Chalo bulawa aaya hai
!
This literally came true for me last week. Not in the
generally understood religious context, but in a more contemporary context of
the call from the wild !
Our office had planned an outing to Goa, and being a relatively leaner season, I thought of trying out some photography detours on the way to Goa. And suddenly in course of my googling, I stumbled upon a peculiar type of name – OLD MAGAZINE HOUSE (OMH). On going through the almost reverential reviews for this place in Ganeshgudi, the mind was made up in an instant. The bulawa had come !
Our office had planned an outing to Goa, and being a relatively leaner season, I thought of trying out some photography detours on the way to Goa. And suddenly in course of my googling, I stumbled upon a peculiar type of name – OLD MAGAZINE HOUSE (OMH). On going through the almost reverential reviews for this place in Ganeshgudi, the mind was made up in an instant. The bulawa had come !
Walked across to the desk of Mahendra, who is a keen birder
and photography enthusiast and broached the idea to him. We could leave a day in
advance, spend one day at OMH and then proceed to Goa. As they say, when the
bulawa comes, everything falls in place. He agreed in an instant. Next few minutes, the hotel and train reservations were done.
For some unavoidable reasons however, it so happened that I had to miss the journey that night and had to join a day later. Reached OMH at Ganeshgudi at around 9 am in the morning. Immediately on reaching there, Mahendra showed me the awesome clicks that he had captured the earlier evening – the reds and the blues and the yellows and the whites, all types of amazing birds ! Boy, I missed big time. The next instant however, heard excited screams all around. Shh, shh…there is a woodpecker on a nearby tree and the clicking sessions started for me.
For some unavoidable reasons however, it so happened that I had to miss the journey that night and had to join a day later. Reached OMH at Ganeshgudi at around 9 am in the morning. Immediately on reaching there, Mahendra showed me the awesome clicks that he had captured the earlier evening – the reds and the blues and the yellows and the whites, all types of amazing birds ! Boy, I missed big time. The next instant however, heard excited screams all around. Shh, shh…there is a woodpecker on a nearby tree and the clicking sessions started for me.
The great thing about OMH is that you need not go out to find the birds. Rather the birds come around to a sighting set up, which consists of a few strategically placed bath trays filled with water, and the birds come about to drink and bath, and in the process you get the chance to click them at close quarters. The next hour or so, there were many more birds which made
their morning show appearance, and I started feeling better.
Brown fulveta
Yellow browed bulbul
Around 11.00 am it was stage wrap up time, and Joma, our experienced JLR
guide suggested that we walk down a few kilometres down the road to a place
where there could be other sightings. The walk down the forest road was quite
refreshing and we reached a road crossing where there were already some cars
lined up and excited photographers all around. Everyone was pointing towards a
fruiting tree and the cameras were rolling to capture Malabar barbets, vernal
hanging parrots, starlings and hill mynas. Managed a few clicks myself.
Malabar Barbets (up and down)
Around lunch time, we were back towards the lodge. Trudged
along on the pathway in the shining sun and just as we reached, saw the manager
running down the office and telling us that Joma had sighted a Malabar trogon near
the main road. The excitement in the crowd was palpable. Malabar Trogon seems
to be a rare bird and everyone started running in that direction. On reaching
the spot, Joma pointed to some trees in the distance where the Trogon was last seen.
It seemed to have fled the scene leaving us disappointed. We were going back
and hardly had taken a few steps when Joma was back in action. “There it is!” And strained necks tried
sighting the bird. Only the back portion was visible.
More clickings but the
bird remained still. Someone, suggested a different viewpoint and then lo and
behold, a frontal view emerged.
Proceeded for lunch on a happy note. Post lunch, it was time
to check out and move to Bison resort. After seeing all the excitement at OMH,
I decided to extend my stay till late evening and Mahendra moved on.
It turned out to be a great decision. The evening
show was the centerpiece of the entire visit and it was a literal parade of
colourful birds which ensued in the next few hours. Will let the pictures do
the talking.
Red whiskered bulbul
Crimson sunbird
Dark fronted warbler
Dark fronted warbler
Emerald dove
Flame throated bulbul
Forest wagtail
Grey wagtail with yellow rump
Indian yellow lored tit
Black headed munia
Oriental white eye
Paradise flycatcher Female
Blythe starling, or is it Rosy starling
Blythe starling, or is it Rosy starling
White rumped Shama
Tickle's blue flycatcher
Verditer Flycatcher
Blue flycatcher Female
blue flycatcher male
The only remaining desire was to be able to see the “king”.
The male Asian Paradise Flycatcher is virtually considered as a the King catch
amongst photographers. It was 6.00 pm by now and we were about to pack up. And
suddenly, there was a whirr and a white silky bird floated into the scene. The angel had made its appearance. Frenetic
clicking followed and here is my dream come true!
A fantastic evening.
Awesome ! Amazing ! Fantastic ! all superlatives came to
mind about my experience at OMH. Need to be back here again.
The night was spent at Bison resort and the next morning, it
was the hornbill show. Walked around the property with Muthu, a local guide,
who tried his best to spot the pied hornbills. Sighted a few, but they were in
low lights and clicked some record shots. The grey hornbills, however, more than made
up and provided some lovely shots.
All in all, it was a wonderful experience in and around
Ganeshgudi, with Old Magazine House clearly being the icing on the cake.
Off to Goa later in the day. It was now party mood and yet
within all the teaming and other activities over the next couple of days, I
still managed to sneak out for a few hours and got some Goa birds, especially
the Goan kingfisher.
More than enough for one trip, isnt’t it ? Afterall, when
the bulawa comes, it is has to be something special !
Logistics - Old magazine House is a property owned by Jungle Lodges. It is situated at Ganeshgudi, which is approx 30 kms from Londa junction on the Bangalore Kolhapur line. The property has 5 cottages and 1 dormitory with 20 beds. Decent and clean rooms. Good food and more importantly very helpful and courteous staff who have great knowledge of birds.
Logistics - Old magazine House is a property owned by Jungle Lodges. It is situated at Ganeshgudi, which is approx 30 kms from Londa junction on the Bangalore Kolhapur line. The property has 5 cottages and 1 dormitory with 20 beds. Decent and clean rooms. Good food and more importantly very helpful and courteous staff who have great knowledge of birds.