Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Bhigwan "Birding Paradise of Maharashtra"

After a long time, I could get my camera out of the bag for some photography.
Bhigwan is a location approximately 300 kms from the city of Mumbai. This large lake is formed by the back water Ujani dam on river Bhima. The large water body attracts some great migratory birds during winter time including Greater flamingo, Ruddy Shelduck, Bar-Headed Goose and other birds.
We drove via the Mumbai-Pune expressway, driving through Katraj and the village of Jejuri before reaching the town of Baramati.
We reached Baramati about 1.30pm and dropped our bags into the room. We picked up our camera gear and headed out. Had lunch in a nearby restaurant and drove to Bhigwan which is 35 kms away from Baramati on the Pune-Solapur highway. The actual bird sanctuary is called Kumbhargaon Bird sanctuary. We reached the village of Kumbhargaon at about 2.30pm.
This year the water level in the lake is very low because of shortage of rainfall in India and the birding season is not expected to last more than 3-4 months. The weather over the 2 days was beautiful for photography and bird watching.
Our first boat trip started at about 3pm and went on till sunset. It was birds everywhere. The most common being brown-headed gulls and Terns (River Terns & Whiskered Terns).
The next day we left our hotel by 6.30am to reach Bhigwan by 7am. Since it was Christmas, there was a lot of crowd and we had to wait for nearly 45 mins for our boat to turn up. Again the boating lasted for almost 3 hours and we had our hearts fill of native and migratory birds.
The highlight of the trip was close view of an Osprey. It was sitting on a perch in the middle of the lake and we moved very slowly to get some real close shots.
For the first time I got good shots of birds in flight. We returned home at about 10.30pm through traffic jams in Pune. Tired but satisfied.
All pictures shot with Canon EOS 7D camera with Canon 100-400 lens.


Osprey - Ready to fly
Osprey - In Flight
Bar Headed Goose
Greater Flamingos
Black Tailed Godwit
Glossy Ibis
Gulls Fight - Fishing War
The Winner
Small Pratincole
Little Egret
Bar Headed Goose
Painted Stork
Greater Flamingos
Rudy Shelduck
Rudy Shelduck
Heuglins Gull
Black Headed Ibis
Northern Shoveler

Friday, June 12, 2015

Greater Flamingos

The male Greater Flamingos can be up to 61 inches tall which is more than many humans. They only weigh about 8 pounds which is extremely light for an animal that is so tall! Their feathers range in color from dark pink to bright red. They also have areas of white blending in with them. While in flight you will be able to see areas of black underneath as well.

The curve of their neck is very flexible due to the many vertebrae found there. They also feed upside down in the water. You will notice their black beak has a very unique design to it. They are filter feeders so they take in both their prey and water with the water being filtered back into the body of it. They feed on a variety of organisms including larvae, plankton, small fish, and whatever else the can find in those shallow bodies of water.

They communicate vocally with a type of honking that is very similar to the sounds that geese make. Living in extremely large colonies, they are able to use these sounds as well as non-verbal forms of communication to engage with each other. They don’t like their natural environment to be disrupted by noise, people, or other animals though. This can create high levels of stress for them to deal with.


Flamingos are pink because the algae they consume are loaded with beta carotene, an organic chemical that contains a reddish-orange pigment. (Beta carotene is also present in many plants, but especially in tomatoes, spinach, pumpkins, sweet potato and, of course, carrots.) The mollusks and crustaceans flamingos snack on contain similar pigment-packing carotenoids. 

Greater Flamingos at Bhigwan, Maharashtra

Flamingo March, Bhigwan, Maharashtra

Flamingo Take-off

Flamingo in flight

Flamingos at rest

Love in air

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

The Hunt

Place - Ranthambhore National Park
Date - 25th May 2015

It was second day of our jungle trip. We entered in the jungle for our morning round. We got zone 1 route. That was famous zone of Ustad (T-24). But we were disappointed as there was no Ustad in the park. We had hope to see Noor (T-39) and her two male cubs. We went deep in the jungle and suddenly we saw some gypsies standing near rock wall. A cub was sitting on the rock. He was a “Style Bhai”. He was running after Langurs. He gave us crazy poses and amazing expressions. His brother was behind the rock and we barely saw his ears & head.

Suddenly he started staring at our gypsy. We were feeling cold in 40 degrees while looking at his eyes. There was a female spotted deer behind our gypsy approaching the waterhole beside our gypsy. The poor deer was not aware of the danger and started drinking water. She could not see that the death was looking at her.

The second cub came in front and took the position. He came at the edge of the rock. He was bending and crawling. He was ready to attack at any moment.

In the next second, the second cub jumped from the rock, chased the deer and squashed her on the ground.

He sat among the rocks like a “Conqueror”. He had his award to show to us.  


It was a mesmerizing experience.

"Style Bhai"

Cub No.1

Prey

Cub No.2

Attack

Chasing

Conqueror

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Matheran - Moon Magic

Last weekend (6-7 Dec) I went to Matheran for a night trail. Last Saturday was full moon night. It was a thrilling experience to trail in the jungle of Matheran in full moon light.

Matheran is probably one of the most frequently visited weekend getaways for the Mumbaikars. Situated at an altitude of 2625 feet above the sea level, it is one of the most approachable hill stations being just 90 km away from the maddening crowd. Matheran is a mesmerizing biodiversity hotspot for the wildlife.

Matheran was declared an Eco sensitive region by the union environment ministry and is called a health sanatorium. It is clean, green and vast. Landscapes spreading till the horizon and the vastness of the valleys are just mesmerizing.

Matheran plateau forests consists of trees like Parjamun, Amba, Phasi, Kokam,  Anjani, Alu, and medicinal plants such as Shatavari, Medshing Gul-wel, Kal-lavi,  Ranwanji and ranbhendi etc.

The fauna includes Bonnett macaque, Langur, Barking deer, Mongoos, Porcupine etc. The major birds found in Matheran are Palm swift, crested Lark, Indian small sky lark, common Green Pigeon, Blue Breasted Barbet.

At night we walked in the jungle to explore the nocturnal creatures. We saw snakes like Bamboo Pit Viper, Green Vine Snake. We also saw Deccan banded Gecko. 

Bamboo pit vipers live on trees and active at night. They are often found in forested areas. To catch the prey, they use their highly evolved heat sensitive pits. The pits are located between the snake’s eye and nostril. Like all pit vipers, they are venomous.

Green Vine Snake has thin, long and slender body. Head long, clearly broader than neck with extremely pointed snout. Oval shape eyes have horizontal pupils. Very long, thin and slender tail ends with pointed tip

The night beauty of Matheran was really fascinating.

Full Moon Magic

Bamboo Pit Viper

Bamboo Pit Viper

Tale of a Tail

Green Vine Snake

Paper Wasp

Spider on Sunset sky

Friday, October 17, 2014

Birds

Indian Roller
(Picture taken at Bandhavgad National Park, Madhya Pradesh in May 2012)
It has blue cap contrasting with remainder of head and throat. The breast is rufous-brown. In flight the alternating brilliant pale blue and dark blue bands in the wing are spectacularly distinctive. It is found in light woodland.

Wire-tailed Swallow
(Picture taken at Masai Pathar, Kolhapur, Maharashtra in August 2014)
The wire-like streamers on the outer tail feathers are diagnostic, but only visible at close range. There are clean-cut pure white under parts and chestnut cap. In flight the tail appears conspicuously, short and square-cut with the outer tail-wires only visible at close range. 

Indian Peafowl (male)
(Picture taken at Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan in June 2013)
In the wild state usually found in deciduous forest, often near water, commonly semi-feral in the vicinity of villages and cultivation. Usually in small groups of a male and 3-5 hens in the breeding season, otherwise often in separate groups of males and females. Forages on the ground. Roosts in tall trees. 

Eurasian Thick-knee
(Picture taken at Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan in June 2013)
Found in dry open scrub, sandy semi-desert, dry river beds, open woodland. Largely crepuscular and noctural.

 Collared Scops Owl
(Picture taken at Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan in June 2013)
It has buffy hind-collar, lightly streaked below, weak scapular spots. Found in woods.

Crested Serpent Eagle
(Picture taken at Kaziranga National Park, Assam in March 2014) 
It has rufous-brown underparts spotted with silvery-grey; black crown and nape finely streaked with white; cere and unfeathered legs yellow. Found in forest, woodland, mangroves.

Jungle Owlet
(Picture taken at Kaziranga National Park, Assam in March 2014)
It has rusty colour of barring on primaries and secondaries, barring on upperparts narrowly spaced, barring below usually extends to include flanks and belly. Found in open mixed and secondary forest. Partly diurnal.

Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher
(Picture taken at Eravikulam National Park, Kerala in November 2011)
The adult has a grey head and breast, green upperparts and bright yellow underparts. Breeds in hill forests and other wooded area. It nests on a rock ledge or in a tree trunk and lays three or four eggs.

Northen Shoveler (male)
(Picture taken at Bhigawan, Maharashtra in March 2011)
The very large, spatulate bill is the most distinguishing feature of the aptly named Northern Shoveler. The male in breeding plumage has bright wings, a bright iridescent-green head with a yellow eye, bold white breast, and chestnut sides. Females, juveniles, and males in eclipse plumage (from May through August) are mottled brown with orange legs and a green-black iridescent speculum with a blue patch on the forewing.

Asian Paradise Flycatcher
(Picture taken at Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan in June 2013)
The body and wings are white. Long-tailed white-plumaged birds have dark shaft streaks (absent in rufous birds). The edges of the wings and tail feathers are sometimes black. Their legs are relatively short, and they tend to sit very upright when perched. Asian Paradise Flycatchers mostly feed on insects captured in the air. They usually hunt in the under-story of densely canopied trees.

Black-rumped Flameback
(Picture taken at Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan in June 2013)
It has a typical woodpecker shape, and the golden yellow wing coverts are distinctive. The rump is black. The underparts are white with dark chevron markings. The black throat finely marked with white immediately separates it from other golden backed woodpeckers in the Indian region. The head is whitish with a black nape and throat, and there is a greyish eye patch.

Great Hornbill
(Picture taken at Kaziranga National Park, Assam in March 2014)
The body is covered with black feathers and the wing tips have a ban of white feathers. The tail is white with bans of black feathers across. The neck of this bird is surrounded with circle of fur. The bill is yellow and curved downward. One distinct mark of the hornbills is their bright yellow and black casque on top of its massive bill, a helmet like head and is solid ivory. The casque is hollow with little functions although they are believed to be the result of sexual selection. Male hornbills have been known to indulge in aerial casque butting flights. Females are smaller than males and have blue instead of red eyes. They usually have short legs, but have broad feet.

Indian Peafowl (female)
(Picture taken at Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan in June 2013)
In the wild state usually found in deciduous forest, often near water, commonly semi-feral in the vicinity of villages and cultivation. Usually in small groups of a male and 3-5 hens in the breeding season, otherwise often in separate groups of males and females. Forages on the ground. Roosts in tall trees.