Picture Story – Ruddy Turnstone

Ruudy Turnstones at Akshi, Alibaug

Had the most incredible start to 2015 with some coastal birding at Akshi Beach around Alibaug which is in the west coast of Maharashtra.

Decided to go out on this birding trip on the first Sunday of January and it didn’t disappoint. Had an amazing time observing and photographing shore birds like Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers, Kentish Plovers, a variety of Gulls and Terns, Dunlins, Terek Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones 🙂

I had to wait for a very long time to get a nice shot of the Ruddy Turnstones in the image above, and that with a clean background too, which otherwise were kept obscured by hundreds of Plovers as the Turnstones due to some reason were happy staying right in the middle of this sea of Plovers.

Finally, the Turnstones decided to move, it happened because a family who had come to the beach to enjoy the holiday, walked right through this great and diverse congregation of shore birds, unknowingly disturbing the birds all over the area or maybe they simply didn’t care about what me and my friends were doing out there.

As a result of all the mayhem that followed, these Ruddy Turnstones calmly moved towards the right of the frame we were focusing on and when we shifted our view towards these Turnstones, we found them alone 😀 and with a temple in the background, which somehow gave the image a uniqueness of its own, something which I find difficult to describe in words 😛

This is one of my favorite images form the Akshi trip and I hope you enjoy viewing it too!

One of the best moments of the day was getting to witness a Peregrine Falcon hunt a Kentish Plover and the icing on the cake was the sighting of the Arctic Skua right at the end of the last birding session of the day 🙂

The fading light of the setting sun reflecting off the calm waters of the sea made the final moments of the day look surreal, like the sun had gifted the sea an aura of the most fascinating golden light.

I will be posting the full story of the Akshi Birding trip pretty soon so,

watch this space..

🙂

Back Again! :D

Flamingos have arrived at Bhigwan, Pune.

Hello Everyone!

First of all I must apologize to all my readers and followers for being away for so long, but now it is time to wake up from Cryosleep and put this blog back on track 😀

Had actually been stuck on a post I wanted to publish, for ages.

It was the final chapter of the ‘Angels in Disguise’ series and I kept going through the rough draft re-reading and previewing again and again and something just didn’t feel right 😦

Finally I just stopped writing, getting on with my day to day activities to take time and come back to finishing it when it felt right. Things fell into place soon and so I will be posting the final chapter on the Bird Race very soon 😛 🙂

It is officially the ‘birding season’ now in my home land and its been raining passage and regular winter migrants.

The sightings this year so far have been absolutely amazing, especially as far as passage migrants are concerned . There has been a considerable rise in the number of passage migrant sightings and that has got everyone in the birding community excited. European Rollers and Eurasian Hobbys have been sighted in good numbers and a Short-eared Owl sighting within city limits was such a pleasant surprise. Amur falcons were seen a couple of days ago which means that they have started off from their roosting sight in the North-East of India and are on their way towards Africa. Its only December, we’re just getting started 😀

The regular migrants have arrived in numbers too but surely there are millions more on the way.

I’ve been on the lookout scanning places around Pune to get an idea about the early arrivals this year and and I will be posting picture stories based on the migrant watch soon.

So here’s what in store for all you lovely people out there..

The final chapter of the amazing 24 hour bird race..

Indian Roller, HSBC Bird Races, Pune Chapter

A detailed account on the Corbett adventure, this is one that you can’t afford to miss 😀

Dhikala Grasslands, Jim Corbett National Park

A post on bird banding and migration studies at Pt.Calimere, Tamil Nadu. One of the best learning experiences ever! 🙂

Blue-throated Flycatcher, male and female, at the time of ringing

High altitude birding in the lower Himalayas 😛 Notes on the Sattal-Pangot experience 🙂

Himalayan Griffon at Pangot, Uttarakhand

A family trip to Karnataka that led to the discovery of an amazing wetland habitat and my first sighting of the incredible Black Eagle 🙂

At Mallyanagiri Peak, Chikmagalur, Karnataka

Another family trip to Goa, some unplanned birding and amazing lifers 😀

Mugger Crocodile at Zuari, Goa

Some more birding at Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar with my impatient brother 😀

The landscape close to a newly discovered raptor heaven near Panchgani

 

A magical trip to the Little Rann of Kutch and notes on a once in a lifetime experience 🙂

Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat

And of course, local birding adventures with some new friends and loads of picture stories to go with them..

Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, with Kishore and Jyoti Bhargava and Siddhesh Poyarekar at Sinhagad Valley

So, all I can say now is..

Watch this space 🙂

Feathered Friends From Afar

Winter Migrants

Birding in winter is always a delight as you get to see so many distinct and wonderful species of birds whether you visit a well wooded area or a wetland habitat or any such habitat for that matter.

I was able to capture eight different species of birds in a single frame on one such outing.

There are Ruddy Shelducks commonly known as Brahminy Ducks, Spot-billed Ducks, Eurasian Widgeon, Intermediate Egret, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Common Coot and a Bronze-winged Jacana in the image above although i must say that the Jacana is well hidden. Find it if you can! 🙂

Picture Story- Coppersmith Barbet (Observations)

Coppersmith Barbets- Territorial Fight??

According to studies, January to June is usually the breeding season of Coppersmith Barbets found in the Indian Subcontinent. I had seen a courtship display of this species last year where the female waited patiently for the male, the male kept returning to the female with food in its beak, the male used to puff himself up, start flapping its wings and then feed the female displaying his affection to her, and then the eventually they would mate.

Recently, I observed two Coppersmith Barbets indulge in an activity which looked almost similar to the mating ritual. But this was different, at first I though that the male must be feeding the female but a closer look revealed something different.

Both the birds, as you can see in the picture, kept hopping from branch to branch and would keep at a distance, then would suddenly come close and start flapping their wings in an aggressive manner and would then grab a hold of each others beaks as if in a fight trying to knock the other bird off the perch.

I am not sure if this phenomenon was a territorial fight or something else. The birds flew away eventually and so further observations could not be made. I came across a term ‘allobilling’ trying to find out what this behavior meant. From what i read, ‘allobilling’ is mutual mouthing between two birds.

And so, according to a friend of mine, this was presumably a pre-courtship fight between the males to assert their dominance as observed in many other species of birds.

Always keep making observations about the species of birds that you spot and photograph and keep a habit of taking note of these observations. It helps us understand a lot about the daily lives of these winged wonders 🙂

Picture Story- Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret

Name: Cattle Egret

Location: Kawdi, Pune.

Conservation Status: Least Concern (IUCN Red List)

This is a widespread resident bird unrecorded in parts of NW and NE of the subcontinent. It is gregarious when roosting and feeding. Typically seen in flocks around domestic stock and also wild buffalo, feeding on insects disturbed by the animals, often rides on the animal’s back picking parasitic insects and flies from their hides. Also forage in flooded fields. Unlike other egrets it feeds mainly on insects

Found in damp grasslands, paddy-fields, grass-banks of village tanks, canals and lakes, also rubbish dumps and forest clearings.

Picture Story- Blue Rock Pigeon

Blue Rock Pigeon

Tried my hand at creating a bird portrait. Not bad I guess 😀

I will not describe much about the bird in the picture but feel free to comment and let me know if you are a Martian or are from another planet as then i’ll have valid reason to give you details about the bird in the picture. Just joking you lovely people , no offence meant 😀

This is a Blue Rock Pigeon. Look outside the window right now and if you see one then give me a imaginary high-five 😀 It is a very common resident bird species, one which has adapted well to the urban world. Worldwide populations are stable.

They prefer to nest on hidden places in roof tops, buildings, window panes and cliffs. They forage on the ground, prefer seeds, fruits.

An amazing fact that I’ve come to know about it is that Pigeons can find their way home, even if released from a distant location blindfolded. They can navigate by sensing the earth’s magnetic fields, and perhaps also by using sound and smell. They can also use cues based on the position of the sun. Now how cool is that! 😀

Picture Story- Brahminy Starling

Brahminy Starling

The best thing about Pune monsoons is that a weekend paradise destination is just a casual bike ride away. After the first rains that seem to blissfully awaken the dry and thirsty soil,  the sight of the fresh green carpet that covers the ghats, valleys and neighboring mountains is just a delight to behold and is enough to awaken all your senses especially after a tiring week at work. Be it for hiking, white water rafting or just enjoying beautiful scenic waterfalls, there are a number of destinations that you can choose from which almost always leave the casual backpacker spoilt for choice.

Coming back to the Bird in this post, it is a Brahminy Starling, a fairly common resident Starling species found in the Indian Subcontinent. It was just another Sunday when me and two of my buddies decided to go on a biking trip to Tahmini Ghat some 50 miles away from Pune and after getting soaked riding through mountains and paddy fields and doing a small hike and a photography session in the scenic ghats we decided to take a halt and feed our empty stomachs as they began complaining fiercely.

I found this beauty just outside the restaurant we decided to halt at and I had a pretty good time watching it trying to dry itself after getting soaked in a temporary drizzle resulting from a cloud passing over. One of my favorite images of this bird, I hope you enjoy admiring this winged wonder, the bold and beautiful Brahminy 🙂

Updates from OneBusyBirder

How I miss the peace and serenity of this place.

This picture was clicked at Mullyanagiri, it is the highest peak in the Indian State of Karnataka, it is located in the District of Chikmangalur which is also an amazing place for a holiday.

I have noticed that I have not been doing justice to my blog lately and to everyone who feels that my posts are worth their time. I am currently writing the final chapter of the ‘Angels in Disguise’ series but I’ve failed to find time to complete it as I am starting to feel the side-effects of the 9 to 5 life 😦 Struggling to find a balance between work and life, waiting for the day when both the terms ‘work’ as well as ‘life’ will have the same meaning for me. Don’t you worry, will find the balance, will find inner peace 😀 will complete writing the final chapter and will share it and much more, but not in haste 🙂

I’ll let my incredible followers know that this final chapter is about my very first bird race, so there’s something to look forward to 🙂 All I ask is for you to be patient 🙂

I would definitely love to make blogging a full-time job but for now I request my readers to consider this as a weekly blog. I love to write and I have loads of experiences and picture stories to share. So stay tuned, I don’t want any of you amazing people to miss out on anything 😀

The ‘Birding Season’ in my locality is at its peak now as the winter migrants will start departing to their breeding grounds in March. I will eventually share updates on the regular species and unexpected migrants spotted in the region of Pune.

There are also some new additions to my checklist of migrant bird species spotted in my very own place of residence. I will share the list with pictures of the regulars and new comers soon.

Last but not least, I truly appreciate and value the support from my readers and followers, and I would be very happy if you would share your opinions and suggestions regarding my writing and photography in the comments section of the respective posts that you visit as I always look forward to learn and improve.

I leave you with a picture of a Common Kingfisher I clicked on my recent trip to Zuari River, Goa. Enjoy! 🙂

 

 

 

 

Asian Koel- Female

Remember that in the last post I had introduced you to the male Asian Koel?

Lets consider this post as a continuation of the last one as I now Introduce you to a female Asian Koel

Asian Koel- Female

Guess what, this lady also loves the Indian Lilac or Neem tree, here it is sitting drenched in the first monsoon showers. I watched it spread its wings and tail feathers as it seemed  very happy sitting on this open perch enjoying the first rains after a hot and dry Indian Summer.

Here is the picture of the male from the previous post..

Asian Koel-Male

Compare the two birds, who looks more beautiful? I leave that decision up to you 😀

Here is another picture of the female, this time in Monochrome. Enjoy! 🙂

Picture Story- Asian Koel

Asian Koel- Male

The Asian Koel. I have grown up hearing calls of this bird. The call is considered melodious, yes it is when you compare it to Crows and Kites 😀 No offence to the bird, the male actually has a melodious and loud call, something that goes like a continuous ‘Koo kooo kooooo kooooo’.

It is a common resident species, and because of the fact that it is used as a symbol of love and romance in many poems and old Bollywood (Indian Cinema) songs, it is also well known among the non-birding folk.

This bird is a member of the Cuckoo family of birds, adults feed mainly on fruits. Another characteristic about it is that the bird is a Brood Parasite, which means that it lays its eggs and raises its young in the nests of other birds.

The Bird in this picture is a resident of the forest near my home, and here it is seen calling from its favorite perch on a Neem Tree (Indian Lilac).