Visit to Galibore, Cauvery WLS, 150214: Life…and death

She’s beautiful, the Goddess Kaveri:

Some forms of life that I saw:

WHITE-RUMPED SHAMA:

LARGE CUCKOO-SHRIKE:

YELLOW-FOOTED GREEN PIGEONS:

SIRKEER MALKOHA:

SHIKRA silhouette:

SPOTTED OWLET:

INDIAN ROBIN:

ROSE-RINGED PARAKEET (feasting on a watermelon in an angry farmer’s field…!)

BAY-BACKED SHRIKE:

BLACK-TAILED GODWIT:

BLUE-FACED MALKOHA:

SILVERBILLS:

JERDON’S BUSHLARK:

Vendors:

a beautiful, spreading village tree:

a cobbler plying his trade (while preparing to chew his paan)

a flower seller:

flowers of the

FISH POISON tree:

hungry brefus-eaters:

I found the incredible colours of death, too:

JLR Explore: Cauvery WLS Bird Census, 100114

Click here

for my article about the Cauvery WS Bird Census, in JLR Explore.

The Malkoha, Galibore, 150214

The

MALKOHA

has a name derived from the Sinhala word for the Red-faced Malkoha; Mal-Koha meaning flower-cuckoo. They are large birds in the cuckoo family,Cuculidae, all in the genus Phaenicophaeus. (That name derives from the Ancient Greek phoiniko- “crimson”, and phaes “eyes” or “face”.)

In Karnataka, I see two of these birds; the more common is the

BLUE-FACED MALKHOHA , (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris)

This is a shy bird that eats a variety of insects, caterpillars and small vertebrates, and,occasionally, berries too. It is not a powerful flier.

According to the wikipaedia, there are 11 varieties of the Malkoha in the Indian subcontinent.

Here’s the Malkoha in the Neem tree:

The way the bird can normally be seen, skulking in the foliage:

The other Malkoha I’ve seen in Karnataka is the

SIRKEER MALKOHA (Phaenicophaeus leschenaultii)

The scientific name of this bird commemorates the French botanist Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour.

This bird talks about amongst thickets like the Coucal or Crow-Pheasant, searching for food; insects, lizards, fallen fruits and berries.It runs swiftly through undergrowth looking like mongoose. It is a feeble flier, but ascends trees rapidly, hopping from branch to branch with great agility, like the Coucal.

Malkohas are non-parasitic cuckoos, building their own nests and laying eggs.

Here’s a short video of the Sirkeer that I took at Galibore, in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary:

and here it is, eating berries:

It’s always a delight to spot these birds, and observe their behaviour…but they generally manage to disappear in a short while!

The Goat’s Leap – Mekedatu

I went to Mekedaatu in 2006-07 and all of a sudden after so many years I went back in the memory lane and revisited Mekedaatu. Mekedaatu is a very nice weekend gateway along Kaveri river in Kanakapura.

Mekedaatu is about 90 km from Bangalore. Its close to another lovely spot called Sangama. Sangama is the place where Arkavati river meets Kaveri river.

One can go to Sangama in car or there are many buses available too. From Sangama, you need to cross the river either on coracle or  by walking if the water level is low, followed by a 4 Km trail to Mekedaatu. There is a ferry bus from the river side to Mekedaatu or you can walk through the nice greenery.

When we went to Mekedaatu, we took a nice walk after crossing the river by foot. Its a very beautiful stretch. There are many versions of why this place is called Mekedaatu.

Mekedata in Kannada means Goat’s Leap. After few Kms from Sangama the river Kaveri flows through a deep gorge. The gorge is so narrow that one would think that a goat can leap across it. The reality is that no goat can cross the gorge in one leap. The name comes from an incident that a goat crossed the gorge and managed to cross the river in order to save its life from a tiger. It seems the gorge was too wide for the tiger to cross and the tiger backed off. The point where the goat leapt has widened since then from erosion caused by the river Cauvery.

This story has a mythological significance as well. The goat (meke in kannada) that is believed to have crossed the gorge is supposed to be Lord Shiva. On both the sides of the gorge, one can find strange holes, whose shapes resemble goats’ hooves.

The current at the gorge is ferocious and one has to be careful as the rocks can be slippery. There are many accidents reported here.

While we went to Mekedatu it was summer and the water was less. We after crossing Sangama we walked for 4 Km to reach Mekedatu and had some very peaceful time there. While coming back we took the bus as all of us were too exhausted due to heat to come back on our own. Since the bus was full inside, we sat on the roof of the bus which was good fun. After coming back to Sangama we spent some nice time in the river rejuvenating ourselves.

There are many places on the way to have breakfast and dinner, but carry enough food and water with you as you may not find anything once you cross Sangama.

Although there are many tourist spots on Kaveri river, Mekedaatu is worth visiting and is a nice one day trip from Bangalore.

Nimishamba Temple, and Ranganathittu, 290311

Yesterday, thanks to Vittal I went to visit the Nimishamba temple in the village of Ganjam, 2 km from Srirangapatna. It was a lovely visit, to a temple peacefully set on the banks of the Kaveri. As photography inside the main temple is banned, I could click only these deities in the outer “prAkAram”…but look at the beautiful way they have been adorned! Here’s Ganesha: and here’s Anjaneya or Hanuman: More photographs, and a short account, are here Here is the gopura of the temple, smiling in the sunshine: The visit,and the trip to Ranganathittu, were wonderful and could not be blighted by the loss of my mobile phone early in the morning!