Eighty Minutes With My All-Time Favorite
Vellore - Tamil Nadu
Some journeys bring us a new bird.
Some bring back an old friend.
This time, it was my all-time favorite — the Spotted Owlet.
We had been to this place twice recently.
The first time, Arul, Balaji and I went together. The second time, it was just Balaji and me.
Both visits had the same purpose — to wait for the Jungle Bush Quail to appear.
The forest had other plans.
We heard the strong calls of the Jungle Bush Quail many times, but they remained hidden.
The Indian Scops Owl and Sirkeer Malkoha were equally elusive — not even a call this time.
We did, however, see a family of three Painted Spurfowl — the parents with their juvenile — at a distance.
But one bird changed the mood completely.
Six years ago, I had spent some time here with a Spotted Owlet — my all-time favourite bird. I have photographed this species through much of my birding journey, and seeing one here again brought back that old memory.
This time, we stayed with it for nearly eighty minutes.
It was worth every minute.
The rest of the morning brought a few more surprises.
On the way back, we came across a pair of Yellow-throated Bulbuls. Only one gave me a clear enough view through the leaves for a photograph.
Yellow-throated Bulbul
A brief glimpse through the leaves.
I also spent some time with an Agama, trying a different angle and looking at a familiar subject a little differently.
Peninsular Rock Agama
A familiar subject, seen from a different angle.
Not everything we hoped to see appeared that morning. But that is often how these outings work. We go looking for one thing and come back with something else — sometimes a photograph, sometimes a memory, and sometimes simply a reason to return.
Six years apart.
The same rock. The same little tree.
Perhaps that is what I enjoy most about going back.
The birds may change, the light may be different, and the photographs may tell a different story. But sometimes, something remains — quietly reminding us that we have been here before.