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May 29, 2023

Birds

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With a tiger population of more than 60, Bandhavgarh is one of the best of all of the tiger reserves in India, and it is also one of India’s most beautiful parks with a mix of tropical forests, rocky hills and valleys. Chance of seeing tigers over the course of three to four days? High.

Over the course of 6 nights total in three Indian national parks (Bandhavgarh, Kanha and Pensch) we had three different tiger sightings. One sighting of a large male, early one morning, was by far the best. He emerged from the sal forest in good light; was completely unfussed by the presence of a few vehicles and strolled right by us with barely a look in our direction.

On this trip, we traveled to India during the cool winter season which stretches from November to February. While that made for a pleasant traveling experience, the ideal time for tiger photography is later in the dry season, from late March to May when the tigers - and other wildlife - are concentrated closer to remaining water sources.

There is no off-road driving allowed in the national parks in India and you never know exactly how close you may get to a tiger - or other predator - so it is advisable to have a long telephoto lens of up to 500mm or 600 mm available, the faster the better. Otherwise a good medium zoom lens in the 100-400 mm range would also work. For closer up photos, I rely heavily on my 70-200 mm stabilized f/2.8 lens. If you don’t own a fast lens, it may be a good idea to rent one for your first India wildlife experience.

You never know when a tiger is going to walk out of the bush and into the road right in front - or behind you. So be ready at all times and never put your camera away to where you have to extricate it from a bag, switch it on, etc. To get this shot of the tiger walking across the road, I literally had less than 4 seconds from lifting the camera to when it disappeared into the bush on the right.

The beautiful Chital (or Spotted Deer) are exceedingly common in many of India’s national parks, with large numbers to be seen grazing - or browsing - in forests and in open grasslands. The beautiful Chital (or Spotted Deer) are exceedingly common in many of India’s national parks, with large numbers to be seen grazing - or browsing - in forests and in open grasslands. The beautiful Chital (or Spotted Deer) are exceedingly common in many of India’s national parks, with large numbers to be seen grazing - or browsing - in forests and in open grasslands. The beautiful Chital (or Spotted Deer) are exceedingly common in many of India’s national parks, with large numbers to be seen grazing - or browsing - in forests and in open grasslands. The beautiful Chital (or Spotted Deer) are exceedingly common in many of India’s national parks, with large numbers to be seen grazing - or browsing - in forests and in open grasslands. The beautiful Chital (or Spotted Deer) are exceedingly common in many of India’s national parks, with large numbers to be seen grazing - or browsing - in forests and in open grasslands.

On any of our India trips, there will be a maximum of four guests in two rows in the small open Maruti Suzuki jeeps used for game drives. The vehicles are highly maneuverable which is a distinct advantage over the heavier Toyota Land Cruisers used by some of the camps, which appear to be almost too large for the narrow tracks.

The Nilgai (or Blue Bull) is one of the world’s largest antelopes, widely spread across the northern Indian subcontinent.

The Grey Langur is one of two monkey species which we saw in India, the other one being the Rhesus Macaque which has also adapted to living commensally with humans, in various cities in India.

On the vehicle with you on safari in India, there will be an expert local guide attached to the lodge where you will be staying, as well as an official registered guide, provided by the park authorities. These guides are experienced trackers and in addition to listening for audible clues (mostly alarm calls, particularly those made by sambar deer) they will be scanning the road and road perimeter for pug marks (tracks), signs of fresh scat or urine, and fresh scratch marks on trees along the route.

Golden Jackals were quite common and are clearly widely distributed. Despite the name, they are not closely related to the African jackals, being closer to wolves and coyotes. Over the course of a week or so on safari in India, bird-watchers can expect to rack up anything from 70 or so to well over a hundred species of birds. Many of the species are endemic to the sub-continent

Among the commonly seen mammals in many of the Indian tiger reserves are the huge Gaur (Indian Bison)

Photography conditions in India were enhanced by the presence of fog in the early mornings, which added drama to several of our shots, notably those of the barasingha (swamp deer)

Crested Serpent Eagle

Indian Pond-Heron

Indian Roller(1)

Indian roller(2)

Oriental Magpie Robin

Red-wattled Lapwing

Whitenaped Woodpecker

White-throated Kingfisher

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