We set off along the dreadful road again but go east rather than west. B has a good eye for spotting birds and soon calls a halt. It takes us while to see what he has found but then we see the pair of Plumhead Parakeets. Mrs Plumhead actually has a light grey head bit you get the idea. We press on eastwards, across the Yamuna River and then start to search. Phone calls are made and odd locals consulted. We wonder if we have come on a wild goose chase when our driver gives a shout. Out in the fields he has seen a neck and head sticking up above the crops.
We debus and head out in single file on a narrow path between the fields of crops. We now see that there are three birds - male, female and a juvenile. These birds typically have a single chick each year. They are moving from left to right and come out of the higher crops into an open patch in front of us. They are less than 50 metres away and seem unconcerned by our presence. The open ground is in fact a potato field and the birds are digging them up and tucking in. We watch fascinated for 15 minutes or so, getting some great photos before heading back to the car. There are also spots of some much smaller birds. R is very taken by the Scaly Breasted Munia that flits about in the wheat.
Bhoopendra is keen to find us an eagle and we go in search stopping every so often. Once he tells the driver to stop in the outside lane of a dual carriageway while he checks out a bird in a tree. Eventually he spots something. Near the top of an elecricity pylon there is a nest. We walk across the field for a better angle until we are under the wires and we can hear the current sizzling in the wires. Looking again at the nest we can clearly see an eagle. As we watch we see a jumble of white feathers next to the adult and then a tiny white head with a yellow beak appears. B identifies them as Bonelli's eagles.
As usual a crowd has appeared but as we return to the car we see that this time the assembled multitude are rather older and better dressed than the usual set that we attract. A tall chap with specs wants to talk to us. Would we honour him by taking tea in his institution. Apparently we have parked by the entrance to the Kalpananand Girls College. We check with B who waves us in and we are all ushered into a room where there is a circle of chairs. We are introduced to to the Principal of the College , a relatively young woman, and the Manager , a cheerful looking chap but no names are exchanged. We are asked what we are doing in India which we explain, after which we are asked if we receive Government funding. D's response that the only subsidy we receive is Senior Discount on the trains does not get the laughs it should.
The proposed tea is actually supplied by Bhoopendra out of his flask, with a plate of jammy dodgers and some almonds chipped in by the college. The conversation turns to our plans for the future. Would we like to visit the college for Republic Day next January? We explain that our 2016 plans are a little hazy as yet. We are then presented with a white woollen shawl of the type that is worn on ceremonial occasions as a gift. Photos are taken all round and B packs away his tea kit. This prompts a final question from the man doing the talking. He wants to know what we think of Lord Cornwallis and his comments on Indians. According to this chap he likened Indians to dogs. We told him that this view would be totally unacceptable in modern Britain and that we found such comments abhorrent. As we left we realised thst we had no idea who the chap doing the talking was. A political commissar perhaps? Do they have them in India? (We looked the college up on the net. He was the Director. We also looked up Lord Cornwallis who was in India in the late 1700s.)
We drove back to base voting the afternoon a success. B invited us for a short expedition to see civet cats after dinner. We craked open a couple of beers and sat by the bonfire until supper was called. Another good meal followed by the civet cat spotting right behind the restaurant building. They look like overgrown mongooses and move very slowly. After this excitement we were exhausted and had an early night.
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