Team-BHP > Travelogues


Reply
  Search this Thread
40,285 views
Old 22nd August 2016, 20:39   #61
BHPian
 
stormerider's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Pink City
Posts: 340
Thanked: 501 Times
re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

Birds of Jhalana

Jhalana is home to a lot of bird species. And almost an equal number come here for monsoons and for breeding. I present a variety of birds that I have seen till date in jhalana -

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-bee-eater-blue-tailed.jpg
Blue Tailed Bee-eater

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-bee-eater-green.jpg
Green Bee-eater
Haven't come across blue cheeked bee-eater yet in jhalana.

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-black-redstart.jpg
Black Redstart

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-bulbul-red-vented.jpg
Red Vented Bulbul

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-bunting.jpg
Crested Bunting

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-cattle-egret.jpg
Cattle Egret

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-coucal.jpg
Greater Coucal

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-cuckoo-common.jpg
Brainfever Bird

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-cuckoo-jacobin.jpg
Jacobin Cuckoo

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-cuckoo-koel-female.jpg
Asian Koel Female

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-cuckoo-koel-male.jpg
Asian Koel Male

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-drongo-black-1.jpg
Black Drongo

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-drongo-black.jpg
Angry Black Drongo

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-eagle-short-toed.jpg
Short Toed Eagle? not sure. Havent seen this one after march 2016.

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-eurasian-sparrowhawk.jpg
Eurasian Sparrowhawk. The most common raptor in Jhalana.

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-eurasian-sparrowhawk1.jpg
Hiding his face.

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-hoopoe.jpg
Common Hoopoe

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-indian-pitta-1.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-indian-pitta.jpg
Indian Pitta

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-kingfisher.jpg
White Breasted Kingfisher with a lizard kill.
stormerider is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 22nd August 2016, 21:01   #62
BHPian
 
stormerider's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Pink City
Posts: 340
Thanked: 501 Times
re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

Continued....1

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-indian-roller-1.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-indian-roller.jpg
Indian Roller

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-lapwing.jpg
Red Wattled Lapwing

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-lapwing-mating.jpg
Mating Pair of Lapwing

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-lapwing-chicks.jpg
Lapwing Chicks

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-nightjar.jpg
A wet Nightjar

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-oriental-white-eye.jpg
Oriental White Eye. Still need a good shot of this beauty.

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-oriole.jpg
Golden Oriole

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-oriole-n-barbet.jpg
Coppersmith Barbet and Golden Oriole. The barbet has also been elusive.

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-pigeon-green.jpg
Yellow Footed Green Pigeon

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-peacock-dance-1.jpg
Courtship Display (Dance) by Indian Peafowl

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-peacock-dance.jpg
Another one. Theres a healthy population of our national bird here.

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-peacock-drying.jpg
Flower Peacock . Peacock drying its feathers after a shower.

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-robin-indian.jpg
Indian Robin

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-robin-indian-angry.jpg
Indian Robin playing Angry Bird.

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-robin-magpie.jpg
Oriental Magpie Robin

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-shikra.jpg
Shikra.

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-shrike.jpg
Rufous Backed Shrike

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-spotted-owlet.jpg
Pair of Spotted Owlet

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-sunbird-small.jpg
Purple Sunbird Breeding Plumage
stormerider is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 22nd August 2016, 21:11   #63
BHPian
 
stormerider's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Pink City
Posts: 340
Thanked: 501 Times
re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

Continued....2

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-treepie.jpg
Indian Treepie or Rufous Treepie during Courtship.

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-wbffc.jpg
White Browed Fantail Fly Catcher

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-woodpecker-golden-backed-1.jpg
Mrs. and Mr. Golden Backed Woodpecker

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-woodpecker-golden-backed.jpg
Common Golden Backed Woodpecker

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-woodpecker-yellow-crowned-1.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-woodpecker-yellow-crowned.jpg
Yellow Capped Pied Woodpecker


I haven't included the very common birds like - Collared Dove, Rose Ringed Parakeet, Sparrows, Larks, Tits, Babblers, rock pigeons, Grey Francolin, Crows, Mynas, Starlings, etc. Their have been sightings of Eagle Owl and Bonnelli's Eagle, unfortunately don't have a photograph to show you all. Have been waiting for more winged visitors to this small and beautiful jungle. Will update this list when I complete the next 6 months.
stormerider is offline   (3) Thanks
Old 1st September 2016, 12:38   #64
BHPian
 
stormerider's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Pink City
Posts: 340
Thanked: 501 Times
re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

Jhalana Reserve Forest -
The month of June was very hot and dry. Plus with prolonging of daylight we were facing difficulty in tracing leopards as they had shifted their movement times along with dusk times (sunset around 7:30pm). But this also meant that we could see deep in the forest due to the dry spell. We kept going and were rewarded at regular intervals.

June 02, 2016 - We went around both the tracks looking for any signs of movement, but it was too hot for everyone including us. Around 6 pm we decided to check the mines area for the last time and then proceed towards the exit. While we were scanning the area, one of my friend spotted the leopard and asked us to stop.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_3718.jpg
The leopard was sitting behind a rock and staring at us. We moved in a better angle .
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_3724.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_3726.jpg
But the leopard got disturbed as one more vehicle came to that location and went a bit inside and then sat again.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_3728.jpg
Since it was time for us to move out, we started our journey back only to be stopped by my colleague for another leopard who was sitting on top of a hillock near bushes.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_3739.jpg

June 07, 2016 -
We entered the park a around 4:30pm because of the scorching sun and went straight towards the Mines area to check for any movement. As soon as we reached, I spotted some pug marks and showed them to Dr., who asked me to move ahead as their were squirrel calls. While we both were analyzing these signs, my friend pointed towards a leopard and asked us to pull over.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_3955.jpg
It was a cub. She hid herself after watching us pointing our cameras towards her. But we sat their patiently, and she came out of the foliage to see if we were still there.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_3979.jpg

Again she sat down-
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_3982.jpg

we moved the car to get into better angle, but she was so inquisitive that she stood up and peeked at us through the tree.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_3983.jpg

We understood that she was thirsty and wanted to go to the water point, so we removed our car from this place so that she could move and come out in the open. We returned after 5 minutes and started scanning again. and found her very near to the water point -
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4000.jpg

She sat and gave us a good portrait.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4020.jpg

Another vehicle came and the cub decided to move inside the bushes. And we moved on to scan the remaining area for her mother an let her drink water in peace. And we found the mother sitting on top of the hill and watching over -
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4042.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4052.jpg

We returned to the water point to look for the cub again but she had strted moving up the hill after drinking water by now.
stormerider is offline   (5) Thanks
Old 2nd September 2016, 08:17   #65
BHPian
 
stormerider's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Pink City
Posts: 340
Thanked: 501 Times
re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

June 22, 2016 - As I've already mentioned, sightings were few in this month because of longer days. We did get to see them in blink and miss kind of fashion, nothing to talk about. Now 15 days had passed with no good sighting and it was getting on our nerves. We entered the forest and went to the usual places to check first. Since there was no movement, I asked my friend if he wanted to shoot a pair of Spotted owlets in their nest, which I had discovered? He said yes. So we proceeded to the location. But to our utter surprise we found a dead spotted dear at that location. It was in bushes very near to the track.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4413.jpg
It looked like a fresh kill. We forgot the owlets and started looking around, My friend asked me to move a bit further to get a good glimpse of the kill so as to ascertain if the predator had started eating of was it intact. But, I turned the car off, as I saw a spotted tail behind the tree next to the dead deer. We sat their quietly for the leopard to come out and start enjoying its meal. But the leopard started moving up the hill as some other cars were passing the same location, they didnt even spot the kill.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4415.jpg

One of the car even stopped but wasn't able to spot the leopard. It was pretty camouflaged.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4417.jpg

We waited their patiently for another 15 minutes to win the leopards trust. She started coming down. It was a female which had two sub-adult cubs, but the cubs were not here at this time.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4425.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4429.jpg

But again got distracted because of an approaching vehicle. It was DK and friends. They asked us about any movement, and we showed them the kill and the leopard. It was 6:15 and we both knew that it will not come down with 2 cars standing, so we moved our car for them, as it was also time for us to exit. We turned around and took this parting shot and left.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4434.jpg

June 23, 2016
We decided to come in the morning and check for movement near the kill as we had seen a leopard on the kill for the first time. When we reached, Dk and friends were already standing. A peacock was calling, but we couldnt trace the leopard. We waited there for some time, but the leopard was more patient and camouflaged. So we decided to move our vehicle so as to allow the animal to come down to the kill as it might not come down with 2 vehicles standing there.We kept returning because the peacock was giving continuous alarm calls. Dk informed us that it was coming down but got distracted because of the movement and went back into hiding. Around 0715 hrs, we spotted the leopard for the first time, and stopped there.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4485.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4488.jpg
He had moved a bit to probably take a look at us, blowing his own cover.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4491.jpg

Around 0730hrs, Dk and friends left the place and headed towards the exit. But we waited there patiently and were rewarded for it.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4496.jpg
Keeping a constant watch on us, he came down. and then started having his meal. It was the male sub-adult cub of the female leopard we had seen last evening.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4524.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4526.jpg

He started digging deep into the kill.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4529.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4532.jpg

Even while feeding he kept a close watch on us.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4537.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4538.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4546.jpg

Suddenly he heard something.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4543.jpg

It was the sound of another approaching vehicle. The leopard moved into the bushes and vanished quickly up the hill. We heard peacock alarm calls as he was moving up the hill, which pointed towards the possibility that he was not coming back.

PS: The images might be gory for some, so I advice discretion. But it is how it all happened and we witnessed.
stormerider is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 3rd October 2016, 13:21   #66
BHPian
 
stormerider's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Pink City
Posts: 340
Thanked: 501 Times
re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

July started on a good note of monsoon. Rains lashed the dry forest and it started turning green and beautiful. But this also meant that their was adequate cover for our large cat and hence the sightings reduced. First time we saw the leopard was when two sub adult leopards were resting on a rock on top of a hill. They were very far for even 600mm lenses.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4575.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4576.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4580.jpg

The next sighting was happened after almost a week and was nothing to talk much about. The leopard was sitting behind a bush and was keeping a close eye on us as always.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4638.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4639.jpg

Our repeated efforts were rewarded on 13 July with a great sighting for about 15 minutes, wherein we had to leave the bold sub-adult male leopard and rush to the exit because of time. First he was sitting on a slope of hill.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_4951.jpg

He then moved towards us through the thick and trees.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_5047.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_5051.jpg

Then he came out in the open with a deadly look.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_5074.jpg

The last sighting of July happened on 19. We found a female sitting and hiding in the grass. It was a majestic sight to look upon the spotted coat amidst aal that green in our dry forest.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_5179.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_5224.jpg

The sighting was again a brief one as she moved quickly through the bushes and dense forest.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_5255.jpg
stormerider is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 6th October 2016, 13:49   #67
BHPian
 
stormerider's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Pink City
Posts: 340
Thanked: 501 Times
re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

August 2016 - Jhalana Forest Reserve
Jhalana became even more dense and green in the month of august. It was getting a very difficult to spot the beauties in this weather. A lot of times we used to just hear calls and sat there trying to find a leopard, but came empty handed.

Our first sighting happened on 5 August. It was a brief one. We saw this female leopard climbing the hills and then sitting in the bushes.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_5464.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_5475.jpg
She quickly moved further in the bushes making it impossible to look at or photograph her.

On August 8, we saw a leopard walking behind the bushes, but could not get a good look at it. We waited near the spot for long but the time ran out. As we were moving towards the exit, we heard a partridge call and stopped. We thought it might had given the call because of the vehicle, but the partridge gave another alarm call. This time we were sure of a predator nearby.we were scanning the bushes, but he was on a tree. The leopard had climbed a tree to have a look upon the approaching vehicle. As soon as we spotted it, he came down . This was the first time I was looking at a leopard on a tree.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_5594.jpg

It was a sub adult male leopard. Soon other vehicles also came to the same spot, and the leopard decided to move in the bushes.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_5604.jpg
As the time was almost over, we rushed towards the exit leaving him sitting there only.

The next sighting happened on 17 August. The leopard was sitting on top of a small hillock. It was more of a silhouette, rather than a leopard sighting. Thanks to post processing, we can say it was a leopard.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_6535.jpg

As we were trying to get our cameras to focus, we heard a peacock's alarm call from behind us. We started investigating and looking for another leopard as this one was more of a shadow. About 15 minutes later, we traced the leopard walking behind the bushes. This marked the beginning of new tail, new type of sightings. Have a look -
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_6533.jpg

It soon vanished in the thick. We moved ahead in its direction with a hope to spot it again, if it comes out. And we were right -
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_6581.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_6582.jpg

On our last leg towards the exit, we spotted the sub adult male leopard hiding in the grass in open.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_6545.jpg

As other vehicles were following us, it got disturbed and ran for cover.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_6550.jpg

But cleverly squeezed on the ground in the grass.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_6555.jpg
We moved out with a big grin on our faces. We had seen them in open after a long time.

The next sighting happened 10 days later. Around 6 pm we decided to check the last water point of the track and then proceed towards the exit. After checking the water point we turned towards an empty check-dam, to our surprise we found two adult leopards sitting on both sides.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_6988.jpg
Poles Apart!

On the right is a female we call Boodhi Ma, and on the left is the dominant male of this forest, we call him Big Foot. This was courtship period.
They turned towards us and then ignored us completely.

Male leopard -
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_6964.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_6976.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_6993.jpg

Female Leopard -
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_6987.jpg

Soon I saw another car on the road, it was Deky and friends. I waved and asked them to come towards the check dam. But the leopards decided to make a move.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_7003.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_7010.jpg

They had moved in the nalah which was not seen and hence we left towards the exit. We did go the next day and waited there for over 90 minutes but they didn't come out. All we heard were occasional mating growls indicative of the pairs presence.
stormerider is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 15th October 2016, 13:52   #68
Senior - BHPian
 
deky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Jaipur
Posts: 1,194
Thanked: 1,214 Times
re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

Brilliant, the thread is getting better and better. Your leopard pics are awesome. Waiting for more!!

Regards
deky is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 15th October 2016, 14:12   #69
BHPian
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Gurgaon
Posts: 110
Thanked: 299 Times

Hey! I see some brilliant pictures there! Would love to see more.
saurabh89 is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 22nd November 2016, 17:52   #70
BHPian
 
stormerider's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Pink City
Posts: 340
Thanked: 501 Times
Re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

Jhalana Forest Reserve

September'2016 - The month of Good sightings!

September came with happy tidings, we had a 100% sighting record. And some very good ones. The first sighting we had was of a sub adult male who was playing hide and seek with us in the thick green vegetation. He settled down quite a few times and was hardly visible, but gave me a chance for a low key shot once and I grabbed it. The sunlight had filtered through the thick foliage and was working as a spotlight on his face.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_72243.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_7224.jpg

We also saw one more leopard who didn't come out in the open, pointing towards the possibility of one of his sisters.

The next sighting was a brief one. It was an adult female, called "Nath wali", because of a mark on her nose resembling a nose pin.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_7545.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_7580.jpg

She was walking on the track and gave us a few glances. She even rolled on the ground upon smelling a shrub and then marked her own scent before disappearing in the bushes.

On 14 of the month we heard a lot of calls in the mines area, but the leopard was not seen for a long time. Finally another car pointed towards the possibility of a leopard sitting on the rocks far away from us, and there he was.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_7697.jpg

We waited there for some time for it to come out in the open but he sat there only looking at everything from the vantage point. Soon his mother joined him, and to our surprise his sister also came walking.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_7721.jpg

This was a great moment. for the first time I was able to get three leopards in one frame. Though the image is not great but still was thrilling.

On 17, when we reached mines area, we were told by some 4-5 cars that they had seen a leopard but it had climbed up the hill. We pulled our car back and parked at a suitable location to wait for any sign of movement as the other cars were crowding that area. Soon we saw the beautiful female sub adult.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_7759.jpg

She was wary of something in the bushes, we assumed that it might be a snake. It was confirmed in one of the images from Deky later in the evening.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_7823.jpg

She gave us a lot of shots in the green settings before moving up the hill.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_7906.jpg

After that we came down towards a water point and saw a leopard hiding in the thick grass.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_8076.jpg

It was the mother of the sub adult we had seen earlier. She was stalking 2 cows which had strayed inside the park for green pastures. After some time she charged, but was unsuccessful.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_8079.jpg

After which she climbed on top of a tree. and then vanished in the forest.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_8097.jpg

On 18, I was accompanied by my better half and daughter along with a friend and his family. The wives had seen leopards earlier, but the sightings were not very good. So this was our desperate attempt to show them some leopards, as it had taken some effort to persuade them to come along. As we reached water point no.4, some friends were standing there and told us about some alarm calls. We waited there and within minutes we saw the beautiful sub adult female cross the track and then settled in the bushes. the sighting was good but with very few photographs as she moved quickly.

After this we decided to take our chances with a round towards the last water point of this track. And we were happily rewarded. We saw the male leopard, 'Big-Foot', cross our path and vanish in the bushes. Now was the time to apply the knowledge. One more car saw it and sat there waiting but i moved to another location as i expected him to come out of the bushes and take it to the track. I was proven right!
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_8291.jpg

There he was, right in front of us. Then he started moving and we followed, keeping our distance, but he kept giving us some stares.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_8329.jpg

Then he stopped to relieve an itch.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_8330.jpg

He kept walking for about half an hour and crossed water point no 4 and moved ahead. I was hoping that he would drink water there, but he wasn't in the mood. At this time the vehicle from last point came and the leopard vanished in the thick. So I decided to move further and stopped at a location where I was confident that he will come if he wants to continue on this track.
We waited there for 5 minutes and there he was.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_8424.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_8426.jpg

Then he moved to the other side of the track and and smelled some shrubs and vanished again. We waited there and at some other locations but he was gone.
As a last effort, we went towards the mines to check for other leopards before making an exit. As I climbed the area, the wives pointed towards a leopard and asked us to stop. Both of them were pointing in different directions, and indeed there were 2 leopards, 2 sub adults. One of them ran and vanished whilst the other one was sitting and looking at us.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_8468.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_8484.jpg
This was so beautiful, it was a setting that resembled african grasslands, with only the head sticking out of the tall grass. Suddenly the wives pointed towards another leopard moving on the rocks, it was the mother. She moved quickly so we could only get her tail in camera. But, we found her sub adult male sitting beautifully on a rock.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_8530.jpg

We saw the female sub adult which was sitting in the grass again sitting in the bushes very near to this male sibling, but decided to leave them and head for the exit as the light was also fading. In all we had seen 6 leopards, Mission wives accomplished!

continued.....
stormerider is offline  
Old 23rd November 2016, 13:00   #71
BHPian
 
stormerider's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Pink City
Posts: 340
Thanked: 501 Times
Re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

Continued....

Riding high on our success on the sunday with 6 leopard sightings, we took a few days off. The next big thing happened on 27 September. We had entered the park and were informed about a dead blue bull in the mines area. This was good news and meant that there would sure be a sighting if we waited patiently. As we were approaching the second water point, Deky spotted a leopard and we pulled over.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9038.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9043.jpg

It was a female sub adult. She sat there looking at us. Suddenly another car came and zoomed past us towards the mines. He must have got the news of the kill. But this made the leopard go back and hide instead of coming to water point.
He came back in no time and understood that there might be a leopard around as we were still standing. We still had her in our sight but she was far off and was hiding in the bushes. At this time we heard and alarm call and rushed towards the kill in the mines area and waited there. Soon the sub adult male, sibling of the female we had seen earlier, came out from the thick and headed towards the kill. But was spooked by some sound and then stared at a tree.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9101.jpg

I realized that he was going to climb the tree, but was too late. He made a half-hearted jump towards the tree and then jumped towards the ground.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9104.jpg

I had missed the opportunity. He moved quickly toward the hill. and then some more vehicles came and surrounded the kill and started waiting for the leopard to come back. At this point we decided to move and look for the other leopard and come back here later. We had moved hardly 25-30 meters and I spotted the leopard again.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9116.jpg

He had ditched the kill and all of us standing there and was moving away. He saw us, and tried to hide in the grass. But when his efforts were futile, he again started to climb the hill. So we decided to leave the spot and come back again so as to give him space. After 5 minutes, we again started searching for him and found him sitting on a hillock behind a tree.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9167.jpg

We contemplated that he might be heading towards the water point, and it would be better to park near the water point and wait for him. And we were proven right as he came walking towards the water point. stopped looked at us and continued.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9205.jpg

He reached the water point and made a strange face, I think it was "Flehmen Response". As wikipedia describes it - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flehmen_response

The animals learn a lot of things by this reponse by smelling the surroundings. The information can be used to identify the presence of other animals of same/other species, gender of the other animal of the same specie, etc.

Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9218.jpg

He must have smelled his sister or some other leopard nearby in all possibility. Then he stared at us.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9220.jpg

And adjudged that we were not a threat so went about his business, posing for the cameras which were gunning for him.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9246.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9265.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9394.jpg

He sat there drinking for over 10 minutes. He must've been thirsty. Stopped for a second and gave us the feeling which could be termed as - Yummy!
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9405.jpg

Then he drank some more and posed again before leaving.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9433.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9438.jpg

The icing on the cake was that all the vehicles were waiting for him to come back to the kill hardly 100-150m away and we were having this exclusive sighting. They had sighted a leopard on the hill next to the kill in the bushes and were assuming that he is still sitting there. But in my guess the Flehmen response was for that leopard.
stormerider is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 23rd November 2016, 14:32   #72
Distinguished - BHPian
 
nkrishnap's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 3,983
Thanked: 7,405 Times
Re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

FANTASTIC shots of the leopard. Looks like the leopards spotted you and came out so that you can shoot pics. Leopards are pretty shy. You got some really good sightings there.

Cheers.
nkrishnap is offline  
Old 24th November 2016, 11:56   #73
BHPian
 
stormerider's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Pink City
Posts: 340
Thanked: 501 Times
Re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

Quote:
Originally Posted by saurabh89 View Post
Hey! I see some brilliant pictures there! Would love to see more.
Thanks, some more have been uploaded and keep tuned in for more.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nkrishnap View Post
FANTASTIC shots of the leopard. Looks like the leopards spotted you and came out so that you can shoot pics. Leopards are pretty shy. You got some really good sightings there.
Thanks a lot. If you know the behavioral traits and are ready to be more patient than the cat in front, the leopard will give up the shy behavior and will come out and pose!
stormerider is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 24th November 2016, 14:57   #74
BHPian
 
stormerider's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Pink City
Posts: 340
Thanked: 501 Times
Re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

Jhalana Forest Reserve

October'2016 - Month of the tree lovers!

Even though we had a lot of sightings, what was missing was good sightings of leopards on tree and with kills. Who knew we were in for a wild ride and these wishes were about to come true.

October 03 -
We decided to go to track no.2 first instead of track01. As we approached the second last water point, we found a peacock standing in the water point and giving very strong alarm calls. We were sure about a leopard in vicinity but it was hiding. We searched here and there and even stopped there for some time, but leopard was not seen. After about 15 minutes, my friend pointed towards a bush and yes the leopard was sitting behind it hardly 6-7m away from the water point and us but beautifully camouflaged. Now was the time to wait for it to make a move. Upon realizing that we were looking at her, and were not going to leave the place, she decided to make a move and crossed the track to enter a nala.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9647.jpg

She vanished in the nala, but we were fortunate to trace her back, moving in the bushes away from the track towards the Chital-Bara, an old fenced area which used to have Spotted dears but is now vacant. We kept our distance and saw her climb the fencing.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9673.jpg

She then jumped inside and went ahead, only to come out in open on a tree.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9678.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9682.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9693.jpg

She posed for us paparazzi, and then moved on with a parting shot.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9718.jpg

Since no vehicle had come to this track, we got suspicious of a sighting there as well and hence decided to go there now. And we were bang on with our estimate, all vehicles were standing near water point 2. The leopard was sitting on a tree!
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9738.jpg

It was a sub adult female, and was quite relaxed on that tree.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9783.jpg

She was disturbed by one of the car, so she stood up and then ran towards the hills leaving the tree.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_9831.jpg

October 10 -
We were tracing some peacock calls coming from the chital bara. After some rounds around it and getting confused by the location of calls, we finally found our favorite subject climbing on a tree.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_0094.jpg

He was stalking 2 blue bulls who were very near but had no idea of his presence.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_0095.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_0097.jpg

But his cover was soon blown and he decided to rest and start posing for all of us. We were at around 30-35m distance but thanks to the big lenses we were able to capture this beautiful sub adult male leopard.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_0222.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_0279.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_0338.jpg
Lost in deep thoughts of the lady love!

He saw the blue bulls coming towards the tree and decided to turn his attention towards them.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_0350.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_0378.jpg
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_0443.jpg

All this drama unfolded over a span of 1 hour and some 32gb of card data!

On 13 we had a brief sighting in mines. The interesting part was that one of my friend had got down to attend nature's call whilst 2 of us were sitting in the car. Suddenly Deky pointed, leopard.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_0627.jpg

It was another sub adult male resting over rocky face of the hills.
He stayed there for 5 minutes and then disappeared.
Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more-avi_0630.jpg
He's also lost! Is the whole new generation of leopards lost in thoughts of their lady love?

continued....
stormerider is offline  
Old 30th November 2016, 11:20   #75
Senior - BHPian
 
deky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Jaipur
Posts: 1,194
Thanked: 1,214 Times
Re: Rambling in the wild : Ranthambore, Jhalana, Bharatpur & more

Good going Abhinav. Its nice that you are consistent in updating your travelogue as you can always look back here and relive your old memories in the years to come.

Regarding the "Flehmens Response" that you have mentioned, I think that was more of a snarl by the young sub adult to let us know, not to mess with him while he was having water.

Regards
deky is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks