Andaman Diary - Day 1 - Cellular Jail views Andaman Diary Day 1 - Burmanallah beach and beyond Andamans Day 2 - Kalatang - birds and butterflies Andamans Day 2 - Garacharma Wetland - waders Day 3 Andaman - The road to Rangat Andaman Day 4: Dhaninullah morning in verse Andaman Day 4 and 5 - Rangat scrub and open forests Andamans Day 5 - The Andaman teals, and Daurian Starling show and other sidelights Andamans Day 6 - The Black Baza of Kalatang and the history of names Andaman Day 6 - The Indian Navy's Samudrika museum at Port Blair Andaman journeys - Lucky last day Andaman Last Day ..read more

Vismaya - so named by Sanjeev - a Peregrine Falcon whom he had day-to-day eyes on; Vismaya, who came when Maya the Shaheen left, or so it seemed. 10th April sightings Vismaya - Falco peregrinus peregrinus, Let me tell you about her, why the fuss. CSK bus below Bedecked in yellow And most miss this raptor, in plain sight of our noses. Off to the marsh at dusk and dawn From this perch, she will be gone Pigeon  stunned with fist, not gun Cleaned and eaten on the adjacent pylons. Life lived in solitude Not even the crow dare intrude Her Tiercel partner much smaller S ..read more

16th Feb 2024 I was a bit sceptical about going into a "zoo" - I dont like zoos. But this turned out to be like a botanical park, with lots of lovely large trees, high humidity and a wild pigs enclosure. Andaman Wild Pigs from the enclosure.  Does it still get to be called wild pig? Turns out that Chidiyatapu is the place where The protected Andaman wild pig gets a new lease on life with captive breeding programme.  The article mentions 8,000 wild pigs on the islands. The pigs are an important food source for the Jarawa tribe. "Andaman wild pigs are s ..read more

 Feb 15th 2024 - post lunch  - the morning at Kalatang The Samudrika museum is in Haddo.  It was less than 500 m from where we stayed. Maintained by the Indian Navy, it was good to visit - there were sections on the origins, geology, the sea life and the tribals. I used "text recognition" from the photographs and plates up on the walls - so this below are verbatims from the Samudrika museum. PANORAMIC INTRODUCTION Andaman Nicobar archipelago is situated in the Bay of Bengal, mid way between peninsular India and Myanmar, spreading like a broken necklace in the North-sout ..read more

 Continued from here. Feb 15th 2024 We were blessed with another Andaman sunrise as we set off to revisit Kalatang.  Wherever you go, you are never far from a sunrise or sunset - the daily joy of an Island life. As we waited for the ferry, this signboard caught my eye. The name-changing of some of the Islands.  In Jan 2023, 21 islands were renamed after Param Vir Chakras.  A few years earlier there was renaming of the more popular islands -  Ross Island has become Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, Havelock and Neil Islands have become Swaraj and Shahe ..read more

 Continued from here.   Feb 14th 2024 evening There was no rest for the sleepy.  In order to maximise daylight hours and save time, we were stopping at Sippighat and Junglighat before calling it a day. Many new sights awaited.  Sippighat looked very different from the last time we were here.  The inundation of Sippighat and the Tsunami effect was still evident in 2017, but not any more.  Now the whole landscape looked like a series of ponds,  on either side of the road. We crossed Ograbhaj wetlands, but did not stop as there was not much activity h ..read more

Feb 13th 2024 - Our Post lunch wander The post-lunch session is always one that requires a lot of motivation.  Stomachs full of a good "saapaad", courtesy Anandi meals, day temperatures that were warm and humid and a good inviting bed and nice pillow, all made for what we in the marketing profession would call barriers and de-motivators. However, our gang of 8 was made of sterner stuff and off we went,  to Sabari forest.  I assumed we were visiting a dense forest and I was looking forward to large trees, lianas and wild orchids. However, I was initially a bit underwhelmed wh ..read more

Feb 13th 2024 Long-tailed parakeets looked red-faced and angry The Pigeons plump meditating serenely  The sunrise just gorgeous Mexican sunflowers enormous So began our morning, early and sleepy. 530 am and the sun was already creating its special effects. Long-tailed Parakeet (Psittacula longicauda)- we dont find them in the Indian subcontinent.   The Green Imperial Pigeons and the Andaman Green-Pigeon sharing perches on a Winged Boot Tree - Pterocymbium tinctorium.   and is that a Minivet as well? Rangat Dhani Nullah did we go What we wo ..read more

 Feb 12th 2024 A strange day it was, with so many new experiences, some amazing, some frustrating, some bewildering and of course some hilarious!  The plan - travel to Rangat in Middle Andamans on The Andaman Trunk Road - ATR - now rechristened as NH4.  This required us to go in a convoy through the Jarawa reserve, then ferry across the Middle Straits, and then continue again, though some more Reserve before coming to the settler town of Rangat. In the debriefing, it was stressed to us that we had to get to the head of the convoy, or else the cars wouldn't make it quickly on t ..read more

Pobitora - has been in the news lately.  Denotified as a sanctuary by the Assam govt, a decision then thankfully stayed by the Supreme Court.  I remember the sanctuary from our 2020 MNS trip, and realised I had not updated my trip notes here. January 18th 2020  Beginning with Lesser Adjutants We departed in the morning for Pobitara, a 200 km westwards drive, staying to the south of the river. Around 10 in the morning, and the Innovas all suddenly pulled up to the side of the road.  Tubelight me, always last to see things - wondering what all the excitement was about, and t ..read more