CAMPING IN THE JUNGLE

CAMPING IN THE JUNGLE

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

18/VI/2022

When the weather is good, a little cloud cover and shade of the trees makes it very comfortable to move outdoors. With a camera in hand, there are better chances of clicking some nice pics. With my Ray Bans on, off I move towards the waterfront jungle. What is in store, no one knows.

Birds as usual are shy. They may or may not pose for you. Your focus might not be proper, your hand might shake, the branch on which the bird sits might sway, the bird may not be in a conducive direction with respect to the sun. Your presence, or crunch of leaves with your shoes can spook these feathery friends.

There are so many ‘ifs and buts’. How hard you try not to make a jerky movement; these birds can catch you. They stay very alert, after all it is their survival at stake. They do not know your intentions are good. The bottom line is that there is always a slip between the cup and the lip. One has to be lucky to get all parameters right.

Every time I lifted my camera, birds would fly or run away. They moved to a temporary hiding, till they found the coast was clear. I was not able to understand, why? Was it the flash? The camera goes on auto-flash mode as soon as it detects low light. It is a major distraction. So shifted the knob to ‘no flash’ mode. Now they were less distracted.

Still, they won’t let me get close. It was then that I realised that the strap of the camera was dangling loose. It would sway with every lift and alert the birds. Moment one was about to press the button, with a flutter, birds would bid me bye-bye. My dress could also be an issue. Nevertheless, there was something amiss.

My eyes got fixed on an ‘Ashiana’ of a squirrel. It was a gaping hole in the tree. Like people boast about the size of their house, she too was lucky to have such a huge entrance to the house. She went crazy as if I would enter her house. She went up and down the tree and then peeped from behind to watch my moves. Stay away was her message.

The peacocks were in a frenzy. The ones I came across were chicks. Could be a year plus. The Peahens were small and the Peacocks did not have long feathers in their tails. One male was the leader. At his call, females would walk towards him. With the rainy season round the bend, I am sure their feathers will grow into full bloom.

Cuckoos were cuckooing at the top of their voice. One would call & the other would reply and this exchange of messages went on. Unexpectedly, one came and sat on a tree right infront of me. Sometimes, in excitement the button gets pressed too fast dipping the camera and things go out of focus. ‘Shist ka kaida’ taught to us in the Weapons Training classes has to be brought into play, besides Holding, Aiming, Trigger Operation, the Breath control has to be perfect.

As I moved down the river front, I was expecting to catch Mr Malya the Kingfisher to come out in the open and he did. He was on the far bank and went on with his shikar. Sparrows too were watching me in awe and kept hopping from Kikkar to Kikkar. At one time four of them got together on one branch and I caught them.

Then came the turn of the Partridges. Partridge calls can be heard from miles. This extremely shy bird is swift. It flies very rarely unless extremely threatened. It runs and runs fast. The male likes to stand in a dominating position and call away to glory, while the females peck around and scavenge for food close by.

It is early morning when partridges are the laziest. It takes time for them to shake out of their slumber. They stay in a pack of five or more as they have safety in numbers. They dig the dust and fill their feathers with sand. Early in the morning, they love to have a community bath.

Partridges fight, they peck and jump on each other to show dominance. Had the Alpha male a choice, he would have injured the smaller one. Probably it was male rivalry. I believe males have a big nail jutting out above their claws.

All lessons from the past and new lessons of the day play a very important role to frame these birds. Besides luck is a very major factor to take a good shot.

I feel like camping in the jungle along the river. Will my wife allow it? I wonder!!!!!!!!!

JAI HIND