Tadoba – the land of Tigers

About the Trip ...

I had heard this line a few times “Tadoba never disappoints”. As such I had been twice to Tadoba buffers (2 trips especially for Cubs, one of them was decent and the other was a complete flop) but it was way off from the main Tadoba jungle. So when Nikhil announced this trip to Tadoba, I was very keen. Luckily Deepa also showed interest.

This was in February and Nikhil was still searching for participants. Deepa checked with her sister and they agreed immediately. So including Arati and Shirish Shukla, we had enough for one gypsy. Soon Nikhil managed to get more members (he wanted to go with 6 in a gypsy option, as that costs a little lower) and we were all set.

I did the train bookings and Nikhil managed the safari bookings in parallel. That done, we were all set for Tadoba now. I really had high hopes about it (from a tiger sightings point of view)

But before this outing, I had 6 safaris each in Nagzira and Ranthambore. And unfortunately, we were able to photograph only 1 tiger + 1 leopard in the 12 safaris! So when we started from home on the 7th of June, I had become a little skeptical. The unseasonal rains across the country had added to my fears.

As soon as we were out of house, our troubles started. We had to catch the train from Thane station, but getting an auto turned out to be a big issue. First, the Uber Auto app could not get me anything despite waiting for 10 minutes. Then we went down on the road, no one seem to be willing to take the station ride that day (primarily because of the traffic at Teen Hath Naka junction as well as near the Railway station). After half an hour's wait, finally, one guy agreed. But as we reached the rail bridge, the huge crowds welcomed us. It looked impossible to take the stairs as it was jam-packed. We had no choice here as it was already 7:30 (and the train was scheduled to arrive at 7:43). With our heavy bags we just dashed into the crowd and somehow made it to the platform.

Day 1: First Safari from Moharli

The train was scheduled to reach Nagpur by 9 am and it was well on time. During the train ride, Nikhil explained to us that our first 3 safaris will be from the Moharli gate (into the core area of the jungle) and then the next 3 will be to the buffer zones (one in Agarzari and 2 in Junona). Generally, the core area is deeper jungle and better for wildlife in general, but in Tadoba even the buffers were known to have good tiger sightings (and I hoped it that way since this was my last tiger tour for the season).

At the station, our vehicles were already waiting and we moved towards Moharli village. Our homestay there was very close to the gate itself. On the way, we did have a quick breakfast at a restaurant in Nagpur.

By about 1 pm we reached the homestay. Shahanaz Baig and Suleman Bhai welcomed us with smiles. We decided to have a quick half-hour freshening up and assemble again for lunch at 1:30 pm. Besides running the homestay, Shahanaz is also a nature guide at Moharli Gate and happens to be among the first batch of lady guides in Maharashtra.

At 1:30, we had lunch and then were back on the ground floor by 3 pm for the safaris. Our rooms were on the first floor (decent rooms with working AC and water heaters).

All excited, we entered thru the Moharli gate at 3:30 pm. The way it is structured in Tadoba, all vehicles coming from Moharli, Khutwanda, and Kolara core gates can access a common area (just the gates are different). So at all the known tiger locations (based on the knowledge of the previous safaris), vehicles can reach from any of these gates.

Our first target accordingly was the Telia lake which is close to the Moharli gate and so ours were the first vehicles to reach there. A quick scan of the area did not show any tiger movement (Tigress Sonam was frequently seen in this area). We waited for about 10 minutes and decided to move ahead.

From there we moved to the different parts of the core zone all the while checking with passing gypsys about any tiger sightings, but there were none. We were happy seeing other wildlife like the Indian Gaurs, Wild Boars, Sambar deer, and Spotted deer. A few common birds like Drongos, Orioles, and Mynas were seen too. We could also hear the calls of Indian Pitta, Common Hawk Cuckoo, and an occasional call of the Indian cuckoo too.

But the real excitement was when we could see lots of gypsys lined up at a water hole. At first, we could only see a few Sambar deers enjoying the waters. But soon got the news that we had just missed a black leopard who was at the same waterhole and everyone was expecting it to come back again.

The dark leopard did not come back for water, but we could see it for a few seconds, moving behind the trees. Quickly all gypsys started moving in that direction but the leopard managed to give us a slip (had moved into the denser part of the jungle instead of coming out near the safari paths).

All along the jungle we could see a few large water bodies, Tadoba Lake was one of them. It was a nice large area and a lot of animals were seen quenching their thirsts. Just as we were moving, our guide pointed us to a large Marsh crocodile that was out of the water. As per our guide, she had laid a few eggs on the riverbank and was there to guard it against some of the predators.

As we were around Tadoba Lake, we saw our homestay host in another gypsy. She was the guide for another vehicle but told us not to wait there and head straight to the Telia Lake. Her instinct was based on the last few days when Sonam was seen in that area in the evening.

Based on that we moved to the Telia Lake area and as we reached there we did see a few gypsys waiting there. But we ignored them initially and waited for spotted deer photos. We lost a few minutes there and then realized that the waiting gypsys were also photographing something, that’s when we decided to speed up and went near them. As we reached, tigress sonam was slowly walking thru the grass. She was far and the light was fading but sighting a tiger is always an exciting thing. As she kept walking parallel to the track, all gypsys followed her.

At one point, our guide suggested we zoom ahead and wait on the tar road going towards the Moharli gate. The direction in which the tigress was walking, he felt she would surely cross that road. Soon we saw all the other gypsys doing the same. One by one everyone positioned themselves on the road. And as we were adjusting to the fading lights, we saw Sonam coming out of the tree line. She eyed all the vehicles around, quickly identified the path she could take, and crossed the road without any hurry. We managed to get a few low-light photos there.

Although there were no good photos, our first safari was still decent. We managed to see the black leopard and then Sonam. For Arati and Shirish their first tiger safari was a fruitful thing as they could see a wild tiger for the first time in life (plus the glimpse of the Leopard).

Day 2: Mowgli & Rudra

Today again, both our safaris were from Moharli gate. As per our tour expert Nikhil, we all were ready by 5:15 (before that we had a nice early morning tea.. the tea as well as all the meals at our homestay were A1. Nice tasty preparations, plus home-cooked food ensured that none of us had any stomach issues.

Shahanaz was the guide for our first gypsy and we got another experienced guide named Vasant. He was very knowledgeable and gave us a lot of insights about the Tadoba jungle. Once again, we had a round of the Telia Lake (for Sonam) but there was no activity around the lake. We then moved to other parts of the jungle including the area where we had seen the Black leopard yesterday.

Our guide then talked about the core and buffer areas of the jungle and also about the kind of trees we can expect in various parts of the Tadoba jungle.

At one point, he asked the driver to reverse the gypsy by a few meters and told us to look to our right for an Eagle. The eagle was on the ground and it was so well camouflaged in the surroundings that it took us some time to identify its location (and it was in plain sight, not even hidden behind any undergrowth). It was the Crested Hawk Eagle. In a normal scenario, the eagle won’t give that much time. It would quickly fly away, more so, since it was already on the ground. But here the eagle was enjoying its morning meal of the Indian hare.

It did glance at us a few times but otherwise went on with its task. For the next few minutes, we managed to take good photos of the action (and some videos too). The good part was there weren’t any other gypsys around, else the eagle would surely have got disturbed.

We had started at 5:30 and it was now 7:15, but there were no signs of any tiger sightings. My tiger luck (bad luck in fact) was continuing.

Little ahead, as we had crossed another water hole, we could see some 5-6 gypsys standing on the road, and suddenly our guide exclaimed “तो बघा, वाघ आहे झाडाजवळ" (look, there is a tiger near that tree).

We all quickly got up from our seats to watch Mowgli doing his territory-marking routine. In the next 30-40 minutes he kept repeating the same routine of going near the tree, smelling the leaves, spraying urine, and occasionally marking his nails on the tree trunks.

It was so exciting to watch the large male tiger (males are generally a little difficult to see) as it started walking on the road. One little problem was, most of the gypsys were ahead of the tiger (so they were able to see his face) but we were behind him so we could not get any good photos. We kept telling our driver to take us ahead but our guide was very strict. He did not allow any such thing while the tiger was on the road. He assured us that we will get our opportunities but we were a little frustrated at that time.

But then our time did come. At one point, the tiger decided to walk on the grass instead of the vehicle track, and our alert guide (or he was probably expecting that) then asked the driver to take us ahead of the tiger. Now when the tiger was back on the road, we had a fantastic view.

For the next 20-odd minutes, it kept giving us some excellent poses. Not just us, but I think all the gypsys were able to get good close images of Mowgli that morning. The drivers/guides also acted sensibly for the most part as they allowed everyone to take good positions.

Have a look at the next photo, where the tiger seems to have some open injuries on its neck region. Although the wounds were not fresh, they must have been because of a fight with another tiger recently. Tigers frequently have such injuries and when possible, they do lick the wounds (that seems to help a faster recovery). Here since it was near the neck, I don’t think licking the wounds was possible but I have once seen a tigress having even worse wounds (and they do recover well most of the time).

During those exciting times, the tiger did come very close to our gypsy a couple of times. When it happened the second time, Mowgli was almost at a touching distance, and with my 100 mm lens, I could only capture his face. By now our guide was a little worried, he thought with so many gypsys and all coming close, the tiger might get anxious and might charge aggressively.

Based on our guide's view, we decided to step away as more and more gypsys were still coming in (in the jungle everyone gets the news, even when mobile phones are not officially allowed in Tadoba). As we were moving, I could not avoid getting a few more photos of the royal tiger.

After that wonderful experience, we were all very happy and content. We kept admiring the jungle and kept looking for the birds. Towards the end of the safari, we managed to see a pair of Oriental Honey Buzzards near a water body.

Both our gypsys were able to get good photographs and at lunch, we had a special feast of Ice-cream to celebrate the nice sighting of Mowgli.

For the afternoon safari, we were once again ready at 3. The Moharli gate was just a 5-minute walk from our homestay but we always had the gypsys coming at the door to avoid even that.

Once again our first gypsy had Shahanaz as the guide but today instead of waiting for us, they moved ahead on a different route. We anyway followed the same routine of going via the Telia Lake (and once again there was no activity at the lake).

After about 45 minutes of roaming around, we saw our first gypsy as they were waiting near another lake. They told us about a tiger relaxing under a banyan tree far away (at the other end of the water body). It was impossible to see it with the naked eye but with the help of binoculars, we could see it. I even managed to get a poor-quality photo (just to prove that we had indeed seen a tiger)

We waited for about 10 minutes at the spot but there were no signs of the tiger waking up, we even tried going to the other end of the lake via a circuitous route but from there the tiger was hidden behind tall trees.

As such we were happy even with the birding opportunities (more so after the morning bonanza) but there weren’t many birds seen that afternoon. At around 5 pm, we came across another pond where a few gypsys were stationed. Soon we could see a tiger having his tub bath there. He wasn’t very far (like the one we saw an hour before) but once again there were no signs of him coming out of the water. Generally, the tigers prefer to cool themselves in the water during hot hours and come out only towards the evening. But here we decided to take our chances. Our driver then found a suitable place at the side of the road where we could wait without obstructing the safari path. That turned out to be the best decision in the end.

Soon more gypsys joined the party. Everyone was hoping for the tiger to come out but he had no intention. There were speculations among the guides about its identity but no one could say anything conclusively (It could be Maya, could be Yuwaraj, or it could be Rudra).

In the next hour or so, many gypsys joined the parade, some of them got tired of waiting and left too. By then, the road was almost entirely blocked.

As we were waiting (and having some titbits to kill time), we heard some shouts. There was a small clan of wild dogs coming from the other side of the jungle. Suddenly our hopes increased. I expected the tiger to react on seeing the dogs and the first dog even barked a bit after seeing the tiger. But the tiger didn’t bother to turn his neck. The dog got the clue, he signaled his remaining members and they decided to go back without water.

There, we debated about going to Telia Lake (we did not want to miss Sonam like yesterday) but then decided to wait some more. I also remembered a similar situation a week back when I was in Ranthambore. We waited close to 3 hours at the same spot but the tigress there did not wake up at all.

Just then a forest officer’s gypsy came along. He forced everyone to keep a clear path for moving vehicles. Thankfully, in this new arrangement, the vehicles in front of us also got readjusted and we had a clear view of the tiger. All this had resulted in a lot of noise but the tiger still did not react.

Finally, after half hour, the tiger did make some moves. Our initial thinking was that the tiger will get up and move into the dense jungle, and before going there he would give us some good photos. But to our surprise, he started coming towards us. That caused a lot of excitement everywhere and a commotion broke out because of the haphazard movement of the gypsys. One of them came late and just blocked the view of the gypsy behind it. Naturally, there was some heated discussion about it.

And then the tiger made a further move and it came out on our side of the water, Now the excitement and shouts reached its top (not the altercation but by the excited tiger tourists). As it came out and made initial movements, all guides were unanimous about its identity. It was the male tiger named Rudra.

After taking a few initial steps towards the road (which was full of gypsys), Rudra first shook off all the excess water, stretched a bit, and slowly decided the path that he wanted to take.

His initial moves were perfectly towards us allowing us some nice head-on photos. But on our side, there were so many gypsys that the tiger did not have any space to pass through to the other side. So it changed direction and went to our right (most of the gypsys were on our left). Used the road section behind the last gypsy and went into the other side of the jungle.

In all, Rudra may have been out of water for not more than 3-4 minutes but what a sighting that was. Lovely light and good head-on shots. After our morning encounter with Mowgli, this Rudra sighting was like icing on the cake, The feeling was like In the remaining 3 safaris, even if we do not see any tiger, we would still be content with it .

But you all intelligent readers would know that such a feeling is momentary and the next moment, we thought about quickly reaching Telia Lake (and checking for Sonam).

As we were passing the Tadoba Lake, a few gypsys were waiting there too. Could it be another tiger? We decided to check. Not tigers but this was a pack of wild dogs that had come for water (may be part of the gang that we had seen earlier that could not reach the pond because of the tiger). We waited a bit as there were a few deer (sambar as well as spotted deer) also on the scene.

After a few snaps, as we were thinking of going away, an action broke out. The dogs wanted to drink water and as they approached it, one of the Sambar deer got a little aggressive and attacked the dog (yes, the deer attacked the predators). The action was so fast, the dog retreated a bit and came back with some additional members. The Samabar didn’t budge, it charged on this group of 5, and the dogs did run back a few steps. But their predator sense was not letting them go away, they again decided to come back. Now the sambar decided to step back and allow the dogs to have water (it probably assessed the situation well … the dogs could have caused bodily harm to the Sambar plus none of the other Sambars were coming for help)

Although our target was Tigress Sonam, this unexpected fight took some time. Not just that, we got a couple of birding opportunities on the way and that meant we reached the Telia Lake very late. By the time we reached there, our first gypsy told us that they could catch Sonam in some action today. Not close action like Rudra but they manage to get good photos of Sonam coming out from the water and then walking in the woods.

As we were not going to be back at this gate later, we thought of capturing Maya and her cubs as souvenirs (the Forest department has built nice statues just outside the gate).

Buffer zone or Bumper Zone

Today our morning safari was from the Agarzari buffer gate. It was a little far from our homestay, so we had one set of gypsys to drop us at the gate and another to take us inside. The number of gypsys at this gate was lower than Moharli but then this was a smaller area too.

Right opposite the Agarzari gate, we saw the Devada gate (this was internally connected to the Junona gate that we were planning to visit in our next 2 safaris).

As we entered the gate, our guide directly took us to a spot where a Gaur carcass was lying close to a small lake. It might have been there for some time as the rotten smell was making it difficult to wait there. From what we heard from the guides, the Gaur died fighting another Gaur and it was not a tiger kill. But the huge Gaur (weighs from 800 to 1000 kgs) meant easy meat and no tiger would let that opportunity go. In-all 3 different tigers were likely to be visiting (or already visited at night) that place. Two males (a younger Taru and a more matured Shambhu), plus a tigress named Chhoti Madhu.

We could not wait for more than 5 minutes, mainly because of the stench. And after the super-duper sightings of yesterday, we were okay doing birding in the morning hours.

So the guide then took us to a large lake. And morning time is usually the best for birding, so we could see a lot of them. The list included Indian Rollers, Yellow-footed Green Pigeons, Grey-headed Swamphens, many ibises, drongos, starlings, lesser whistling ducks, egrets, storks, and 3 grey-headed fish eagles too. We also saw a rare Cinnamon bittern. We spent a lot of time in that area and got some good photos too.

By around 7:15 we thought of taking a bio-break and for that reason, came back to the main gate. As we reached the gate, we saw a huge crowd gathered on the road and lots of waiting gypsys too. We quickly got down and enquired with our folks from the first gypsy who were already there. One male tiger was seen from the Devada gate (which was opposite our gate) and it was headed roughly in the direction of the tar road (outside of both gates). The Tigers are known to cross the roads and enter into the Agarzari side (or vice versa), so everyone was waiting for that crossing. People were so carelessly moving on the road, it was as if they were waiting for a kitten or a domestic dog (a wild Tiger, although doesn’t attack humans in general, it was WILD after all, why to take such chances?)

We waited there for some time, but I was not very keen on waiting any further. Even if the tiger crosses the road, what are the chances of getting good photographs on that crowded road? While waiting there, we managed to have our group photos.

If you look closely at the group photos, you would see our youngest member Mitansh. This blog cannot be complete without mentioning him. He was the live wire, very friendly with everyone, always ready with his smart answers, and well-liked by all. Only one occasion when he lost his cheerfulness was when Mowgli was so close! He admitted that he was terrified during those moments (and at his age, that is perfectly normal) but to his credit, he did not cry or shout, he remained perfectly calm. By the way, in reality (his own) he was a T-Rex, and just for our convenience he had transformed himself into an INSAAN 😜.

Reluctantly, our guide agreed to move away but he kept saying, we should have waited some more time. नक्की दिसला असता वाघ is what he would say (meaning we would surely have seen the tiger).

And as we moved inside, we decided to once again go near the carcass (of Indian Gaur) and wait. In the other parts of the jungle, there were no signs of tigers anyway. We were there by 7:45 and we knew for the next couple of hours (till 9:30) we will be there (whether we see a tiger or not because that was our only chance). As we positioned ourselves near the lake, we could see 4 other gypsys were already waiting. There were a few egrets around the dead gaur by then, and they were consuming some easy protein.

In the next 10 minutes, our guide got the news that the tiger indeed crossed the road and entered into Agarzari zone. He once again said we missed the opportunity. Anyway, now we just had to wait here and hope the tiger reaches for the easy food.

Our hopes increased when we saw some movement at the far end of the jungle (possibly the tiger was reaching the spot)

As our gypsys were waiting at one end of the lake, a lone gypsy was waiting on the other side (from where the tiger was likely to approach the gaur). Our guide tried to tell them to come and wait on our side but they did not listen. In our guide’s opinion, they were ruining the chances as the tiger might not come further because of their presence (frankly, I did not believe in that theory, the tigers are so used to the gypsys, there was no way they would stop for this reason).

Soon, we could see some clear movement and then the head appeared. Tiger was coming on the scene for sure. It slowly walked on the other side of that waiting gypsy and instead of going for the kill, it went straight into the water body to cool down. All the while, it was cautious and always looked in all directions. By now, the guides identified it to be Taru and that he was afraid of being in Shambhu’s territory. That was probably the reason why it did not go straight for the Gaur.

Then for the next 1 hour, we kept hoping for the tiger to come out but Taru was happy cooling himself in the water. Our patience was wearing thin as the morning safari was to get over by 9:30 and it was nearing 9 already. All 9 gypsys allowed through that gate were there and everyone was keeping their fingers crossed!

And then the tiger moved! It made some definite movements in the direction of the Gaur and we all looked in excitement (the tiger was partly hidden because of the grass blades, so I ended up standing on the seat). Slowly it walked out of the water, cautiously circled the Gaur, and then went for the first bite.

For the next 15 minutes (because that was the only time left for the safari to get over), no one uttered a word, we just went on a clicking frenzy.

At first, Taru tried to pull the Gaur, he probably wanted to take the kill in the deeper jungle but it was just too heavy for that. Despite using all his power, he could barely move the carcass by a few inches. He quickly gave up on that and started eyeing the carcass (possibly thinking, which body part to start with?).

After identifying the softer (or meatier) part, he started with it and started enjoying the meal. It wasn’t an easy one though, he had to make a lot of effort in doing that.

With all the effort, Taru was taking small breaks and was utilizing that time to also look out in all directions. I think he was always very cautious and was prepared to face Shambhu in case he decided to enter the scene (either to fight or to run away, but in any case he was alert).

We got out of this trance only because our guide announced that we were running out of time and that we had to leave. It was just a 15-minute window that we got (from Taru coming out of the water till we started back), but our cards almost got full. There were just so many photos that identifying what to keep and what to delete was going to be a nightmare anyway.

Slowly all gypsys returned to the gate. It was like an audience coming out of a theatre after watching a grand show. This buffer zone turned out to be a bumper zone for us.

Monsoon Safari in Summer

That afternoon, our 5th safari was from Junona Gate. It is part of the buffer area adjacent to the Moharli entry gate and as such some tigers from Moharli could also be seen here.

There were again only 6 gypsys at the gate but this part of the jungle could also be accessed from the Devada gate which had another 10+ gypsys.

After entering in, we went straight to a small manmade waterhole where a new tiger was seen the previous day. As usual, there were already a few gypsys waiting but other than a few birds there was no movement near the water hole. Once again, the guide wanted to wait there for tigers but we wanted to move on. By now, we were content with our tiger sightings and would have liked to explore the jungle.

It was a hot day till that time but suddenly there were some dark clouds followed by thunders. We even experienced a few raindrops. With that, I quickly packed my camera (did not want to take any chance with the possibility of rain).

Although the sky was dark, there were only a few drops, so we continued with the safari. The driver was talking with us, explaining a few past sightings in this area, when suddenly I sighted a leopard on the road ahead. I almost shouted with excitement (also to alert the driver). He put urgent breaks as the leopard was very close. Even the leopard was probably shocked to see us there, he looked puzzled and remained there for a few seconds looking at us. But he soon recovered his sense and slowly moved into the jungle (all the while looking at us). As I had packed my camera, there was no question of taking photos. But before I could think of taking out my camera, the rain became heavier.

It was so heavy that the driver/guide decided to put a temporary cover above us. Luckily they had carried it. The leopard may not yet have gone very far, but both of them got out from the vehicle to spread the cover. Once that was done, our visibility almost dropped to zero plus the rain now was heavier.

We waited at one place near a waterbody (with some tree cover to reduce the rain impact). But the rain continued and there were no signs of it stopping any sooner. With 15-20 minutes of pouring, even the safari roads were getting water-logged. At one place, the road was blocked because of a fallen tree.

With that, we decided to stop before time and head for the nearest gate (which was the Devada Gate). As we were nearing the Gate, suddenly our guide shouted “TIGER”. Right in front of our vehicle, at about 20 feet distance, Chhoti Madhu was crossing the road. Rain or no rain, our tiger luck was super strong. As the tigress walked into the other side, our driver quickly took us to another road expecting her to come out from there. He was not wrong but by then other gypsys were also joining the party. That obstructed the path of the tigress and she went back into the jungle. Our guide and driver then had a small altercation about where to stop. As that was happening, Chhoti Madhu decided to cross the road right behind us all the while giving us nice eye contact.

It was such a nice feeling to watch her walk, and for a change observing her with eyes (instead of a camera) was a different experience altogether. After damaging my camera in the rain (in the year 2018), I am extra careful and hence did not take out my camera at all. But luckily, Arati had her camera ready and we could get a few quick shots.

By then our first gypsy was also there, as we were close to the Devada gate we all got down near the entrance and talked about the possibility of continuing the safari. We unanimously decided to move out from the Devada gate itself if that was allowed (rather than going thru the jungle roads back to the Junona gate). Considering the circumstances, the forest guys allowed us to exit from Devada.

Although out, we decided to explore one more water body (the access to that part of the jungle was from the outside road directly). We checked the area but there was no activity there. On the way back we encountered a huge Indian Gaur blocking our way. He did not move despite the vehicle noise, on the contrary, he took a few steps towards us. We had no option but to reverse. We went back a few meters twice but then fortunately the Gaur decided to go into the jungle.

As we were back early, we decided to have a Bhajia break at a roadside Dhaba. On reaching our homestay we had a nice hot cup of ginger tea too (that was part of the routine). As we had some spare time, some of us decided to go shopping (souvenir shops near the Moharli gate). There we realized that the rains had only troubled the buffer zone. The Gypsys in the core area did not have any such issue, they were able to complete the safari.

Finally, a Safari without Tiger

This was our last safari and the weather looked clear today (it was so yesterday as well). And instead of going to the same old waterhole wait routine, we asked the guide to show us other parts of the jungle.

We were once again in the Junona zone, and with last evening's rains, the safari roads did have some blocks (fallen trees blocking the roads, or too much waterlogging). These conditions also meant chances of tiger sightings were low anyway (cooler weather meant the tigers won’t need to come out to the waters, plus there would be additional water sources inside the jungle).

As we started moving near a pond, we were greeted by an Oriental Honey Buzzard. It was getting mobbed by a Rufous Treepie. The treepie did cause some trouble for the buzzard, but it did not budge. Little later we came across a tree with 4 spotted owlets. But with the sounds of gypsys, two of them flew away.

With birding in mind, our guide took us to another big waterbody (this was the catchment area of the dam nearby and there was a lot of bird activity. The most common among them were the Asian Openbills. They had a resident colony on one of the trees. Lots of nesting activity could be seen nearby, some storks were carrying nesting material too.

We were now going into a rough terrain very close to the water (this area is generally waterlogged during the rainy season). Here we noticed some agitated noises from the lapwings. On exploring further, we got the cause of it. Small baby lapwings were roaming nearby.

Little ahead, a slender black bird attracted our attention, it was the Jacobine (or Pied) cuckoo. Soon we saw2 of them nearby (possibly a pair). We spent some time capturing them on camera as they kept moving from one stump to another.

Next, we spotted one somewhat ugly-looking stork (Lesser Adjutant). He was foraging on the grass nearby but quickly flew farther away. It is not a common sight, so we had to photograph it. And as we were watching it, Shirish excitedly pointed toward a nearby tree and said “That looks like an Eagle”. It was the Crested Serpent Eagle.

Besides these, there were a lot of common birds like Egrets, Purple Heron, Zitting Cisticolas, Mynas, Waterhens, and Swamphens. Overall it was a very good birding session.

Return Journey

By about 10am we were back at our homestay. Today we just had a tea instead of breakfast, as we had decided to have an early lunch at 11:30. We planned to start the return journey by 12:30. Our train from Nagpur was at 5 but we wanted to keep some time for shopping in Nagpur.

Our vehicles came late and we could start only by 1:30. So we decided to go directly to the station. Now, Haldiram’s shop at the station was our defacto stop for shopping as well as getting packed dinner.

The return journey was peaceful, all of us managed to have a good sleep on the train (the gypsy journey on the rough roads is tiring plus every morning, we were getting up at 4 am).

Going back to the start of this blog where I referred to the popular saying Tadoba never disappoints turned out to be completely true. We had a fantastic experience of the jungle as well as the stay. So we thanked Nikhil for the arrangements and asked him to plan for the next one at the earliest!

Please note: For the blog, I have used some photos taken by my fellow trip-mates.