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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Mount Abu Birds Phase VI

Green Munia place Kumurwada

Lal Munia



Taken on our mulberry tree in the garden



Feeding on the mulberries


Extremely rare to see them


Seeing them after Eons hope their presence advocates good monsoons




Female


Lal Munia female




Indian Silver Bill


Yellow Footed Green pigeon


Better camouflaged than the chameleon


How many of them can you spot?


Marsh Sandpiper


Marsh Sandpiper


Jungle bush Quail


Is it that bad?


You don’t love me anymore?


Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Mount Abu heading for a HOT and DRY summer



A fiery Sky is it an omen of things to come

Looks like the end of our winter



Yesterday was an extremely hot day; the hottest we have faced so far this year. Looks like winter has departed and we now have to prepare for the summer. This summer is going to be a challenge for us Abuites as we have to survive on a dwindling supply of water. At the moment we are supplied water after every three days, I believe this can be extended to a supply after four days depending on our resources.


This year even before the advent of the summer Abu’s atmosphere is full of small flying insects (gnats/fruit flies) , these normally herald the oncoming of summer, this year they have come in hordes a month well in advance . I’ve never seen so many moths plague Abu as of these last few days. What do these signs signify?? Global Warming? Or something more ominous?

An Abu Tale, that launched thousands of Furry tails


Squikie On the look out

In the early sixties Mount Abu had no squirrels it was always thought that that the height of Abu and its cool climate did not sustain the squirrel. Squirrels were brought to Abu in the early sixties by the Abu Road boys who lived below Mount Abu. These squirrels’ were brought as personal pets by the A.I boys of St.Mary’s School.


I had a pet squirrel while I was in school; I had named him Barry, but this guy was nothing like our Princy Barry. He was a cute and loving chap who loved to cuddle up against my belly button inside my shirt. Squirrels can recognize their owners by their body odour and by their voice; they do not take to strangers, if strangers try to handle them they end up getting a sharp nip by these critters. My Barry had learnt to be more sociable as he had no problem making himself at home in the pockets of my class mates.

Keeping squirrel as pets in a boarding school was an abs NO NO situation. So to counter this we gradually set these loving and precious pets free by teaching them to live in the trees behind the school. The Squikies as fondly known by the Marian would look forward to our daily visit after our lunch and tea breaks for the tit bits that we would smuggle out for them. Over time these tame squikies would move away from the school vicinity during the mating season and over the years they adapted to the climate and today Abu has squirrels by the thousands.

A family of squirrels watching a rock snake that had come to devour them


The vigilant mother who kept the snake at bay


This little guy rescued by my niece Inno

He is now back in the wild but does pay them a visit every afternoon for his tit bit
 along with his new found mates

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Forest Fire from the Funeral Pyre Mount Abu

The Orange coloured Temple down below from where the fire originated

I was busy photographing the Lal Munia (Amandava amandava) , when I received an SOS phone call from my daughter Jennifer around 11.45 am from St.Mary’s School. “Dad the forest along Tiger Path is on fire.” I bade adieu too my shooting of the Lal Munia and headed for the school.


On my way I passed the Abu Fire fighting Truck heading back for more water, the scene around the school was quite chaotic as it was around lunch time, vehicles that had come to deliver lunch for the day scholars had to move further down towards Paddy Bridge to avoid the spreading forest fire along the main school road.

When I reached most of the undergrowth has almost burnt itself out .The thick bellowing smoke fanned by the strong breeze was quite nerve racking and suffocating. I did manage to take some video shots of the aftermath of the fiery destruction caused by the fire.

While talking to the locals I learnt that this fire originate from the FUNERAL PYRE further down the valley near a temple where the “Thakurs” have their burning ghats . A Thakur from a nearby village was being cremated at this place (God rest his soul) when a strong gust of wind caused the fire from the funeral pyre to set some bushes on fire in the immediate vicinity, before anyone could do anything the fire spread like all Hades had broken loose and within moments the fire raced fed by the dry undergrowth towards the Tiger Path behind the school. The schools authorities must have acted swiftly as the fire brigade some local water tankers and hose pipes from the school were all thrown into action to stop the spread of this freak forest fire.

The Thakurs from the Hatamji village came out in large numbers and set to making fire breakers leading to their village, people from all walks of life began landing up some to photograph the scene, others to give a helping hand and the school bearers parted with some of their precious saved water to help stop the spread of the fire towards the school.
This year the forest is in a bad way due to the drought conditions and low humidity in the atmosphere only hope there is no repeat of forest fires like we saw in 2009. Should there be a repeat it will be devastating for this Eco-Sensitive Zone.


Along the Tiger Path road

Pockets like these keep flaring helped by the breeze



Real Sad

Hope it is contained and does not spread towards Spongie


Wonder if this beautiful nest gets spared !

I know I have been off the web for a long time as misfortune visited me not once but twice this year will give you feedback as soon as my frame of mind returns back to normal.