BIRDS OF HAMPI

you Hampi one of South India's most popular tourist destinations is located on the Deccan Plateau in northeastern Karnataka state some 350 kilometers from Bangalore 350 kilometers from the Arabian Sea in Goa and 350 kilometers from the Bay of Bengal on the banks of the Tungabhadra River which carves its way through an unearthly landscape of giant boulders perched precariously over miles of undulating terrain they're rusty hues offset by jade green palm groves banana plantations and paddy fields hampi is a great place to see the birds of the Deccan Plateau as it combines most of the habitats of the region and the giant boulders are home to two of South India's most sought-after endemics yellow-throated Bulbul and painted spur fowl doraji bear sanctuary is only 15 kilometres away and it is probably the best place in the world to see sloth bears Humpy's boulder-strewn landscape is one of the oldest exposed surfaces on earth unlike most mountain ranges the boulder heaps of hampi were not formed as a result of volcanism Zoar any uplift in the Earth's crust the boulders were once part of a gigantic monolith hundreds of millions of years of erosion have made the surface of the monoliths crack split and eventually metamorphosize into their present forms the pieces that lost balance in the process crumbled and formed the boulder heaps the ones that managed to balance somehow remained in some semi stable state puzzling spectators today these boulders have become a center for adventure sport and rock climbers from all over the world to practice their skills recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site hampi was one of the richest and largest cities in the world during its prime it is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire the son Gama dynasty was founded in the 1340s by King Hari Hara the first and his brother boo Cariah to protect the Hindu states of South India against Muslim invasion they soon took control over all the territories south of the Krishna River and built their capital in what is known today as hampi the Empire ruled all of South India and most of the Deccan Plateau for over 200 years until 1565 when it was besieged by the Deccan Muslim Confederacy who destroyed the city and left it in ruins the city was never rebuilt afterwards and hampi became a small village and a religious center like it had been before the foundation of the Vijayanagara Empire although hampi is sacred for lord shiva the main God in Hinduism today and the sacred pond in Pampa Sarovar is believed to be the place where he performed rituals hampi is more famous in hindu mythology as the kingdom of the monkey god Hanuman evidence of this is the many troops of monkeys mainly common language bonnet macaque that patrol the area Anjaneya hill with its characteristic whitewashed zigzag stairs to the hilltop is believed to be Lord Hanuman's birthplace one myth that explains how this landscape came to be describes that during the journey that Hanuman made in his service of Lord Rama from the Himalayas to Sri Lanka carrying a mountain he stopped in hampi to visit his mother and in the process he dropped a few stones hidden between the rocks in naturally formed caves lived many saddles some of these spiritual people who left society and the comfort of modern life to wander around India in search of enlightenment find their place in hampi and have established their own temple with its secret fireplace and its pantheon of deities as UI hampi is charismatic even in its ruined state attracting thousands of visitors every year vast stretches of boulder-strewn hills make the backdrop of hampi unique dotted around the hills and valleys spread over 30 square kilometers are 500 or more monuments among them are beautiful temples ruins of palaces remains of aquatic structures ancient Market streets royal pavilions bastions royal platforms and Treasury buildings hampi is a backpackers paradise and a pilgrims delight most of the ruins the bazaar and the main temples are located in the south side of the river in Hospit district the better birding sites and doraji bear sanctuary are also located on this side while accommodation is available in hampi bazaar itself most people opt to stay on the north side of the river in Veeru Papua kadhi or hampi Island as it is better known in Ganga arathi district it is important to find a good place to stay as you will need to rest during the hot hours the accommodation facilities here are more relaxed than in hampi bazaar and there are better restaurants they have better views over the river and the surroundings and if you come from goa this is where the bus will drop you getting around is best done by renting a motorbike many of these guest houses have Pleasant gardens with many flowering plants and large trees that attract birds pay attention to birds that fight against their own reflection in a window they provide great opportunities for photos the Tungabhadra River flows through hampi and across it you will need to take a boat modern boats are now established at the main crossing points but you may have to cross the river with a coracle boat if you cross in a different place these circular shaped boats look like huge floating baskets about 2 meters in diameter the coracles are made of bamboo cane plastic sheets and a fine coating of bitumen to make them leak proof the rocky outcrops with their dense undergrowth should be the first sight for birders to explore here you will find most of the Deccan Plateau common birds such as large grey and yellow build babblers rufus tailed lock Yellow crowned woodpecker and ashy crown Sparrow log the hills were not always well forested as you can see them these days when I first visited hampi about 30 years ago there was very little vegetation between the rocks and birds were much more scarce a combination of two factors have changed this the first is the introduction of subsidized LPG gas for domestic use which reduced drastically the dependency of people on collecting firewood the second reason is a mass campaign by NGOs like the Indian National Trust for art and cultural heritage to protect the monuments and the surrounding hills and forests in the center of hampi island across the river from ham peas virupaksha temple where most tourists stay there is a large hill that experienced a mass tree plantation by the Forest Department more than 15 years ago this hill is most attractive for rock climbers and it is very pleasant to explore and has many viewpoints where people usually go to watch the sunset is within walking distance of most guest houses envelope Appu Regardie it was on top of this hill between the largest boulders where I saw while walking on the riverbed east of the main boat crossing point a large concentration of house crows harassing this Eurasian Eagle Owl this type of habitat is the home of the yellow-throated bubble which lives only on rocky outcrops like these hills its survival depends on the protection of this habitat this South Indian endemic is classified as vulnerable by birdlife international there are only about 80 known sites for this bird and it has already disappeared from six historical locations its population is estimated at less than 10,000 individuals and the rocky outcrops of hampi are one of its strongholds where it is fairly common Matunga hill near the jain temple just above the bus and taxi stand is an easy sight to find these bubbles the second endemic bird typical to this habitat is painted square how their distribution area is much larger than the yellow-throated Bulbul and covers most of peninsular India they inhabit dry scrub jungles in rocky hilly terrain they are not considered to be rare but they are very difficult birds to see and the rocky outcrops of hampi are one of the best places to locate these birds the Tungabhadra River which flows through hampi is the next habitat to explore the river is dammed upstream and the flow of water is regulated the water level stays similar year-round and flooding is unlikely most of the birds that live in this environment are residents but they are easier to see during the monsoon the many different grasses and reeds on the water's edge are home to many species of grass birds fire and streaked Weaver's breed during the monsoon you can see the males in full breeding plumage engaging in the art of building nests and the females inspecting them many times she rejects the nest and the male has to build another one nests of streaked weavers are much more simple than those of bio weavers who are much more common and their breeding colonies are less restricted to the grasses of the riverbed the monsoon is very pleasant in Hampi it is usually cloudy and windy with the temperature usually steady at 29 degrees Celsius ideal conditions to explore this vast landscape sometimes there are showers when the roads can become pretty chaotic but they usually don't last very long the wind can sometimes get strong and conditions for photography can turn difficult there are very few tourists and accommodation is cheaper food is available but restaurants that serve foreign food are closed as they are usually operating only in the tourist season during the winter the monsoon is the best time in India to see bitterns all over India these are rusev members of the Herren family are very difficult to spot in the monsoon they become easier yellow cinnamon and black bitterns live on the riverbeds of the Tungabhadra River the best place to see all three victims is in the pools near the aqueduct envelope Opera garden a little further upstream the river splits and creates an island around the hill the north side of the river that flows below this aqueduct is much shallower and creates many pools ideal habitat for bitterns this area is also good for crakes such as ruddy breasted crate which lives mainly in reed beds and brown creek which favors more open shallow water the electricity cables can be good not only for typical perching birds like kingfishers beaters and swallows but also for grass birds like Munir's wagtails and printers the trees next to the river are good for semi woodland birds such as Indian grey hornbill and small Raptors such as Sakura walking between the boulders near the riverbed can produce Savannah nightjars a few colonies of breeding Indian pond herons can be found along this stretch of water and while driving on the road towards hanmin Holly the village near and Jenaya Hill where the monkey god Hanuman was born I found on the same stretch of water a breeding colony of great Indian and little cormorants on a single large tree that had turned white from their droppings they breed on an island in the middle of the stream together with little egrets and Indian pond herons there are many artificial lakes in the area that support the local agriculture and attract many tourists to visit but the birds are more attracted to old village water tanks come Lapua Lake on the road from Hospit to Hampi is more than a village tank it is a huge old lake that supports a mass fishing community that fish the lake in a traditional way with coracle boats in winter this lake gives refuge to hundreds of migrating water birds mainly dabbling ducks but also diving ducks and sometimes a few bar-headed geese Karnataka is the southernmost wintering ground of these geese at magadi Lake near God ugh about a hundred kilometers west of hampi about 5,000 of them congregate every winter unlike other water bodies in the area that are connected by canals to Tungabhadra dam this lake is fed by rainwater and it gradually dries until the rains come in the monsoon I was surprised to find large resident water birds like greater flamingos and spot build pelicans these birds breed hundreds of kilometres from hampi and are usually associated with different kinds of wetlands come Lapua village is six kilometers from Hospit the main town in the area and is the gateway to the hampi World Heritage Site many of the ruins are scattered around the village and it has an archeological Museum hampi bazaar and virupaksha temple a two kilometers north of Kamla pour 15 kilometers south is doraji bear sanctuary the way to the sanctuary is well signposted and takes about half an hour the way goes through agricultural land where in winter you may find perching on power lines or between bushes near the road black-headed and red-headed buntings sometimes they can be in large flocks and sometimes just a few individuals grey necked bunting is more likely to be found inside the sanctuary in winter the fields nearer to the sanctuary gate are good for Raptors mainly white eyed Buzzard and short toed eagle doraji bear sanctuary was created in 1994 exclusively for the preservation of the sloth bear the sanctuary is open to visitors all year but only in the afternoons after paying a moderate fee at the entrance you can drive for a few kilometres until you reach the carpark at the time of declaration of the sanctuary it was a large area of barren hillocks but persistent efforts by the Karnataka forest department have transformed the area into lush green forest from the car park the Forest Department has built steps leading through dense natural forest to a watchtower from where you have good views over a waterhole and the surrounding hills there is a stable population of about 120 bears in the sanctuary and every afternoon they come down from their caves on top of the rocky outcrop to feed on jaggery and other food left for them by the Forest Department other animals and birds are also attracted to this food and if you missed painted spur filed in hampi you are nearly guaranteed to see it in doraji the sloth bear is a nocturnal insectivorous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent south of the Himalayas it has a specially adapted lower lip and palate used for sucking insects the Bears feed on termites honeybees and fruits they breathe during spring and early summer and give birth near the beginning of winter their name came from the first explorers Shah and nada in 1791 who realize them to be a bear the thought it must be related to South American sloths doraji bear sanctuary had better be visited during the dry season rather than in the monsoon the Bears sometimes do not come down to feed but you can still see them near their caves the wind in the monsoon is very strong and photography with a tripod is not very effective however the landscape is spectacular especially if you are lucky enough to experience a shortest you

Channel: David Stanton

Views: 18,731

Rating: 4.8243241 out of 5

Keywords: BIRDS OF HAMPI, yellow-throated bulbul, painted spurfowl, sloth bear, daroji bear sanctuary, hampi

Id: kDHeoJiczgk

Length: 20min 32sec (1232 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 09 2016