All About Birds

Mornings at Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

2012-07-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

I like this place because of its closeness to Gurgaon - about 25 Kms - and even manageable on week days when the visitors are less in number. No guide is required as there is only one circular route of about 3.5 Kms to be followed either clockwise or anticlockwise.

My last visit was in October 2011 and on this occason I had decided just to stay put by the large water body which is in the middle of the the sanctuary and just watch as the morning progressed towards mid day.

As I was walking towards my chosen spot this Lesser Pied Kingfisher was seen perched on a dead trunk of a tree :

And further was this butterfly - Plain Tiger, holding on to the the last straw, as it seemed.

The main performance of the morning was by these female Mallards which once in a while decided to circle high above the water body before settling on small grassy mounds randomly spread all over:

In another part were these Painted Storks along with Black-winged Stilts, White Ibises and other waders:

This mother-kid pair of White Ibises was a fun to watch. The kid following its mother from left to right and then again from right to left. And once in a while, the mother helped its kid with her catch.

These sleepy looking Stilts were all action at once at a smallest disturbance by the humans

Nothing great in the following picture of Redwattled Lapwings but for a rose ringed parakeet which was more interested in finding food in water than on trees.

All this was in a matter of about one and half hour in the early morning and I was back at my work at appointed time.

Nostalgic Belgaum

2012-06-30T02:07:00.004-07:00

I was in Belgaum for a short stay recently with a Sunday morning at my disposal. Made the best use of it with a local birder Ram Mallya, Ram, whom I had met earlier at Dandeli took me around in his four wheel drive to Mahipalgadh and Baijnath about 25 Kms from Belgaum and took good care of me.

This Common Kestrel allowed us to come very close as long as we were in the vehicle. Birds are sometimes so tolerant of vehicles.

Here is the close up of the Kestrel:

Lesser Pied Kingfisher that just waited for me to click before it mades its way elsewhere:

Shrike - Long tailed ? .......

And this Yellow wattled lapwing whom I had been waiting for all these years for a close shot:

Sunday morning in a sleepy town near Belgaum but the Sunflowers were up in time . . .

But for this Common Moorhen, it was a late Sunday morning wash . . .

why Nostalgic Belgaum? Any guesses?

Eaglenest - Ultimate Birding

2012-06-30T00:48:00.000-07:00

This is about birding tour arranged by Nature India to EagleNest in Arunachal Pradesh in April 2012.

Following was what happened every day. Adesh or Mandar of Nature India announced the next day's program during dinner every evening as follows .... "tomorrow we will have coffee or tea at 05:45 AM, theek hai ? and then we will do some birding before we have our breakfast ....." etc etc.

In actual, the new day started differently. Most of us would be ready with binoculars and cameras by around 04:30 AM or there about and the first birding round was over by the time tea and coffee arrived in the dining hall at 05:45. That was the enthusiasm throughout the tour.

Those from the western side of India should know that we were about 2500 KMs towards east from our place and sunrays arrived here much ahead of other parts of India.

Adesh had prepared us well for the unpredictable climate and as expected we saw all the beautiful faces of Mother Nature.

The foggy afternoons ... offering no help to photographers . . .

And some foggy sitiuations offering wonderful photo opportunities . . .

Some short sunny moments offering wonderful view of untouched forests . . .

Some heavily cloudy days but with a small window allowing some heavenly glimpses of Himalayas ...

And rains when one least expected them. On one occassion heavy down pour had to happen just when one of the vehicles broke down and we had a choice of sitting within the safety of the vehicles or do one-two to the next post - Bhompu camp that was over 3 KMs away. Many of us chose the later option and that was an experience... Are you able to see rain in this picure?

We kept reminding ourselves that this tour was more about bird watching and photography should be second on the wish list. Adesh and Mandar with their fully charged mobiles and loaded with almost all the bird calls in the region were alert all the time. And sometimes gave an impression that the birds in the region knew them well and came flying to their calls. The bird count at the end of the week of bird watching was 200+ and for me almost all were 'Lifers'. I would specially take pride in sighting this Tesia which is said to be an extremely elusive bird.

Another bird that romanced with us throughout our days at various camps in Eaglenest was this Mrs Gould's Sunbird.

By the time we reached Lama camp in Eaglenest we were well informed about the birds and their behaviour that we were soon to encounter - the birds largely and loosely falling under 'Babblers' including Warblers, Thrushes, Yuhinas, Fulvettas and many others. We were entharalled by just the thoughts of countless small birds mostly less than 15-16 cms size all around us but not easily visible - some very colourful and others just plain brown and grey but all beautiful in their own way.

Hello Nature India,

Thank you and we are all waiting for your next tour to another of such exotic birding spots.

Birds in Scandanavia

2012-06-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

There is so much pleasure in bird watching. These pictures are from Scandanavia where I was in May 2012.

In Norway, my friends helped me with places for birdwatching and in Gothenburg, a Birding Pal took me around.

Hope you enjoy watching them. My Birding Pal helped me identify various birds in this blog.

FIRST, BIRDS FROM LOFOTEN ISLANDS, JUST ABOVE POLAR CIRCLE IN NORWAY :

Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) also known as Willow Grouse:

Common Bullfinch or Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) : Male and female

Eurasian or Common Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) :

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) :

Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) :

Brambling, Fringilla montifringilla-male and female :

BIRDS AROUND BERGEN AREA IN NORWAY:
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) :

Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) :

European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) :

Greylag Goose, Anser anser :

Linnet (Carduelis cannabina) :

Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe):

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus or Parus caeruleus) :

FROM GOTHENBURG BOTANICAL GARDENS:

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) :

Mallard or Wild Duck (Anas platyrhynchos) :

Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs):

Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) :
Eurasian Treecreeper or Common Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris):

Eurasian Nuthatch, Sitta europaea:
Great Spotted Woodpecker , Dendrocopos major :

Great Tit (Parus major), Juvenile sitting on a ringer's hands :

Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca:

THANK YOU ALL

Flamingo Festival of Mumbai

2012-05-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

The new Flamingo season opened some time back in Mumbai but it was only today that we could make it to Sewree jetty in the evening. Some pictures ... enjoy and let me know if you like them.
Common and Scientific Name : Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor)

Holi-day with Birds

2012-03-08T06:20:00.001-08:00

Everything fell in place today at the right time - High tide in Arabian sea, Sunrise and the Holiday on account of Holi - the Rangapanchami day. Three of my earlier visits to Sewree this season were not so good and I hoped for a better day.

Messers Pigeon and Great Egret met us at the gates and promised that the day is going to be good.

The next were the Bar-tailed Godwits. These waders did not stay long but allowed a good click before they left. In fact, later as I was preparing to leave, they were back in another part of the bay.

People visit Sewree water front to see Flamingos but it is a great joy watching other waders too - mainly Common Sandpipers who gather here in thousands just before the tide comes in. And once the water rises, it is a wonderful sight to watch these fly away in parties of not less than triple digit figure low over the water surface.

A Great Egret looks on as the Sandpipers fly by.

Some times of course there is a total commotion when every one of them decide to fly off together. See a picture shot last year. I considered myself very fortunate to witness this event.

While the movement of waders depend upon the tides, Terns follow different rules. They are happy catching fish that swim just below water surface. Here are some Whiskered Terns:

And lastly for whom Sewree is known for : Lesser Flamingos.

Most of the visitors decide to return a little before the main show begins at Sewree which reminds me of the cinemagoers wanting to be ahead of the main crowd at the cost of the climax of the movie. Once the water rises it is time for Flamingos to move on to shallower waters. They start forming large groups until at one point of time one or more of them decide to fly. Unlike Sandpipers who fly off in a seemingly haphazard manner, flamingos generally form a queue (some semblance of it) and their flight is a great visual treat.

At the end of it, I had spent less than 2 hours at Sewree and that is hardly a price to pay for such an unaduerated colourful entertrainment.

Dandeli dreams

2012-03-03T08:13:00.001-08:00

I used to visit Dandeli, Karnataka in nineties but my first visit to this town as a birder was in January 2011. Not satisfied with that short visit, I was planning another visit and Deepak, my blogger friend readily agreed to join when I suggested a 4-day tour this year again in January.

Karnataka state bus Airavat comfortably brought us to Dharwad on this wintry morning and we were picked up by the car arranged by our travel-aid-cum-guide from Dandeli. The driver who looked sleepy and silent in the beginning turned out to be quite friendly and informative regarding birding sites as the sun rose. He remained with us with the car until the end of our tour.

60 Kms journey from Dharwad to Dandeli could have been turned into an eventful drive with sighting of several wild pheasants, Common Hawk cuckoos and raptors but we resisted any stops until a hearty breakfast in Dandeli and completion of our morning chores. We were also confident of meeting all of them soon.

Plan for the 4 days was chalked out with help of Adesh Shivkar of Nature India in advance and he had made it sure that I note down all the names. Later he also identified many birds that we sighted but could not identify.

The first session was at Halyal fort about 20Kms away.

The first one to greet us on way to the fort was Indian Peafowl i.e. Peacock, the Indian National bird. We considered it as a good omen on start of our tour on this Republic day.

Other birds we sighted on way to Halyal were Malabar Grey hornbills flying across, Indian Treepies, Indian Rollers, Flameback woodpeckers to name a few. I impressed Deepak (who at least until now does not call himself a full time birder) by spotting a Common Hawk Cuckoo sitting on a electric wire. The bird was diving every few minutes in the fields below but did not allow its picture on a natural perch.

Juvenile Common Hawk Cuckoo

Further on the way was this foursome - a White Ibis, 2 Openbills and a Darter atop a tree and later this Shrike, so close, it almost allowed us to touch it.

White Ibis, A pair of Openbills and a Darter

Shrike

Soon we were at the fort whose only identification was its main gate and we did not see much fortification once inside this gate. In a water-body there were different species of water birds like Brahminy ducks, Purple moorhens and waterhens.

But what attracted our attention was a pair of Oriental Honey Buzzards on a nearby large tree. And we also came across this Rufous Woodpecker silently working its way up.

Rufous Woodpecker

Oriental Honey Buzzard

Soon it was time for us to return to Dandeli for lunch and also check-in Kulgi Nature Camp where a deluxe tent was waiting for us.

On return we came across this cyclist carrying the most basic fuel to the market place (or was it for his own kitchen !). Even though we were getting late, we stopped to catch the fellow on our camera.

Once inside Dandeli we found this pair of Crested Serpent Eagles atop a tree close to Kali river:

A pair of Crested Serpent Eagle

After settling into our cosy Tent, we had our lunch and a short nap and were ready early afternoon to go to Bomanalli lake and the idea that we were to take a walk through forest excited us. The sight that greeted us, I would never forget. We were the only visitors to the place and we had the whole area to ourselves. A large flock of cormorants, large egrets and also River terns, about 200 in number were seen skimming just over water surface from left to right and then from right to left. A sight not to be missed.
I could have sat on the short stump of the old tree on the water-front whole of evening enjoying the low flights of the birds over the water body. But our happiness was short lived as a hoard of noisy visitors landed very soon shattering the peace. But by then I had a Common kingfisher sitting on another of a tree stump, a small Bee-eater (was it blue-tailed?) in flight, a River Tern and a Juvenile Brahminy Kite in flight which appeared from nowhere, in my camera.

Brahminy Kite - Juvenile

Small Blue or Common Kingfisher

Small Green Bee-eater

River Tern

Day 1 ended beautifully and the evening also sounded promising when the attendants at Kulgi Nature camp mentioned about a nightjar that comes at every nightfall to occupy a branch of the tree in the middle of the camp that was visible from our tent door just by sliding the curtain. I kept a vigil (and for the remaining 3 nights) but the nightly visitor did not keep its promise.

Day 2 did not start well with fog all over Dandeli which limited the visibility and my friend Deepak nicely captured the mood in following 2 pictures. Not a bad day at all for Deepak who is and likes to be called a Travel Blogger. Those interested in his Travel Blogs, a visit to Deepak Amembal's Magic of Travel is a must.

But for bird watchers, it was a disastrous morning.

The afternoon session of Day-2 was well spent with 3 species of Hornbills, Plum-headed Parakeets, Yellow-footed Green Pigeons and Asian Koels.

Jerdon's Chloropsis or Leafbird

Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

Plum-headed Parakeet

Asian Koel - Female

There were Giant Malabar Squirrels and a cat which almost looked like its wild sister.

And finally the bird for which Dandeli is known for : Hornbills. Malabar Pied, Indian grey and Malabar grey

Indian Grey Hornbill

Malabar grey Hornbill

Day 3 was different. The morning was at Kaneri Caves and the afternoon at Sintheri rocks. What I remember most of this day is the 3 Km trek through the dense forest to Kaneri and at a particular spot this spectacle of light and shade made us stop and admire it.

We did have a short Birding stint in the timber depot located right in front of Kulgi Nature camp after visiting the Kaneri Caves on Day 3 and one bird that I enjoyed seeing the most was this Nuthatch.

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch

Day 4 was kept for Old Magazine House at Ganeshgudi located about 25 Kms from Dandeli.

At the entrance to the Old Magazine House itself we were greeted by this Orange-headed Ground Thrush and a White bellied Blue Flycatcher.

Before I present the main event of the day, I must speak of the Hero of Magazine House, the one bird that kept us all enthralled with its aerobatics - Asian Paradise Flycatcher.

The main event at Old Magazine house takes place in a very small arena. As one of the experienced visitors had advised us : Don't move from that spot below the tree and just wait. We followed his advice to a large extent. Like a Circus that was seen more than 25 years back, the 'aerobats' made their entries and exits as planned and we on the ring side had a great time.

Puff-throated Babbler with a friend in bath

Brown cheeked Fulvetta

Blue Capped Rockthrush

Crimson-backed Sunbird

Ruby-throated Bulbul

Emarald Dove-Female

Whitebellied Blue Flycatcher

Oriental White-Eye

Whiterumped Shama

Brown-Cheeked Fulvetta

Yellow-browed Bulbul

Black-naped Blue Monarch Flycatcher (male)

Chestnut tailed Starling

Black-naped Blue Monarch (male)

Yellow-browed Bulbul (left) & female of White-bellied Blue Flycatcher (right)

Blue-capped Rock Thrush (female)

Blyth's Reed Warbler

At the end of the 'show' I was even wondering whether this fell under the rules of bird watching or a visit to an Aviary. Whatever the judgement, it was a good day and it was time to say Good-bye to Dandeli.

While crossing the Kali river bridge on the return, this White-eyed Buzzard was hovering above us for quite some time.

On Crimson Sunbird's Trail

2012-02-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

It all started with a request from Birding Pals (http://birdingpal.org/) from Spain that they wanted to see a Crimson Sunbird during their short stay in Mumbai. After consulting some of my good birding friends, I decided to take them to Karnala BS. We reached the sanctuary just before 8 AM. The day began well with sighting of a few new species at the entrance itself but our desperate search for this one bird proved elusive after 3 hours of trek until we were back again near the entrance. And there it was.

Excuse me for the quality of this picture but as it turned out, this visit to Karnala BS was more about birdwatching and less about photography.

The other sightings were Asian Paradise Flycatcher - Rufous male, Ashy Drongo, Orange headed thrush, Puff-throated Babbler, Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Blyth's reed Warbler, Scarlet minivets, 3 types of Orioles, Chestnut shouldered Petronia, Verditer Flycatcher, Greater Coucal, Common Woodshrike, Purple sunbird, Tailorbird, Bronze Drongo, Red-Whiskered Bulbul, Thick-billed Flowerpecker, Crested serpent Eagle, White-throated Kingfisher and lastly the Crimson Sunbird.

Goes without saying that the Spanish BirdingPals were extremely satisfied that their 30-days birding tour to India started well with their one wish fulfilled. But for me, I need to visit Karnala again for a better picture of the Crimson Sunbird.