ML612217619

Age

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Sex

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Observation details

Several record shots of the bird taken. Effort : Stayed at Ella Blooms resort. We were already at 4612 feet. We did start early morning at 6:45am and Treked up. About 5% of the path is forest walkway. Rest of the 95% is fungus covered boulders of a rainy seasonal stream. Very Slippery and leaches all along even in mid December. Not recommended for anyone lacking fitness. Fully foggy and at certain points the next step boulder appears impossible to proceed. We kept believing and moving ahead to reach about 5300+ feet where it ends facing a large rock formation with no further climb possible. An Ella Blooms staff will accompany this climb but by strict norms you can be at the height only till 9:00am. Any further stay needs permissions (please do DM any one of us for details about the permission business) Habitat : Huge rock formations with thin water channels collecting from the mist running on the bounders. Some of the cracks of these rocks have grass patches. On two sidelines of this massive rock formation there are tree lines (huge trees) that extend up in a cluster of classic shola type. Below the tree line are thickets. Banasura seem to move within the thickets as well as perch of the big tree, both. At this height there is continuous morning mist that does not clear out until mid-day starts. It's a bird that moves after all the mist is cleared. Behaviour : It does have a mind of its own when it comes to responding to calls. It is more a listener. It will use the thicket line and come closer to the speaker for scrutiny. It is a shy bird only in the perspective that it does not come out to the open, but at same time is not fidgeting or fast moving like the wayanad laughing thrush. So in photography perspective the challenge shooting Banasura is all about staying still and tracking it's slow movements in the bush and not panning fast as needed for Wayanad. Another peculiar behaviour is that it calls once the playback stops but not immediately, nor responding by the same notes. When (and if) it calls it's volume is very loud and melodious in nature. Here is the link to the Macaulay pre-recorded call that we heard a few times, although heard two more single note calls that does not exist on merlin (could not record). Also heard one other call that I was able to record (again not on merlin). Will upload the same. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/434997941 Gear : You will need a leech socks. Those of us who had this socks got the maximum bites ! The Ella Bloom staff (Subrato who has seen this bird now 20+ times) climbed with a bare foot and a rubber sandals. He did not get a single leech bite !!! That apart one needs to carry low light focusing modern mirrorless camera to be able to click this bird. Old style DSLR is a disadvantage. Ela Blooms run on power generator and has no guarantee of its supply. You need to carry power-banks to run as many days as you wish to re-attempt the bird (One day is only one attempt in the morning). Rain gear to save your cameras is a must in all season at this height. Light is very low and when the Banasura perch on the big tree you need a low-light performing binocs to spot it. One last thing ......800mm F4 kinda gear is just too impractical to carry or pan to spot this bird (feeling). After 3.5 hrs of trek (up and down) the most dangerous and slippery Rock lines, spent no more than 10 to 15 seconds with the bird !

Technical information

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