Home and back

Most of my posts over the last year or so have been closely associated with travel. Maybe it’s because a change of location brings with it a change in mental state of a strength that contrasts only too well against the relative insipidity that has come to be associated with my daily routine – a thought that I ought to keep in mind and develop, in the interest of more fruitful time management.

Bangalore is the same as it was a year ago. Namma Metro work still occupies most of the city's major roadways, and now sports an additional layer of cinema posters and advertisements. Traffic hasn't gotten any better, though I can't say with any level of certainty that it's gotten worse either. 

The visit back home was near-perfect - time with family, a week-long escape to the countryside, meeting friends over weekends, some decent birding, and the great food and drink (read masala dosa and filter kaapi). The trip to Surathkal I so badly wanted will have to wait for next year, but that apart, there are few things I would have changed about this visit.

Having arrived questioning whether home would feel the same as it used to a year ago, I’m now preparing to leave, thankful that those qualms were unwarranted, and wishing I could stay for another month. To me, this has been more than a holiday; it has been an affirmation of my sense of belonging to the place I call home.

Birds

South Florida is a terrific place for birds, this time of the year. Here's an incomplete list of birds I spotted there - there are tons more that I have been unable to identify. For completeness sake, I've also included the ones I've seen in Illinois. I've tried grouping similar or related birds together in this list.
Credits to en.wikipedia.org, www.whatbird.com and www.allaboutbirds.org, all three of which I used extensively.

Laughing Gull, Non-breeding plumage - Key West, FL

1. Muscovy Duck, Cairina moschata
2. Mottled Duck, Anas fulvigula
3. Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
4. Snowy Egret, Egretta thula
5. Great Egret, Ardea alba
6. Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis
7. Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea
8. Great Blue Heron, Ardea Herodias
9. Tricolored Heron,  Egretta tricolor
10. White Ibis, Eudocimus albus
11. Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus
12. Anhinga, Anhinga anhinga
13. American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
14. Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis
15. Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon
16. Sanderling, Calidris alba
17. Common Tern, Sterna hirundo
18. Royal Tern, Thalasseus maxima
19. Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla
20. Black Skimmer, Rynchops niger
21. Osprey, Pandion haliaetus
22. Black Vulture, Coragyps atratus
23. Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
24. Sharp-shinned Hawk, Accipiter striatus – IL
25. Red-shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus
26. American Kestrel, Falco sparverius
27. Loggerhead Shrike,  Lanius ludovicianus
28. White-winged dove, Zenaida asiatica
29. Rock Pigeon, Columba livia  - IL , FL
30. Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto
31. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
32. Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula
33. Boat-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus major
34. Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
35. Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus
36. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius
37. Canada goose, Branta Canadensis - IL
38. American Robin, Turdus migratorius
39. Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
40. Brown Thrasher, Toxostoma rufum
41. Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis – IL
42. Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
43. American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos - IL, FL
44. Monk Parakeet,  Myiopsitta monachus
45. Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea
46. House sparrow, Passer domesticus - IL, FL 

White Ibis - Boca Raton, FL

Brown Pelican - on the way to Key West, FL

Royal Terns - Key West, FL

Sadly enough I didn't have a camera in Boca Raton, where I spotted most of the birds on this list. The decent ones were shot with Varun's camera. The most exciting ones for me were the Great Blue Heron, which is probably the largest bird I've ever seen, and the Belted Kingfisher. The Skimmers at Key West I was quite excited to see - freakishly heavy bills! What the hell, they were all pretty amazing!

Flying South for the Winter

Deciding to visit my uncle in Florida is probably the best decision I've made in a  long time. I was quite pleasantly surprised as I looked out the window, the morning after I arrived at my uncle's home.

After a bit of Googling, I discovered that right across the street was the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge. I knew I was in for a treat. All I was missing was some fellow birders and a camera (my uncle didn't have one either) so I had to make do with my mobile phone and a notebook (which in fact worked quite well). The several walks in the warm South Florida sun were quite rewarding - tonnes of birds, most of them lifers, but more about that in the next post.

My hosts showed me a great time around the region. The Knicks vs. Heat game at the American Airlines Arena that featured some giants from the NBA was pretty sweet. The first live professional sporting event I've attended, now that I think about it! No, I have not been to a cricket match before.

The impromptu New Year trip with the UF baays and Vatal was terrific - New Years eve on South Beach Miami, and the the killer trip to Key West, that included some a very scenic drive through the Everglades and over bridges connecting the Florida Keys. Snorkeling at what is supposedly the world's third largest reef system, some 8 miles off Key West was absolutely superb; a Parrotfish and several Yellow-tailed Snappers were sighted amongst the many coral formations.

I could have hardly asked for a better vacation after a semester's slogging. The general wothla, the time with family at home, the wildlife, and the company, amongst other things turned this into a very memorable trip indeed. Now I'm back home in Urbana, with a new guitar, Cothas coffee and two weeks before the next term begins. All is right with the world again.