INDIA 2011: Ranthambhore & Soorwal

Day 5 / Jan 9 – We were on a mission this morning and were the first group on our assigned track. Told to hang on, we made a beeline down Track 5 as Pankaj got inside information that tigress had been seen for the first time with her young cubs. Once inside her territory we found pugmarks but they soon led away into the forest.

Beyond the small dam we picked up fresh pugmarks and soon found a small group of Chital. One of them was giving the alarm call, a short sharp grunt, that is deafening when one is close to a predator! All eyes were concentrated in the direction the Chital was looking – up a wooded hillside with open understory. Even in such a habitat a brightly colored tiger blends in perfectly. We soon pick up movement, and it was T-41 a 3 year male. With his head down, back slightly arched, he walked slowly sniffing the ground following the scent of female.

Being young, and possibly lacking a great deal of contact with tourists, he seemed apprehensive about crossing the track in front of the canter, opting to sit down. He did eventually get up and continued on his quest disappearing out of view and away from us as the Chitals calls faded the further away he got. There is something that makes it special when we find our own big cat and even more so when we are the only ones alone with him.

The birds played second fiddle on this game drive, though we did see Greenshank, a pair of Black Storks and Woolly-necked Stork along the river by the second dam. At the larger main dam, a Crested Serpent Eagle, perched in an overhanging tree, was ogling the pools of water below the dam breast for a meal.

On our way out of the park we took the time to walk along the stream by the first archway gate. Overhead there was good looks at soaring Short-toed Eagles and Long-billed Vulture, and amongst the trees lining the watercourse we found Oriental White-eye, Hume’s and Greenish Warbler, and a beautiful Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher.

Following an early lunch we all piled into a Gypsy and Pankaj drove us through rural villages and the countryside covered in low green wheat and tall yellow mustard fields. By early afternoon we had reached the Lake Soorwal dam having seen Pied Bushchats, Indian Rollers, Southern Grey Shrike, Indian Bush Lark and an Oriental Honey Buzzard on the wing, along the the way.

The lake held a considerable amount of water, courtesy of a good monsoon in this area, but it least there was an sizable ring of mudflats, good for shorebirds, which was not the case a month ago. We scoped roosting Greater Thick-knees, River Lapwing and a large concentration of Ruffs. Three species of terns, Whiskered, Gull-billed and River, in ascending order of size were also sighted.

Amongst the arid and stony areas scores of Greater Short-toed Larks alternated between feeding and taking flight, which them easier to locate when they landed. We drove a short distance beyond the lake, through winding narrow lanes filled with deep ruts that occasionally felt like paths leading nowhere. Luckily, it is not hard to find people even in the middle of thousands of acres of shoulder high mustard fields! Though directions were always positive the outcome was not always so. In India the only problem is, that there is no problem.

Finally following another wonderful adventure we found what we were looking for – the short grass area. A month ago we could not find a single Yellow-wattled Lapwing here, this time there were dozens! We separated Paddyfield Pipits from the more common Tawnys, and found a single Desert Wheatear after seeing many Isabellines. A Eurasian Hoopoe was very confiding and we added Indian Silverbills, Brown Shrike and Wryneck.

On the return journey we stopped at a large village pond when Pied Avocets and Common Snipe caught our attention. That was not the only thing that did – hordes of villagers, especially kids, came running to greet us! For a short while it felt good to be the “Raj”.

Our visit to the Soorwal area ended with Eurasian Thick-knees roosting in the shade of acacia shrubs. By dusk we were back in the bustle of Sawai Madhopur. A pig with a massive belly mindlesly ambled across the main four lane road, bringing traffic to a screeching halt. Pankaj drove us through the area between the Tiger Den and “Mirage,” as John called it, to look for Jungle Cat and nightjars. We found Golden Jackals, a Rufous-naped Hare and a distant nightjar species in flight – Savanna? We finished this wonderful day with a very respectable 120 species!