Rendezvous with a rain forest - Part2

nature wildlife western ghats wild planet devala rain forest

Malabar Grey Hornbill on a misty morning @ The wild planet resorts Devala PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

Well, first up we would mention again the mystical notes of the Malabar Whistling Thrush that lit our dawns and dusks alike during our stay. Monsoon being the mating season of the bird, the males were rendering their musical invitation to their mates all through sunlight and we soaked endlessly in the symphony. Ever since we drilled down on Wildplanet resorts for our vacation, my prayer was that we should not miss the Whistling schoolboy’s song. After all, he has enchanted many a seasoned naturalists and birders to pen elaborately on him. Thankfully from somewhere within the thick forests, without revealing himself, he enthralled us too with his vocal chords.

My first encounter with this songster was on a 2008-dawn at the balcony of a cottage in Munnar that overlooked layers of blue mountains. While the hills and mist were weaving magic, I heard continuous long whistles from the valley below our balcony. First, I thought it was human whistles, possibly a self-defense tactic of those using the still dark roads to commute to work. As it continued smooth, soulful and non-stop for more than few minutes, I second-guessed it to be mimicking calls of human birders who wanted to elicit a response from the avian counterparts. Later, when enquired with the hotel staff, we learnt it was this small shy blue-black bird that was rendering the most beautiful of the birdsongs we had ever heard. Our second encounter was in Valparai, this time we were lucky to see him, as close as in our cottage’s backyard.

Representative image of Malabar whistling thrush taken from the web

Coming back to Devala, we also spotted orange minivet pairs, jungle mynahs, white-browed wagtails, vernal hanging parrots, Asian fairy blue bird, white cheeked barbet, black throated munia, red whiskered and red vented bulbuls, rufous babbler, oriental magpie robins, common kingfisher, a stunningly camouflaged garden lizard, giant wood spider along with a prolonged observation of the Malabar giant squirrel gorging on forest berries and nuts, during our morning and evening walks within the resort premises. We also saw different types of radiant darts and damsel flies which flashed iridescent blue, green and red colors in their wings. It is told that the presence of these Odonates denotes a healthy ecosystem.

Asian fairy bluebird PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

A hill mynah in glowing black-orange behind a blurred White cheeked barbet PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

Orange minivet male PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

Battling beauties - An orange minivet male makes a threatening display to another PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

Radiant hues of a Common kingfisher PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

A giant Malabar squirrel evaluating its breakfast PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

Picking and choosing a better fruit PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

Oriental honey buzzard male PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

Grey wagtail PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

Orange minivet female PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

Yellow browed bulbul PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

Let me sharpen my ears lest I miss any juicy gossip! Yellow browed bulbul PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

Oriental magpie robin PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

White browed wagtails PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

A Black throated munia hiding within the shrubs PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

The second morning of our stay, we decided to venture out of the premises, a little beyond their parking lot. Much to our wonder, we saw a leaf insect, an absolutely camouflaged stick insect, multiple pairs of bugs mating, large mushrooms on tree trunks, the calls of a serpent eagle, the cackling laughter of a Malabar grey horn bill, the call of a barking deer. Intrigued, we walked along slowly. Suddenly we realized some movement atop a cluster of trees in the bend facing our path. There, on the tree top, resided the surveillance cameras of the forest, the shy yet very watchful Nilgiri langurs. They are a species classified as Vulnerable in their status of conservation. Somewhat similar in appearance to their endangered cousins, the Lion tailed Macaques(which can be seen in the Valparai stretch of Western Ghats), Nilgiri Langurs are also canopy dwellers with a diet of fresh fruits and leaves. Their numbers are dwindling too due to habitat destruction and poaching. The females are distinguishable from the males with a patch of white fur in their rear.

Garden lizard blending perfectly with its perch PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

A beautiful blue winged damselfly PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

An iridescent green winged damselfly PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

The shy and reclusive Nilgiri Langur PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

nature wildlife western ghats wild planet devala rain forest bugs damsel flies darts

Thanks to our kid's keen eyes we spotted many pairs of bugs mating on leaves PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

A curious Nilgiri Langur watching our movements from a tree top PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

It was again our kid who spotted this indistinguishable Stick Insect on the trunk of a tree PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

A leaf insect PC: Priya Rajan

Nilgiri Torrent Dart PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

A small orange wafer-thin leaf insect

After waiting for a considerable time for the serpent eagle and the hornbill whose sounds we had heard, I almost gave up and intended to head back. The forest somehow looked still and frozen, lowering my hopes of any more sighting. But our daughter insisted we try our luck a little further. She was right! Before the next bend, my husband stopped and pointed his lenses towards the outer branch of a tall canopy. As is our usual practice, rest of us follow the direction in which one is looking, immediately once anyone of us stands still in one spot for more than few seconds. That’s our non-vocal, non-gestural communication method that has repeatedly proven to be the most effective and least disturbing to the subject of our observation. There, in the backdrop of the 7am mist and infant rays of the sun, was sitting our lifer. The Malabar grey hornbill, endemic to western ghats! This was our first photograph of a hornbill. Previously, during our trip to Bhutan, I had seen a great Hornbill descend on a tree canopy while our vehicle was negotiating a Himalayan bend. Neither could we stop to gaze nor did we have the suitable lenses back then. So, this was special.

Malabar grey hornbill closer-up PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

A resting damselfly momentarily flashing its vibrant wings VC: Kid

Adding to all of this, one aspect of the resort that deeply resonated not only with me but many other visitors(as seen in online reviews) as well, were the signboards installed at multiple places right from the main gate. These signboards carried meaningful and refreshing verses so apt to the kind of break this place offers. Some of those verses here, for you. My most favorite one is the last. What's yours?