The first big spot of the morning is pigeons, but not just any old pigeon. These are Yellow Footed Green Pigeons. Next we get a Spotted Owl, one of the small, rather common ones. Birds seem to be a bit thin on the ground (and in the trees) although we do see a splendidly coloured peacock up in the treetops.
Sattu decides it is time to go back to the hotel for breakfast but on the way we try one more place. Bingo. A Brown Hawk Owl. It was difficult to get a clear sighting and D's camera almost falls into a murky pond in the process but we get it. Sattu has not seen one of these in this park before.
The breakfast buffet is no more inspiring than last night's dinner. Have we been spoiled in places that we have stayed in before or just booked badly this year? We get by on hard boiled eggs and toast, washed down with black tea. Soon we are out again, now in clear sunshine, and heading down into the wetland area. It is much less busy and therefore quieter than yesterday.
The sightings pile in thick and fast, including a good few that we did not see yesterday. The most notable included a Dalmatian Pelican, a Marsh Harrier, a Night Heron and a Crested Serpent Eagle complete with quiff. The noise levels around start to up as the school parties arrive. Most of these are more interested in the telescope and R's binos than in what they are being used to view. Sattu leads us off down a side track where we have things to ourselves. There is a colony of storks and some of the birds are still feeding young in the nest. There are other young ones around that are starting to venture away from the nest.
At our guide's suggestion we have ordered packed lunches and these are delivered to us by motorbike at a small rest area, complete with chai stall, at one corner of the reserve. There is a list of memorable events here including a note that our neighbour, Lord Linlithgow, shot over 4,273 birds here in one day in 1938. What a *~¡*¤★! The packed lunch was huge, including more hardboiled eggs. Will the birds forgive this relatively minor piece of genocide?
Lunch over we are back to work and barely ten paces out of the rest area when Sattu spots another owl. This one is a Collared Scops Owl and is very well hidden among the branches. We continue along some of the quieter side tracks and soon spot a family of Dusky Eagle Owls perched on a distant branch - pa, the wean and ma. We also get our first sighting of a Common Kingfisher, much smaller than the other varieties.
Ann McI Alert. Stop here
Sattu is very keen to show us a python or two. We saw one quite small one in the grass at the side of the road earlier but he tells us we are near a good place. In a sunny clearing in the bushes there is a whole pile of pythons, at least eight of varying sizes. The one at the bottom of the heap is huge. Pythons can move remarkably quickly when they decide to head for cover. So can R.
We keep moving and get a nice view of a pair of spotted deer, the male sporting splendid antlers. We are on the lookout for the orange headed ground thrush. Instead we get a close up view of an Oriental Honey Buzzard, a big ugly brute, and a Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher, a very pretty small bird. By now it is 4.30 and our feet are beginning to tire. It has been a really brilliant day and we thank Sattu over a cup of tea. We keep his number in case we return.
Neither of us fancy the buffet again so we enquire at reception and are told we can order from the card if we wish. This sounds OK so when supper time comes we order pakoras and Aloo chaat. A quarter of the price and even delivered to our room despite the notices saying 'No Room Service' . Just the job, taken in conjunction with our remaining bottle of beer. Have we just stumbled on one of the great untold secrets of succesful Indian travel?
Before and after this en suite feast D makes use of the free wifi to arrange a social programme for the next few days. Watch out Delhi. Here we come.
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