An aerial view of the floodplains of Assam to the snow-capped peaks of Bhutan

I was in Bhutan to present my work along with other members in the region who had received grants from The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (www.cepf.net) – a fund that was established to help foster awareness of critical conservation issues and gather further knowledge of flora and fauna in the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. I’ve been working here since early 2009 developing a coffee-table book very similar to the Western Ghats book, that was completed a few years prior. It was now that the grant was coming to an end and time to present our findings to the committee, guests and hosts from around the world. I’m very glad that Paro, Bhutan was chosen as a venue. I only need the slightest excuse to head to this beautiful country.

Soon after the workshops, presentations, dinners, drinks, dances, meetings etc. I joined a group of delegates from www.atree.org and other organisations up to Takstang Monastery – Tiger’s Nest. It takes about 2 to 3 hours to get here and is not a terribly difficult hike. It’s a good warm up hike to get you used to the elevation and get your muscles back into shape. I had been here a year before and had photographs of the monks to return to them. Upon reaching the Machi phu Monastery a little further and away from the main Takstang monastery and seeing that my beloved monk friend was not there, I left the pictures under the door to his house. Hope he gets a good surprise on his return.

Takstang or Tiger's Nest Monastery near Paro

Later we headed to Thimpu after a delicious lunch of momo’s and beer at a local restaurant in Paro. The next day I was to head back to India. I had hardly done any birding or photography other than conference stuff. So it was disappointing to have to head back so early after coming out so far. There were still many things for me to cover from the Bhutan region, especially the birds!
To my pleasant surprise the next day I found out that it’s not necessary for me to head back, as some meetings had been cancelled. In the last minute thanks hugely to Chopel at WWF, Bhutan, my permits and vehicle (a Toyota Hi-lux) were organized to travel for the next week across the country to the key birding hotspots. It was a Friday, and we headed straight to Punakha to see the White-bellied Heron, a critically endangered bird. So endangered that Rebecca Pradhan at RSPN is planning a project to hand-feed young ones to maturity in a captive facility. On our way there we stopped at DochuLa, just outside Thimpu and spent time with Rebecca and Tshewang. They told us where the birds are most likely going to be the next day and offered other tips and advice as to where to go to see some other specialties.

To cut a long story short, as I am now in Guwahati and need to head to Kaziranga, we did manage to see a good fifty plus species of birds. A very humble list for a bird hotspot like Bhutan that harbours nearly 700 species of birds! But the important thing was that I was able to photograph and spend time with some of the key birds – like the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in Phobjikha, the White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis) in Punakha, the blood-pheasants (Ithaginis cruentus) in Trumshingla and a bird I had always wanted to see – the Ibisbill (Ibidorhyncha struthersii).

A covey of blood pheasants along the road at TrumshingLa

I will probably expand on this blog post a little later and fill in the details of locations and birds. It’s most likely never to happen, but a bit of wishful thinking never hurts.
I’d like to thank the various individuals and organizations that helped make this trip happen, especially Chopel, Kinsang, Jigme at http://www.wwfbhutan.org.bt/, and Rebecca Pradhan, Tshewang at http://www.rspnbhutan.org/ and Suman and Samuel Thomas at www.atree.org. I would also like to thank Pema Dorji, who patiently drove me across many mountain miles with care and precision. He also knew where to find the birds, which helped greatly! Oh, and I almost forgot, we spotted leopard cats twice on the road to Trumshingla – once on the way there, and once on the way back – both times under the cover of darkness!

A lady along Dochu La - happy to have her picture back

But what I can do is point towards two premier events that can help fuel the passion and perhaps even jump-start one’s career. The first is – Wildscreen – the Mecca for Wildlife Filmmakers. Every two years filmmakers from around the world gather at this Gala event to celebrate and applaud the very best in filmmaking, exchange ideas and pitch stories. Attending this festival, as a volunteer or a newcomer, must be top on your list of priorities if you’d like to be associated with Wildlife Filmmaking in any manner!

So what is it that you can possibly expect to get out of attending the festival:

* the opportunity to network with individuals from every corner of the industry
* pitching opportunities in a crucial marketplace, where films are bought and sold, and where new commissions and contracts are awarded
* inspirational, and sometimes controversial, discussion panels
* in depth filmmaker masterclasses and a unique programme of training workshops
* access to hundreds of the world’s best wildlife and environmental films from the past two years

The other major Photography event is – Wildphotos – a Nature Photgraphy Symposium that brings together people from around the world to talk about new technology, innovative ideas and share their experiences as wildlife photographers. I’ve been to a couple of them in the past and it’s simply inspiring to listen to talks and mingle with like-minded Nature Photographers. This year I’ll be giving a talk about ‘The documentary power of mixing stills and video‘ – which also goes into the new breed of Canon HD-DSLR cameras that i’ve been using to shoot documentaries.

Another very important step is to buy a copy of the book by Piers Warren titled: Careers in Wildlife Filmmaking. This book is a fabulous resource that is packed with advice to aspiring filmmakers who want to get a toehold in the industry. I just found this book available at www.flipkart.com for Rs. 800.

A first of its kind, El Valle takes the reader on a visual journey through the Valley, from Falcon Dam to the Gulf of Mexico, exploring the rich biodiversity and cultural legacy that has taken root along the banks of the Rio Grande.

If you would like to learn more about the book, scroll through a few pages and learn about the authors who contributed to the book click here: http://riograndebook.com/

The book is all set to be launched on September 18th 2010 – 7 PM at the Historic Alonso Building in Brownsville, Texas. Please do attend if you are in the area and meet the authors!

Congratulations to my good friend and colleague Seth Patterson for a highly commendable job in compiling the entire book and my best wishes to Lawrence Lof and the whole team at the Gorgas Science Foundation who some how or the other raise the resources to make sure that such projects come to life. I am glad to be a small part of it!

Soon after, Chinmay and I headed to the remote region of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. We were here looking for Munzala – The monkey of the Deep Forest. This is one of the most recent primate discoveries. More in detail about that later – but here’s an image for now.

Then after that crossed over to Nepal to look for what is, without any argument one of the cutest little creatures of the Himalaya – The Red Panda…

It was an arduous climb up and down the Himalaya at the foothills of Kanchendzonga. But it was all well worth the effort. Now in Sikkim to photograph the Rhododendron flowers which are in full blossom at the moment.
here’s an image of what they look like in Sandakphu – with a background of the snow-capped Kanchendzonga mountain range…

More about everything later…
Another month of travel to go before heading back to Bangalore

If you have a fast internet connection watch it on HD!

Cheers,
Sandesh

If you missed watching the show yesterday and are living in the UK, you can download and watch the program on BBC’s iplayer for the next couple of weeks - BBC iplayer – Mountains of the Monsoon

To view the trailer: YouTube – Mountains of the Monsoon

Wildlife documentary filmmaker, environmentalist and photographer, Sandesh Kadur, has traded a comfortable career in the family business to explore the natural wonders of the Western Ghat mountains. Just a few hours drive from the commercial bustle of his native Bangalore, Sandesh could be a world away. The monsoon pours six metres of rainfall each year on the remote peaks and isolated valleys of the Ghats. Alongside familiar Indian species like elephants, tigers and peacocks are more mysterious creatures that are found nowhere else: a purple frog with a face like a shrew and a monkey with a lion-like mane and tail.

Most intriguing of all, a chance sighting of a grey big cat, unlike anything scientists have seen before. To find out whether this enigmatic cat-in-the-ghat really is a new species, Sandesh must climb to the summit of these mountains. His journey is a reminder that in fast-track, modern India, this cloud-wrapped wilderness is more precious than ever.

I look forward to your comments and feedback.

Many thanks,

Sandesh