas list, having arrived by following irrigation ditches from Pakistan. So this one time Pakistan goodie is now possible to see within an hours drive of Delhi. Not surprising, there was a lot of early morning haze & it never really cleared up, so perhaps partly pollution related given Delhi's proximity.

The lake was packed out with wildfowl as well as a few Nilgai, Water Buffalo & cattle 

The lake was even more impressive when viewed from the tower hide

Lunch was in the Rosy Pelican hotel next door: Shame the owners didn't bother to engage somebody who knew what they were doing, as half the big hotel signs had American species, instead of celebrating the local wildlife next door

Sultanpur is a much smaller reserve than Bharatpur & it would be possible to walk around its perimeter in a couple of hours at a slow birding pace, if it wasn't for the presence of a couple of high gates stopping you. It is a reasonable sized lake which has survived in a mass of cultivated fields & human habitation & judging by the numbers of birds, it must be the only decent sized lake for some distance. Initially, I walked clockwise around the lake, until I got stopped by the 4 metre high gate. In the trees around the lake edge, I had another Brooks's Warbler which was good to see. Unfortunately, the wet fields on this side were all dried out & planted with oil seed rape. This was where Bill had seen the Sind Sparrows on a previous visit & I assume their presence at Sultanpur is probably seasonal. Perhaps I should have tried contacting a local guide as he would probably have had other sites. Later I walked anticlockwise around the lake & found the other gate, but this time it was possible to just walk around the fence as the water level was so low. After walking around 3/4 of the lake, I reached the initial gate & rather than back track I ended up climbing over it.

Dabchick: Breeding plumage  

Dabchick: Non breeding plumage

Painted Stork: Bushes on islands in the lake provided safe nesting for Painted Storks & other tree nesting species

Black-necked Stork: There were a few nests amongst the larger numbers of Painted Storks

Grey-headed Swamphen

White-tailed Plover

Hoopoe: This is the orientalis subspecies which replaces the Southern ceylonensis subspecies that we saw in Western Ghats

 Red Avadavat: Male. Surprisingly these were the first Red Avadavats for the Indian trip

Red Avadavat: The females keep their dull plumage, unlike the males which moult into the bright plumage for the breeding season

Nilgai: Male

Nilgai: Females or immatures

Finally, it was time to head back into Delhi & start packing for the early am flight the next morning.

An Indian approach to traffic jams: This car wasn't changing lanes, it was just creating an extra lane to drive in

Just have to hope George Osborne doesn't see this: A 20 lane toll booth on our main road. The Tories could have a lot of fun with the UK motorways

The Indian solution to cross rail: Like a lot of big cities, the new tube & trains are going in above the main roads. How much cheaper would crossrail have been for Londoners?