Bird - Watching @ Ranganathittu - 18th.Nov.2011
Despite planning a road trip for the month end, we wanted to get a feel of the Scorpio on the highway, so we decided on a quick half-day visit to Ranganathittu to do some bird watching (of the feathered kind, naturally!!) and croc spotting. Woke up at 4.45am, had coffee, shot off a couple of emails rearranging our day and got ready with camera and a bottle of water and left home at 6am.
Beautiful cool breeze and the promise of a lovely day made the drive interesting...after our breakfast stop at Kadambam we moved on beyond Srirangapatna and turned right on the road to Coorg and barely a couple of kilometeres down the road and we saw the board and entry point to the Bird Sanctuary. After paying Rs.50/head for the entrance and Rs.30 for the parking we moved on and immediately into the parking area. Pleasantly surprised to find a clean, totally paved area maintained beautifully clean and spotless. Thus happy, we moved on to the cobbled walkway to see some fabulous flora (see the magnificent banyan tree in the photo on the left) past the Salim Ali Interpretation Centre and on to the spot for taking a boat. This is an absolute must, as the birds are all in the islets.
The Bird Sanctuary at Ranganathittu owes its existence to the world famous ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali who convinced the Maharaja of Mysore in 1940 to declare Ranganthittu as a protected area. The name comes from the famous Ranganatha Swamy temple at Srirangapattana. The sanctuary is not large, barely 0.67 sq.kms. But is home to a great variety of birds and a few reptiles. It is said that the sanctuary is a sight to behold during the nesting season of the birds from June to November. The sanctuary is home to a wide species of birds including cormorants, white ibis, spoon billed storks, open herons, terns, swallows, kingfishers, sandpiper etc. There are a few mammals in the sanctuary like fruit bats, bonnet macaques, mongoose and otters. Marsh crocodiles make up the reptile population of the sanctuary. We were fortunate enough to spot quite a few of these.

The entrance of the park has huge bamboo surrounding the winding path. On both sides of the path are boards with pictures and information about the different birds that are found in the sanctuary. There is a small canteen situated near the lake made in a clearing between the bamboos. The best season to visit the sanctuary is May-September and October. If you are a nature enthusiast it is best to visit the sanctuary in the early hours of the morning before the sanctuary gets crowded with visitors. The boat ride at Rs.50/head if you share it with other tourists, maybe even a couple more, as was the situation in our case, is worth every paisa. It is wonderful to get up close and personal to all the birds in the islets as the boat is rowed gently by the boatsman so as not to disturb the birds, is tranquil and blissful. No motorboats are allowed and thank God for that. The silence and being one with nature is a priceless time, where you forget civilization and admire God's handiwork in his creatures! We especially were wonderstruck by the tern, which must have been an actor/model in its previous birth, boy, that guy loves the camera and is willing to give you any number of poses without getting perturbed by human proximity! Fantastic...really made our day, we clicked him with a big smile on our lips! Two women from South America who were in the boat too, enjoyed the entire experience tremendously. The sight of fruit bats, crocodiles and birds flying around is a beautiful sight to watch.
We returned home at 1.35pm. The entire joy of the trip fizzles out in the last 1 hour when you creep back home in a bumper to bumper traffic.

This photo is special - it is a bird feeding another and Ranga caught it just in the nick of time!

Coming to the vehicle - it really lived up to the hype about it, the smooth soundless engine and the tremendously comfortable seats which makes fatigue minimalistic makes the drive super smooth. The raw power of the engine under the hood, amkes its presence felt with a barely perceptible growl but the feeling is one of a stallion straining at the bit with flexed muscles but then being a new engine, we held our horses and the SUV's (!!) and kept it to sedate 80-100kms/hr. For all its bulk, it handles like a dream and with not even the first service done, the mileage was good. A harbinger to good times ahaed! Signing off, see you all again shortly.

Date - 18/11/2011
Diatance Clocked - 300kms
Route taken - Bangalore - Srirangapattana - Ranganathittu and back.

Mileage - about 14kms/litre of diesel.