Bird, Birder, Birding...

Birding for a layman may just mean a boring pastime of spending unending patient hours in the outdoors searching constantly for a sound, a flutter, a flyby, a hippity hop, a rustle or a song. Again, all this for what? Just to take a picture, ogle at one’s handiwork and then check a field guide to identify its name if its uncommon or doesn’t start with the name ‘Common’! So what does one do with one’s treasured clicks? Put it up on a social network, blog about it, share it in birding websites or your own website with all the feathery details and titbits, your moment of truth with the l’il or big birdy, scientific name and all! Perfecto!! Again, all this for what? Why do you do it? Is it a competition or just a hobby? Or just a personal bucket list you want to tick off once you reach your mark? Maybe, just for the experience..maybe..still…why? What is it all about?

Birding for a birder, amateur or highly mature is like a 'Calling’ - No pun intended! Like music is for a musician, like diving for a scuba diver, like going places for a traveller. Just that if you are a birder, you get to do all of the above and much more – You walk, jog, run, sometimes dive, trip, get swept off your feet,  go places and listen to birdsong which is music to the well trained ear - Literally! At times you get to do the singing too and if you closely observe a birder one might even look like one is moonwalking – Of course one is totally unaware of the fact as every ounce of one’s attention is strictly reserved for ‘The Bird’ – No matter how stupid one may look like, in the process! It is probably the only time that a Birder is least concerned about what one’s constantly changing postures may convey or make them look like. So strike birding off your list if you want to take someone out on a date unless he/she is also a birder or doesn’t mind appreciating your weird acrobatics! By the way the birds don’t mind the acrobatics as long as you are well camouflaged or resemble a tree with weirdly twisted branches and you tread every step of your way as soundlessly as can be humanly possible. And yes, you might want to also avoid screaming or cursing in case you sprain a leg, neck or back! But inspite of everything, even if it sounds a bit exaggerated – Birding is beautiful in the very deep down literal sense!

To a birder’s mind or should I say to my mind its almost everything you can ask for! Once you become a birder, you are a birder for the rest of your life.  It’s like a binding contract between you and mother nature. You may have a burn out, not think about it for awhile, be out of touch, or simply observe someone else’s work. But, no matter where you are or what you do if you see one pass you by, you’ll always look up for that one brief moment with a quiet smile if you’ve seen it before or wonder if it could be, what you thought it looked like! It will always keep coming back to you in brief timeless pangs, till you know you need to go some place soon enough or maybe just spend some quality time in your own backyard. That’s birding! Once a birder, always a birder! And that rush of excitement that almost clouds your eyes when you see a new species or a rarity or when you’re seconds away from breaking a personal record – Well you need to experience it to know what that feels like! I don’t know if I can even call myself a ‘Birder’ yet, for I am still foraging my way through the initial intriguing stage of being fascinated by this whole new world or rather a whole new way of looking at or listening to things. I wonder, ponder and meander when an opportunity presents itself growing fonder and fonder every day! No clue, if I’ve gone yet yonder..!

For want of a better word I’ll just call myself an amateur birder for now. There is still a long way, many more places and spottings am yet to be blessed with…!

For now I leave you to relish your taste buds with a few new sightings during a month long vacation at Malawi, Africa.

Southern Red Billed Hornbill ( Tockus Rufirostris)

Brown-Throated / Scarlet-Spectacled Wattle-Eye (Plastysteira Cyanea)

First Impressions...

It isn't always that you get to visit a place that takes your breath away, leaving lasting impressions for a lifetime...

The wilderness is therapy...! My forestscape #3

Sometimes all you need to do is to let some sun shine into your life..:))

Wildlife Safari at Nagarhole...

So here's to a memorable trip to Nagarhole and some of the wildlife I was fortunate to cross paths with...

Walking into my frame as i tried to shoot through the safari van..

On  his way out..

My first Arachnid - A tiny Aragog!

White Jumping Spider - Yes, they do jump!!

Those eyes..

Brush to Canvas - An elephant sunset silhouette!

 The very first one I did after almost 15 years of having yielded my brush to a Canvas..:)

Brush to Canvas - A Northern Cardinal in the Snow!

A painting inspired by Amy Pearce...:)

Brush to Canvas - A misty forest painting!

A misty forest painting inspired by Tim Gagnon..

My Barbet Diaries

The White-Cheeked Barbet (Megalaima viridis) appears grass green and distinguishes itself from the other barbets in it's family by it's distinctive white cheek stripe. Both sexes alike, it's common in evergreen and moist deciduous forests while also popularly known to frequent gardens and groves near human inhabitations. They are usually found in pairs. Their diet includes fruits, berries and flying termites. But the one thing that immediately comes to mind when you are reminded of this beauty, is it's loud, high pitched, guttural call. A sort of song like tune that starts with a lower pitched Kuttr-kuttr and the crescendo slowly rises in a steady rhapsody. It continues calling tirelessly, occassionally complimented by another barbet calling in a distance or closeby. It stops in intervals and before you know it starts off again with a continuous Kuuuuuutttrrrrr-kuttr-kuttr-kuutrr-kuuutttrr! Sometimes just listening to its incessant need to call every morning and evening might give you a feeling of having a sore throat. Yet, again you do feel thankful for that call, without which your chance of spotting it in a tree amidst heavy green foliage with its pefect grass green camouflage, is next to impossible! Mostly towards the afternoon or late evening, just after sunset, you may hear its occasional Tok-tok-tok if you strain your ears for a bit. Barbet nests find their way into perfectly carved round holes in tree barks that the pair keep busy flying in and out of  during the breeding season, which falls between December to June and usually lay 2-4 eggs. 

Its a marvellous bird to sit and observe from your very own terrace as I have been doing for the past 1 year. They jump from one branch to another of a couple of African Tulip Trees (Spathodea Campanulata) that stand tall at a stone's throw from my terrace, sometimes flying to nearby trees but you can be sure they'll be back in a few minutes. At least one of them always remains close to the nest hole keeping a sharp lookout for intruders. In this case, a pair Jungle Mynas did put up a good fight trying to get very close to the hole, being continuously chased away by the Barbet, after which they decided to give up. 

So here are a few cropped captures that I could afford owing to the excellent zoom on my trusty good ol' Sony DSC H5...! More captures to hopefully follow into my Barbet Diaries as they are sure to hang around for some more months..:)

Brush to Canvas - A Secluded Forest Painting

To paint is to express an imagination that takes shape with every stroke of a brush. You think you held the brush that gave shape to your thoughts, as you painted. In the end, it dawns upon you that it was your thoughts that held you stead fast, giving you direction, as your painting took shape. Time stands still. The space around you no longer exists. The world becomes an illusion. Its just you and your canvas, a consistent pitter patter of your brush against the raw canvas accompanied by the occasional silent splash of water. Its meditation On-the-go...

Here's to one of my first 'forestscapes' on a canvas..:)

INN THE WILD - A journey of sorts... Part 3

Our stay at Inn The Wild had just begun to get exciting. Rejuvenated from a refreshing evening tea, we walked towards the group that had gathered for the Nature Walk. It was just another family of 4 and our Naturalist. I had been dreading the thought that we might be joined by a few more families that had turned up that afternoon with kids. Nothing like a bunch of noisy kids to spoil the essence of a quiet walk into the Jungle. The lesser the ruckus the more our chances of sighting something, if at all!

A group of Langurs greeted us as we walked away from
our shacks

The Naturalist was accompanied by 2 more persons who supposedly knew the area well, while one of them was an expert in identifying animals by their footprints and calls. We were given a quick briefing about the do's and don'ts. We had already been advised to wear neutral colors that would blend with the Jungle foliage and make our presence less obvious. We walked a few yards before entering the boundaries of the Wild, after which we were not supposed to utter a sound and trample our way as quietly as we could. Only our Naturalist would communicate with us in soft whispers while he lead the way updating us about the whereabouts. As we walked through cones of branches that marked our way we spotted a group of Langurs on a tree to our left. Just as they saw us they jumped down from it, crossed our path and scampered away towards the foliage on our right. They were quite close to us.  Some seemed unperturbed by our presence and kept jumping around a bit while a couple of them just sat down and gave us a 'Are you sure you want to head that way?' look. We walked further on, as we lost sight of them till we reached the edge of the fence-less boundary made of stones and the like. I spotted a White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) on our way. It was perched on a tree almost devoid of leaves. I managed to get a clear look through my binoculars to confirm it's identity but couldn't get a click, being handicapped by my trusty, but modest  lens.

Langur walk shall I call it?

The 2 other persons who accompanied the  Naturalist

Nevertheless, sometimes not having the right equipment has it's own advantages I think. You learn to give more importance to observing your subject, learning and appreciating it's meaningful nuances instead of focusing more on framing it.

Small is the new big 'dans mon jardin'...:)

The Pink Trumpet Vine (Podranea Ricasoliana) flower in my terrace garden, plays a patient host  to a  number of insects that buzz in and out of its flowers all through the day. You'll mostly find 3 different kinds of flies - one with yellow stripes, another fat one with a bluish hue to it and another really tiny black one that easily manages to find refuge inside the trumpet like shelter of the Vine Flower. In addition, you may come across a few beetle like bugs, occasional honey bees  and if you are lucky, hidden just beneath the leaves, a Praying Mantis too! Its just fascinating to watch these tiny fellas going about their way. Its only when I decided to capture them, I realised that this is the kind of stuff, that really tests your patience! The insects constantly fly in and out of the flowers, each outstretched branch having at least 10-15 pale pink bell-shaped flowers, some still buds, some half in bloom. Sometimes, when you manage to get the perfect focus and just sit waiting for one of them to fly into your frame, lose patience in between and try to move your tripod as stealthily as you can to that other branch, that they are currently lurking in, also happens to be the exact moment that they decide to take off and land in that frame you had perfectly focused a few seconds ago! Then you go - 'Damn, If only I could have been a little more patient!' Nevertheless, your efforts do pay off after some knee wrecking, spine bending sitting/kneeling/ towering positions!!! My perfect shot is yet to be captured but here are a few that came close to my vision...:)

Just for a second..;)

INN THE WILD - A journey of sorts... Part 2

The naturalist accompanied us to the Machan as we decided to go for a casual early  morning walk to familiarise ourselves with the place. The Machan was just a 5 minutes walk from our shacks and stood tall just beyond a couple of tree houses. A tall structure with a tree trunk running right through it, it was the perfect place to stand in and take in all the surroundings. I've always felt something 

Pathway from our shacks towards the Machan

very endearing while spending time at such places. An impending sense of calm simply overtakes you and all you want to do is just stand there quietly, listening to the sounds of the jungle for hours and yet feel like only a few minutes had passed by! So there I was taking it all in, while scanning the area around. To my far left across the horizon lay the hills of Wayanad partially covered in mist, to the foothills of which the grasslands in front  of me stretched to. In front of the Machan was the water body with a couple of leafless trees immersed in it. To my right was a dense jungle, bordered with a raised stone platform that ran through the right perimeter of the water body. Ahead of me, beyond the water body stretched a vast expanse of grassland with clumps of trees scattered around the area. I could hear the faint cry of a peafowl in the distance and managed a quick glimpse of it with my binoculars and  a couple of peacocks further away. Now that we were safe up in the Machan, our Naturalist headed back leaving us there for as long as we wished to remain. All I had to do was inform him once we were done and a jeep would be sent to take us back.

Machan with a view of the tree house in the background

Full view of the Machan 

 We stayed there for an hour.We heard a few distant Chital alarm calls coming through the jungle foliage on our right but could not zero in on the exact location. It was too dense even for the binoculars to peer into. It was serene as we just sat there listening to the sounds of the jungle. The rain had calmed the weather and a cool breeze wafted around us. There was no wildlife to be seen except for the peafowl that was now jogging away at a distance. Our chances of spotting wildlife seemed to be slim due to the presence of a tiger in the area. In fact, our naturalist and a few guests he had taken into the jungle for the nature walk a couple of days ago had been almost attacked by a tiger just a furlong from the Machan. They had only just managed to get away luckily without any injuries. It must have been hiding in the tall grass that grew a little further on one side of the Machan watching in silence before it decided to charge. It reminds me of what Kenneth Anderson repeatedly mentioned in his books especially when he talks of the Jungle - That when you're in the Jungle all eyes are on you, watching your every move yet you can neither see nor hear anything till they decide to make it apparent or are simply unawares of your presence.That's why its so important to constantly be on the alert letting your eyes peer in as further as you can let it, into the foliage.I had only got my binoculars this time so I made a mental note to come back to the Machan with my camera  as we waited for the jeep to come fetch us. As I headed back to my shack, I decided to do some birding till we headed for lunch. I spotted a few Lapwings a few yards from our shack just settled on the ground while a couple of them flew here and there. There was also a small black bird about the size of a sparrow, maybe smaller that would fly from the edge of one tip of a shrub to another and then sit still. It looked like a Pied Bush Cat through my binoculars. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a clear picture of it or the Lapwings as I only had a 18-55mm lens that comes with the Canon 70D(W), I had got a few days ago. I had finally managed to lay my hands on a long hoped for DSLR after using my trusty bridge camera, a Sony DSC-H5 for so long. I was still learning my way into using my new camera and at the most I managed to take a few landscape shots.

INN THE WILD - A journey of sorts... Part 1

The rain had just begun  splattering on the windshields when we were enroute to Masinagudi from Ooty. It was 4:00 p.m and we were due to reach INN THE WILD- A jungle resort tucked away in the foothills of the Nilgiris by 5:00 p.m. Having informed the reservation desk at the resort that we might turn up a bit late due to rain, we drove our way down, toward the rain shadow town of Masinagudi.  We did hope the rain would clear up soon but never anticipated what would become of the next 4 hours, that it ultimately took us to reach there..!

Driving into the mist downhill

We stopped by at a Cafe Coffee Day to grab some sandwiches, as the rain pelted down upon us. Not wanting to waste any time, we got it packed and headed out of the Queen of Hills munching our way through heavenly hot sandwiches. The sun would soon be on it's way down and we were determined to reach the Singara check post soon, where we had been informed that a green safari jeep would be waiting to ferry us a few kilometers further inside, to the resort. We were just a stone's throw into our descent when we began to notice that the mist enveloping us began to thicken.We could still see the road ahead but the rain slowed down our pace. It was now close to 6:00 p.m and we were not even halfway close to our destination which in normal circumstances should have taken about an hour to reach!

Caterpillaring through - Make way!!

I have stopped counting the number of times I've been lucky enough to find an Oleander Hawk Moth (Daphnis Nerii) caterpillar in one of my Jasmine or Oleander plants. But every single time till date, just when it is big enough to get into the next stage of it's amazing lifecycle - Voila!! It puts on a disappearing act. I presume it's mostly eaten by some pigeon for there are plenty around...but every single time??  Nevertheless I never miss an opportunity to take a quick click as I can never be sure of seeing it again the next day....!

Someday I hope to be able to witness the entire metamorphosis process...someday!! Till then feast your eyes in this little fella I found a few days ago. Where he is now u ask?? Probably hidden under an invisibility cloak or something - Disappeared again!

 About turn..