2nd Photography Trip to Ranganthittu

So after lots and lots of not-good news and hectic schedules, we decided to head out for a break in the routine and what better way to do that than to go hunting for bird photography! Since it was kind of a last minute plan, we decided to stick to Ranganthittu and maybe visit Karanji Lake and Kokkre Bellur if time permits.

Mike and I armed ourselves with a couple of 100-400's from Toehold and Manickam decided to stick with the 250mm and off we went in Manickam's comfy big car. After a delayed start at 4:45AM as against the planned 4:30AM and a brief stop at Kamat's for breakfast, our "platoon" reached Ranganthittu at 7:30 sharp only to be mightily disappointed by a newly appointed "saar" at the sanctuary. Apparently this new "saar" had ordered the watchman not to open the gates before 8:30AM for anybody. Wonder how on earth can they make a "saar" out of someone who doesn't have the common sense that bird photographers like to start early. But anyways, we had to stick around till 8:30 when the gates were finally opened. We tried to do some bug-photography to pass the time and warm up the lens!

We went on on our last-found track amidst the thickets in hope of catching a few glimpses of early birds but it was not actually "early" anymore. But our track did give us a fine chance to shoot this kingfisher:

It was then time for the boat ride into the waters and test our mettle with the big lens. After a "deal" with one of the boatmen (the deal was struck at Rs.600 as against the official Rs.1000 for a trip of 40 minutes), we were on our way.

Since our visit was right in the season, we were able to spot quite a few birds up close and take a few portraits of them as well!

The boatman suggested a place called Nagunhalli some 6kms from Ranganthittu for hordes of small bird sightings but was a MAJOR disappointment in all ways possible. The only sighting we had was of a cremation on the banks of the river. This damped our spirits in a big way and we decided to skip Karanji Lake and drive to Kokkre Bellur. Quite a few birds were around there but it was clearly off season for pelicans and accordingly we spotted only a couple of them.

Thats how our unplanned trip fared and we were back in Bangalore tired but happy!