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@Nilanjanray: Big fan of explorations done by you and Bison along with magnificent photographs. Keep exploring and do belt up your usual passenger seat companion in case of emergency braking!

Thanks Maverick. Nilgiris is getting a bit boring, desperately missing the Himalayas. If the planned Corbett trip happens, that will deserve a separate travelogue...

Outdoors can sometimes be next door :)

This is what I saw recently in the garden of my neighbour:





Now, I have often driven around to get a close up of a Kingfisher (with my 70-300 lens that has limited reach). And I now I get one of the closest shots next door!

Wow! Yes very close, I can see that the bird did try to shout at you :) Superb click, is it at 300mm?

Cheers

Vindy

Yes at 300mm, cropped (not that close - I wish!), ISO 400, 1/60 to 1/100 secs at f/6.3.

Had to take it through a window, bending myself to get the right angle. I had to take the shots by:
1 Taking off the insect net
2. Sticking out the lens at 45 degrees below the window pane - because it was sitting at 10 ' o clock.
3. Waiting till it looked at me or gave a profile shot

It is easier taking shots outdoors :-)

Kumaon is on my mind a lot these days. Am looking forward to the upcoming trip in October, and keeping fingers crossed that everything goes well at work and home for me to make that roadtrip.

Wanted to share some photos of my last Kumaon visit, 6years back. That time I was in Mumbai, my wife was still in the Navy, and had got posted to Kolkata. After a lambi judaii, she got some leave and we took off for Kumaon just after the rains. I was using my first camera - a Sony DSC H2 (if I remember), a zoom P&S.

Forest road leading to ...where? That time I didn't know, this time I do. I am going there this year, and I plan to drive on this very road.


Campfire at Sigri camp


Out for a walk...forest road beyond Pangot


A Hanuman temple in the middle of nowhere


Spider web in Binsar


Out for a walk...2


Himalayan panorama


Tired


Binsar jungle hike with Raju guide


View from KMVN Binsar terrace


Shot at 12X zoom


Me and my old army boots


Near Corbett


Emerging from behind the clouds

I am in the same predicament as you. Great shots all around by the way.

Right now its quite flooded in that region at many places en-route. Should be OK by October.

I had gone to Dandeli some time back. Had a disappointing drive in the forest. But then found this fella in the resort garden. Sharing a couple of more photos.





These were shot at ISO 400. In fact, most of my wildlife photos are shot at ISO 400. With the D90, some noise is there...the newer cameras are far better at higher ISOs. One reason to keep hoping for the D400 launch.

Took your advice, and gifted myself the Sandisk Extreme Pro 32 GB Class 10 SDHC. Will keep the Transcend as backup in my trips. Let's see what difference it makes to continuous shooting (e.g. birds or animals in the wilderness).

Thanks for the update and for the fab photos below. :) Good luck with your Kumaon plan which I hope materialises. I am sure all of us will get a treat looking at your photos.

Cheers!

In Masinagudi. Streams have gone dry, so elephants hanging around right in front of my machaan to drink from the waterhole. Will have to leave the vehicle near the main resort under lights this time. When I parked today, a tusker was moving around 50 feet from me. Left the engine running and lights on to discourage it from coming near as I took out my stuff from the vehicle.

Typing this on my mobile, sitting in front of the campfire at Wild Haven. Will go back after dinner to the resort where I am staying. Elephants better stay away till I park my vehicle safely :)

Seems elephants have become grumpy due to lack of water. So folks, don't take chances with them this season.

Photos ?
You are not staying @Wild Haven? If so where ? The place that should not be named ?

Deepak

No photos...arrived in the evening. Staying at Forest Hills in the machaan. I think I heard a big cat call for a while around 10pm. But there was a mewing element to the cry...not the usual sawing sound of a leopard. In fact this sounded like the call the Bandhavgarh tigress was making when calling for her cubs. Or, this could be some bird...but I doubt that.

Parked the vehicle near the main resort and got a drop to the machaan in the resort jeep.Sat in the machaan for quite a while. Finally came down because of unbearable mosquitos.

I had taken a couple of days leave, so was able to spend 3 days in the midst of nature.

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I reached Masinagudi (Bokapuram) around 7.30 pm after a 4.45 min drive from home. As the manager was handing over the keys at the main resort, he warned me that there were 5 elephants hanging around the machaan where I was going to stay. I switched on all the car lights and proceeded towards the machaan that is a couple of hundred metres away – totally secluded. As I was getting down I saw this big tusker standing closeby - its tusks were dazzling in the high beam. Anyway, Elephants usually don't approach when the engine is running and lights are on, so I unloaded all my stuff while keeping a wary eye on the creature.

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Went for a drive to Wild Haven (needed to hand over something to the owner) and came back after enjoying the campfire. Parked the vehicle near the main resort (I can’t relax during the night when my vehicle is parked below and there are elephants moving around – I have had some close shaves) and took a ride in the resort jeep to the machaan. Before going to sleep, I sat for a while enjoying the jungle sounds. Woke up a few times during the night since a couple of elephants decided to hag around below my machaan for a few hours, continuously making snorting and squealing noises, with occasional trumpets. One time I think they were about 20 feet away. I was glad that my vehicle was not parked below. Wasn't really worried about safety - figured that if they have left the structure alone for so many years, they will do so that night. Was also too tired to get up and peer through the window. Incidentally, an elephant tried to bash up my SX4 - that was parked below - a few years back at the same place. I was forced to clap and shout (which I wanted to avoid because I didn't want it to start tearing the machaan down) when it was just 1 feet away from my vehicle (swaying its trunk, about to push the vehicle).

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Next day, I drove 9 km to Wild Haven and spent the day there. Was able to stalk and get some close-ups of babblers and a chameleon. The babblers allowed me to get close after they got used to me, and the chameleon initially froze and hoped that I wouldn't be able to see it. When it saw that I was not moving off, it gave me a disgusted stare and scampered off.

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A few langoors came inside the resort. Usually they are found a few hundred metres away in the thick bamboo forest, and avoid the dogs in the resort. Maybe they are becoming bolder.

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Went for a short evening drive through a local village. Peacocks were roaming in the fields unconcerned. Deers were crossing the road. People were winding up work and preparing for the evening (not too many folks move around outside after dark due to the elephant threat). Was a peaceful experience.

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The last day, I drove to Kabini. Went till Gundlepet and then after a few kms took a left towards Handpost Circle. The road passes close to Nugu Sanctuary. In spite of my vehicle, I was forced to slow down in the last stretch before Hand Post Circle. The last 10 kms before Kabini Jungle Lodges was bad as well.

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When I had called JLR, I had been told that the boat safari was still on. But after reaching I got to know that there is no safari, but a boat ride to a temple. I had no interest in that. so decided to take my vehicle and do a self-drive safari on the Manthanwady Road that passes through the jungle.

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It started pouring as I left with a guide who sat on the passenger seat. I was disappointed since I knew that animal movement would drastically reduce due to the rain. To reach the jungle checkpost, one needs to go through a road that can be called an offroad trail. Though it is supposed to be a highway. I seldom slow down on bad roads, but this time I was crawling in 1st and 2nd gear.


Driving through the rain, we saw some elephants, sambhars and Serpent Eagles. Quite a few Serpent Eagles in this forest (this part of Nagarhole). I was telling the guide how disappointed I was with the safari ban, and that I wanted to see a leoppard badly, when he asked me to stop the vehicle. What sharp eyes!

Can you see anything?





So there was this female leopard, sitting about 100+ metres away on a branch. It was raining, so I couldn't stick my lens out. Light was also bad, so had to increase ISO to get some shots. THe shots were taken with great difficulty - full zoom, body twisted, trying to ensure that no water went inside the lens (the window was down, and rain was wetting my seat as well as the window controls). Did the best I could.







We then drove till an elephant camp and turned back. The leopard was till sitting there. Once a few more vehicles stopped, it jumped up and went inside foliage.







Went back and drank some strong coffee. It had become pretty cold - a strong breeze was blowing across the water.

The evening wildlife film was good - about wild dogs of Bandipur. Really liked the ambience of the Viceroy Lodge.

Next day. I again drove on the same jungle road with some folks who wanted to accompany me. Once, we stopped for a few minutes because the monkeys were giving alarm calls. But no cat emerged.





Drove back to Bangalore after breakfast. Took a roundabout route after Mysore through Bannur to hit Malavalli (NH 209) even though Mysore Road would have been the shorter route.