Sriharikota-Pulicat Sanctuary and Nelapattu

If you have a burning ambition to maximize the ticking from the South Indian bird list and also include some winter visitors, the next couple of months are the best for this exercise. A couple of hours spent just walking down the Sriharikota Road and you will have plenty to smile about. Egrets, Pelicans, Flamingoes, Ducks, Stints, Plovers, Terns, etc., Bee-eaters, Hawks, how about Storks, Asian open billed, Painted and so on and so forth. Innumerable groups, in large numbers and a constant arrival of groups of ducks make the day interesting. Cormorants and darters, Ibis the white and the black, each group appearing in different locations and at different times. This patch of back waters is an extension of the Pulicat backwaters or lake and ideally should be explored by the pole boats, the water is shallow and the fishing folks walk it with superfine nets and traps to collect shrimps etc. The morning feeders are an eclectic collection of water birds with a large population of egrets sprinkled all over the green paddy fields along with the small herons. All day long the storks, herons and other birds come and go. We have resident visitors and feeding visitors and there in lies the charm. Watch the flamingoes shovel the basin and every intrusion by man moves the mile long unit a little further. There is the constant pink on the horizon and it is not of the setting sun. A few miles further up is the Nelapattu sanctuary. As you drive up you see Rollers, Black shouldered kites, even Owls and you wonder when did these become so common? You come to a screeching halt because you cannot trust your eyes. Yes they are the pelicans and then you see waves of them and you know you are in the vicinity of the sanctuary. This has been a genuine sanctuary for the pelicans and through the years evolved into one for Asian open billed Stork, the Painted Stork, White Ibis and of course the Cormorants etc. Patience has a way of paying you big dividend. You hear the bird calls and the chatter. Nest building is at a feverish pace and there are the occasional fights for a roosting point. Just sitting quietly observing the goings on picking a quiet weekday vs the weekend is a treat. Amidst the clamour of the nesting birds you can catch a flycatcher, babblers, orioles, robins and a whole lot more. From the inordinately loud chirps emanating from the rushes and reeds you see these tiny little birds constantly hopping from one thicket to another in a frightful hurry. I learn I have to be quick on the draw and these long lenses don’t actually let you do that. I do not pursue the Coucal and owl sounds into the scrub jungle for fear of stepping on snakes which are to be found in plenty here. Amidst all this description I forgot to mention the show the kingfishers put on for you – hovering, diving, sitting so still you wonder how focused they can be because at all other times they take flight the moment you transfer your sight on to them. I believe the rest of the ducks I am used to seeing in large numbers here are just a couple of weeks away. So look out for this space for further updates. It was the most satisfying two hours I spent and will certainly go back again many times before the winter is over and becomes too warm for our visitors to stay on.

Ranthambhor sans tigers

By itself the Ranthambhor visit was outstanding. did we see a tiger? no we did not. But we knew where they were, they were in sector 3 and every one on that trip saw the family each time they set out. So why did we not get sector 3. Life is a lottery, sighting a tiger requires luck and even if you you knew where it was you still had to put your hand in a bag and draw number 3 which we did not do in 4 visits. Every one drove their jeep at break neck speed to get into the tiger zone and in the bargain did not stop for the rest of the wild life. 30 peacocks while driving through the jungle, many sambars, a few nilgai and fewer spetted deer. what were we up to. this obsession with chasing a tiger was madness. did we get good photographs? group trips in a rickety jeep precludes that. so what had we to show for the trip. nothing much but great memories. how about the sloth bear, how about the owl, the woodpecker, the langurs, the crocodiles, if I carried a check list I could probably have ticked off a great many sightings. But we did not pause or linger and therein lies the tragedy of group travel. I am at the right age for vanaprasthashram. Where should I head? let me ponder.

early summer in uthandi

I had spent the early part of summer supervising the farm house extensions trying to work with a lot of the local material at the same time installing solar water heater, solar pump, redoing the drip irrigation in the garden, trying to revive the vermicomposting pit which was giving the local birds a sense of a feast always available. So I got myself a camera with tele lens to while away my lunch breaks as well as the innumerable breaks created by the delays in delivery of materials and delays of the artisans arriving at a leisurely pace. I got some decent shots of the big birds as well as got introduced to the small birds found in such open grassland habitats surrounding the buckingham canal around sholinganallur. any time spent away from the core of the city and being in these open spaces has been an utter delight.

there are innumerable such beehives in lalbagh. bees, bumble bees, wasps, dragonfly, ok a plethora of buzzing insects. which is why the beeeaters have such a feast!

The water body in Lal Bagh is home to a variety of water birds, some skimming the waters looking for a morsel of food, some hiding out in the shade of the trees on a central island, others rushing in and out of the bogs and marshlands on the edge, always some action, new players, new scenery.When the big birds of prey are soaring on the thermals and looking for prey the young chicks hide in the marshes. . fascinating place. just sit on the benches on the berm and enjoy a quiet read and be constantly entertained by the bird antics. If you feel you must catch the action, be ready to shoot with lots of memory. it will be memorable to say the least.

lal bagh, driving in bangalore, so many birds

I have been seeing lots of birds in Bangalore while crawling through traffic, having to ocassionally get onto the pavement to get my shots. Lal Bagh early in the morning choc a bloc with people exercising and here I was strolling enjoying the glorious trees, the birds and amazed at the energy of people doing yoga, running and people walking in companionship just a tad loud and talkative. on sunday i heard music floating through to me. i realized it was a live concert and the music wafted through the trees making the foggy morning pleasant. i had to push the iso on my camera to 1600 to cope with the long lens but the fog eventually made it impossible to shoot well and i was free of the equipment to enjoy my stroll.

Having seen the yellow oriole as i was getting into my car to pick up my grandson, i decided this winter I will keep my long lens handy and learn to shoot birds with it hand held as the mono pod was cumbersome in city traffic. i was driving out on the old mahabalipuram road and stopped near tiruporur for a hot cuppa and there overhead were these amazing winter visitors along with the whole bunch of local. here are some that caught my eye yesterday.

the yellow oriole

the past week I have been sighting our winter visitors, large number of ducks, pelicans flying past and a lot of small colourful birds resting in quiet areas. a few days back in my front yard were these yellow eurasian orioles or are they the vagrants? anyway they added a lovely bit of colour and a reason to walk out enjoying our "winter".

Pallikaranai marshlands. on the cattail reeds. 

Red necked falcon (Falco chicquera). In Pallikarani, sitting on a small roadside tree, quite fearless. have seen it earlier in a wooded area but this one was hanging around the garbage waste dump. powerful in flight.

rose ringed parakeet.

owl 

babbler 

spotted dove 

spotted owlet. 

nicobar parakeet? black on the chin and the red line on the eye?  

spotted owlet, getting ready to feed the family at dusk. 

the black naped green woodpecker. photographed in rain with an elephant ready to charge a short distance away. have seen this in other forests earlier.usually solitary and size much smaller than the normal common woodpeckers. great camaflouge for the green forests. 

the bulbuls playing catch me with a few others on the casurina trees. 

the brain fever bird. the quiescent phase, stumm not a squeak. oh divine silence.

the termite pit under siege by the garden lizard. 

a friendly kitten climbing beyond its comfort zone and being frightened of heights. 

possibly a butterfly 

the wiley jackal criss crossing various paths revealing its presence without making a hula balo about it. 

caught the butterfly a few days back on my walk. 

lets just say bug for now. No lets make the effort. google search to bugs and their sites did not pin point the bug for me.wiki did. so here goes.Anthia sexguttata Carabidae Coleoptera. it has a name from the black lady bird to polka dotted references we have.

r.i.p the garden lizard survived many moons but was sadly plucked away from us by a shikara recently hence posting it to my blog. 

the common warbler blends so easily with the floor. 

why name it the common hoopoe as if to say you see it all the time? found in open country and in the villages where we have our thrushing floor much like the (common?)house sparrow now no longer to be seen in these parts of the town. this was my child hood favourite bird, see it rarely now as large open spaces have disappeared. a delight to watch and with its elaborate headgear quite a show off.

oh madness, much like the cars that drive you crazy when they are backing up. the brain fever bird or the common hawk cuckoo. 

ducking traffic at 3pm on a busy street? a casual stroll through the shopping stretch in raja annamalaipurram where i had gone to buy some books. 

the common denizen of wooded places, the spotted dove. love its cooing and makes morning walks a total delight. you hear it in the hills but getting to be familiar call around chennai as well.

the bulbul. 

a recent visitor in my garden before the big tree fell. the forest wagtail 

i hoped this myna would survive. genetically different and in my garden. it has and since then i have been told my friends have spotted many such mynas in adayar and other areas. 

the oriental magpie, quite common, in undergrowths and bushes and wild gardens. 

not too far off were these hill mynas. squatters on wires. the white vented myna with a touch of white on its tail is on the top row to the right. 

the white-hooded babbler stood out in the early morning sunlight in the midst of a number of hillmynas that looked like blackbirds. 

magnificent colours suddenly catch your eyes springing out of the shrouded forestthat is blanketed in a constant drizzle.in the fading light these vibrant colours of the peacock makes the journey so worthwhile.cannot believe the camera registerd an image under these condition. travelling in a jeep having many voices makes the trip seem like a visit to the zoo.

waking up for the evening performance 

the owl. see them everyday. like an sms landing on my cell phone enticing me to subscribe to the latest hottest sound going. these owls i see everyday, mostly in the same place about the same time. regulars.looking to see if i am ready or not for the shot of the day.

common hawk cuckoo or the brain fever bird. a shrill cry that goes on at a fevered pitch till you really want it to shut up and it does.

the white throated kingfisher. a very common one in this part of the world.

would this be the little grebe?  

what is this called? a shelf fungus or bracket fungus. lets not quibble, its a fungus grown quite big. 

have you heard the story of the crow and the pitcher? yes, its true. the crow wants to know what happened to the piece of bread it threw in to wet it.

the baby mynha. having that in your face look like all juveniles! 

the common warbler, a genuine groupie who loves to belong to a gang, club whatever..sisterhood and hops about in the garden. a group cackle in the evening before they retire can be quite hard on the ears.

the shikara.  

mom have you been dipping in mr.godbole's fair and... cream to apply on my neck? why am i turning white? do something. a juvenile crow wondering if premature greying is part of its genetic coding or mother worked to get a fairer deal.

lets just check the pot please. the rim is fine for the moment. engineering graduate being civil.

the rose ringed parakeet. the female without the prominent touch of rose round the neck?

the lil un. all green and fluffy, starting out the juvenile barbet. 

the male. with a touch of the red to make oneself attractive and stand out in the crowd. la familie barbet 

La famillie barbet. The ever watchful mother.

staying at home in the verandah with the camera mounted on a tripod sipping steaming hot coffee with vadai on the side. spending a glorious time with books. suddenly i am inundated by the birds visitng my "kaka thani water pot" where crows stop by frequently to bathe and then i change the water so that other birds can also jump in. there were 3 woodpeckers goldenbacks bathing in the pot. here is one of them.

greater prairie chicken. thanks to images in google i believe it is the greater prairie chicken. the olypus national park was an amazing journey, from sea to beach to cliffs, to snow and then the temperate rain forest. an amzing journey. will write about that some time.

this is the famous wild prairie chicken on our way to olympus national park 

hibernation

with so much happening and the blog being locked up it was enforced silence. the incessant need to chatter came down, thankfully we can still chat. so here are a few of my recent photographs of no particular order coming up for posting as a part of my walk diary. i hope to soon do some photography with zoom lenses and hopefully we can get closer to the subject.

French, Swiss and Italians all in the cause of entertainement

The World cup Soccer has disrupted our lives for the past few weeks. It did bring a lot of viewing pleasure. I started off as a Zizou fan and was moved to see Figo and Zidane exchange their shirts and arm band. Then I saw the French Captain join a head bangers ball. I could hardly believe what I saw. Last game, France needed the aging warrior who was doing yeoman duty for his country and a moment of madness and he was gone- unceremoniously yanked out by a red card. What a shame. He should have known better. And France lost. Ofcourse rest of the room cheered for Italy win. The azzuris got it together. Congratulations Italy. Their scandal ridden soccer saga needed this to wipe the slate clean.

Amelie Mauresmo's win headlined as Amelie Just-in was great copy writing. She like me wished for one more French victory.

The evening spent as a total couch potato watching Nadal discover his capabilities on grass was such a delight. What can I say. Federer had the game and the winning habit but Nadal was no slouch. He acquitted himself so well and the fact he psyches Federer is the beginning of a classical rivalry Mcenroe-Borg, Sampras-Agassi. Good for the game. Sign off for now.