We stayed at a forest department camp site near Berijam lake, on first evening of our Kodai Munnar trek. The bird life here was amazing and we were out for a walk around the lake on next day morning.

We spotted a group of swallows, right outside the building we stayed in - I guess this particular one is a Pacific Swallow. I had the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L mounted on my EOS 7D, set in Av mode, f/6.3 and auto-ISO. This particular picture came at ISO-100 and 1/640s.

Another picture of a different bird from the same group, using the same settings - this time, the camera picked up a 1/640s, ISO-200 exposure.

The first time I got a glimpse of Pied Kingfisher was at Maddur, on an electric cable, while I was seated in a bus - there was no way I could have taken a picture. I revisited the place a few times, but did not even see it again. The next sighting was at my home town in Eranhikkal, Kozhikode, Kerala (see 'Scenes from the River side', 'Kingfishers @ Eranhikkal' and 'Are there no crows in Bangalore?' for some earlier posts from the same location) - but this time I was not carrying my camera!

But, on another visit to Eranhikkal, I returned to the river side, looking out for the Pied Kingfisher - after walking along the river side for almost an hour, I finally found the bird I was looking for. In the initial pics, the bird was seated in a small branch against the blue sky - and the angle was not so good to get a good view of its plumage.

I waited for some more time hoping the bird to move in to some other position and I was rewarded heavily when I saw its mate flying in and sitting in a nearby branch. I tiptoed towards it for this shot.

The picture comes with the Canon EOS 7D, mounted with a Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L tele photo, in Av mode, f/6.3, auto-ISO for a 1/640s, ISO-250 exposure.

I still did not want to leave and kept taking more shots. The birds changed their positions a few times, but did not go too far. After almost an hour or so, one of them took a plunge in the river and came up with a catch. I retained the earlier setup for a Av mode, f/6.3, ISO-250, 1/500s shot.

Drives on Bangalore - Mysore road are always interesting, especially when I have the time to explore. The waterholes off the highway are full of avian life.

I spotted this Purple Rumped Sunbird in a field midway between Channapatna and Maddur. The picture is taken using Canon EOS 7D, mounted with a Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L tele photo. I used a manual mode exposure of f/6.3, 1/200s and ISO-200 to get it right against a bright sky.

 

This pair of Spot Billed Ducks were found near a lake, just before Channapatna. Here, I used a manual exposure of f/8 and 1/640s, but with auto-ISO on with spot-metering, which ended up using ISO-160.

The three Green Bee Eaters are from a field between Channapatna and Maddur. This time I used Av mode, with f/6.3, auto-ISO and spot metering for a 1/500s and ISO-250 exposure.

This gang of Tricolored Munias were seen near a riverside just before Maddur. I used Av mode f/5.6 for these shots which in hindsight, looked inadequate for this frame. Enough light was available to give me a 1/1000s, ISO-100 exposure.

I had been taking regular drives on Mysore road last month and had ample time for pit stops. Water spots are the usual pit stop points giving me a chance to chase avian life. It is in one of those trips that I found a colony of Baya Weavers:

The colony had many of these birds and intricately carved nests hanging over a stream, from tree branches on both sides of the stream. I did visit the place a couple of times more, until the nests were abandoned.

This particular pic comes from the Canon EOS 7D and Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L, handheld in Manual mode. I had set a f/6.3 aperture and a 1/640 shutter with Auto-ISO and camera using ISO-200.

Also ... wishing everybody a sparkling Diwali!

On our way back from Devarayanadurga, Amit and Me took a small break near a canal and ventured in to the fields chasing birds.

I had been wondering how all my bird models prefer sitting in electric wires. Every time, I get a decent bird shot, the bird is usually sitting in electric wires! But, this shot was slightly better in that aspect, as I atleast managed to shoot it against some trees to get a green background - far better than the dull white backgrounds that I usually manage!

The pic is taken with the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L tele photo lens, mounted on the Canon EOS 7D, handheld in Av mode and Auto-ISO. I had chosen a f/6.3 and the camera picked up a 1/640s exposure at ISO-400.

After hanging around for some more time, I soon got an opportunity to shoot another Green Bee Eater sitting in a branch. I stealthily got very close to the bird and managed to get a few shots - but I did not get any catch light in the bird's eyes and the lighting was a bit harsher. Nevertheless, this is so far my best non-electric-wire picture of a Green Bee Eater!

This pic comes with the same equipment and settings as the previous shot, but the lighting was bit harsher and the camera picked up 1/500s exposure at ISO-250.

I was at the river side at my native - Eranhikkal near Kozhikode in Kerala. Some of my aquaintances were watching me as I ignored the rain and tried to get close to this Little Cormorant. When I came back, one of them asked me, if there are no crows in Bangalore (where he knew I worked)? Ofcourse, there are, but not one which is tall like this, with webbed fingers and able to swim!

The pic is taken using the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L telephoto lens, handheld in Manual mode. I used a f/6.3 aperture and a 1/400s exposure, at ISO-800.

As a side note, crow is 'Kakka' in Malayalam, while Little Cormorant is 'Neerkakka', which loosely translates to 'Water Crow' :) Given this info, wasnt he correct in asking the question?

One of the best things about the Hoysala Village resort was the verdant surroundings and the abundance of birds around. I saw Scaly Breasted Munias, Purple-rumped Sunbirds, Tailor Birds, Bulbuls ... and many more.

I saw a few Munias and Sunbirds in a tree on the way to the restaurant. Both these birds are a little more than 10 cms long and very tough to shoot as they kept moving around the tree. With the branches coming in between, I struggled a long time before getting a good view of any of the birds. Finally, this pair of Scaly Breasted Munias, sat quietly for a while coochy-cooing with each other!

The pic was taken with the Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L (macro) lens, handheld in Manual mode. I used ISO-800, f/6.3 and 1/200s for this shot. The pic was first taken with a landscape orientation, but I later cropped it to make it a portrait orientation.

Everytime I am at Kozhikode, one of my regular spot is the riverside. This is where I usually spot the White-throated (White-breasted) Kingfisher (see 'Kingfishers @ Eranhikkal'). This time also, I did see a couple of them, but what interested me more was a Common Kingfisher (aka Eurasian Kingfisher or River Kingfisher and sometimes wrongly called as Small Blue Kingfisher).

While sitting at the river side, I spotted this kingfisher sitting at the other side of the river. The distance was a little too high to get a clean shot, so I ended up sitting and watching it. The bird's gaze was fixed at the water and it seemed very adept at catching fish. I saw it taking a few dips in the water and every time it did, it came up with a fish in its beak! A succes rate of almost 100%!

After one of those catches, I tried taking a few pictures and it came out decend in spite of the bird being a little far. The pic is taken with the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L telephoto lens - the longest I have - manual mode, f/6.3, 1/400s and ISO-800 exposure. Finally, I cropped the pic (3888px to 1500px) using GIMP.

A little later, I spotted it sitting on my side, with its gaze fixed in the water, looking for any fish movements. I froze where I was standing and picked up the camera, already fitted with the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L telephoto lens avoiding any unwanted movements. The pic comes in Manual mode, f/6.3, 1/500s, ISO-800 - once again cropped using GIMP (3888px to 1500px). As soon as I clicked a couple of pics, a bike came from the other side and scared the bird away.

While going through my archive, I found an older picture I have taken of the same bird. This pic is also taken with the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L telephoto lens, but I was amazed to see how close I was able to get to the bird at that time. I actually had the camera mounted on a tripod and moved it towards the bird slowly, without disturbing it. Once, I got close enough for a frame filling shot, I went for a remote trigger (using an RC-1 remote) and even fired the flash! No clue, why I did not post this picture at that time!

 

One of the major attractions during our normal trips to Kozhikode (see 'Kozhikode Trip' for an earlier bike trip account) is the amount of birds and wildlife we spot. It usually starts at the paddy fields of Mandya and goes on till we cover the Bandipur forest and reach Sulthan Bathery. This time, the major sighting was at a tank bund in NH212 (Kozhikode / Ooty / Nanjagund / Gundulpet road) just after Mysore. As we passed by the tank bund, there were many water birds at the tank bund.

I picked up the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L telephoto lens and jumped out of the car. This is the first time I am seeing a Black-winged Stilt - that too a group of them. Naturally I clicked many pictures and posting the ones I liked most. This pic was taken in Av mode, at ISO-400 and f/8, at a 1/250s exposure. I had the support of a fence allowing me to click at this longer exposure time (longer for the 400mm).

One speciality of the Black-winged Stilt is thier long legs! The above pic should give an indication of how long they are. This pic also comes in Av mode, but I bumped up the ISO to 800 for a shorter exposure of 1/800s.

Black-winged Stilts were not the only birds in the tank bund. I also spotted a few egrets and a pair of Eurasian Coots swimming around. The pic of the Eurasian Coots come with the same settings (f/8, ISO800), but the metering mode was partial to account for its dark color. My aim was to get the details around its eye and at a 1/400s, the camera managed to get it!

I took a stop at Thettekad during the Valparai - Athirapally - Rajamalai trip. Reached there by about 10 in the morning, only to find that the tourist season is not yet started. This means, there will not be any guides to take me around. In spite of that, I decided to check out the bird sanctuary on my own. In hindsight, it turned out to be a good choice!

While, wandering within the sanctuary limits, I spotted something gliding in front of me and landing on the nearby tree. It took me a while to even spot the creature, brilliantly camouflaged by the tree - it was a lizard!

The pics come from the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L telephoto lens. The lens was not ideal in this low light condition. Even in Av mode, ISO-800, f/6.3, I needed a 1/160s exposure. I was not very hopeful to get a sharp picture with the heavy lens handheld at this shutter speed, but was lucky to get one of them reasonably sharp. I was also able to set it against a green background, as the lizard is almost invisible against the tree trunk.

The fliying lizard, belonging to the genus Draco, has folds of skin attached to its rib, with which it can glide consider distances. One distinctive feature of the one I spotted was the yellow throat patch which it keeps flicking. I am not sure of the species, but its either Draco Haematopogon or Draco Dussumieri. Can anybody confirm?