A Wildlife Weekend

On Sunday, we headed towards Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary,
some 40 kms away. In this pleasant weather, picnickers are
out in the open making the most of the weather, and off we
went too, for what is hopefully, the first picnic of the
season. The day was hazy and it shows in many of the photos.
Many of the trees were bare as seen in the first photo.

Please click on all images for a better view.


Besides tea and the mighty river Brahmaputra, Assam is also
known as the home of the one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros
unicornis). Although the sanctuary is spread over an an area
of 38.8 square kms, it has the highest concentration of rhinos
as compared to other sanctuaries in the state. With the day
being hazy, I couldn't get a clearer shot and we were told
by the guards not to venture into the grassland. This shot was
taken from the road bordering the park.

The small water bodies in the picture attract several birds.
Birds of the heron family dominated the water whereas the
skies were for migratory birds, mainly Siberian cranes which
flock to warmer climes in winter.


Another view of where the Rhinoceros roam.....


The Spider flowers (Cleome spinosa) were in full bloom. I'd
never seen cleome growing so abundantly in the wild. There
were many butterflies and a few dragonflies near the blooms.


On the edge of this water body too... A prominent feature of the
great wide floodplains of the Brahmaputra valley is a water body
of this type known as "beels". These low-lying depressions are
fed by rain and floodwaters during the monsoon. Rich in aquatic
life, they are a source of food to man and animals. Many villages
in areas near these "beels" depend on them for a constant supply
of fish.

The Peacock Pansy (Junonia almana). This is a stunning butterfly
with the spotted pattern on the wings. This species is native to
India, Pakistan, Burma and Sri Lanka.


After lunch we went boating. Took this shot from the boat.
Sunsets cannot be missed...just look at that colour!


As we passed colourful clumps of cleome and flocks of parrots
pecking at wild berries, huge flocks of Siberian cranes came to
roost on these trees. The sunlight was no longer strong and I
could only manage to capture these beautiful creatures sihouetted
against a fading light.


Like I said earlier, these birds dominated the Pobitora skyline.
I'd read about these birds coming here during winter but I'd
never seen them. We had no plans of going to Pobitora. We wanted
to be together somewhere in the great outdoors. Not everybody liked
the first spot and that's how we reached a place so rich in flora
and fauna. Needless to say we all came back happy with how it all went.