Sahil's Nature Blog

Photos published

2009-12-15T23:33:00.000-08:00

A few days back I remembered that I had submitted two of my photos for some Turkish publication on wildlife awareness a loooong time ago.. so today I decided to write to them to find out what happened and guess what - they used it!!! .... : )

And this is what it looks like ...

(the cover of the book)

And here's the pages with my photos ...
The photos are of a Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) which is quiet rare in the wild.. both of my photos are of captive individuals- the portrait photo was clicked at Moscow Zoo and the second one was at Skansen island in Stockholm.

The book was made to help create awareness of some rare species that was thought to still exist in some part of Turkey but there was no sightings in a loong time so they feared that it could have gone extinct locally. However seen the publication of the book the researchers of the book succeeded in getting camera trap pictures of some real wild Turkish lynx.

Birding in Mahalaxmi

2009-11-22T15:01:00.000-08:00

For the longest time I've read birding reports from the Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai and wanted to visit it to check out the birds there... finally this morning I got my chances when a few of my friend decided to go jogging there! I jumped at the opportunity though jogging was the last thing on my mind..

So as my friends sweated it out - armed with my camera and binocs I hunted down some great birds in this amazing oasis of birdlife in the heart of Mumbai!

The fog filled morning revealed its first bird in a Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach)

then a Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) flew by ..

Of course how could a trip to the race course be complete without seeing some graceful horses!!

a Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii) stool still in futile hope that I would miss it ..

I think this image captures best the beauty of the mild winter in Mumbai!

as with the rest of the city its impossible to spend a day in this city without seeing one of these fellows - the omnipresent Black Kite (Milvus migrans)

.. then I saw a group of Rosy Starlings (Sturnus roseus).. who were not too far from their cousins -

the Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)

another 'habitat' shot...

and then in the distance I saw this fellow warming up for the day - the bird that can probably make the claim of being this area's top predator - the Eurasian Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)

On seeing this guy in the distance I decided to leave the comfort of the jogging track and headed into the grasslands..

though at the end of the day it looked like half of me got drenched in rain .. it was great to walk thru the dew clad grass field..

A few meters into the grass revealed this amazingly named beauty - the Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) - If I was a bird I want a name like that!!! : )

as always the Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) were swooping in on the insects with amazing grace and precision..

then another Zitting Cisticola

and then there it was .. a tiny bird that always amazes me .. why would anyone travel all the way from Siberia every year!! The amazing traveller the Siberian Stonechat or Asian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus)

here's another snap of the same female - I didn't find any males today..

Then I saw quiet a few Prinias - to the best of my knowledge they are all Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata)

And then I saw the other Prinia, the easy to distinguish Ashy Prinia (Prinia socialis)

and he gave me a few of his characteristic poses...

a lone Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus) also made a brief appearance..

then I saw the first bird of the day again - the Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach)

a line up of Black Kites

Another Long-tailed Shrike

A flying Black Kite

Some more of the same..

And then a small tree between a heap of garbage I saw the priced catch of the day a bird that I wasn't expecting to see here - a Pied Buschat (Saxicola caprata)..

and not far from the Bushchat in the same dump was a Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)

in the distance sitting on a bare treeI spotted a tiny bird that was probably the first bird I heard this morning but as usual in more often heard than seen - the Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala)

it was now time for the jogging track to be closed for the day, so I headed out of the track to catch some breakfast with my friends who were long done with their jogging and were now threatening to leave me behind..

but as I ran out these Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata) pleaded to be clicked.. so they were the last birds to be captured at the Race course today..

Here's a list of all the birds I saw in no particular order (as expected its not possible to take snaps of all of them):

Common Myna
Asian Pied Starling
Rosy Starling
Marsh Harrier
Black Kite
House Crow
Little Egret
Pond Heron
Long-tailed Shrike
Siberian Stonechat
Ashy Prinia
Plain Prinia
Zitting Cisticola
Coppersmith Barbet
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Barn Swallow
Black Drongo
Red-wattled Lapwing
House Sparrow
Rock Pigeon
Unided Gull

Nature watching in Matheran

2009-11-10T01:30:00.000-08:00

I was last here 4 years back with a BNHS birding group and it felt great to be back in this amazing retreat from the madness of life in Mumbai. Matheran is one among the few successful examples of eco-friendly tourism developments in the country. Most of this tiny hill station has been declared pedestrian and that has really helped not only maintain its ecology but also its charm!Here's a few of photos of some local wildlife.. starting with the Mammals :

Starting with the Indian Palm Squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) also known as Three-Striped Palm Squirrel.. although these guys are all over the place here its not easy to get a decent photo of them, they are extremely wary of humans and move around too much - which in the tree covered light of Matheran can get tricky to shoot.

Next is a bunch of Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta) , these fellows are notorious for harassing visitors - from stealing food, to biting to running away with your mobile phone these guys do it all given the chance.

a curious youngster..

the alpha male..

the thinker..

the cuddlers..

the scary (sleepy guy)..

one more of him from another angle.. and last but not the least

.. the guy who gives them all a bad name!! the guy who stole my Kurkure Crisps..

Walking around the various tree shaded trails of Matheran is a great experience

but every now and then the trail ends at breath taking panoramic points

offering amazing views of the surrounding hills!
Moving on here's a couple of Birds I managed to click decent pics off:

Before I left for Matheran, there was one bird I really wanted to see here again ... in a way to me seeing it was probably the best excuse to visit this place ... So you can imagine by delight when I was able to take a couple of decent photos of this sweet songster, here's the White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus)
and another angle!

An Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica)
Here's a few Butterflies:The Glassy Tiger (Parantica aglea)

A dry season form of the Common Evening Brown (Melanitis leda)
and a bunch of Common Bluebottles (Graphium sarpedon) (ironically the photo shows them mud-puddling next to a blue-coloured mineral water bottle cap!)

Next are the Dragonflies and Damselflies:A female Ditch Jewel (Brachythemis Contaminata)

A mating pair of Coromandel Marsh Dart (Ceriagrion Coromandelianum)
A Tricoloured Marsh Hawk (Orthetrum Luzonicum)

One more Tricoloured Marsh Hawk...

and an Ant:and to end this post about this magical place a few 'habitat' photos :

I hope to be back here soon ... Or probably during the Monsoons.. : )

Ant-mimicking spider and more

2009-11-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

I finally got my hands on my new camera the Nikon D300S... and its amazing .. it really is a giant leap from my previous Nikon - the D50..

and on my first day trying it out I couldn't have asked for a better subject to test my camera on..

An amazing spider that happens to also be a lifer species for me : )

a male Ant-mimicking spider (Myrmarachne plataleoides)

This spider is a perfect mimic of red tree ant Oecophylla smaragdina (the ant in the small inserted image and also photos below) . As you can see its a great copy of the ant - both in body structure and colour!

the Oecophylla smaragdina ant

I didn't get enough time to observe but I understand that it even closely mimics the general movements of the ant - with its front legs kept raised, bent in the middle and move like the antennae of an ant.

The male Myrmarachne plataleoides usually measure about 9-12 mm in length and give the appearance of a weaver ant carrying a minor worker due to their elongated chelicerae which may be as long as one-third to half their body length. The female of this species is a better mimics of the weaver ants and measures about 6-7 mm.

This particular spider was observed close to many of these ants.
I also witnessed some of these ants "farming" aphids on a close by tree (pictured below)! Possibly there was an ants' nest near-by?

Moving on I clicked a few Jumping spiders:

a few dragonflies:

I'm not sure of this fellow but I suspect its a Ground Skimmer (Diplacodes trivialis)

a flying (while mating) pair of Long-legged Marsh Gliders (Trithemis pallidinervis)

... a Granite Ghost (Bradinopyga geminata)...

and finally a Skink

Can't wait to try this camera properly .. : )

Revisiting Nagla

2009-09-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

I visited Nagla block of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai this morning after many many years..

It was amazing to be back here .. and like parts of the main national park this area has remained relatively untouched by development.. Sadly I didn't have my camera and was carrying only a small pocket camera, so didn't try to take many photos .. but I thought this one was really worth sharing ...

A beautiful Blue Oakleaf butterfly (Kallima horsfieldi) ..

I think this butterfly has to be one of the most amazing wing patterns on a butterfly and its camouflage is almost perfect.. the only reason I knew this wasn't just any dry leaf was because I saw it in flight before it settled into this perfect dead leaf mimicking position ... : )

Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary

2009-08-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

While on a shot trip of Mysore and Srirangapatna - Ninad, Manish and myself decided to check out the close by Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary. And although we spend only 2-3 hours here it was completely worth it!!! In fact this might rate as one of the best laid back birding outting ever... Birding here is truly effortless..

This amazing wetland along the Kaveri river is an important nesting ground for birds, and has been a protect area since 1940 under the Wodeyar kings of Mysore, who were persuaded to do so by none other than the great ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali.

Even though we were too early to see the nesting spoonbills .. we did see a lot of nesting activity of Black-headed Ibis, Great Egrets, Black-crowned Night Heron..

Starting with photos at the main lake:

Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)

almost everywhere you looked you could see these Ibis

and the waters had many Mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) mostly hanging around below the nesting trees waiting for a chick to slip down..

here a nesting Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

another Black-headed Ibis

and suddenly out of nowhere we heard the flapping of some giant wings and not too far from our boat was this majestic Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus).. I have seen these birds fly before ..but generally its very short distances .. but this fellow flew at least a good 100m across the crocodile infested lake ..

there were loads of Little Cormorants (Phalacrocorax niger)

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

... amongst a group of Little Egrets and Ibis I found a lone Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron

and another Black-headed Ibis flew by ... but this fellow had some nesting

but you would always sense some tension in the air ... check this Black-headed Ibis watching a Mugger

some Great Egrets (Ardea alba)

and the not so common Great Stone-curlew or Great Thick-knee (Esacus recurvirostris)

even a White-browed Wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis) made a great guest appearance..

wagging his tail away before taking flight

and just after that we had a couple of fly pasts - first was a Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
..then far far away in the distance was an Oriental Honey Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus)
and finally we saw our first mammal of the day - an Indian Flying-fox (Pteropus giganteus)and not far away was a great big tree full of them...

After about an hour at the lake we decided to move on walking along one of its edges into a small forest batch very close to where you catch the boat.. And we were rewarded with an excellent sighting .. that of a beautiful

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae)

who sat calmly for some 10 mins letting me taking more than my share of photos of it : )

Not far away was another beauty - this time a damselfly - a female River Heliodor (libellago lineata)

and then yet another damsel

this one was a White Dartlet (Agriocnemis pieris)

then Manish found an emerging Bamboo Treebrown (Lethe europa) at the top of one of the bamboo trees..
..we then watched a White-browed Fantail (Rhipidura aureola) jump around a tree for a bit.. after this we decided to get a cup of tea and call it a day heading back to Mysore..

But while we were waiting for the tea I found this fellow -
a Pioneer (Belenois aurota)
In fact it sat nicely for some photos..

just after that I found this Chocolate Albatross (Appias lyncida)

and on our way out of the sanctuary we saw a

Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta)

And what a great day we had !!!

We were now back in the car and driving away but around 300m before we hit the highway that led to Mysore I noticed a large bird sitting on a scarcely leafed tree and I shouted to the taxi guy to hit the breaks..

And as I walked towards the tree I found what I hoped it was - an amazing raptor

a Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela)

but sadly I was a bit too clumsy while I walked towards it's direction and it swooped down from the tree and flew by me - but not before I managed to steal a couple of snaps : )

Wow - what a day!

Two days in Thekaddy

2009-07-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've posted anything from India and I couldn't have found a better place to re-engage with Wild India! Here's a few images from last week's trip to the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Thekaddy, Kerala.

I was last here in Jan of 2004 and it felt amazing to be back. This time I had an old school friend (Vineet) along with me and as soon as we got there (late evening) we signed up for an early morning hike in the forest. This would be my second time doing this hike and I really hoped that it would be as great as my last one!

Early next morning we headed to a small guard house on the edge of the forest where a slightly eccentric local Adivasi (tribal) guide awaited us. After we wore the anti-Leech socks that he provided we headed straight into the forest.

This was Vineet's first tryst with real wildlife and I was hoping that we could see something.. A tiger would have been great but I knew that was asking for too much so I was willing to settle on some wild elephants..

And for the first hour or so we had no luck with mammals but I kept ticking away on my bird list - mostly the usual suspects.. like the (above) Jungle Myna (Acridotheres fuscus)

and we also observed some insects .. butterflies.. spiders...

a whole group of flying Plum-headed Parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala), I found this guy sitting on one of the tall trees..

And an hour into our hike we came across a couple of wild elephants.. Now the think about wild elephants is that people don't really understand that this is probably the most dangerous animal you can come across in India - because they are a familiar sight to most indians (either literally or culturally) people tend to think of them as tender/calm animals..

Now this was also when we realized that our guide was really crazy, in a attempt to show us the elephants and his bravery he kept trying to get closer to the elephants to a point where the elephants were clearly aware of our presence and one of them even signaled a loud warning to us. Thankfully the elephants were heading in the opposite direction and was descending into a slight valley allowing us to have some great views of them.

One of them was a tiny tusker!

By then we had started to stop our guide from getting carried away and asked him to head in another direction away from the elephants.

Moving on we came across more birds ..

first there was a lone Southern Hill Myna (Gracula religiosa indica)

and then a tree full of them...

And while we took a small break near a stream I photographed this beautiful

Stream Ruby (Rhinocypha bisignata)

a Loten's Sunbird (Cinnyris lotenius)

a White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus)

and as we were about to end our trail I found this charming little fellow - a Heart-spotted Woodpecker (Hemicircus canente)

Vineet was now slightly bitten by the wildlife bug so we decided to extend our stay in Thekaddy by one more night and to go for the night-time hike in the forest.

But we had a few hours to kill before it was night and since this is famous land of the spices I decided that we should check out a spice garden.

And while we were walking thru a spice garden I got found this endemic (a lifer for me) - White-bellied Treepie (Dendrocitta leucogastra)

and not far from the tree pie was this great Blue Mormon (Papilio polymnestor)...

It was finally getting dark ....

Very few forests in India allow visitors to walk inside the forest and even fewer allow you to walk when its completely dark! It is a great experience.. not soo much for the wildlife cos you can't see much .. but for the ambiance of the forest by night .. the sounds .. the smells .. and of course the fear! It's awesome..

Once again our most crucial safety feature was the anti-Leech socks .. but this time there were two guides .. one of whom was an armed forest guard - just in case!

Surprisingly we saw a large no. of Sambar dear (Cervus unicolor) grazing along the river's edge and as expected heard some crazy sounds.. once again totally worth it! If you ever go to Thekkady don't miss the night hike! It's a great way to experience the forest...

Three days in Scotland

2009-07-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

Just got done with an amazing two weeks travelling in Europe - and I couldn't have asked for a better ending... after five blissful days in Switzerland I headed for yet another amazing landscape - Scotland for the last three days!

Starting with snaps from Edinburgh :

It was probably the best time of the year for wild flowers and since I know very little about it I will share a few photos but no ids for them...

And as expected all these flowers were attracting all sorts of insects and bugs

The rest of the snaps from Edinburgh were clicked along the road side behind the Scottish Parliament below Arthur's Seat.....

started with a Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)....

....this here is the national flower of scotland - the Thistle

And this is the weirdest butterfly I have come across so far.. It seems to be a Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) . ..

and all three images are of the same individual - what is most puzzling is that in the UP side photo (above) one of its wings are coloured like a male - while the other has a female wing pattern!!!

(Apparently this does happen although quiet rarely and is called - gynandromorph)

Then A few Common House Martins (Delichon urbicum) caught my attention for a while

And while I was busy clicking more wild flowers and butterflies I saw the only wild mammal of this trip -

and what was better was the fact that it was a lifer. A Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis) - of course at the time I thought it was a Stoat I had seen some on TV and they looked exactly the same.

But a little bit of internet research told me that it was in fact a Least weasel. Which is distinguished from the Stoat because it lacks the black tip to the tail - this one had rich chocolate brown tail like the rest of its body.

After a brief few minutes of checking what I was up to the small fellow made a dash into the thicket and didn't reappear....

So I went back to more butterflies

a Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

and an unided Satyrid butterfly...

and lastly a Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)

On the next day I went to Loch Lomond,

a Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

A few insects snapped on various halts -

an unided frog

Similar to Switzerland the landscape here too is extremely pristine and mind blowing at times..

On a small lunch break I came across these Common House Martins (Delichon urbicum) nesting below the roof of a roadside cafe..

and not far from the Martins this - Common gull (Larus canus) flew by..

and so did this Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

and above the nest site this White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) did what he does best - wag his tail!!

And some more great landscape

these Highland cattle or Kyloe (an ancient Scottish breed of beef cattle with long horns) are quiet a common sight in the Scottish highlands

and after some more amazing landscape I got to Fort William where I halted..

Only to be back on the road early next day heading for Loch Ness

At this particular part of the journey I was reminded a lot of a trip I had done a few years back to Shillong (Meghalaya) in the North-East of India... and I realized why the British had named that part of India the Scotland of the East!

a swooping Common Swift (Apus apus)

and at yet another small halt I found another set of (common) birds

an unided gull (probably a Herring Gull)..

a European Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

a hiding Dunnock or Hedge Accentor (Prunella modularis)

a female House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) as she took off...

And to end this post another image of a Highland cattle

Cheers Scotland!!

Ridiculously beautiful - Switzerland

2009-07-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

Here's a whole bunch of photos from the last five days, when I visited various parts of Switzerland

Starting in the city of Geneva:

A kite - mostly likely a black kite.. taken above Lake Geneva.

here's some snaps of the Lake and its surrounding landscape -

a Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)

a Mute swan (Cygnus olor)

saw this along one of the river front walks... illustrating all the commonly found waterbirds of this lake

A hybrid of a Rosybill Pochard (Netta peposaca) possibly with a Pochard

In both (the above and below) photos check how the fish are swimming away from the ducks

A male Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina)

An unided Moth

This Panorama was clicked near the Château de Chillon (which is the small castle seen on the right) near the city of Montreux, this is still the same lake - lake Geneva.

A Large white (Pieris brassicae) butterfly

Some fast flying Swifts.. above the streets of Montreux

a smart Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)

A House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

a graceful Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)

and a few snaps as we left Montreux heading to Interlaken on the golden pass panoramic train...

It was from this view while winding up and down the valleys

appreciating the great valleys, the many lakes, the odd bird flying by

and the Alps that it really sank in - 'this really is a ridiculously beautiful country'.

Here's a few birds I saw on this route either from the train or just at the railway stations

A lonely Serin (Serinus serinus)

An unided Martin most probably a House Martin....

A Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)

A Common Swift (Apus apus)

Our next stop was to Lauterbrunnen - a small village situated at the entrance of an amazing valley

This is where I saw the unique Trummelbach Falls

- it thunders down in 10 magnificent leaps

inside the mountain and made accessible by an impossible

network of man made tunnels running parallel to the falls.

From the falls I headed to Jungfraujoch - a place popularly known as Top of Europe.

To get up there you have to take Europe's highest train journey through some amazingly unspoilt settings and breathtakingly beautiful vistas.

and once you get to the last stop you can step out on to the Great Aletsch Glacier -which is the largest glacier in the Alps.

And at the very top of Jungfraujoch is the Sphinx observation terrace where I saw a whole bunch of extremely friendly Alpine or Yellow-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus)

they were eating stuff off people's hands

These extremely smart birds are closely related to crows

Moving on... to the next city

a few Mute swans near the Luzern's famous Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke)

And to end this posting - a few butterflies from Basel

a Painted Lady (Cynthia cardui)

a Wood White (Leptidea sinapis)

a Short-tailed Blue (Cupido argiades)

An unided skipper mostly likely a Small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)

(It is essentially identical to the Essex Skipper, T. lineola, which is equally widespread and common. The key difference is the colour of the underside of the antennal club. In sylvestris it is orange (like the rest of the butterfly!) and in lineola it is black.)

Urban birding in London

2009-06-24T04:56:00.000-07:00

A few photos from Hampstead Heath, London

Unided damselfly

a Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)

A few snaps from the Royal Botanical gardens at KEW

a Eurasian Coot family (Fulica atra)

Check the feet of the chick.. they will eventually become a lot more webbed to help them to swim better like in the photo below

A group of ugly ducklings... Mute Swans (Cygnus olor)

A sleeping Bar-headed goose (Anser indicus)

the beautiful Sackler Crossing, designed by British architect John Pawson.

an introduced Golden Pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) in the gardens

a bush of beautiful Lavender (Lavandula) flowers

And a signing Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)

the same fellow hitting a higher note!

A couple of snaps from St James Park

Here's three of the famous Great White Pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus) of the park

And a curious Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)

And to end a couple of snaps from Surrey, at the edge of London:

a amazing male Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens)

and lastly, a pair of the most common duck in Europe - Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) - seen here fighting!

Birding in Urban Porugal

2009-04-15T05:03:00.000-07:00

Just winding up two amazing weeks in Portugal! Though the main aim was to see as much as possible in terms of architecture and culture of the country I did manage a few pauses to catch up with some feathered friends...

Here's some photos - Starting with some landscape images from Arouca - it is a beautiful little town set in a stunning landscape; surround by mountains which in this season is mostly covered in flowers.

Sadly I didn't have the time to figure out what these flowers were.. Though the yellow flower predominantly covered the hills there were quiet a few other species as well (like the purple flowers in the photo below)

The next bunch of photos are from Lisbon (the capital city) -

Starting with a few images of the serene gardens behind the Modern Art Center of the city

I'm guessing this would be a good spot to find some garden birds - but I was there during mid afternoon when there was a whole bunch of noisy kids..

Starting with some birds ...

Firstly, heres a Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) that I saw in the part of the city called Belem. It is from here that Vasco da Gama took off on his epic journey to India.

And a couple of snaps of the female -

the next few snaps are of a Lifer - Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)

In the below photo you can see the characteristic yellow-tipped black bill

The next series of photos from the city of Sintra in the out skirts of Lisbon where I went to see the country's Moorish past.

Once here I went to see the Castle of the Moors which I think falls in the domain of the Parque Natural de Sintra - a protect forest area that surrounds this beautiful small town.

Here's a few photos of the castle itself

I was hardly here for an hour so all I couldn't manage to see any birds only some butterflies

A Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera)

And another Wall

And a pair of Large White (Pieris brassicae)

And finally I managed to take a photo of the Hummingbird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum), I have seen this species many many times in Europe and in India but I never managed a photo .. [not that this is a great one : ) ]

The rest of the photos in this post are from the city of Porto where I spend quiet a few days..

All across Portugal you see small abandoned pieces of land which in this season is whole of wild flowers... which attracts insects .. which in turn attracts birds..
Another lifer - European Serin (Serinus serinus)

A pair of Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

A female Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)

A juvenile Blackbird (Turdus merula)

The rest of the photos are from the Parque da Cidade, which I understand is the largest park of the city:

A male Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)

the common European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
Another lifer, a very very far away Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), the bird's id was concluded based on wing pattern and overall body shape.
A treecreeper, which I believe is a Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla), you can see the supercilium does not show in front of the eye - a characteristic over the Common Treecreeper - besides I understand that this is the only species of Treecrrper found in Portugal!
A female Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)

A European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
A tiny warbler - most likely a Chiffchaff - but not sure..
And I'll end this post with a bunch of European Serin (Serinus serinus) photos..

Adeus Portugal!

Urban birding in USA

2009-03-31T23:41:00.000-07:00

Just ending a two week visit to the USA. Here's some photos of some urban birds I managed to click while here :

First set is from New York City -

Mostly clicked at the Central Park in Manhattan.

Here's a beautiful Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)

Here's another Common Grackle

An European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

A view of the famous Guggenheim museum from the park with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis reservoir in front of it. Here's a few photos from the reservoir -

This one was a lifer - Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

A diving Bufflehead

Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)

Another diving Bufflehead

Some more Buffleheads (Bucephala albeola)

A female Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) about to land

Some more Buffleheads (Bucephala albeola)

Another lifer - the cute Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)

A bathing Common Grackle

Some more Grackle snaps:

And another lifer - White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) - you can clearly see the yellow between the eye and the bill!!!

And the most numerous resident of Central Park - Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)

The next few snaps are from Boston

Some Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) at MIT

And some Brant Goose (Branta bernicla) near the Bay area

And a fleeting glimpse of a pair of Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser)

And the rest of the photos are from Washington DC

Here's a Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)

An American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

the Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Another Lifer - Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus)

Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus)

Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)

Another lifer - Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

another Dark-eyed Junco

And the last lifer for this trip - Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

It was also the beginning of the Cherry Blossom season, sadly I leave a few days before the Cherry blossom festival!

And to end a few snaps from the Tidal Basin in front of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)

And the last snap from this trip is of a Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

Dubai Swifts

2009-03-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

While walking in BurDubai earlier today by the Dubai Museum I saw hundreds of swifts above - I think they are Common Swifts (Apus apus) because of it overall colour and roundish whitish throat-patch (as compared to more triangular white throat-patch on the Pallid Swift)

Below is a snap of the birds as the swoop down between the minaret of the grand mosque and the roof of the fort.

And below is a small video clip showing the commotion above busy Bur Dubai caused by these tiny fellows.

Birding in Musandam, Oman

2009-03-05T05:24:00.000-08:00

Just back after spending a beautiful day in the Musandam peninsula of Oman with family! While there I was able to sneak in a few bird moments!!

Spend last night and most of today in the main city of the region – Khasab (photo below). The hour long route from Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) offers one of the best sea-side drives in the region.

The region is famous for the amazing Hajjar Mountains, which is in geological terms quiet young and were ancient sea beds that have risen to their current heights due to volcanic activity.

While there we took an idyllic dhow cruise in the Khor Ash Sham – a lagoon like area surrounded by extremely impressive mountains.

And as expected we saw a lot of gulls...

with the most common being the Common Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)

The next two photos are of the either of the 'Caspian Gull' (Larus (cachinnans) cachinnans) or the 'Steppe Gull' (Larus (cachinnans) barabensis) --- The difficulties of separating these two are well known..

The cliffs and small islands along these sheltered waters are suppose to have some good sea-bird nesting sites, however I will have to make another trip with a lot more time at hand to go to one of those!

The next few snaps are of a lifer for me - Slender-billed Gull (Larus geneii)

These are probably the most elegant of all the gulls I have seen.

The next few snaps of the Socotra Cormorant (Phalacrocorax nigricollis)

This small rock outcrop with a lot of gulls and cormorants is as close as I got to a proper sea bird colony !!

I will end this post with a set of photos of this region’s most famed residents - its Dolphins.

In fact we saw lots of them including a school with a few calves.

And most of the photos indicate these to be of the species known as the Indo-pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis).

Here's a few close-up of its famous hump!

Superb bird!!

2009-01-21T23:44:00.000-08:00

Went to the American University of Sharjah campus today and saw a Superb bird.... infact a few Superb birds!!

The Superb Starling (Lamprotornis superbus) is a member of the starling family and is commonly be found in East Africa.
Surely one glimpse and you know why its called a Superb Starling..

Some internet research and I was sure that my first thought as I saw them was true - 'What are these guys doing here?'

There seems to be a breeding population of atleast 20 birds that have escaped from somewhere and have established a small colony here in the lawns of this campus in the middle of nowhere.

Macros

2009-01-10T04:53:00.000-08:00

Here's some macros I took over the last week in my garden - in Dubai - using a new Nikkor Macro lens - 60 mm - F/2.8.

Above is a dragonfly of the Trithemis family. Most likely a female of Trithemis annulata - Purple-blushed Darter (Violet Dropwing).

Above an insect in the Order Diptera, family Calliphoridae, commonly called bluebottle flies, carrion flies or greenbottle flies.

Above a honey bee - which may be the Asian Dwarf Honey Bee (Apis florea).

Above the Common Lime or the Lemon Butterfly (Papilio demoleus) is which is a common and widespread Swallowtail butterfly here in Dubai, taking off after laying eggs on its larval foodplants - a Cultivated Lime plant

Above an unided wasp

The next two snaps are of the caterpillar of a Hawk-moth. Most likely an Oleander Hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii)

Chiffchaff

2009-01-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

Saw this Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) in my garden - in Dubai - on the clothes line a few hours back!

Happy 2009!

2009-01-01T22:35:00.000-08:00

May this New Year be full of simple pleasures – like watching a bird glide across a clear blue sky! – Wishing you all a happy 2009!

(Above a gliding Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto))

Birding in Al Khor, Qatar

2008-12-19T22:31:00.000-08:00

Had a great day of birding with Mr. Thajudeen (who I found thru yahoo e-group Kerala birder and http://www.birdingpal.org/).

He was initially planning to show me some areas around Doha – in fact we started at the Doha sewage treatment plant, a site near Doha but unfortunately when we got there we found that a nice wetland habitat (based on a sewage treatment plant like most others in the region) was altered beyond recognition in a matter of a few days. The rapid development in Qatar and other neighbouring countries has been putting immense pressure on the local wildlife. We saw a few birds here the most significant was the below photographed - Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar)
Realising that the habitat wouldn’t yield much Thaju decided that we should go to check some other birding sites near the city of Al Khor Qatar. Al Khor is some 45 minutes North of Doha. Please refer to the following post of google map indicating the location of the two birding sites that we visited today.

The first location was the Al Khor Public Garden:
This is a public park just outside the city. Being a relatively secluded green patch in a desert landscape it attracts quiet a few species of birds. Here are a few snaps that I took in the park followed by a list of all the birds I saw there.

The first couple of snaps are of Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor)

And an Isabelline or Rufous-tailed Shrike (Lanius isabellinus isabellinus)

And the Bulbuls - I understand these are White-cheeked Bulbuls (Pycnonotus leucogenys)

The following 4 snaps are of a Long-billed Pipit (Anthus similis)

I am not 100% sure of the Pipit ID, any ID help will be appreciated.

And the last snap from the Garden is of the only butterfly species I was able to photograph and identify - Here's a Blue Pansy (Junonia orithya)

Here's a list of all the birds I saw at the Al Khor Gardens:

Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor)

Isabelline or Rufous-tailed Shrike (Lanius isabellinus isabellinus)

Grey Francolin (Francolinus pondicerianus mecranensis)

Ring-necked Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba alba)

Common or Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops epops)

Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto decaocto)

Laughing or Palm Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis senegalensis)

White-cheeked Bulbul (Pycnonotus leucogenys)

Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)

Long-billed Pipit (Anthus similis)

The next location was the Al Khor sewage treatment plant and its surrounding runoff area:

This is another sewage treatment plant based wetland. You need a 4WD vehicle to make the most of this vast wetland area. There were lots of interesting birds especially waders. This area has development into an excellent habitat and supports a large no. of species. Keep your eyes on the larger ponds in the centre of this area for some interesting larger birds. Caution: This site is very close to an existing airport and it is advisable not venture too close to that area and there also seems to be active hunting taking place in this area (We saw some empty cartridges lying around).

The first 3 snaps are from the sewage treatment plant -

The first photo below is a Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)

The next snap is a distant snap of a lifer bird - Black-necked or Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis)

And the next snap is of the Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) which is has Old World origins, breeding in southern Europe and the Greater Middle East. It is a migrant, wintering in Africa. It is quiet similar to the Indian Pond Heron but with a whiter-back. Yet another Lifer for me!

The rest of the photos in this post are from the runoff area of the sewage treatment plant. This is a large area that has developed in an excellent wetland habitat over the years. The below snap gives an idea of the edge condition of this habitat where the water meets the surrounding desert.

The next couple of photos are of a one of the huge flocks of Black-winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus) that we saw here.

In the centre of this area there are some larger water bodies that are mostly surrounded by reeds. But every now and then there are gaps in the reeds from where you can see these larger ponds. We saw quiet a few Marsh Harriers (Circus aeruginosus) over this area. Below is a photo of three Glossy Ibises (Plegadis falcinellus).

Below a Greater Hoopoe Lark (Alaemon alaudipes) yet another Lifer : ) !!

And the last snap is of wheatear. Most likely an Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

Here is a list from this site :

Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)

Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)

Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus alexandrinus)

Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius curonicus)

Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)common redshank

Black-winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus)

Marsh Harriers (Circus aeruginosus)

Glossy Ibises (Plegadis falcinellus).

Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

Greater Hoopoe Lark (Alaemon alaudipes)

Crested Lark (Galerida cristata brachyura)

Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus)

Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis nigricollis)

Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)

Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor)

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba alba)

Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto decaocto)

Laughing or Palm Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis senegalensis)

White-cheeked Bulbul (Pycnonotus leucogenys)

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus alboaxillaris) (?) Seen in flight

Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) (?) Seen in flight
Unided Tern
Unided Duck (?) Seen in flight

It was getting late in the afternoon and we decided to call it a day but if we had patiently waited and gone thru the waders in more detail for sure we could have racked up a few more species of waders. But all in all a really great day of birding!

Thanks a lot Thaju for a great day!!!

(Check Thaju's amazing photos here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/keralabirder/)

Map showing birding sites in Al Khor, Qatar

2008-12-19T02:58:00.000-08:00

View Larger Map
Google map showing two excellent bird watching sites near the city of Al Khor in Doha (as of Dec 2008):
1. Al Khor public garden
Great place to see garden species. If visiting on weekends and holidays it is advisable to reach early in the morning because this garden gets quiet crowded in the day and the birds move away.
2. Al Khor sewage treatment plant and its surrounding runoff area
A drive around the sewage treatment plant and its runoff area in a 4WD will yield lots of interesting birds especially waders. This area has development into an excellent habitat and supports a large no. of species. Keep your eyes on the larger ponds in the centre of this area, it can play hosts to larger bird species like the Glossy Ibis. Like most other sites in Qatar this area is constantly under threat from new developments and this habitat can be significantly altered overnight. Caution: There seems to be active hunting taking place in this area.

Birding @ the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha

2008-12-18T20:42:00.000-08:00

Back in Doha again for work - and today decided to see the newly opened Museum of Islamic Art which is on the Corniche. Along with the Museum there is a new park known as the Museum park where I managed to see quiet a few species of birds.

The first two photos are of a Rufous-tailed Shrike (Lanius isabellinus)

The next is a Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)

The next two photos are of a pair of White-cheeked Bulbuls (Pycnonotus leucogenys)

The next two photos are of the White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)

The next is a Western Reef Egret (Egretta gularis)

The next bird was my prized catch of the day - Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos), I was not at all expecting this bird here, but it seems its a frequent winter visitor to areas around Doha.

The next couple of photos of Black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus)

And the last is a snap of the Socotra Cormorant (Phalacrocorax nigrogularis) which is a cormorant that is endemic to the Persian Gulf and the south-east coast of the Arabian Peninsula

Hyde Park, London

2008-12-07T15:44:00.000-08:00

Spend a few hours of a brilliant sunny winter day at Hyde Park today soaking in the sun and clicking a few bird pics.

All the bird pics were made at the round pond

The first set is of the not so common 'Common Gull' (Larus canus)

Above a comparison snap with a slightly smaller Black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus)Next few are of a Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)

Next a Shoveler (Anas clypeata)

Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

Greylag goose (Anser anser)

Urban birding in Doha, Qatar

2008-11-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

I'm visiting Doha, Qatar for a few days for work.

Spend most of today walking around the city and along the Corniche. And here's a few birds that I saw -

The first one is a quiet a sad image of a female House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) looking down on a dead mate that hanging out of a nest in the wall of an old old mud house. The male bird seems to have attacked by some other bird may be another male!

The next few snaps are of a Rufous-tailed Shrike (Lanius isabellinus). This is probably the most common Shrike species seen in Doha.

Its a very confident species that lets you go quite close to it.

This bird was earlier commonly called Isabelline Shrike or Red-tailed Shrike.

Next is the Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis); earlier referred to as either Palm Dove or Little Brown Dove.

Next two snaps are of the other common dove species - Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)Here's one more female house sparrow - this time in front of the new Museum of Islamic Art.

And the last snap is of a Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus).

Rome

2008-10-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

Just back from Rome, were I spend the last three days seeing a lot of great architecture. Sadly, didn't really have any time to check some Roman birds. However there was one amazing phenomenon I witnessed in person for the first time - a massive Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) roost - all along the river Tiber in the evenings.

There were surely a few million of these birds and as they gathered for the night a large part of the city stung of fresh bird dropping.
Sadly because of my position while this was happening I didn't manage to get any decent snaps of them in cloud formations. What a sight that was! Check out a you tube video that someone has posted about the same from Rome - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YadP3w7vkJA

The only other bird that I managed to watch for a while was the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix)
Snapped above walking in the ancient Roman forum.

Starlings in the Park

2008-09-28T20:23:00.000-07:00

Snapped these Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in Hyde Park earlier today.

These birds look black at a distance but you you seen them closer they are very glossy with a sheen of purples and greens as seen in the snap above.

Battersea park

2008-08-30T20:54:00.000-07:00

Spend a few nice and sunny hours in the Battersea park today.
And saw some very common birds at the lake.. however, common birds are better than no birds
: )

Here's a few snapsI've never seen so many Coots (Fulica atra) in one pond.. especially given the fact they are quiet aggressive - territorial birds

And check the Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
Check the feet of the Moorhen... It looks like a reptile's feet..

Gatekeeper

2008-07-31T15:56:00.000-07:00

Here's 3 snaps of a female Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) shot in South-East London this morning.

Minsmere Nature Reserve

2008-07-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

Went on my second trip with RSPB today to Minsmere Nature Reserve along the coast in Suffolk.

It was a great day of birding for everyone!

Soon after reaching the reserve I was greeted by the brilliant sight of this hovering Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus).

And that I made by way to the coast thru the lowland wet grassland,

and along the beach to one of the hides overlooking a great wetland surrounded by reed beds. The first bird to catch my eye as I entered the hide was a black bird walking along the edge of the water - a good look thru the binoculars revealed a Spotted redshank (Tringa erythropus) in summer plumage.

The water body had a few small mounts of sand popping out of it making small islands. These were full of birds especially Gulls and Terns. In fact there was a lot of Black-headed Gulls (Larus ridibundus) busy feeding their chicks.
Here's a few snaps of the many species and sights I saw today -

A Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) with a Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) in the background.

The strange billed yet elegant Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) was in force, lots of them were seen today.
Yet another Common Tern (Sterna hirundo).

A Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) showed us the way forward!

An Oystercatcher(Haematopus ostralegus) and a Lapwing(Vanellus vanellus) shared an island.

After viewing the main water body from all the hides around it and also having caught a fleeting glimpse of the elusive Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) I made my way back to the coach taking me back to London.

On my way out of the reserve I spend around half an hour watching some common garden birds feeding off the bird feeders fixed next to the ticket office/ shop of Mismere.

There I saw these fellows flying off!!!

In all I saw 47 species - 5 of which were lifers!! : )

Blue

2008-06-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

Went for a peaceful walk at a cemetery in South London this morning and saw quiet a few birds and butterflies there.

Managed to make a few snaps of a female Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) just before the camera died out on me.

A Monday Afternoon at St James' Park

2008-05-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

Clicked this earlier today at St James' Park here in London.
It was beautiful sunny day and there were loads of people making the most out of it.

I really like the above snap because it reminds me of the paintings of French Neo-impressionist - Georges Seurat.

Especially his painting titled - "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" (attached below)

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte Georges Seurat, 1884–1886

A few garden birds from Cambridge (UK)

2008-05-04T22:32:00.000-07:00

Just back from Cambridge... Went for a quick day trip to check out some the city and some architecture there. While there sneaked in a few minutes of bird watching here and there in the nice gardens and parks of the colleges.

The most noteworthy catch of the day was the amazingly entertaining and cute -
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)

A few more snaps of the same...

The most amazing aspect of the city for me was it's amazing trees. It's always great to visit a place with nice old trees : )

After being entertained by the Long-tails for quiet a while a few more noisy birds from the same family caught my attention -
The Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
And the Great Tit (Parus major)

And I'll end with a snap of the city most important natural feature - the River Cam.

A bit of weekend birding

2008-04-27T15:12:00.000-07:00

Spend a few hours near my brother's house in Weston-Super-Mare (North Somerset) at a small lake at the edge of town.

And was greeted by this lifer - Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)

Here's another snap of the same fellow..

Then there were the usual suspects - the Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

and a Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)

Butterflies from North Somerset (UK)

2008-04-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

The following butterflies were clicked at a small grassy patch right next to the lake were the previous birds (posted as another blog entry) were snapped.

This has to be my best butterfly pic till date!

Here's some more of the same species - Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)Here's one snap of its underside.One last one!

And here's another species - Comma (Polygonia c-album)

And one of them both together.....
(You can see the less cooperative Comma flying around in the background)

2008-03-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

A few birds I saw at the Telegraph hill park in Brockley, South London this morning.The ever so delightful Robin (Erithacus rubecula) makes even the dullest grey cold morning a pleasure with its beautiful songs and even better colour.

At the pond was the wise old Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) patiently waiting at the edge of the water ready to strike.

I was wondering what the streaks of dark blue colour along it's long neck are for? and I'm sure it has to do with helping it camouflage into it's surrounding.

Probably it's to deceive the fish thats looking up from the water into thinking that the Heron is just part of the reeds along the ponds edge! I think this BnW image makes my point more apparent. Though I understand that research has shown that at least some fish can distinguish colours.

2008-02-25T13:54:00.000-08:00

Just back from a quick visit to Dubai, every time I go there I find so much change. I keep hearing of these giant projects they are building and all the ecological damage it is creating and though that's completely true and horrible there is another side to the story.

As Dubai and most of the gulf cities are drastically changing its landscape and natural habitats by exploiting their Oil money certain species of birds and insects (some of which are surely not native to the Arabian peninsular) are now making the most out of these large man made environments. The following set of bird pictures were snapped at the newly built gardens and lake at the Dubai Media City(above).
Growing up in Dubai I hardly remember seeing these Common Mynas (Acridotheres tristis) out in the open (though they were quiet popular pets!), but today you could see one at every street corner... in the green lawns along the main road... in the parks... every where..

Later this Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) surely caught my attention... Though they are naturally found in the this region of the world they seem to be doing quiet well in the huge water bodies spring up as part of the all the new large scale developments .. be it gated-housing estates.. golf course .. or economic zones...

And the last set of images is of yet another bird quiet familiar to the Arabian coast the Western Reef Egret (Egretta gularis). Once again doing quiet well in these conditions.

And apparently there is enough food to go around!

Though this is not a justification to blatantly mess around with nature and wreak havoc with natural habitats(that took centuries to form), I am always amazed at the pace at which 'Life finds a way'... But I sincerely hope that a more sustainable development model will be adopted sooner rather than later!!!

My Butterfly pix of 2007

2008-01-01T16:06:00.000-08:00

At the end of every year one of the e-group that I am part of - Butterfly India - asks its members to submit what they consider their best snap of the year. I chose this one : (Read on below to know why)

Since I haven't been living in India since a few years now and I visit only on short break I didn't have a huge collection of Indian Butterfly pix for 2007 to pick from, nonetheless I decided to share this one as my favourite for the year gone by.

I chose to share this image because it portrays yet another aspect in the life cycle of these beautiful creatures - as someone's meal.

The image shows the Clytia form (mimicing the Common Crow) of the Common Mime Butterfly (Papilio (Chilasa) clytia) being devoured by a Praying Mantis.

And thanks to Mr. Kiran Srivastava (kiranjo@vsnl.net) I know that the Praying Mantis is of a Creoboter species.
Check this link to know more about this species of Mantis - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creobroter_gemmatus

And last but not the least - Wish you all a great year ahead! Happy 2008 !!

Common Indian garden birds

2007-12-29T15:47:00.000-08:00

At home for a few days of Christmas break and it feels so good to be able to go out and enjoy the sun, the weather, the blue skies!!

Here's some snaps that I clicked at my Uncle's place in Kannur, Kerala of some very common Indian birds.

Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii)

Loten's Sunbird Cinnyris lotenius

Oriental Magpie Robin Copsychus saularis

White-cheeked Barbet Megalaima viridis

Carmine bee-eater

2007-12-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

As horrible weather has kept me captive of the indoors I decided to try my hand (after a long time) at one of my old passions - Sketching. Sadly all I could find last night as I sat down was one Black pen. Nonetheless I had a go at a Carmine bee-eater (Merops nubicus) from photographs of the species I had take a few months ago at the Rotterdam Zoo.

Here it is .......
Here are some of the snaps.

Completely fell in love with the colours on these beauties.

These birds have a range including most the Northern Sub-saharan regions of Africa.

Though quiet small the Aviary at the Rotterdam Zoo has some great birds and offers great photo ops.

2007-10-10T12:37:00.000-07:00

Snapped this Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) while I was crossing the Channel on my way to London.

Birding @ Scheveningen Beach

2007-10-06T20:11:00.000-07:00

As I prepare to leave my home for the last two years in Rotterdam, I made a small trip to the Scheveningen Beach in The Hague. While strolling down the cold sandy beach I laid my eyes on a lot of bird activity on a small rocky pier covered in green sea weed and moss.The main inhabitants were the Herring gulls (Larus argentatus)
But on closer inspection I found some Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) amidst the Gulls. Though these are quiet common waders in this part of the world and also quiet frequently sighted along coastal areas back home in India (And surely at Uran and Sewri in Mumbai) I always managed to miss them, although I am not sure if I had seen them in Uran during the first Mumbai Bird Race.
So most probably this is another 'lifer'. Here some more snaps of the Turnstones.

I shall end this (probably) last posting as a Dutch Resident with this snap of the sun setting into the North Sea.

Moscow Zoo

2007-08-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

Some snaps from the Moscow Zoo - is the largest and oldest zoo in Russia.It was founded in 1864

This is the main duck pond in the centre of the zoo.

Tiger (Panthera tigris)

Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx)

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)

Eurasian Wolf (Canis lupus lupus)

The world's largest land carnivores Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)

These smart - Hooded Crows (Corvus cornix)- were stealing some of the Polar Bear's meal.

This is a small enclosure for a species of monkey.

The highly entertaining Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)

These amazing lemurs (like all other members of the Lemur Family) are only found on the island of Madagascar.

Orangutan (I'm not sure which of the two species of the ape this is)

The Orangutan enclosure with one the city famous Seven Sister buildings in the background.
This photo was taken from the bridge that connects the two parts of the zoo.
The highly endangered Victoria Crowned Pigeon (Goura victoria). One of three superficially similar species of crowned pigeons (the others being the Western Crowned Pigeon and the Southern Crowned Pigeon),unlike the other two species the Victoria has white-tipped sagittal crest.
One more snap of the Seven Sister building as seen from inside the zoo. The view reminded me of walking inside New York's Central Park and looking at the city's sky-scrapers towering above the park's beautiful trees.

View Larger Map

The above Google map shows the Moscow Zoo. You can zoom in to see the park better.