‘Madamji Apka Swapna Sach Ho Gaya’
A skinny boy who had just passed adolescence and entered adulthood with a simple smile on his gaunt, dark face, stopped his bike and spoke to me. The boy sitting behind the back seat also had a smile on his face.
I came out of the village school building and stood under the huge tamarind tree just beside the road, next to the village of Dhurua tribes. Many eager eyes from the school are watching us. I asked -‘ In which class do you read?’
They look at me in surprise, but no answer came out due to their shyness. Then when asked, again and again, one of them humbly replied ‘Class Seven’. But their fragile physique misinterpreted them as the kids of third or fourth standard. ‘Now you guys will play? What are you playing?’ After hearing about the game, some kids felt immense shy and went away silently.
Without bothering them anymore, I think I will go into the village house. At that time, Lakhan and Sukhdas came on a bike. They are also Dhurua. They live in Nagalsar village inside the Kanger Valley National Park. The government gave them a suitable title ‘Maina Mitra’. Hill myna is the state bird of Chhattisgarh. If these boys go around the forest and find mynas or other birds, they inform the DFO sir or other officers of the forest department on the WhatsApp group. They are very enthusiastic to see the birds and always eager to learn everything. We had been walking in the forest with these two guys since morning.
We started watching birds from the very beginning of the day. In this article, I will take you to the most beautiful and unique trip where I have been blessed to watch birds, experience village life, tribal culture everything together.
We have joined Kanger Valley National Park bird survey 2022 conducted in the park from 25th-27th Nov, 2022. The programme was arranged by the forest department and ‘Bird Count India’. We had participants from the 10 different states of India. The arrangements are for 11 camps or areas covering the maximum part of KVNP. The locations are as follows:
| Nagalsar |
| Pulcha |
| Tiriya |
| Netanar |
| Tirathgarh |
| Kutumbsar |
| Kailash gufa |
| Darbha |
| Kurandi |
| Machkot |
| Koleng |
Participants are distributed into small teams consisting of two people and in this way, we had 30 teams altogether.
Camp Inauguration at Forest Training School – Jagdalpur
I and Supratim reached Jagdalpur one day before from Kolkata. In the morning we went to Dalpat Sagar and did a brief morning birdwatching session. I will share this experience later in another blog.
After this, we checked out from the hotel and transferred to the forest training school. We are greeted and after a warm welcome we received a kit bag consists a notebook, pen, t-shirt, ID card, a few snacks, biscuits, dry fruits, a first aid kit, etc.
After some brief introduction and the short speech delivered by forest officials and bird count india members, we finally came to know about our team distribution.
I was accompanied by the super enthusiastic and knowledgeable teammate Juee Khopkar Ma’am, who is from Mumbai. We had another team in the same location staying with us in Nagalsar camp. We were extremely privileged to have Mr. Yajuvendra Upadhay who is a naturalist himself and has in-depth knowledge about birds, mammals, trees, plants, and insects. By sharing their knowledge, both of them helped us to enjoy the trip even more. Shaswat was a student of forestry. He was our 4th teammate.
Supratim, my birding mate and husband went to Pulcha camp which is far from other camps. That place was totally out of network coverage. The forest was also quite dense.
We were offered a kit bag that provides T-shirt, snacks, an id-card, a notebook, a pen, a medical kit, bin bag to collect our garbage. After a delicious lunch at the forest training school Jagdalpur, we were transferred to our base location by a forest department bus. We started from the forest training school at 3.30 p.m.
In our bus, team members of only four locations were present. Tirathgarh, Kutumbsar, Darbha and Nagalsar. We were the last four persons waiting to be dropped in Nagalsar camp. By that time two hours were passed. When the bus took us to the camp it was already 5.30 p.m and a tiny busy Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher was trying to catch its last minutes of food while throwing a distinct call. The light condition was very low for photography.
Nights at Kanger Valley National Park
The darkness in the forest was so intense that it brings the next level of happiness to my mind. It feels like all the lights, hustle and bustle, and business of city life will be absorbed thoroughly in that endless darkness. Our stay was in a simple room. It has all the basic facilities like a washroom, electricity, water, a cot, store room but that is not luxurious. That accommodation had enough arrangements to stay a few days peacefully.
Solar light was there near the room. A sitting area was made out of bamboo shoots and wood. Our caretaker set a campfire to make us warm and comfortable. A shrill call of Jungle Owlet was coming from the forest. ‘Would you like to have some tea, Madam?’ Caretaker asked me eagerly. ‘Yes, please. Give me one cup.’ I was delighted.
We spent the evening listening to the obvious call of Large-tailed Nightjar and Oriental Scops Owl. We have started creating a nocturnal checklist in ebird.
By 8.30 pm. we finished our dinner. We refused to put on harsh lights while eating. We wanted to feel the true essence of forest life. We had rice, dal, and a Vegetable curry for dinner.
I love to watch stars in the deep black sky. In cities, people are not so blessed to watch stars with their naked eyes, because there are so many external light sources in the city. We strolled together in the dark forest near our camp to feel the ambiance. We listened the nocturnal bird calls loudly.
I had carried a sleeping bag, though the forest department provided us blankets, pillows, etc. There was not so much cold inside the room.
Some centipedes, insects, and spiders were present in our room, though they are pretty harmless and have a less malicious effect on humans. Staying together in a harmonious way was bringing the true essence of sustainability.
Morning at Kanger Valley National Park – Birdwatching
We went birdwatching and bird counting since morning. We were divided into two small groups and went to the forest trails along with our ‘Myna Mitra’ guides. We made several 15 minutes checklists together. We photographed a few species, recorded a few calls, and watched some beautiful birds.
On 26th Nov, we had two sessions of bird counting. One from 6.30 am. to 11.00 am. And another from 2.30 pm. to 5.00 pm. Morning was so pretty in the forest. Forest is not so dense at some places. There are many tribals who lived inside the forest for several years.
Birds get attracted easily with fruiting trees. We got one tree with some wild edible fruits in it. In that single tree we got Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Scarlet minivet, different warblers, Golden fronted leafbird etc.
When we were returning, we have seen one big sized spotted deer was chased by three feral dogs. Feral dogs are threat to wildlife.
In KVNP during the bird survey, we got more than 200 different species. Here are some birds which we got. This is not a complete list.
| Species | Count |
| Black-rumped Flameback (Dinopium benghalense) | 1 |
| Large Cuckooshrike (Coracina macei) | 1 |
| Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis) | 1 |
| Large Woodshrike (Tephrodornis virgatus) | 5 |
| Jungle Owlet (Glaucidium radiatum) | 1 |
| Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus nanus) | 1 |
| Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus) | 1 |
| Gray-headed Canary-Flycatcher (Culicicapa ceylonensis) | 1 |
| Indian Nuthatch (Sitta castanea) | 1 |
| Velvet-fronted Nuthatch (Sitta frontalis) | 1 |
| Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis) | 1 |
| Little Swift (Apus affinis) | 1 |
| Indian Pond-Heron (Ardeola grayii) | 1 |
| Jungle Owlet (Glaucidium radiatum) | 1 |
| Brown-headed Barbet (Psilopogon zeylanicus) | 1 |
| Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) | 1 |
| White-bellied Drongo (Dicrurus caerulescens) | 1 |
| Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus) | 1 |
| Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) | 1 |
| White-browed Bulbul (Pycnonotus luteolus) | 1 |
| Greenish Warbler (Phylloscopus trochiloides) | 1 |
| Indian Scimitar-Babbler (Pomatorhinus horsfieldii) | 1 |
| Golden-fronted Leafbird (Chloropsis aurifrons) | 1 |
Here is the complete Trip Report of kanger valley national park Bird Survey 2022
Not only bird counting, but we have also learned about bird behavior, plants, massive trees, insects, mammals, etc.
After the end of the morning bird-watching session at 11.00 am. we went out to see the Dhuruwa village and school. The school kids were looking at my attire and camera, binoculars curiously. Suddenly my Myna Mitra friends came and told me that my dream is about to be fulfilled. They are now going to the river to bathe. Seeing me, the bike stopped. I was surprised and said ‘which dream?’
With a simple but proud smile Lakhan replied ‘Chapra ban gaya’ I said ‘oh! I wanted to see how you make!’
This chapra chitti is a famous dish of Bastar district, Chhattisgarh. Originally it is made by the tribals. Wild red ants make nests by twisting leaves and lay eggs in them. Chapra is made by taking down the nest from the tree and shaking it in a covered container. The dead red ant and its eggs can be eaten in handfuls like spicy snacks. Formic acid is quite sour. I took some from the leafy utensil and put it in my mouth. The taste is so good and mouth-watering. I asked Myna Mitra brothers while seeing the birds in the morning. ‘Won’t you feed me your famous chapra chitti?’ They were very happy to hear! A woman with five bags and wires hanging all over her body from a distant city wanted to eat their food. Lakhan and Sukhdas started discussing something in their own language in a low voice. As a result of that, Chapra Chitti appeared at the lunch. The chutney was prepared by mixing the ant and its eggs with ginger, garlic, green chilies, coriander leaves, and tomatoes in a glass. Due to the lack of proper utensils, it was prepared with the wooden handle of an axe. We had rice, dal, and vegetable curry with a spoonful of a tangy chutney-like pickle. My mouth is still watering as I write this. We ate this chutney with food at lunch, dinner, and breakfast. Later I heard that this is the only protein in Dhurua tribals’ daily meals. Otherwise, they eat rice and dal twice a day. These natives are nature worshipers. If they have a fever, they started working more hard under the sun, they rub ants on their skin and get ant bites to sweat and cure the fever.
We went to a local tribal house. They offered us date palm juice freshly collected from the tree. The juice was probably in a transition period. It has some sharp taste but a bit sweet. It was neither fresh juice nor pure alcohol.
Malabar trogon was calling from the forest repeatedly. In this jungle there were many trogons. When Trogon’s call stopped, then Black-hooded Oriole imitated the same call and started calling as his own. Dhurua youth Lakhan looked at the jungle aimlessly and asked, ‘well we are all tribals but the tribals residing at your place are quite different, Why is it so?’
‘Ah brother! One of our teammate replied ‘we all are same. only the color is slightly different. Brother, we don’t have your strong intelligence, or the ability to understand the forest so deeply, we only teach you the English names of the birds, and teach you birding apps like ebird, Birdnet, Merlin on mobile phones, but the immense knowledge and ability you have are really awesome!
26th Evening session had a great forest trail. We had seen one Common Hill Myna was sitting quietly on a top perch. They stay in a flock but roost separately. Hill Myna is the state bird of Chattishgarh. We have seen Indian Giant Squirrel from a great distance behind the leaves.
On 27th Nov, we returned to forest training school after having a brief morning birding session. Our team got Indian wolf near the Nagalsar camp. It was a lifer in my mammal checklist. All the team members were super excited. Two wolves crossed our path maintaining a safe distance from us. We quitely sat down to make them feel at ease. They are Endangered species and slowly declining. Our team member Juee Madam excellently photographed them.
After returning to forest training school I met with Supratim. He shared some of his fabulous out of network area experiences with us. His team went to the river. His team covered three trails
- pulcha to sangam
- pulcha to bhaisadarha
- gudiyapadar to kanger river
With the help of tourism the Kangar Valley national park of Chhattisgarh, is trying to turn around after the Naxalite period is over. Until now it was only a forest of fountains and caves, from now it will be known as a destination for bird lovers, and young enthusiastic guides like Lakhan, and Sukhdas and many others will help in that task.
Some Birds and Butterflies from Pulcha Area of Kanger Valley National Park
For any query regarding birdwatching in Kanger Valley National Park, please contact Mr. Asish kumar – 9131103693
Very nicely penned. Andrilla
Thank you very much
Beautiful storirs , descriptions, awesome pics and must say thanks a lot fot giving the ebird.org link … it wl take time for me go throigh all of it… but I’m overwhelmed to see all these. Thanks a lot once again for yr efforts.š
Thank you so much