Birds of Hyderabad

This is my first field testing of my 600mm F4 lens.  After 6 years of using my 300mm f2.8 I am trying to get used to this monster 😉

What could be a better place to try out the same than a morning trip to Ameenpur lake. I was told Flamingos were flocking in dozens. Though to our disappointment the lake was full to its brim and there were no flamingos.

 We started the morning with a common kingfisher




Ameenpur is the best place to shoot a kingfisher as the reeds are the same height as your tripod. In comparison this was my earlier Common Kingfisher shot from Ameenpur with my 300mm F2.8 couple of years back. Leave it for you to decide which one is better 😊



 Next saw a common coot walk on water..




A greenish warbler



A purple sunbird female









A little cormorant....




and a Grey heron in light


...and in the morning mist



A few more from the Gandipet lake area.

Green Bee-eater




snugged together in a wintry morning



Chasing a bee (may be !!)




Coppersmith barbet



Lesser Whitethroat ( a lifer for me) and a winter visitor to India, not commonly seen in Hyderabad.



Red rumped swallow



Indian Golden Oriole



A visit to Icrisat over the easter weekend was productive.

An Indian darter on a tree



An intermediate egret



Little stints in flight




Indian thick knee or Indian Stone Curlew



A red-naped Ibis

Birding among tea gardens in Munnar

While staying at the Club Mahindra resorts, Munnar for a family vacation during Oct we did some birding in and around the property. The location was among tea gardens and had a lovely view





Most of the birding was during morning walks. The first one was an Indian Yellow Tit just outside of our balcony




A while later a Vernal hanging parrot dropping it's food... oops !!


The first lifer was a Hill Swallow ( Hirundo (tahitica) Domicola) again similar to the Pacific swallow found only in the Nilgiri belt and Sri Lanka




A juvenile Blue rock thrush female ( ID To be confirmed)




and another lifer, the Nilgiri Flowerpecker!! It is now treated as a separate species than Plain flower pecker






While we went for a day long trip to Chinnar wildlife sanctuary the timing as well as the availability of wildlife was a disappointment. We just spotted a wild elephant and a  Grey-backed shrike.



Good to see a few lifers. Not an exhaustive birding trip though I understand that Munnar has good potential.

A short birding trip to Kalimpong

A short family vacation in Kalimpong, West Bengal in May, 2016. A few captures from the trip

Common green magpie ( though not very common !!)




Short billed minivet




Grey Bush Chat



Blue-capped Rock Thrush


Can somebody remove this leaf? ( Greater yellownape)





Common green magpie

Eaglenest: A walk in the clouds and birds in the bushes

It was on my bucket list for a while to visit Eaglenest Wildlife sanctuary. Eaglenest is a stretch of abandoned road that connects Tenga valley in the north and Telamara in the south. This is in the western part of Arunachal pradesh and is known for some of the rare species that are endemic to the region.



Finally I could manage some time to visit in March,2016 with Toehold Photography. Thanks a lot to Sachin Rai and Santosh Saligram  of Toehold cortsey whom we we had a wonderful week.

The place is one of the most pristine jungles that I have ever visited with trees which I am sure would be 300 years old. Just to give you sense of the forest

We started our birding after crossing Bhalukpong. The first one to greet us was a Streaked spider hunter. What a start with a lifer !!



This was followed by a Blue throated barbet



Black bulbuls and Hodgson's redstart ( female)







Near the Army cantonment at Tenga valley we saw some brown dippers frolicking in a river.




We reached Eaglenest sanctuary in the evening and stayed at the Lama camp. It was biting cold. A great experience staying in tents without light ( for most part) and running water. But the view from the tent made up for it




The first sighting the morning was not a bird but an orange breasted squirrel, endemic to the region.




Sibias both the Beautiful sibia and the Long tailed Sibia are common.








There are a variety of Yuhinas. Spotted quite a few . Here are some shots

Stripe throated Yuhina




Rufous vented Yuhina




Warblers are seen in abundance. We saw grey cheeked warbler



Ashy Throated Warbler




Chestnut crowned warbler




Green tailed sunbird






A bhutan laughing thrush at a kissing distance !!





Olive backed pippit




We then proceeded towards Bompu camp with lot's of birding on the way. We saw a crimson browed rosefinch




A black faced laughing thrush



Brown Parrotbill which was the most fidgety and shy bird I ever photographed.



A Mountain Imperial pigeon whose call resonates through the valley


The birding near Bompu camp started with a curious grey headed canary flycatcher




A rufous bellied woodpecker


A typical shot taken through the bushes, a yellow bellied fantail



A striated bulbul



Sultan Tit




Large woodshrike



Saw a few wren babblers which are endemic to the region. It's amazing that such small birds have calls that were so musical. A rufous throated wren babbler



A maroon backed accentor



A fire breasted flower pecker




A rufous winged Fulvetta



Back in Lama camp on our way back a Striated laughing thrush



Can you spot the bar throated Siva?




Yellow bellied blue magpie




Spent a lot of time looking for the Bugun Liocichla , but was rewarded with this Cutia



On our way back from Eaglenest we saw orange bellied leafbirds






Black throated tit



Eaglenest is not an easy place to bird. The birds are not used to humans and you seldom get a clean shot. So is it worth the travel and the hardships ?

Well you get to see over 100+ species in a 5 day trip and if it is your first time in Arunachal Pradesh most likely 80% of them would be lifers. Though you can't photograph many of them, you leave with a lot of memories of birds which are very rare and a forest that is so unique.