CAMP LEOPARD WATCH 20 – 22 March 2010

Rhododendrons in full bloom around the camp; the forest afire with these beautiful crimson sprays.

Happy to see me again, the village children returning from school, crowd around me for a touching welcome.

Negotiating a landslide. Took some training and encouragement to cross a precarious stretch of very slippery, powdery earth fall.

White-capped water redstarts put on a show to make birdwatching immensely rewarding.

Our Camp Leader par excellence, takes a break at the Vice Regal Lodge.

A very promising photographer who is also a student of Art Kendra.

Trekkers discuss the challenges encountered on the morning's trek which detours Dieter’s Ridge.

The youngest camper takes refuge in Ruskin Bond’s Green Book, tucked comfortably in a hammock strung between two oaks.

A challenging stretch confidently maneuvered on the second attempt to the waterfall.

A brave heart through thick and thin!

Camp Mascot- CHICKEY, Labrador Retriever.

(No leopard was safe with her around!)

Energy packs opened at the right time. Topping up for another difficult stretch.

Swallows have returned for the summer nesting near a tea stall.

This is part of the very dense forest: home to leopards which prowled around our camp, barking deer(kakar) and lakkarbaggas(hyenas). The nightjar stuck to its post and warned of predators.

NOTES: Camp Leopard Watch

This was the first of the summer training camps. As a matter of fact, it could be termed a recce camp. The summer had just set in and the rhododendrons were in full bloom. A new road being built in sections along an old one ‘called’ for dynamiting large portions of hillsides. The rubble cascaded down the hillsides in enormous slides of earth and boulders – some very huge ones were seen.

I decided to use this as another venue at the training camp site. The new picture offers bold and challenging opportunities for hill walking, scrambling and climbing.

The recce team aged from a senior citizen to an eleven year old girl, encompassed a broad band for applied activity. Safety norms, physical endurance and an introduction to living in the wild (and that too in tents!) were the highlights of the trip.

I have developed ‘spots’ for rappelling, rock-climbing, belaying etc & the terrain gives very good opportunity for hill walking, scrambling & climbing with and without aids(special equipment).

Star gazing was excellent. Constellations like the Great Bear, Orion and Cassiopeia were clearly demonstrated in the summer sky.

One of my students at Art Kendra doing photography, showed tremendous advancement in his taking technique. Many of his photos are prize winning material. He showed a great sense of concern & duty to the group, went with the events in an astonishingly dedicated way, and set an example in courage and grit.

Of course, everybody in the group has a long way to go in perfecting their camp craft and jungle lore.

My main aim is to lay the foundations for good relationships and trust in a group. Then to use these qualities in forging a esprit dé core in teams, very conscious in the role they will have to play in conserving our Himalayan heritage.

This is what Himalayan Venture Action is all about!

Birdwatching Anyday

Now here is an activity you can do all the year round: the most popular form of wildlife study, ornithology, the study of birds, or plainly BIRDWATCHING.

Expect to see birds everywhere throughout the year, but some appear in winter while others move away. They vary in size from the Sarus Crane, standing about the height of a man, to our smallest birds the flower peckers, e.g. Tickell’s Flowerpecker as large as a normal thumb.

There are well over 2000 species and sub-species recorded in India of which over 300 are winter visitors.

Our commonest and most abundant birds are the House Crow and the Sparrow followed by the Mynas and Bulbuls, and our rarest would include the Mountain Quail and the Pink-headed Duck and, now, to all appearances considered extinct.

You can go Birdwatching anywhere. Look out of the window or into the garden and you are likely to see a bird. That bold intruder, the House Sparrow, may even try to help itself to crumbs from the dinning table, or even build a nest in your living room.

Before we go further into the business of birdwatching it wouldn’t be a bad idea to consider the Boy Scout motto ‘Be Prepared’. Serious birdwatching calls for preparation. So let’s get started. What equipment do you need?

NOTEBOOKS I recommend the spiral type of note book in a handy size of about 11x18 cm. The spiral binding allows the covers to be turned right around and thus you have the effect of a hard bound book – and the pages should be ruled. Use a broad rubber band to hold your pages down when there is a wind and to grip your pen when not in use. Some people prefer a pencil as there is no fear of running out of ink and a broken point could be sharpened.

A WRIST WATCH A useful item for the birdwatcher is a wrist watch with a second hand. Better still would be a stop watch but an accurate watch will do.

CLOTHES. Camouflage is the word. Birdwatchers have learned a lot from birds and how to hide or camouflage themselves. Birds do not trust people and you must try not to be seen while watching them. Jackets could be green or khaki. Combat jackets are a good choice because of their colour patterns of shades of green and brown. Fabrics that ‘rustle’ should be shunned as the slightest sound could alert the birds – and birds have excellent hearing.

Do everything that helps to break the outline of the head and shoulders especially against a skyline. Get a jacket with plenty of pockets to carry your note book, and other equipment. Remember you may even be collecting interesting objects that you could discover on the trip.

CAMERA snapshots and slides will help keep alive the memory of the adventure long after it’s over. More serious birdwatching calls for bird and wildlife photography.

BINOCULARS. Extend your range of vision with binoculars. Small pairs are especially good for outdoor activities. A pair of 7x35 binoculars will have magnification and light gathering properties suitable for most birdwatching needs. If you get serious about birdwatching, then sooner or later, and it will probably be sooner, you will want a pair of binocs. Remember however, you can watch without them. In fact it is a good habit to do so as you will soon get accustomed to recognizing species at a natural distance by shape, size or behaviour.

But binocs do much more.

Today there is a bewildering range of binocular in the market and choosing a pair for you can be very difficult. The first hurdle in making the final choice is cost. Good quality binocs are very expensive but cheap ones can be found and are quite good for birdwatching. Test several models before buying. Binoculars are classified by a simple code, usually two numbers separated by an ‘x’, e.g. 7 x 35. The first figure is the number of times that the binoculars multiply the image of the object you are looking at; that is the magnification. The second figure is the diameter in millimeters of the objective (front) lens. This is quite as important as the magnification because it affects the light gathering properties of the binoculars. Now divide the objective lens diameter by the magnification and you will get the exit pupil diameter which indicates the light gathering power. This factor is extremely important when birdwatching in dark woodland, at sunset, or other poor light conditions like bad weather. The higher the exit pupil diameter the less chance you will have of straining your eyes at birdwatching.

The exit pupil diameter of a 7x35 binocular is 5, and anything below 5 is not really adequate for birdwatching.

Consider the following exit pupil diameters of some common binoculars.

9 x 45 5 6 x 30 5 11 x 60 5.4

10 x 50 5 7 x 50 7 12 x 60 5

8 x 30 3.75 9 x 35 2.9 8 x 40 5

From the above figures, you will find which binocs have the best light gathering powers. Do not sacrifice good light gathering properties for magnification.

Finally, go in for a light pair of glasses as the heavy ones, though more attractive, will prove to be a nuisance on a long outing.

So let’s go birdwatching!

THE HIMALAYAN VILLAGE EXPERIENCE - ANCIENT & MODERN

A modern village house.

Himalayan villages can be very beautiful and exquisite. In themselves the houses are masterpieces of architecture built for survival in the many moods of nature.

An old rustic style.

But the settings can be breathtaking! These hamlet scenes change as does the mountain landscape.

Streams and springs add to excitement and mystery.

HIMALAYAN VENTURE ACTION sets many of its camps in these settings. I invite you to join us.

To introduce initial camping to the inexperienced training camps are set up 15-30 kms away from Himalayan towns like Nainital, Shimla, Thanedar, Manali, Mcleodganj. This gives you an insight into modern himalayan village life.

Secondary advanced camping, overnight trips or just day visits is done by driving, hiking, hill walking to the more ancient villages tucked away in remote mountainscapes.

Walk by quaint trails through forests of pine, deodar, oak, walnut etc.

Spend magical moments by streams and waterfalls.

Try special local food. Make a closer study of village life and customs and interact with the villagers, their schools & their children.

Red-billed blue Magpie

Birdwatching: Spot the khalij Pheasant, Junglefowl, barbets, parakeets, Himalayan bulbuls, the gorgeous red-billed blue magpie and hear the melodious song of the whistling thrush among hundreds of other talked about Himalayan birds.


You can also keep up with your wildlife and landscape photography; or sketch or paint under a shade of an old oak tree.

And then you must experience a starlit campfire with songs, yarns and a barbecue conducted by an all time King of the Campfires!

ADVENTURE CALLS – PREPARE TO HEAD FOR THE HILLS

Get set go!

Meet the people along the trek.

Bird watching with the rising sun.

Look forward to a hearty breakfast.

Take a break! Well earned rests during a trek.

Camp setup at ‘Hollow Ridge’. Most of us couldn’t sleep that night – with excitement. We heard a night-jar call for quite sometime, warning us that a predator – a leopard – was on the prowl!

A coffee break, for the security patrol, at the all-night campfire.