INDIA 2010 : Ranthambhore – Third Time’s a Charm

Nov 12 – It was a foggy start to our day in Ranthambhore Park but there was a bit of relief as it was less humid. We got Track 4 which leads to Malik Talao (lake) where the water level was high, leaving no muddy rim for any shorebirds. An Osprey was perched on a distance dead tree and a Black Wagtail was chasing insects beside the road. On the way we encountered a White-eyed Buzzard, always a good sighting, being harassed by a Black Drongo and Rufous Treepies. After hearing many Hume’s Warblers we finally found one that showed well and a nice surprise was a lone Scaly-breasted Munia on an elephant grass stalk.

A short distance from one of the (outdoor) bathroom stops, Panjak got wind of a tigress in the area. We positioned ourselves over the course of half a hour in a couple of spots, before being told that it had been seen on a nearby track. We raced over and sure enough we came face to face with the tigress known as T-16, marking her territory on either side of the track. She crossed the damp sandy track and walked around a small shallow algae covered pool and vanished into the understory. For 60 seconds the excitement was pure amazement, followed by jubilation. What a majestic beast!

On the way out of the park Eric spotted an Indian Long-billed Vulture well camouflaged on a cliff ledge. It is so sad to see that the numbers of vultures, only a few years removed from so many, have almost all vanished. Diclofenic, an anti-biotic given to cattle, and ingested by vultures when feeding on carcasses turned out to be the cause, and it has almost wiped out all of the lowland gyps species.

After a short break it was back to the low scrubby area behind our lodge. This time we walked a different section, with a few kids tagging along, which would not have been too bad if it weren’t for the fact that the only word between the three of them that they knew was ‘hello’, repeated more often that a Coppersmith’s call! As was the case yesterday the birds were few and far between but we did get some good ones. A female Variable Wheatear was followed by Rufous-fronted Prinias, the beautiful Ashy Prinia, Common Babblers that Vicki spotted from a distance and four Painted Sandgrouse. We also came across a outrageously colorful grasshopper (above) decked out in blue, yellow, green and mauve.

Never happy with one tiger sighting we were in search of another on this afternoon’s game drive. Assigned Track 5 we ventured further north into the park into an area where a tiger is currently courting a tigress. We managed to hear it four times in succession, maybe as a result of mating, but that was it.

Eric’s keen eyes – how does he keep finding these things? – spotted a Checkered Keelback (above) watersnake in a roadside pool that we watched with fascination as it encountered a crab, but neither was interested in the other. Several Common Iora’s were briefly spotted and an Oriental Honey Buzzard flew overhead.

We stopped to admire a humongous banyan tree (above) whose roots must have been spread well over 100 feet from one end to the other. On the trunks Panjak pointed out the claw marks of Sloth Bears that climb the tree to get honeycombs. As luck would have it, as we sped back on the very bumpy track we came a Sloth Bear walking near the road.