Chronicles from Corbett – A Corbett National Park Experience

[Jayanth Sharma]

A Kenyan town called Nyeri, was where my Kenyan safari guide belonged to and he had stopped in this town for a while during my trip to a few national parks in Kenya last year. Since I had a few minutes of time, I wandered around the St. Peter's Anglican Church in Nyeri and I was surprised to see some information about the legendary Edward James Jim Corbett. It was interesting to know about Jim’s Kenyan relationship and how he spent the last few months of his life in a jungle lodge in Kenya. “Tree Tops” was supposed to be his sixth and the last book which he wrote in 1955. Jim Corbett was buried in this church, I was told. Jim and his sister Maggie had retired and moved to Kenya in 1947.

Most of us know Jim as the hunter turned conservationist who was instrumental in the establishment of “Corbett National Park” which was formerly known as the “Hailey National Park”. In 1955 this area was renamed as the “Ramganga National Park” and after Jim’s demise later that year the park was re-established as the most famous “Corbett National Park” we see today. An abode of spectacular scenic beauty, the Corbett National Park is also home to more than 588 migratory and resident species of birds. Over 450 different species of plants have also been recorded in the park which makes it a heaven for plenty of mammals and birds. The sub-Himalayan belt’s ecological and geographical characteristics are noticed in this park. The Corbett National park lies in the Nainital district of the recently formed “Uttarakhand” state of India. Ramnagar is the nearest town through which access to the park can be gained and has access through road as well as railway.

India’s first National Park, the Corbett National Park is supposed to be one of the most visited national parks in the country and the endangered Bengal Tiger numbers here have been encouraging and on the rise in the recent years according to the latest census. Approximately 164 Tigers are recorded in this region and is probably one of the highest numbers of tigers found in a particular area.

In the last two years, my urge to visit this heavenly park grew out of proportions. Expert opinions suggested that April and May are the best times of the year to enjoy the highlights of the park which is the elephant congregation in the Dhikala grasslands of the park. Otherwise Corbett is a place which has something or the other to offer to nature lovers all through out the year. Winter seems to be a great time for bird watchers to visit the park and sightings of the migratory species are very easy during winter.

After a sleepless journey to Ramnagar in the overnight train, I had to obtain permits and drive through the forest route to reach my destination, the Dhikala Forest Rest House. A Gypsy is the best way to access the park and Corbett is one of the parks where a high degree of strictness is maintained. Proximity to Delhi doesn’t help much as too many tourists flock the area during this season. I had heard enough of the Bijrani range and I had wished to see it only if I had spare time. Most of the walk-in tourists to Corbett are taken to Bijrani and Sitabani areas while guests with prior bookings are led to their respective forest rest houses. A beautiful drive through the forest main road led me to Dhikala F.R.H which is probably the most famous and the most difficult accommodations to access. A very strict booking limitation of only 2 nights per booking is entertained and obtaining booking here is easier said than done.


On my way to Dhikala, loud calls of a Pallas’s fish eagle pair stopped me and I was thrilled to have sighted them so easily as I had just entered the park. Blue Whistling-thrush was the most commonly sighted shy bird on the road and I was dying to get a good photo of this dusky beauty. I miserably failed every time as this bird would hardly entertain acquaintances. By lunch time, I reported at the Dhikala FRH and an afternoon nap was more than just a pleasure that day. It was a peaceful deep sleep which was disturbed by the irate rhesus macaques of the area. It reminded me of BR Hills where the bonnet macaques are a pain to the jungle lodges staff trying to steal food from the kitchen. Very soon I set out to my first evening drive in the mesmerizing Dhikala grasslands.


It must have been less than 10 minutes and I had to stop in awe, spell bound and amazed by the sheer beauty of this area. Distant hills with the “Kanda” guest house glittering on top, the Ramganga River sparkling like never before, the clean and soft pebbles of the rivers which were inviting and the chirping stonechats and bush chats of the grasslands were not a sight I would like to miss easily. Elephant sighting here was more than assured during the summer and we gradually moved on towards a huge herd of elephants. My friend Gautam Shah had told me how different these elephants were from what I am used to in the Nilgiri biosphere. The tuskers here especially were quite aggressive and when in musth they would hardly let you stay close, I was told.

It took less than fifteen minutes to realize what Gautam had told me and I was kicked off from the place I was standing by a Tusker who had no clue of what hospitality was all about. Interestingly, he had one and half tusks and was clearly in musth. Constant observation revealed that he belonged to none of the herds but kept on intruding in to various herds like a rogue, checking on receptive females, scaring young males and charging every gypsy or car he would come across in the pursuit. Due to his aggression he had already become famous in this area and everyone knew him as the “Ded-daant Tusker” in hindi it means one and a half tusker. I had no wish to go away from such an active elephant and most of the evening was spent with the restless and huge tusker alongside plenty of herds which were peacefully grazing. I spotted plenty of tiny calves which must have been less than a year old and it was a prospective sight.


The next morning, we were among the first to get out of the lodge and I was not sure why my guide “Nirankar” positioned the gypsy on the elevated point of the Sambar Road, near a watch tower. It was 6:10 AM and the sun was reluctantly peeping through planet earth. Like a fairy tale morning, Sambars on the Sambar road alarmed and we moved on hundred feet further. I was trying to get used to the place, trying to analyze what my driver and guide were conspiring and before I realized what was happening, a Tiger walked out of the path that led to the ramganga river, stopped in the middle of the road and moved on. It was 6:15 AM and very low light and I hardly picked up my camera to click photographs of her.

For my wife Shruthi, it was the first Tiger in the wild and after the Tiger passed I checked what she had captured on her handy camera. Well, I could very clearly relate to my first Tiger encounter in Kabini where my hands were shaking, my mind blocked and hands doing funny things with the camera which resulted in photographs that were not worth a second look. Shruthi was spellbound and dumbstruck! She had the camera on and pointing towards the ground while she watched the tiger walk across the road in a jaw-dropping expression. She felt guilty after seeing my face which had great expectations. Meanwhile a clueless yellow-throated marten came out of the bushes and sprinted across the road at a distance. Soon we had a smile on our face and we moved on.

Every afternoon during my stay in Dhikala I was dying to go to the grassland as the dramatic set up of distant hills, magical grasslands and mesmerizing mega-fauna like the elephants, chital, sambar, jackals were inviting. A nearby Hog deer herd was also a sight to watch as I had hardly seen them from close quarters during my trip to the north east last year. Elephants, elephants and elephants were highlight of the next evening as well and I loved the experience of watching the gentle giants interact with each other. From adult elephants pushing youngsters to get going to the abundant chital stags partying in the grasslands made me only wish I could freeze the clock over there.

Minutes later, my eyes froze on two elephant calves which seemed to have all the energy in the world and like most kids, naughtiness was the best characteristic of them which Shruthi and I noticed. We were amused by the funny moves the two calves made as they rolled on each other, climbed on each other’s back, banged ones head against the belly of the other and in the due course realized they had ventured quite a distance from their elders. Making loud trumpeting calls, they would distract the whole world around and run back towards their mother while other clueless elephants watched from a distance wondering the reason for the youngster’s anxiety. Shruthi and I couldn’t forget the naughty calves and we named them “Kittu and Puttu” for fun as we remembered their funny actions and went to bed that night only hoping to see them again soon.

The next morning we did spend nearly an hour with the two naughty calves as they continued their quest for fun and excitement. Soon we ventured deep in to the forest on the other side of the bank. We were watching a solitary Jackal investigate a few things in the area when suddenly two more jackals chased the intruder and vanished in to the bushes. We heard noises the three of them made which seemed like a rigorous battle. Nirankar spotted the Brown-fish owl which was also a spectator to the jackal fight along with Cinereous Vultures perched on tall bald trees.

I was missing the grasslands too much and I requested the guide/driver to take me there and it turned out to be a lucky move. We had just entered the grasslands when chital started alarming continuously and every gypsy in the area positioned itself for yet another Tiger sighting. We were the last to reach the cluster of vehicles and I was worried what I would do when the tiger crosses the road ahead of me, as plenty of people were standing tall in their vehicles blocking my view. My guide turned back to check the other side and the rest was history. A tiger was standing in the middle of the road wondering what we were all doing pointing our cameras to the other side. He gave us a few seconds of thrill before he walked gracefully in to the thick vegetation of the area. Thankfully this time I at least got documentary photos of the Tiger in Corbett.


Clouds gathered and we had hardly moved a couple of hundred yards when we spotted a jungle cat sitting in the open and planning a move. The tiny cat was yawning and looked drowsy as if he had never slept the whole night. We observed the jungle cat for nearly 15 minutes before the cat got up and crossed the road and ran across in to the grasslands. I again changed my mind and remembered my lust for the Crested-kingfisher. We decided to stop next to the river and try to photograph the large kingfisher. Within minutes we spotted the gorgeous bird but at quite a distance and the rest of the safari were utilized in the eager wait for the bird to get closer to us. In the meanwhile we did sight river lapwings, white-capped redstart, pallas’s fish eagle again and plenty of green bee eaters.

That afternoon, my friends from Bangalore (Santosh, Gowri and Sriharsha) checked in the Dhikala FRH and it was nice to meet them and chat with them during the lunch. It looked very cloudy and almost started raining by the time we finished lunch and I was disappointed with the developments of the weather. After a couple of hours it suddenly seemed sunny and I was happy to get on to the safari gypsy. We ventured on the Sambar road and we stopped near the usual roosting tree where Tawny-fish owls are sighted. It started pouring heavily and the gypsy was totally covered. To my surprise, the owls one by one got out of their hiding and sat on wonderful perches in the open soaking in the rain. Sitting in a gypsy in the rain, I pulled my tripod and mounted my lens making sure it is covered by the water-proof cover as I tried clicking pictures of the huge owl. 1/4th of a second was the exposure my meter demanded. Soon I changed the light sensitivity on my camera and the shutter requirement reached a manageable 1/30th of a second while I clicked a few pictures of the owl. I was about to wrap up the show when the fish owl I had focused rotated its neck quickly to get rid of rain water and that made a very interesting radial-motion-blur picture of the tawny fish owl.


Orange headed-thrush, Pied-harrier, Black-necked stork, Black stork, Red jungle fowl, Red Avadavat, Stone Chats, Bush chats, Jungle mynas, Pied-kingfishers and plenty of other birds were some of the birds I sighted in the area. It was my last evening safari in Dhikala and the Black-necked Stork sighting at such close quarters were something I had never expected. My most favourite harrier which I had spotted in Manas national park last year was the most gorgeous bird I had seen that day. The Pied Harrier kept on hovering near the grassland while I managed a documentary shot of the bird. Suddenly out of no where all the chital in the area started alarming and started running around the grassland. After a close watch we spotted two jackals which were chasing another jackal creating ruckus and chaos in the grassland. It was interesting to see all the chital in the area being alert by lifting their tail and running around the grassland.

Just when we were about to sign off from the Dhikala area, I witnessed something I had personally never done. The Black-shouldered Kite which is notorious for spoiling photographs by sitting on electric poles usually, was gracefully perched on a stump and almost 12 feet above the ground. I repositioned my gypsy to make sure the tall sal trees formed my background and the driver slowly approached the perched kite. I promised the naturalist and the driver that if I get a full frame photograph of the kite we all would party that evening and I had to keep up my word. The kite let me click at least a dozen photos of itself before it flew away to hover on more fields and may be sit on more electricity poles.

It rained like never before that evening after which I moved on to the Bijrani area for a couple of customary safaris in this area. Tourists in Bijrani paraded the park like a convoy of army men one after the other singing songs and playing antakshari. Some of them kept on asking about prospective tiger opportunities and many of them asked if my equipment was a telescope? I couldn’t stay much longer in the disturbing bijrani zone which seemed quite interesting except for presence of more humans than animals. It was time to get out of the park and sign off from the National Park area.


Pangot/Nainital
After my trip to the national park, a couple of days in the Pangot area was highly recommended for which I had to drive past the city of Nainital in to a jungle village of Pangot which was up in the hills. My good friends Pramod Viswanath and Shivakumar L joined me for this trip. Jungle Lore was the place where we stayed and bird watching was our main interest during the couple of days we spent in Pangot. Black-headed Jay, White-throated Laughing thrush, Grey Bush Chat, Himalayan Bulbul, Oriental turtle dove were amongst many of the birds we constantly saw.

The next morning we drove up the hills and reached a cliff from where we hoped to sight the Himalayan griffon. We spent nearly 30 minutes only to be disappointed. After losing hope we started clicking pictures of ourselves on the edge of the cliff and were wasting time when suddenly out of no where one Himalayan griffon flew across and the next thirty minutes were spent tracking these gorgeous vultures in flight and clicking them at eye levels. We soon got back to the resort and spent the rest of the evening waiting near attractive perches for the White-throated laughingthrush and the Black-headed Jay’s to show up.

A trip to Pangot and Corbett in the winter seems mandatory now and all that we have missed should be covered in the winter when migratory birds would be at their glorious best. As far as Corbett is concerned, it is an elephant haven in the summer and for lucky souls can be a rewarding Tiger experience. But otherwise, there are plenty of other areas which I couldn’t visit due to insufficient time but it’s a promise to myself that I can’t stay away for long from this wild haven.

I recently read an article by Prerna Singh Bindra in The Pioneer where she hints that all might not be well in Corbett as traces of poaching were found. I hope quick corrections to our policies and the way we function can be made to make sure not more is stolen from our precious wild repositories. Talking about Poaching and Tigers, recent headlines showed that Ranthambhore has bounced back with new cubs and some tigers are being shifted to sariska from here. May be its worth a visit to this place now. Until next time – Roar!!



Mammals
1. Tiger
2. Elephant
3. Jackals
4. Sambar Deer
5. Chital
6. Barking Deer
7. Hog Deer
8. Jungle Cat
9. Yellow-throated Marten
10. Common Mongoose
11. Smooth-coated Otter
12. Common Langur
13. Rhesus Macaque

Reptiles and Fish
1. Gharial
2. Marsh Crocodile
3. Cat Fish

Birds
1. Black Stork
2. Black-necked Stork
3. Green Bee Eater
4. Jungle Babbler
5. Blue Whistlingthrush
6. Swallow
7. Crested Kingfisher
8. Common Kingfisher
9. Pied Kingfisher
10. Stork-billed Kingfisher
11. White-throated Kingfisher
12. River Tern
13. River Lapwing
14. Pallas’s Fish Eagle
15. Lesser Fish Eagle
16. Tawny Fish Owl
17. Brown Fish Owl
18. Red Avadavat
19. House Sparrow
20. Red-breasted Parakeet
21. Red-collared Dove
22. Yellow-footed Green Pigeon
23. Spotted Dove
24. Red-wattled Lapwing
25. River Tern
26. Common Hoopoe
27. Red Junglefowl
28. Indian Peafowl
29. Orange-headed Thrush
30. Golden Flameback
31. Grey-headed Woodpecker
32. Common Stonechat
33. Pied Bushchat
34. Red-headed Vulture / King
35. Cinereous Vulture
36. Pied Harrier
37. Crested Serpent Eagle
38. Khaleej Pheasant
39. Great Tit
40. Indian Roller
41. Red-throated Flycatcher
42. Common Greenshank
43. Red-vented Bulbul
44. Red-whiskered Bulbul
45. White-cheecked Bulbul
46. Black Drongo
47. Ashy Drongo
48. Asian Paradise Flycatcher
49. Common Myna
50. Rose-ringed Parakeet
51. Chestnut-headed Bee Eater
52. Paddyfield Pipit
53. Scarlet Minivet
54. Rufus Treepie
55. Black Kite
56. Golden-fronted Leafbird
57. Black-shouldered Kite
58. Brainfever Bird
59. Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
60. Plain Prinia
61. White-capped Redstart
62. White-throated Laughingthrush
63. Black-headed Jay
64. Rufous-bellied Woodpecker
65. Himalayan woodpecker
66. Himalayan Griffon
67. Striated Laughingthrush
68. Chestnut-bellied Rockthrush
69. Verditer flycatcher
70. Oriental-turtle dove
71. Russet Sparrow
72. Grey-winged blackbird
73. Streaked Laughingthrush
74. Brahminy Kite
75. Pariah Kite
76. Slaty-headed Parakeet
77. Grey-headed Canary flycatcher
78. Scarlet Minivet
79. Green-backed Tit
_________________
Cheers,
Jayanth Sharma
jay@wildlifetimes.com

[Pramod Viswanath]

Amazing pictures, great experiences and pristine wilderness superbly put into words! Though I haven't been to corbett, with your description it indeed feel like a heaven on earth!

Superb trip report amidst "Strict" deadlines

[Bharat]

Great Trip Report and refreshed my memories of my Corbet visit, some of the pictures are really nice especially the Elephant Calf's and the Elephant charging....... and you should be really lucky to spot a tiger, though you were the last to reach the spot where people had gathered to sight the tiger

[Suksy]

Yet again, a gripping post which takes us virtually on the trip... Liked the "Kittu and Puttu" part..

Great post dude.. keep the momentum going.. and hope you have many more such trips so that you can enable us to make the same virtually with you!

[kart]

fantastic report & pics Jay...keep going

Kart

[anilranganath]

I was following this space for the Corbett reports for quite sometime, only to realize the release was postponed. Finally here it is, superb images affixed with great narration, a great place to be. Loved every bit of it. Wish the Magestic Tigers multiply in huge numbers.

[shivanayak]

Wonderful report, what an inspiration

[Guest]

Superb report...keep it up jayant...

[Guest]

awesome, felt like being there in person

[samson cj]

Wonderful write up, Loved every bit of it..
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Samson cj

[rayees]

Superb report, awesome pics. Thanx a ton Mr. Jayanth, enjoyed every bit of it. Regards. Rayees

[prakash subbanna]

Wonderfu report. The true existence flora,fauna & bio-diversity is explained in a very girpping manner. Once again my virtual trip to Corbet & Ninital is realized. Stunning pic. Especially of Kittu & puttu fighting...You have mastered not only the art of taking pic. but also presenting it beautifully.

[Nithin]

Excellent report and amazing photographs...!
_________________
Cheers,
Nidhin
www.Nidh.in

[Kumar]

A wonderful trip report with lots of information. The photographs are real treat to a nature lover. I am just feeling that 1 1/2 tusker, how it might have acted in must.
Great jay, really loved the photographs as well as the informative report.
Cheers
Kumar

[sriharsha ganjam]

Beautiful man! Pictures apart thanks for providing the vital stats on Corbett as well. Nothing like a nice recap of this magical place to beat away the mid week blues!
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Harsh

[travinfoindia]

Hi Jayant,

You know, how i have been following you for this report.. you kept your promise.. Well i would not compare this report with any other.. That would mean the other was not so good.

I have been to corbett and unfortunately in the wrong season and landed up in Bijrani, which is more like a picnic spot than a wildlife area.

I would be trying to do to corbett in winter again .

Loved this report .. cheers and now waiting again for next reports..

Regards
Rakesh
_________________
Check me at:
www.travinfoindia.com

[shivangmehta]

Jayanth,

Had been waiting to see Corbett through your eyes for long now and trust me you have shown me and Kahini a completely new picture of our beloved forest... we have visited the place umpteenth times every year but these photos and reports have definitely been refreshing to our eyes.

Kudos!
Shivang

[Murali Santhanam]

Jayanth,

Great Account and Excellent pictures. When I read about the first Tiger picture opportunity in your narration, I am reminded of the shaky pictures that I had managed to produce during my last trip to Bandipur. You have covered lots of ground since then. I am still learning. Your pictures are inspiring.

Regards,
Murali Santhanam
_________________
Regards,
Murali Santhanam

[Guest]

jayanth ur discriptions are fantastic, i lived corbett through ur lenses, happy to note ur wife shruthi has a love for wildlife keep the good work going, the world will be dull place without the likes of you, u are not only a good photographer but also a good writer

[Guest]

hey the write up in deccan hearald which featured u and other naturalists was wondrful

[rkailas]

Hi Jayanth

Indu Sarath (Cicada resorts) passed on the link for this website to me, and I am glad she did! I really enjoy your pictures and very informative style of writing. Superb elephant and bird pictures in this report. Is that a pic of a Tawny Fish Owl in this report?

Your Orissa trip report was fantastic too.

Thanks
Ravi

[Jayanth Sharma]

Yes, it is indeed a T F O.

Convey my regards to Indu. She has been very kind to me.
_________________
Cheers,
Jayanth Sharma
jay@wildlifetimes.com

[srinivas.varanasi]

Loved this compact article. Phtographs were good.

Keep them coming.

- Srini

[deepak]

great work

[suhas_anand]

great one again Jay....Jungle cat was extraordinary pic ....well all were amazing