BR Hills Magic

A place so beautiful and so generous. She has always bestowed us with something so incredibly beautiful each time. She is the BR hills. Be it an abundance of bird sightings or Mammals running across, be it the gorgeous forest, draped in green and painted with reds, yellows and orange in between with the sweet gentle perfume of the many fragrant flowers and leaves seductively luring her many admirers again and again into her arms as the magical calls of the various birds flows like music into our ears. At night she drapes herself in a diamond studded attire with the stars shooting across the sky and the gentle breeze caressing the souls of those who seek peace in her. Many salutations to one of the most beautiful forests I've visited.

An alert blue jewel, a call so teasing that you could fall in love with the caller, a glimpse so fleeting, that you cannot but thirst for more, a handsome stance, it was luck perchance that he happened to hop on a perch so fantastic, tail held up, ready to jump back into the shrubs he had appeared from, and yet graceful enough to favour the desperate eyes that had far longed to view him at such close proximity. Forever in love - Malabar Whistling thrush (Male) in BR Hills.

Paint me gold, Paint me bold, The Blue rock thrush female, to the rays of the sun she told, Her best step forward, her head turned to pose, No longer drab, not even close. The rays of the sun most obligingly showered her with his golden rays so lovingly. She sat she basked, who is the prettier one, she asked... The Blue rock thrush female sitting on the bark, As the golden sun painted her pretty frock....

Many misses and just one hit as the Blue tailed Bee eaters happily splashed into the water. Were they fishing for insects or just cooling themselves off I do not know, but my temperature rose with their each successful dive and my each unsuccessful shot. Any more attempts and I would have felt like diving in after them. But this one shot gave the much needed respite. But then it also left me wondering about the number of times while we are behind the cam that we fail to truly enjoy the beauty of nature and carry the stress of getting the perfect shot all the time. A resolution for 2013 - it is ok to get bad shots as long as I do not lose out on the beauty of the moment unfolding in front of me at that very second.

A head from a branch, thoughtful and silent, not sure what thoughts floated around, the eyes refused to be a mirror to those thoughts, just left us guessing, the head from the tree, what did want to tell us....

I wish I could say more, but words do not seem to flow, it has been an overwhelming 2 days and no prizes for guessing the star of the show. The Indian Pitta so tiny and pretty, with its mere presence had us enraptured totally. Waited so long for a single glance, but this sighting was more than just perchance.

On a Stealth mode, the goal lay above as he crept up the tree, totally engrossed in his own destination to notice what a beautiful picture he painted with his violet blue colors against the greens of the forest.

The orange headed ground Thrush was a very valuable sighting for moments before the Indian Pitta arrived and after that it was but another bird. It is indeed strange as how we value and devalue birds so rapidly, depending on the arrival of the other birds. On the dry days even a Pied bush-chat or a Magpie Robin can be the king. Yet this one was kind and content, cooperative, quietly feeding in its own domain. I wonder if they are aware of the change in their status each moment....

Drowned in brown, the leaf seemed to move, hopping around all over the ground and then a pose, as he stood on the stone, the puff throated babbler did not seem so shy any more. He took just a minute to survey the scene, plenty of food available and he looked keen. Off he went drowned in brown. The leaf seemed to move all around..

The shy male Grey jungle fowl always made me wonder as to why the females seemed bolder pecking away at the tips of the grass, while the male shied away hiding his colorful crest behind the thickets. Got this guy outside in the open after a lot of patient waiting, giving up even breathing the fresh morning air of the forests in BR Hills, just to give him enough time to feel safe and comfortable in our presence. Though I do feel I could have still done better, but I guess with guys ... you just need to give them space and let them come to you... :)

The Pretty Girl was on her own, enjoying the quiet peace of the rising sun warming her back as she chewed on the juicy greens, it was but a morning snack.Her beauty glowed for all to see, she was as content as one can be. The pretty girl stood her ground as her grace and beauty shown all around.

They dashed across the road forcing us to stop suddenly and just as we thought they would disappear into the bushes, they sat down to give us a long and a hard stare almost as if contemplating if we would make a tasty meal. Their contemplation gave us the few precious moments to click before they decided against unhealthy food in the form of humans and went their way. their parents had sure brought them up well. The other guy sat a little further away and could not fit into the screen.

These are but a few images from what the heavenly forest had to offer us. There are more to come even as I wish to catch a glimpse of her in various seasons as they change her attire as per their speciality along with which the behaviour of each of her inmates vary.

Photographs and work by Tharangini is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.