This was the morning of our Elephant safari through the grasslands
and we set off with a beautiful sunrise behind us with the sounds of trumpeting
wild Asian Elephants as a backdrop.
It is more of an experience than anything, but we did get close to seeing a Tiger with one Elephant almost standing on it (well that’s what it looked like) as
it bellowed, trumpeted and seemed to lurch sideways very quickly. All of this
was observed from a distance by my group I have to add! We searched and
searched but couldn’t come up with a view of the beast so had to settle for Black Francolin, Black-hooded Oriole, Yellow-eyed
Babbler and best of all, a Chestnut-eared
Bunting that perched nicely for us. With that over we jumped in the jeeps
and drove along the Sambar Road again, but it was very quiet and all we got
that was new was a little flock of Red
Avadavat.
Birding the Sambar Road |
With both Pygmy
Wren-babbler and Grey-bellied Tesia
calling but not responding it was a very frustrating couple of hours. Upon our
return we vacated the rooms and then phaffed around waiting for lunch, which
gave us plenty of time to scan the scene below us.
View from Dhikala |
All the same birds were
present as yesterday, albeit in smaller numbers, but a Golden Jackal was new. So as soon as lunch was over we headed back
towards the Dhangari Gate on what turned out to be a very ‘birdy’ drive, starting
with Greater and Himalayan Flamebacks finally being seen,
followed by a Grey-faced Woodpecker.
Continuing the theme, there was a fine Rufous
Woodpecker, followed by Grey-capped
Pygmy and Fulvous-breasted
Woodpeckers as well. We also managed a pair of Large Woodshrikes and an Orange-gorgeted
Flycatcher as well before reaching the main gate.
Corbett Scenery |
I must admit, Tiger Camp
was sheer luxury after 2 nights at the basic Dhikala site – with chicken
sandwiches and hot chocolate from room service. That’s right Frank!
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