Monday 11th February - Taking a Punt

The alarm is set for 05.15 but we wake a few minutes before that. A check on the map app shows that we are about 45 minutes from our destination and that the train is only about 15 minutes late. In our experience, and we can claim quite a bit, Bhubaneswar railway station has a unique and rather unsavoury odour. Not as pronounced today as it has been on some of our previous visits, we are still thankful for the use of the non-aromatic Upper Class waiting room. This allows the work needed to bring this blog up to date to be done in relative comfort. There is a moment's panic as a notice comes up to say that train 22810 has been cancelled but ours is 22819, scheduled to leave platform 5 at 07.35.

At 07.00 we shoulder bags and head over the footbridge. The train is just pulling in as we descend the steps to the platform. It is described as an Intercity Express but has only one reserved coach, in 2nd Sitting Class, right at the front of the train. Unlike a previous occasion when we have taken this train, we do not have evict interlopers from our seats. In fact it is difficult to identify our seats as very few are numbered. We take a guess and pile the bags up on the rack. 2S has bays of 6 seats either side of a central aisle which can get quite cosy. By departure time the train has filled up a bit and there is a young couple sitting opposite us.

We leave on time and head south out of Bhubaneswar. D takes the opportunity to do some door riding, the first of this year's trip. R is deputed to deal with the TTE and does well. At the first stop the coach fills up to the point where all seats are occupied and there are a few standees. In theory there should only be as many passengers as seats and it soon turns out that some are trying to get a luxury ride on an Unreserved ticket, this saving themselves a princely 19 rupees. The TTE is soon onto this, issuing some kind of excess ticket. We arrive at Kalapura Ghat only a few minutes late and phone our hosts at the Mangalajodi EcoResort. In no time we are in an auto heading through the countryside.

Mangalajodi is pretty much the same as we remember it, although our room is in a new building, apparently built to replace one damaged in a cyclone in 2016. Reena, the lady who runs the place, welcomes us and shows us to room 3, Shoveller. The facilities are much the same, including a concrete bed, but this one has the benefit of a couple of useful looking lizards in the bathroom. This is very much mosquito and malaria risk territory so lizards are our friends.

They rustle up bread omelettes and chai for breakfast, very welcome. Our first programmed activity is a boat trip around the wetlands at 2 p.m. so there is chance to catch up on last night's broken sleep. The Indian East Coast Main Line is just over the road from us and there is plenty of hooting for the level crossing in the village. Ear defenders are a must here. We set the alarm for noon, giving us two hours. At 12.40 D finally managed to rouse R, who has been moaning about this bed since we booked it in April last year. We quickly get ready for lunch, where we join two chaps from Bangalore who are regular visitors and keen photographers.

After lunch we sort out our birding kit and hop aboard the auto that is to take us to the landing stage. When we get to the level crossing in the centre of the village the barriers are open but the traffic is at a standstill because a maintenance crew are lifting out a check rail of substantial length, armed only with pinch bars. After a delay we get across but it is a bumpy ride as many of the roadways stone setts have been removed to allow the lifting of the check rail.

As we drive along the causeway across the wetlands towards the landing stage there are vast numbers of birds to be seen. Storks, ibis, swamphens, herons, egrets, ducks and a kingfisher to name a few. The ride is bouncy so photos are a non starter but it was really impressiveness to see. At the landing stage a lot of work has been done since our last visit. We meet Subash, our guide and are soon in a boat being punted along the channels. There are birds everywhere and we get up very close to some of them. Although the sun is still high there is a shade on the boat and a pleasant breeze which keeps things comfortable. D gets plenty of pictures. We ride out in the peace and quiet for over two hours. It is wonderful. We wouldn't normally get excited about a Pond Heron sighting but we got to watch one catch and eat a fish tea.

There are two kinds of ibis at Mangalajodi. This is the glossy ibis reflecting the sun.

Back at base there is more birdlife to see, a beautiful bee-eater on a wire and a rufous treepie which is helping itself to fruit in the garden. We are served a very welcome cup of tea then it is time for cold showers. "Invigorating!" says R. D uses Anglo-Saxon. Dinner tonight is veggie - chapattis, dal, okra and a mixed veg dish. Very good and probably good for us. Our morning trip means a six thirty start tomorrow. There is no nightlife of any description around here so an early night is no hardship.