Periyar Lake

Periyar lake is located within the Periyar National Park, or Periyar Tiger Reserve, as it is commonly called. The lake was artificially created by building the Mullaperiyar dam across Periyar river, in what was originally a river valley covered with forests. 

Tree stumps of the submerged forest can be seen even today, although most have been cleared to create a waterway for the tourist boats. During the summer, the lake is more of river, snaking through the valley surrounded by thick evergreen forests. 

The boat rides are good and provide a safe way watching wildlife. However, ticket sales can be better managed. Tickets are sold on first-come basis. This creates a lot of confusion, as there is rush towards the counters, where one has to fill a form with your name and age, before the tickets can be bought. Also, the best seats for viewing wildlife are on the upper deck of the boat, but you are not permitted to select seats and may be allotted seats on the lower deck if you are unlucky. 

Both, the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) and Kerala Forest Department (KFD) operate boat services for tourists. The KTDC boats are better maintained and faster than KFD boats – a good 10 minutes faster. But, you would be better off seated on the KFD boat. That’s because the KTDC boats have rows of 4 seats and are not suitable for those stuck in the middle, while KFD boats only have 2 seats in each row. 

The faster speed also negates the very purpose of the ride – watching and photographing wildlife. On the day of our visit, a herd of elephants emerged from the forest towards the end of the ride, a sight the KTDC tourists missed, as they had already disembarked and exited from the area.  Suggestion: the KTDC counter is on the left and KFD counter is on the right.

The best time to take the boat ride is in the morning at 0730. At this time, it is not too hot and the weather is pleasant. It is also the time when one can spot several wild animals as they emerge to quench their thirst. We were lucky and could spot several birds, sambar (deer), wild boar, bison (Indian Gaur) and elephants.

Snake-bird or Darter

Indian Cormorant

A general observation

One is sure to notice that the forest reserves are well maintained. This is because the ban on use of plastics is strictly enforced by the Forest Department. May be we should hand over civic administration duties in the cities to the foresters.

Keep our surroundings clean; reduce use of plastic - save the environment from further deterioration.

Green Pigeon

April is not a good month to for bird watching as it is very hot and dry during this period. However, if you plan to spot birds at any of the nearby areas, an early morning trip is the best bet.

We reached Karnala Bird Sanctuary (KBS) at around 6.45 a.m, much before it got crowded with the trekking groups moving towards the fort. KBS is around 30 km from Thane / Mumbai on the Goa highway. At this time of the year, after the spring season, most of trees appear fresh and green due to sprouting of new leaves. Very soon, they will turn dry and dusty owing to the summer heat, until the arrival of the rains. As we walked about in the sanctuary, we noticed that the grass and undergrowth in some parts of the sanctuary on the path towards the fort, was burnt dry. The forest personnel were unable to explain the cause of the fire though it was almost next to the rest-house. Unless it was done deliberately to stimulate growth of grass, one hopes the department takes all preventive measures to avoid such fires.

Birds spotted: Pampadour Green Pigeon, Golden-fronted Leaf bird, Racket-tailed Drongo and caught a glimpse of a large raptor, which could not be identified.
 
I have no idea why the Pampadour Green Pigeon was so strangely named. It is an arboreal bird and keeps to upper reaches of fruit or berry trees, and is not easily spotted.
Status: Uncommon

Golden-fronted Leaf bird: Status: common and frequently spotted.

Plastic-free zone
The sanctuary is a plastic-free zone, which is monitored by the forest department. This makes one wonder - if regulations can be implemented in such areas, why cannot the same be done in the city? Unless existing regulations regarding ban of thin plastics (less than 50 micron thickness) are enforced strongly, and awareness is created among the citizens, the use of plastics will continue unabated.

Thekkady

Back from a short holiday in the mountains of Thekkady, I have realized that life in small towns is entirely different from the hectic routine of city dwellers. Life over there moves at a slow pace: people have more time to pursue their hobbies and interests after office hours; most of them have work places near their residence and are able to walk home for lunch. The residents appear to lead a healthier life and have a laid-back attitude to all things in general.

It would be natural for many city folk to assume that the residents lead an isolated existence—out of touch with the rest of the world. Forget the thought. There is no dearth of television channels or radio services because of satellite communication and the internet. Also, the mobile networks have made it easy for everyone to keep in touch with the outside world, even during the monsoons, when land-based communication could break down. The internet also provides a means of contact with friends and family around the world.

Even the forest guard, Shaji (a local tribesman), who accompanied us on 'Nature Walk', kept contact with the forest office through a mobile phone.

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Nature Walk through Periyar National Park

The Periyar Tiger Reserve extends over 925 sq. km and is home to 34 tigers, 1200 elephants, scores of leopards (no census) and bison, and large variety of birds. It is managed by the Kerala Forest Department (KFD). KFD is well organized and staffed. They have several programs for tourists in co-ordination with the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), whose offices are open till 8.00 p.m. on week days.

Nature Walk is one of the programs in which a group of maximum four is led on a six kilometer trek through the forest in Periyar Tiger Reserve for just INR 800, which is to be paid in advance at the KDTC counter in Kumily. This and another similar trek (Green Walk) should only be undertaken if one is physically fit.

A short ride in an autorickshaw or taxi will bring one to the starting point in the reserve.

Before the trek, cotton leggings are provided. You wear these over socks and trousers. Then you put on your boots and tie the leggings with thongs just below the knees. The trick is to tie them while standing, or else they keep sliding down to your boots. Binoculars from the KFD can be availed of during the trek for a nominal charge of INR 100. The trek starts from the other side of the boating pier, after crossing over to its far bank on a bamboo raft.

As you walk along the pathway on the bank of the river valley through the grass and reeds, you can hear the buzzing sounds of hundreds of bees. Trees rise tall and dense on either side of the river. The hill tops however, are sparsely wooded.

We spotted several birds and monkeys at the start of the trek, and also a large mongoose.

Deeper into the forest, we saw a herd of bison (Indian Gaur) moving parallel to us with only some thickets in between.

We then went past a small wooded area and cut across a clearing only to face a snorting herd of bisons. After a while, the guard suggested that we retreat slowly to avoid antagonizing the bulls.

All along our trek on the wooded banks, we could see elephants and deer, and wild boar dung. On one tree bark, the guard showed us claw marks of a tiger. We could also hear the Malabar Pied Hornbill, but were unable to spot it.

After a while, we crossed over into the forest and were led back to the starting point. This time, we walked through the forest pathways—not along the river bank. There is a profusion of bee-hives in the forest; the honey is collected by the local tribals.

We spotted several birds on our way back.
Malabar Grey Hornbill

Racket-tailed Drongo

Golden-backed Woodpecker

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Scarlet Minivet

Malabar Trogon

A note regarding the forest guards: 
The KFD employs local tribesmen on a daily wage basis as guides for the treks. Under a program in association with the German government, they are trained to speak English, French, Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil, and have a good knowledge of the local flora and fauna. They are also responsible for maintaining cleanliness of the area. I suggest a small tip (INR 100 or 50) after the trek.

RRRR

Reduce Reuse Recycle Recover

Yellow-wattled Lapwing

The yellow-wattled lapwing is almost of the same size as the more common and noisy red-wattled lapwing, but can identified from its black-capped head, brownish-gray throat and chest. 

Its abdomen parts are white below the throat and chest. Sexes are alike.

As the name suggests, it also has a yellow wattle (portions of flesh) surrounding the base of its beak.

It inhabits dry grassland and open country and has food habits similar to that of the red-wattled lapwing, picking up insects and grass-hoppers with its long beak. However, in comparison, it has no preference to be in the vicinity of water bodies and is much quieter. 

Drought in Maharashtra

The deficient rainfall last year has lead to a severe drought in the state of Maharashtra. The rivers and dams all over central and southern Maharashtra are in dire straits, with several of them running dry and many more with almost no usable levels of water. We are once again witness to the harm that is the result of deforestation and indiscriminate use of water for cash crops like sugarcane.

Water deficiency can be overcome by adopting rain water harvesting and recycling on a large scale. Techniques for recycling domestic waste water, especially water from the kitchen, are available and can be implemented at very low costs for reducing fresh water consumption. 

However, this can only be achieved by making water conservation requirements mandatory and binding for all domestic, commercial and industrial organizations, and with the active intervention of the authorities.

Reduce plastic usage; help save the environment