[sknair]

In search of a Blue Jay (B.R Hills & Kabini with my GLC 300)

Blue Jay (Indian Roller) is the state bird of Karnataka and is commonly spotted in forested areas of most parts of India. The yearly Kabini trip was due; this time, with no rains for quite a while, the water levels in the river would be low, an ideal time to watch a large number of elephants gracing the river banks. While planning the short trip, we decided to go via B.R Hills (K Gudi JLR Camp), mostly for the nice drive and ambience (the only jungle lodges camp within a tiger reserve). Since I was going to take my Bluejay (GLC 300) for this trip, I wanted to get some good shots of Blue Jays (the bird ) in B.R Hills.

The Bangalore-Mysore expressway is just amazing, especially on a weekday. Just switch on the adaptive cruise control and relax, listen to some good music, and you could literally go to sleep in the silent cabin of GLC. We reached the breakfast place (Indradhanush) in no time. The usual Idli and sambar combo with some amazing filter coffee perks you up, and we were back in the Bluejay in under 30 minutes and reached Mysore in under 2 hours.
On the way to Nanjangud, just after the Mysore outer ring road, there is now a nice Shell station, so we took a quick rest stop and bought some munchies for the trip. Here are a few shots of Bluejay at Shell with the Chamundi hills in the backdrop.








We took the Chamrajnagar - B.R Hills road to JLR K Gudi camp. The roads are in excellent condition and go all the way to the forest entry gate. There are two ways to reach K Gudi Camp: the longer one is via Yelandur, and the shorter route is directly through the forest roads, which is a nice climb up. Though the forests were a bit dry, this drive was really scenic, with some awesome views of the Chamrajnagar plains below (GLC’s offroad view showed we climbed about 800 meters (about 2,600 feet) in less than 15 minutes). I really like this offroad theme, the picture below.



Also, I have a few pics of my Bluejay with the scenic B.R Hills in the backdrop and a couple of shots on the way. Most of these pics are using a phone; please excuse the quality. The roads are really good, barring the last 5 to 7 km; I would have driven over it without slowing down in my Endy, but with GLC, I slowed down a bit and drove a bit carefully. We didn’t feel the harshness of the road inside the cabin; it was very comfortable, and kudos to the solid build of the car!





Some of the views while climbing the B.R Hills towards K Gudi camp.






Mr. Prasanna Gowda is the present Camp manager; we have known each other since Kabini (he used to be posted there before). The real surprise was we could meet Mr. Gangaswamy, a long-term friend; I met him for the first time when he was in K Gudi in 2001 and, from there on, many other JLR camps and for several years at JLR Kabini. He had retired a couple of years back but was visiting the temple in B R Hills (Biligiri Rangaswami Temple). It was a good catchup and re-live some old memories, then it was time for our afternoon safari drive.

Normally, we would see many birds during the safaris in B R Hills, but with the forests being extremely dry due to the lack of rain this year, we couldn’t spot many birds, and no Blue Jays either (disappointing!).
The surprise was that we could spot a tiger, though very late in the evening and quite a distance away. It is hard to spot tigers in B.R Hills compared to Kabini due to the hilly terrain and lack of visibility through the forests. We also saw a few elephants playing near a waterhole. Some shots below (Canon R6 & 100-500 RF lens).





The next morning, after a good breakfast, it was time to check out. Then I realized I hadn’t taken any shots of my Bluejay against the backdrop of lovely Gulmohar trees, they literally painted the camp red at this time of the year!
Here are a few pics of Bluejay in K Gudi JLR camp.




On the way down from the camp, after a few km, I got a low tyre pressure warning; it was about ten kPa lower than the other tyres. Didn’t want to stop in the jungle, slowly came down the hills and checked the tyre after the forest exit gate, re-inflated it and continued the journey to Kabini. Always a blessing to carry a tyre inflator in the car when on long drives, especially in remote areas. The tyre pressure again showed about 10 kPa lower the next morning; I also checked it at home (it continues to show 10 kPa lower). Need to get it checked at a tyre shop now.


Please read on for the Kabini journey in the section below...

[sknair]

We reached Kabini around lunchtime and decided to go on a boat safari to get a glimpse of large herds of elephants on the riverbanks. Here are a few pics of Bluejay at the Kabini JLR reception!





As we were preparing for the boat safari, there was some forecast of rains that afternoon, but we ignored it, considering how clear the skies looked and that it hadn’t rained for months. We got a good couple of hours before the rain clouds gathered. Here are a few pics of the elephants and other aquatic birds and mammals from the Kabini river banks.














Then, the rain clouds morphed into a huge thunderstorm with strong winds and scary lightning all around us in the middle of the river; we somehow managed to come back safely to JLR camp.





I was worried about Bluejay parked under some gulmohar trees, but luckily nothing dropped out of the sky!
Here is Bluejay in the wild (covered with leaves & twigs) after the rainstorm.


The next day morning was a bit cloudy, but no rain, and we were off to the jungle with the last chance of catching a Blue Jay; here at last I got a good shot of a Blue Jay! (Mission Accomplished).




And had a relaxing drive back home from there.
The mile-munching capability of GLC is amazing, no tiredness after driving over 600 to 700 KMs in two days.

[dcdrift]

What an amazing colour GLC and great photos. How does the rear seat perform for long drives?

[parambyte]

The Indian Roller (Coracious benghalensis) is NOT Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata). Blue Jay is native to North America.

Also the Indian Roller, can be more easily found along farmlands perching on electric cables. They prefer open farmland and scrub forests to densely forested areas.

Nice car for road trips…

[sknair]

Originally Posted by dcdrift

What an amazing colour GLC and great photos. How does the rear seat perform for long drives?

Thank you.
The back seat seems to be fine, no complaints (though I haven't used it for long drives, since I would be driving )
There are only two angles to adjust: straight or a bit angled back. But comfy seats though.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by sknair

Since I was going to take my Bluejay (GLC 300) for this trip, I wanted to get some good shots of Blue Jays (the bird ) in B.R Hills.

Good parallels, Bluejay meets Blue Jay!

Originally Posted by sknair

Mr. Prasanna Gowda is the present Camp manager; we have known each other since Kabini (he used to be posted there before). The real surprise was we could meet Mr. Gangaswamy, a long-term friend; I met him for the first time when he was in K Gudi in 2001 and, from there on, many other JLR camps and for several years at JLR Kabini. He had retired a couple of years back but was visiting the temple in B R Hills (Biligiri Rangaswami Temple). It was a good catchup and re-live some old memories, then it was time for our afternoon safari drive.

Both of them old friends of mine too. Good to know you met Mr. Gangaswamy at B R Hills, his growth in the JLR hierarchy is an example for everyone. I first met him when he was manager at B R Hills too, must have been over 15 years ago! He was in Bhadra for some time too, before moving to Kabini as resort manager. Prasanna is probably the most pleasant person I've met in the JLR resorts and that is something, as almost all of them are very friendly people.

Originally Posted by sknair

It is hard to spot tigers in B.R Hills compared to Kabini due to the hilly terrain and lack of visibility through the forests.

This is a wow moment! I've never once seen a tiger in B R Hills, though I've visited a few times. Nowhere near as much as I've been to Kabini, but still. Lucky you!

[sknair]

Originally Posted by Stryker

Both of them old friends of mine too. Good to know you met Mr. Gangaswamy at B R Hills, his growth in the JLR hierarchy is an example for everyone. I first met him when he was manager at B R Hills too, must have been over 15 years ago! He was in Bhadra for some time too, before moving to Kabini as resort manager. Prasanna is probably the most pleasant person I've met in the JLR resorts and that is something, as almost all of them are very friendly people.

This is a wow moment! I've never once seen a tiger in B R Hills, though I've visited a few times. Nowhere near as much as I've been to Kabini, but still. Lucky you!

Wow! great to hear that you have also known Mr. Gangaswamy for long, he has served in most of the popular JLR camps, including Bandipur for some time. I met him in 2001 at K.G Gudi, at that time it was not a tiger reserve, hence he would take visitors on a trek to the watch tower and a cave area; we have seen leopards and sloth bears on these treks.

Let's stay in touch, and maybe catch up at Kabini on our next trip!