The owlets of Pench

These owlets were screaming their guts out at sunset.

Sometimes you meet some new folks and are taken aback by their warmth. They easily welcome you into their fold and share their lives. The positive impact this leaves shows how intertwined we all are. The human experience is essential to happiness.

Shirish Katikar and family are such people. Last year in November I got a chance to head down to Nagpur to visit their small farmstead near the Pench forest. We stayed in a tent, cooked some food and took walks in the surrounding jungle.

Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher - The Jewel of the Konkan

The Kathikar's had come down from Nagpur. Ravi and Sanket from Mumbai. The ODK - as the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher is lovingly called in the birding community - was the center of our attention. Samadhan Pawar from Kalle Village on the outskirts of the Karnala Bird Scantuary had a couple of hide's setup. It was my first experience of photographing from a hide. about 8 of us sitting in silence for about 6 1/2 hours! I was the only noisy one.

The birds used to come to the perch (setup opposite to the hide) with the food they caught for their budding hatchlings. They used to rest for a couple of seconds, look around and then pfffft! fly away. Those were the sessions when all the cameras went clicity-click-click-click.

Blue-eared Kingfisher

What a beautiful bird!

Me and the wife went on an impromptu trip across the Konkan. The daughter had gone to some camp and we wanted to be in the vicinity. On day 3 we went to a remote village called Abloli. Sachin Karekar runs a nice eco-tourism place called Gaarva agro-tourism. Nice stay and excellent local food. The area is thickly wooded and home to many birds. Sachin is an excellent guide to birdwatchin.

These little buggers hung out in the under sides of bushes on the river bank. Very dark spots. They are so quick. I loved watching them fish. But they were too fast for me to capture on camera. We spend well neigh 2 hours prowling the river banks for these photos.

Camera Sony A7R3 with the Sony FE 200-600/5.6-6.3

Sony A7R3 with a Sony FE 200-600/5.6-6.3 G lens

Birds of Phungus Sangameshwar - May 2023

Rufous Wood Pecker

Brahminy Starling

Black Shouldered Kite

Jungle Babbler

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Indian Blackbird

Indian Blackbird

White Cheeked Barbet

White Cheeked Barbet

Pipit

Red Vented Bulbul

Yellow Footed Green Pigeon (हरियाल). State bird of Maharashtra.

Common Iora

Tickel's Blue Flycatcher (Devrukh)

Fantail (Devrukh)

Camera Sony A7RIII with Sony 200-600 F 5.6-6.3 on a Getzo Monopod

The Birds of the Deccan Grasslands

Baya Weaver

The grasslands and the surrounding regions were teeming with life. All these denizens asked from us was to leave them alone to their persuits. The budding nature tourism in this region is full of enthusiasm but it lacks the maturity of the conservationalist approach. There is a LOT of money coming in from well-to-do urban uppies with long lenses and expensive cameras and nothing to do on weekends.

This is a win win situation if and only if the mad headlong rush for money is replaced with a mature sustainable model. The short term goals and rivalry and the ensuing unethical practices must go.

Respect for nature is paramount.

Grey Francolin

Rain Quail

Rain Quail

Painted Sandgrouse

Painted Sandgrouse, male and female

Painted Sandgrouse, male and female

Painted Francolin (female)

Indian Courser

Paddy field Pipit

Crested Lark

Southern Grey Shrike

Purple Swamp Hen

Purple Swamp Hen

Red Nape Ibis

Bramhini Starling

Laughing Dove

Birds of Sangameshwar

It was fun chasing the birds for their portraits. I had good company in Jo, Rima and Animesh. Exploring the countryside early morning or in the golden hour of evening is so refreshing.

I had got the Sigma 100-400 just before the trip. It was almost a decade since my last birding lens, the Tamaron 200-400. I struggled a bit to get focus and finally shot mostly manual.

Sighting the hornbills was most exciting. The sunbird was so shy and required a lot of patience. The hoopoe was on the path and watched us with so much suspicion. The bee eaters used to sit still for long minutes, almost as if posing.

Those eyelashes!