[abirnale]

Some things are best unplanned!

Sunday evening 4.45pm, we see bunch of forwards from an acquaintance of ours showing a couple of Great Indian Hornbills sighted in Dandeli region! A casual forward triggered some serious conversation - that is when junior pitched in! Monday is a holiday for school on account of Gokulashtami and he is game if we want to visit Dandeli and take our chances! In the hindsight, that was the best trigger in recent time that we decided to drive out without second thought. While the overnight stay packing is hardly a few minutes job, I connected with my trusted contact in Dandeli who assured to have us check-in at whatever time we arrive at his homestay. In addition to that, he also ensured that our naturalist friend is informed to guide us to the areas where the sightings were happening!

And thus, two of us - junior and I are on the car at 5.04pm, driving out of out home! While we were approaching Dandeli, Deccan Herald was getting ready to print this:



Can you imagine 14 distinct Great Indian Hornbills !?! And I am glad to report - we sighted 13 at one place!

An uneventful drive with some adventure and rains to accompany, we made it to Dandeli and checked into our homestay by 12.15am! The entire homestay was to us - thoughtfully the main gate was kept open so that in rains, I don't have to get down from car and open it myself. I loved such attention to details during my stay there - a well deserved few hours sleep and a sumptuous breakfast on Monday morning after our sightings were done.

While onward to homestay, we took the straight road from BLR to Dharwad and took a mud-road exit towards Haliyal. With rains pouring continuously and google choosing this diversion over others in order to save some bucks on toll,
we had some off road adventure too. The exit from Dharwad was extremely slushy, pot-hole filled and no other vehicle in that stretch for company. For a moment I was scared to take car there - but then I ignored the fear and embraced the adventure spirit, thanks to junior's encouragement! The roads between Dharwad - Haliyal - Dandeli was not bad at all. Less vehicles at the late night hour ensured our progress was swift on that stretch.

Right at 7am in the morning, we were greeted by our naturalist guide and the most memorable birding trip truly begun! The pictures in below posts will narrate the rest of the story!

The return was through a beautiful Dandeli - Haliyal - Kalaghatagi - Tadas - NH48 section! The lush green fields and dense forest cover made our drive memorable. The road condition between Kalaghatagi - Tadas is bad. Too many potholes and water-logging there. But then we are driving #TheRedSparkle, a SUV with AWD capability - you can complain about the electronics in M&M cars but can't ignore the DNA it carries. #TheRedSparkle has never disappointed us when it comes to taking roads less taken, or roads that are never taken in the same stride as we take our usual highways. Its such a mile-muncher!

While the rest of this thread makes up for what I want to share with you through photos to make this a photo-logue, the key details of trip are below:

Homestay we stayed in:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Hq6m88Em86ReLeVv7

The celebrated naturalist who guides us on all our visits to Dandeli:
https://www.deccanherald.com/india/k...andeli-2843229

The route we took for onward journey:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/rihEFD7xu8W8waf36

The return journey was through:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/rAptjLpYQ81XWyTr9

Learn more about Great Indian Hornbills here:
https://thinkwildlifefoundation.com/...reat-hornbill/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_hornbill
https://testbook.com/ias-preparation...ndian-hornbill

The Great Indian Hornbills are also called as Flying Tigers when the naturalists talk about them. That's mainly because -
- They are huge!
- They have the distinct and bright shiny coloured features and cask
- Their calls are louder
- Most importantly, when they are in flight, it will remind you of their majestic nature, effortless glide! When they fly overhead, you can hear their wings flap!

These birds have unique behaviour and habitat that is fascinating for one to learn!

An adult Great Indian hornbill is so much bigger in the size, se the below video: the size of crow disturbing the hornbill's courtship session!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-DheA6fYNI

Now, let the picture do the rest of the talk!

[abirnale]

First thing in the morning, we observe the rains reducing and the light playing it's typical "Sharavn Maas" weather Tricks with sunlight creating amazing rainbow:



We first visited the Range forest officer's den and collected information needed for our sightings!



The chariot that took us safe and in best comfort:



Resting nicely in it's natural habitat while we take our chances to sight the majestic flying tigers!



With the "Rajanikant" of Dandeli:



The sample of beautiful country roads we drove on during this trip:







Junior can't be more happier than this:

[abirnale]

This is a kingfisher that commonly we like - a different one than a cricketing team endorses! Pun intended





This group was enjoying the moss/ algae that is grown on the mangalore tiled roof of the forest officer's home!





The coppersmith Barbet is such a treat to observe: honestly, our eyes were focused on the flying tigers than these little wonders!



Generally the pied hornbills are found in plenty in Dandeli and were main attraction of our past trips - this time, it was most ignored bird as sighted something more majestic than them!



A hornbill pair when in courtship session, is just like our newly weds living in their own world! The white eyed is the lady of the house while the other one is king of the house!



A female chooses a male only if she is impressed with his abilities to carry fruits over long distance and in abundance that will serve her and their offsprings well! Passing on the fruits is a show of love, strength as well as care!





Sizing the beaks is part of their courtship!





The hornbills spend a lot of time pruning their feathers as well shining them with the oil they secret from their body! Afterall the newly weds as well as the oldies must look and be sharp always!



This single fella was showing off his cask - its so brilliantly coloured, the real feel can be when you see through the binoculors!



This lady is probably waiting for her partner to join her for the getting ready for the day session!



If there was a toddler, you could easily teach him or her the counting! This is the max I could fit into one frame! There were 9 more on the nearby trees and branches!





The male species are sharp and appear calm, matured once they have made up the choices of their mates - thats for life! They are monogamous.



The oil that these species secrete from the glands helps them shine their feathers - that's one of the major reason the males are chosen by female to mate for life! This male is shining it's feathers as we continued to click the pretty pair:



Now it's the female's turn to shine it's feathers!





This lady wants her me-time:



This pair doesn't want anyone's attention while they are enjoying their we-time at the beginning of the day!





And finally, the flying tiger to conclude the photo-logue:



Thanks for reading/ browsing through the thread - appreciate your readership.

Leaving you with a short clip that I specifically enjoyed witnessing these majestic birds for what they stand: love is in the air!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqY-Y64g_-I

#TheRedSparkle now stands at 76500kms odometer mark

[KarthikK]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[thirugata]

Awesome photos. It is certainly very rare to find so many great hornbills in one place. Thanks for sharing.

[abirnale]

Here is the feeble attempt of picking "some clips" recorded and stitching them together:

https://youtu.be/YlaCbngH3pU

I can't get enough of these majestic creatures - it was a super fulfilling trip! And on the other hand it is super-challenging to skim through 28GB of raw image files, let alone videos

[oilgascng]

Absolutely fantastic!

Thanks so much for sharing these pics. I remember doing a monsoon trek in Dandeli many years ago, lovely place.

[supertinu]

Wow, what an amazing opportunity to spot so many hornbills. During my trip to Valparai last year we managed to spot one in flight. It almost sounds like a helicoptor passing by, couldnt manage to get good pictures.