Birding at Hyderabad during lock down

 I am sure most of you are still going through accepting the new reality and getting used to being constrained in our home setup.

I went through the same phase but after sometime felt too restricted and needed some connect with nature to get my bearings right. And thankfully birding and bird photography is socially distant, in open air and with appropriate precautions it is really safe. So we visited Ameenpur lake and Manjeera water tank and explored what's happening to some of our favorite places in Hyderabad.

But before we go there, just a few days before the lockdown, I visited Gandipet lake in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Peregrine falcon which seemed to have created quite a buzz among birding circles. However I was disappointed to not find it but was rewarded with some great shots of common Kestrel

Also got to see some commoners like Oriental Skylark, Paddy field pipit and Drongo

Over to Ameenpur lake we saw painted storks

PS: Note the plastic pollution due to fishing.

Cattle Egret in breeding plumage

Spot billed duck

Purple sunbird vagrant

 Baya weaver

White browed bulbul

A Jacobin cuckoo ( my first shot ever) and apparently the harbinger of monsoons

Common green bee-eater

Oriental garden lizard

Brahminy starling

 

With lot of anticipation, we went to Manjeera tank. But was underwhelmed to see the lack of water.

Saw a few Scaly breasted munias though we were hoping to see the tricolor munia

Indian Grey Mongoose

Indian Silverbill

Blue tailed bee-eater

Baya weaver male

Mr. and Mrs Baya Weaver

and to end the day our national bird.

Will keep getting out once in a while as we all try to keep our sanity in these unusual times. 

Birds of Hyderabad (2018 roundup)

The year started with a trip to ICRISAT at the outskirts of Hyderabad.  It is a popular place for migratory birds











and it was great to see spotted pelicans




and ruddy shelducks

In March a trip to Ameenpur lake showed birdlife is vibrant but lot of human intervention especially with fishing.

















In Sep we went to Narsapur and was happy to see that the illegal sand mining has stopped. But a factory has come up in the neighbourhood of our favorite birding spot. However the lake was quiet and beautiful



A pheasant tailed Jacana greeted us from far

Ashy sparrow larks showing their mating dance





a solitary ashy wood swallow ( I haven't seen many in Hyderabad)





A lapwing warning everyone of our presence



The forested area had Baya weavers and Red avadavat






However the best part of 2018 was not a bird not a plane ... it was the blood moon !!

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