Our last morning in Dudwha began, as usual, very early. Not only was it chilly but also quite misty. First bird we spotted was a Jungle Owlet. I have seen a couple of these before, but this was the first time we saw one awake. That is how early in the morning it was. Very cute but just looks like a stuffed toy when snoozing. I also stalked a parakeet. There are a lot of these around, but they are small and hard to photograph. Tend to be a bit shy and fly off in groups if you get too close.
We pressed on deeper into the forest. There were very few other cars around. Nice and peaceful. Saw a stonechat, a snakebird, a heron and a racket tailed drongo. Another bird we had seen quite a few times but usually hiding deep inside the foliage of a tree. A spotted deer crossed our path looked very quiet and calm.
We came across a few wild boar and then spotted a tiger. Just like that. Again, it was down a track where were not allowed. We watched for a few moments and then it stepped into the jungle and disappeared. Our guide suggested we drive round to a water hole. It was heading roughly in that direction so might have been going for a drink. We got to the small man-made lake and she was already sitting in pond lapping at the water. As ever, she seemed quite unconcerned about our presence although she looked directly at us a few times. Then she calmly climbed out, had a last look around and vanished into the undergrowth. That was the end of our visit to Dudwha but a great note to finish on.
