Swaraj Dweep

It looked like the Dollarbird was posing for me with the tilt of his head.

Went bird watching at Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island of Andaman Nicobar) and was lucky to have spotted quite a few  birds.

The Dollar bird is a first for me and is found in Australia to Korea, Japan and in the Andaman Nicobar islands.

The other first for me was the White bellied sea eagle.

In the video you can see how majestically he flies over the beach.

While clicking some pictures of the sunset, I sensed some activity behind me and saw some red breasted parakeets busy chatting away before sunset.

The common Kingfisher and the White throated Kingfisher took turns to share the same pole to perch itself for fishing.

Found these Eurasian Moorhen at the same waterbody where the Kingfisher was.

A pair of Black naped Oriole were right on top of the tree and they looked good against the rising sun.

Greater Racket tailed Drongo, is capable of mimicking other bird calls.

The Andaman Coucal is slightly different from what we see in mainland India.

There were many more birds that we spotted but I could not photograph.There was an opening in the forest and I liked the way the sunlight was falling on these tall Padauk trees.

This picture will give you an idea of how tall and huge this tree is

This tree stump must have witnessed many activities over here especially during WW-II when the Japanese used this as a surveillance point.

After sunset, it is worth venturing out to have a peep at the nocturnal birds and insects (with proper guidance) Mr Prathamesh is a good guide who can show you around. Here you see the Signature spider. The spider gets its name by the individual signature you see on the web.

The highlight of the stay was the coral walk. I got to learn many things about marine life, especially around the corals.

By the way if you stay at "Barefoot" you get to experience many things including  the coral walk.

The sunset as seen from Barefoot.

Havelock Island

The ferry from Port Blair to Havelock Island was a pleasant one

We stayed at Dolphin Resort at Havelock Island and I must say it was perfect for the view and the location. 

Run by the government, it was neat and clean with some good staff. The rates too were reasonable when compared to similar accommodation in the vicinity. When we checked in, it was low tide and that gave us some opportunity to explore the beach.

I liked the general ambiance and layout of the place. This tastefully lighted swing is one example 

As Andamans is in the far east, the sun rises before 5 am and sets around 6 pm (compared to IST) So it’s a good reason to get up early to catch the sunrise.

I liked the way they had maintained the huge trees and the landscape, including labeling the trees.

And with all that greenery around, one can’t miss the birds.

Nearly 105 species and subspecies of birds are endemic to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, i.e. not found anywhere else in the world. Some of them are Nicobar Megapode, Edible Nest Swiftlet and Narcondam Hornbill.

I was lucky enough to spot some Edible Nest Swiftlet 

It is intriguing to see them easily hanging on to a wall and building their nest. They are from the swift family and live in colonies. 

They are found in caves, clefts in a cliff, or sometimes even in the nooks of buildings. The nest is made from layers of solidified saliva. These nests are later used by humans to make bird’s nest soup. (hence the name Edible Nest Swiftlet) The Chinese believe that it promotes goodhealth, especially for the skin. The nests have been in Chinese cooking for over 400 years.
Was fascinated by this common sparrow (not so common now a days in the cities)

Noticed many two wheelers with the yellow number plate. They were available on hire - a good way to commute within an island.

 The Radhanagar beach is not far off from this place (about 10 minutes drive) 

This beach is clean and good but as it is famous, the beach is a bit crowded.

It would be advisable to avoid the eating outlet by the name of The Mohwa at Radhanagar beach. 

The food was not palatable and things were overpriced.

I walked for some distance on the beach and got this shot nicely framed.

While I was admiring the blue waters a couple decided to take in the view. I clicked once more from the same spot. Now comparing both the pics I think the second one gives more life to the picture.

Next post – The North Bay Island and Ross Island.

The view from the balcony

One of the places that we stayed at in Cochin (Kochi) was The Poovath Hotel. The best thing about the hotel was the view of the beach from the balcony.

The overall ambiance and the locality was excellent I must say. A leisurely walk along the beach side will take you to the Chinese fishing nets which is very popular in Fort Kochi.

When you enjoy the sea view, you cannot miss out on the huge bungalow on the right side 

and the Dutch cemetery (not operational now) on the left side

so there was no disturbance whatsoever from either side (literally)

But the view from the balcony was excellent

The rooms were decently large and the bathroom was huge, but I could not figure out the complicated shower system so had my bath in the tub.

The dining room was situated on the first floor with some lovely old furniture, and yes there you can see the huge common balcony.

In the front of the hotel there was a mango tree. Those mangoes hanging there was a real temptation and we were trying to imagine how tasty it would be if they were pickled.

When we expressed our desire to the staff (about turning those mangoes into pickles) they were good enough to pluck some and give us.

I was always fascinated by spiral staircases, and I found that this place had one.

One of the paintings hanging in the dining room

While clicking those lovely scenes from the balcony I noticed that there was some alien object moving in my frame.

It turned out to be a fancy kite and I located the guy who was flying that kite

The place where the kites were sold was not far off and this is what I got when I zoomed in. Real fancy ones I must say.

The next day I strolled out on the beach and came across  a group of boys enjoying football.

I could see some vallams (boats) trying out some new method of fishing not far from the shore. They used to throw one end of the net (with a float) at one place and then furiously row and make a huge circle releasing the rest of the net on the way. After some time they pulled in the net slowly bringing in a fairly good catch. Minimum effort, minimum manpower but a fairly good catch.

Looks like this photographer was trying to get some valuable tips about photography from the tourist, or could be just exchanging notes.

but I must say that the view from the balcony was really worth clicking once more.

and finally a front view of the poovath