A lot of wanderings around India, A little around the world: Greater Rann of Kutch & Mandvi

The Greater Rann of Kutch shares its unique geology & vast, barren landscape with the Lesser Rann of Kutch. The scrub, seasonal salt-marsh & grasslands at Greater Rann of Kutch (GRK) are home to a variety of mammals, birds & migrants. The almost-monochromatic visual is punctuated by blobs of colour - cheery Maldharis & Rabaris walking with a natural swagger, herding their livestock.

Montagu's Harrier, Banni grasslands

The nocturnal Syke's Night-jar, Banni grasslands

Ship-building, Mandvi

While at GRK, I also had an opportunity to visit the coastal town of Mandvi. As we drove to Mandvi from the Rann, the desert slowly made way for swaying coconut trees. We saw signs of what makes Mandvi an important port renowned for its ship-building industry; massive ships being built by hand, even today, greeted us as we entered the town. We drove on till these behemoths were replaced by smaller fishing boats, idyllically moored to a very smelly beach.

Dried fish

Lured by the same smelly, dried fish that kept us away, noisy gulls displayed acrobatics while in flight, trying to swoop down on a piece of fish. After photographing the gulls for a while, we walked along the coast until the air smelt fresh once more. An afternoon spent at a desolate stretch of beach here allowed us to watch water birds: stone plovers, curlews and the Pacific reef Egret, to name a few. As evening sneaked up on us, we set our cameras aside to enjoy the setting sun, walking back, barefoot on the cool sand.

Pallas's Gull, Mandvi

Pacific Reef Egret aka Eastern Reef Heron, with its catch, at Mandvi

This is the third in a three-part blog about my Gujarat trip. Read part one, about the Velavadar grasslands, here. Read part two, about the Little Rann of Kutch, here.

The last in my stories from Gujarat, straight from the horses’ mouths.

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Camouflaged Owl

I’d settled down under the tall bush, seeking some shade. I was tired after my all-night hunt. Luckily, the hunt had been fruitful & I’d devoured all the three rodents I’d caught. With my stomach still bulging from the feast, this bush seemed ideal to snooze under. I’d been sleeping for a couple of hours now when I heard one of those jeeps stop nearby. Drat! Had somebody seen me? I’m rather proud of my camouflage skills & I’d been very careful to choose a tree that matched. To be doubly sure, I’d also perched myself in the dark, shaded area, behind clumps of grass.

I open one eye to investigate. There are hushed whispers & much pointing. The group is busy admiring me & taking photographs. Should I fly away & reclaim my peace? What if they try to capture me? Worried, I open the other eye too. They slowly move back & forth, trying to take my photos from an angle where the bush doesn’t hide my face. Well, I decide; if they move closer or annoy me for much longer, I’m going to take off. I don’t care if the bush is blocking their view & they don’t get a good picture. Luckily, they make no such attempts. They contort themselves in all possible ways within the jeep to try & get as good a view as possible. Then, they drive away. I exhale & resume my nap. By the way, the guy who spotted me; he must have the eyes of a hawk!

Great Horned Owl, Banni grasslands

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Four of us are walking through the grasslands. We’re highly endangered & that worries not only us, but also a few humans. Yet, they fail to realise that the primary reason there are so few of us is because of them; first they hunted us & when they had the sense to stop, we’ve started losing our habitat. The other 246 of us (yes, we’re about 250 left in the world) are spread out over Gujarat, Karnataka & Maharashtra. Anyways, to come back to this cold December morning, four of us are walking through the Naliya grasslands. The grass is so tall that we’re barely visible. That’s saying quite a bit, for, we are very large birds; over 3-4 feet tall.

The endangered Great Indian Bustard, Naliya grasslands

As we go looking for food, we’re spotted by a group which is driving down the road. They seem to know our significance, for they get off the jeep quietly, form a single file & begin tiptoeing through the grass towards us. We’re very shy & not particularly fond of crowds, but, we’re quite far from them & aren’t worried. The group is whispering about how lucky they are to spot four of us together. They click photographs through the grass. We continue looking for a place to feed, but, this part of the grassland doesn’t seem to be any good. If not insects, we can look for some crops nearby, maybe? My friend seems to think so too for he suddenly takes off, to go elsewhere. The three of us wonder what to do & decide to follow him. We take off too. As I circle above, I peer down. The group is still looking at us, agape. I think we’ve made their day.

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It is evening & rapidly darkening. A hundred Common Cranes take off into the sky & vanish behind the hill. I’m tired from the day’s hunt and want to laze. A cloud of dust at the horizon signals the arrival of a jeep. They suddenly realise that the ground here is very wet & the jeep could sink. They stop & continue on foot. Well, I’ll people-watch this evening. I snuggle into the bush. I watch in amusement as the group stealthily makes their way through the tall grass. I crane my neck to see the object of their collective affection: a Greater spotted-eagle perched on some scrub. The bird flies away after some time & the group busies themselves photographing some Drongos who are glinting in the setting sun.

The Greater Spotted-Eagle, Banni grasslands

Golden Jackal

They’re about to leave in the jeep, when I’m spotted. They now train their guns on me. At first, I ignore them. Then, I shut my eyes & pretend to be asleep. I can hear the group discuss how I am different from a wolf or a fox. Really? To compare me with those two! Do I look as tiny as the fox? Or am I as bony & bad-looking as the wolf? Can’t they see that I’m much larger than the fox & definitely more beautiful than that wolf? How my lovely coat shines; the wolf has barely any coat to speak of and always looks mangy. Sniff; I’m hurt. I walk away.