All my previous visits to the fishing camps in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (Galibore and Doddamakkali) had been total fun. So, as we set off to Bheemeshwari, there was an apprehension of the record being broken. Well it was ISO 800 light even at 7:30AM, with heavy rains all night.
Then, the sky miraculously started clearing up. The air was rent with the symphony of frogs calling out to their potential mates. Birds in their nesting season, like these Tawny-bellied Babblers, flitted in and out of the undergrowth.
After the welcome drink at Bheemeshwari, we set out on a short trek into the forest. It was around 10:30AM and most of the birds had retreated into the comfortable confines of their trees and bushes. The path was colored with Red Velvet Mites.
These mites are all over the place for a few weeks during the monsoons. We also saw Spotted Deer crossing the road. A few of them were also wandering inside the Jungle Lodges camp.
The camp was buzzing with activity. Millipedes were all over the place.
I passed by this Bark Gecko twice without even noticing it.
Great Cormorants, Little Cormorants and Oriental Darters were flying along the river.
It was afternoon and I was wondering when my date with the Grizzled Giant Squirrel would come. At Galibore, it was a touch-and-go experience and I’ve since wanted to watch it for a longer time. A chance thought of walking back to the office to check out some merchandise made my dream come true!!
I spent almost half an hour watching this beautiful squirrel (incidentally India’s smallest giant squirrel). It was running all over the trees, sampling fruits and leaves. Seemed to me that it was very very selective…after half an hour, it found the right set of leaves to take back to its nest.
The Spotted Owlets bade us farewell after a wonderful day.
Of course, 2 jackals crossing the road on the way back didn’t dampen the excitement 
One small request. I made some minor adjustments to calibrate my monitor. Please do let me know if the colors look fine on your monitor.
Wonderful post….third time lucky with the Gecko, and that Grizzled Squirrel is practically looking into the lens!
I must go soon….feeling how much I have been missing things!
They look great on my iPad!!
Gopal
spotted owlets again..am missing them everytime ..great squirrel
Tnx for bringing back those good old memories of bheemeshwari !! it is where i started learning the art of loving nature .. its so special to see the grizzled squirrels in the campus ..
Nahar
SUPERB pics!!! Need to visit Bheemeshwari…