The empty quiet road threw a few other
surprises. A big vulture was perched on a
bare tree beside the road. The big bird was
worth at least one frame. On returning,
when I had a close look at the frame it
was a real surprise. The vulture was not
an ordinary one. It had a reddish pink
head, wattles, and white down on thehead. All these features are of Red-Headed
vulture that is a threatened species of
Uttarakhand. And, the International
Union for Conservation of Nature
(I.U.C.N) lists it as critically endangered
species. I am not a professional
ornithologist but the vulture has wattles/
lappets that are typical of Red-Headed
ones. Wattles are skin folds on the sides of
the neck. Its iris is dark brown that means
a female unlike white iris of the male.
Books also say that the adult vultures have
blackish plumage that may be brownish in
an immature one. The vulture I saw had
brownish plumage.
Even though it started with a vulture,many more feathery residents hopped in
the thickets. I was unaware of this so I
could not stop en route for birdwatching.
Drive in early morning or evening to meet
the residents. Negotiate sufficient wait
period with the driver beforehand for
uninterrupted birdwatching. Otherwise
you will miss the residents as the driver
would neither stop at the required spots
nor await the required time period.
We started from Rudraprayag around
08:00 am in a taxi. The road had
reasonable traffic until we took a diversion
from the Kedarnath National Highway.
And crossed the Surajprayag where the
road enters into the Lastar Gad Valley.
Between Surajprayag and Badhani Tal, I
observed a disadvantage of driving during
spring, an off-season. Almost all the shops
were closed. Spring is the marriage season.
Locals were busy in marriages as guests,
hosts, or organizers. Only two shops were
open. At one shop, I could buy bananas
and at the other shop, a tea stall, I had
only one option: chhole, samosa, and tea. I
did not find proper meals anywhere during
the day drive.
The road ended at the village. A muddy
and concrete path led to the lake. A
handful of visitors converged at theYet driving in spring had an
advantage: negligible traffic,
especially related to pilgrimage.theoff.info
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