Tadoba, November 3 and 4, 2012



The GSE team and the Patrol Team (Harsh is in the middle in
the beige shirt)

 I knew our trip was going to be great, when I arrived at Harsh and Poonam’s house in the morning to find a Grey Hornbill in the trees around the house.  Soon all five of us were packed in the car with Harsh and on a hour and a half long drive to Tadoba.  Along the way, we made a stop at a roadside restaurant and shops…much like the Canadian truck stop but all outdoors…and we were met in the parking lot by a White Wagtail.  Soon, filled with Samosas and pepsi we were back on the road to Tadoba.  It wasn’t long before we were off the main highway and rolling through villages and along dirt roads (with Black-winged Kites along the wires).

Harsh explaining to Jean about the leopards that walk by
the house.

Much of our visit has been detailed on the GSE blog including a wonderful afternoon/evening hike, our trek through Tadoba and our afternoon tea in the village. So, I’ll share just some of the wildlife highlights.   We started off early to the Tadoba Tiger Reserve, and were the first truck through the gate.  In a period of 24 hours we saw the following non-birds: Langurs, Spotted Deer, and Buffalo and Wild Boar.  Birds included: Indian Peacock, Jungle Fowl (alarm calling so we waited a while in case there were any tigers that wanted to appear), Rose-ringed Parakeet, Red-wattled Lapwing, White-breasted Waterhen, Grey Francolin, Black-winged Stilt and Grey-headed Fish Eagle.