Ever since grassland safaris were launched several months (years?) ago, we’ve been meaning to go. Although we’ve been on countless safaris in the forest, the grasslands were new to us, and the idea of seeing a whole range of birds, in addition to the possibility of hyenas, foxes and wolves was exciting! Finally, last week, we went to Kumbhargaon, which is where we usually go birdwatching (I blogged about it in 2015 and in 2018), and from there, on to Kadbanwadi.
The grass, as you can see, is dry, and the weather was hot. Not ideal for a safari, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. The vast expanse of dry, brown grass stretches for as far as you can see. Yet, the number of birds we saw was incredible. I saw birds I’ve never seen before, and I’m sure I won’t identify unless I get to see them many more times!
I don’t carry a camera, so I don’t have pictures other than the ones that Karan NA Gupta took. But here are a few of my favourites from both Kadbanwadi and Kumbhargaon.
The Indian Courser reminded me of the cartoon roadrunner; it was such a delight! We didn’t hear the sound it makes (probably not beep beep!), but I enjoyed watching it run through the pebbles, as well as along the road!
I never imagined I would actually see the striped hyena in reality. We stood there watching five hyenas that reminded me of nothing more than The Lion King video game we used to play as children. One of the hyenas even had meat in its mouth. We stood and watched for ages! And most interestingly, I learned that the scientific name for the striped hyena is … Hyaena hyaena!
The Indian Eagle Owl nested in the rocks with four little ones was another highlight of my weekend. The little ones are so weird looking, but I couldn’t take my eyes off them. I saw one, then two, then three, then four! It was almost like we were conjuring them up. The mother owl has slits of red eyes, barely open. The little ones have bright yellow eyes, the kind I usually associate with owls.
Books led me to believe that all foxes are red! Not this one. It reminded me a little of a jackal and a tiny bit of a rabbit! Triangular ears, red eyes, bushy tail. We waited over half an hour for it to emerge, but it was well worth the wait.
Looking at the eagle owl and the fox reminded me of a couple of lines I wrote in Red Eyes.
Red eyes stared at him from the branches. Veer jolted back. Cuckoos had red eyes, he knew, but this was no cuckoo.
Varsha (like Veer) knows lots of animals with red eyes, and it looks like I’m just adding to my list!
There were so many more birds and beasts that I loved – the chinkara with their twisted horns, a pair of scurrying mongooses, the magical pratincoles that camouflage with rocks, the little terns diving for fish, the spoonbills, coots … What’s even more magical is the way the guides spot these birds hidden in the bushes, merging with the ground, hiding in the trees. I love this wild world of ours!
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