Following Bird Calls

Go beyond chasing the big cats at the Satpura National Park in Madhya Pradesh to discover an astounding range of feather friends and a newfound love for birding.

- Gayatri Moodliar  

TO SAY going birding is like finding a needle in a haystack would be an understatement. Not only because most needles don’t wilfully move from their spot, but also due to the fact that it isn’t necessarily a 360°, all-senses engaged activity. Birdwatching, on the other hand, is something that could demonstrate to you just where exactly your observation skills lie on the spectrum. And if you’re a first-time ‘birder,’ you can be rest assured of disappointment, albeit briefly.

Brief because the learning curve is steep and momentous. When you set out initially, binoculars slung around your neck, surrounded by experienced enthusiasts, it’s a given that you’re going to miss the whizzing of feathers, the slight tremble in the leaves and the faint call from one to another, often a polite suggestion to fly away from potential danger. But then, it becomes an addiction. To be able to identify that Hume’s Warbler, even though all you see is a shape silhouetted against a leaf of broadly the same colour, becomes something you need to do. To realise that there’s some prey lying in the middle of the forest because a flock of Serpent Eagles are descending in a circle becomes second nature. To understand the avian world soars to becoming a newfound want.