Towards The Fading Light

This was one of the last photographs I got that evening. I waited a long time for some birds to come into the frame but they all seemed to be avoiding the frame almost perfectly so I had to resort to Photoshop.

The bird was shot as it was flying towards the west on the same evening - about a few minutes after I shot the background.

Those trees are actually quite a far away.

Ready

Ever seen a jungle babbler up close? Let me tell you that their eyes can be really scary but they're really nice birds. A couple came into our house yesterday and they were really cute. I almost felt like reaching out and ruffling their feathers.

Two Together

Remember those two eggs that were in an abandoned nest in our house? Well here is another picture of them.
The 50mm 1.4 is a great lens. I've had a few problems with the auto focus but I'm guessing it's just this particular unit that has this problem and not the entire lot.

V

There are so many people moving to this area that we're loosing some amazing flora and fauna that was commonplace earlier. Case in point these spotted doves.

They were once so numerous that you just had to step outside to spot a bunch of them. Sure, we do see a few nowadays but nowhere near as common as they were.

To The Jump

A friend of mine had a visitor today - a tiny, cute baby sparrow and it reminded me of this shot I'd taken.

This sparrow seemed undecided and it just kept looking at the ground and then back at the next post on the fence. It finally jumped onto that and then to the ground below.

Two Eggs

This sparrow and her mate started building their nest in a loft in one of the rooms a while back. After a while they didn't return so we assumed they had given up and we kinda just forgot about it until last week.

I was getting a bag out when this egg fell down and broke. I looked up and there was a half-finished nest with two more eggs in it. The egg that fell was spoilt (I think) and we hadn't seen the sparrows for weeks so I thought it would be nice to take a few pictures of the eggs.

Looking Out

This particular sparrow seems to love our house and keeps coming into my room.

Out In The Sun

Sunday was a sunny day and so there were a lot of birds and lizards out enjoying the sun.

This particular Myna seemed uncooperative at first but then it didn't mind me getting close and taking loads of shots.

It's a beautiful bird no doubt but it's overlooked as there are so many of them.

Red Alert

These birds are honestly amazing. They aren't very big but you can hear them a mile away.

Their beaks are massive. They ram their entire beaks into the ground and somehow manage to find stuff to eat.

Their eyes are lined with red and look like they could pierce through your very soul. But they are beautiful.

Too bad they are also hunted and their numbers are fast reducing :(

Preparing For Flight

We had to build this wooden fence to keep our dog out of the garbage and now that fence has become a place that the birds love.

The sparrows especially love this because they just sit there and enjoy the sunlight in the morning. It really nice watching them.

They don't always come here but when they do they never miss this fence. It's almost like a park for them.

Take Off

There is a migratory bird that visits every winter. It's massive and it's beautiful. This year I didn't think we would see it because last year it was chased away by some people who were up to no good.

I was really surprised when I did see it in the fields right in the middle of the day. It usually visited early in the morning but this time it was there around noon. This is a lesser adjutant stork.

I was getting quite close to it when some other people working in the fields started walking towards it and it suddenly flew off. What surprised me about that was the fact that they seemed unaware of this massive bird flying right in front of them. I have no idea how people can ignore such beauty and majesty.

Anyway this is the shot I was able to get just when it took off. The noise nearly killed this shot but it's not that bad.

Looking Forward

So the year has just begun and I can already see tons of statuses and messages from people wishing each other a Happy New Year :)

I guess this is when we all look forward to making this the best year of our lives. So all the best to everyone! :)

This sparrow wasn't alone when it got to this tree. It was part of a really large group. They were actually quite noisy but left pretty soon. However this little fellow decided to stay back and relax.

Black Ibis

Yup, no cheesy title today. Just the name of the bird in today's picture - black ibis. Birds have really cool names!

I really like photographing birds but the bird population here has declined - that's probably because of the rapid rise in the number of new houses and buildings in this area.

It's sad but true. One afternoon I just happened to look out the window and imagine my surprise when I spotted these magnificent birds in the field. I didn't expect to ever see them again because they had been driven away by some people who apparently thought they were bad for this area. I have no idea how people get such weird ideas into their heads but somehow they do and the wildlife in this area has to suffer.

Reminds me of the time when a giant vulture landed on our roof. The entire village gathered outside our house and told us to kill it or drive it away because it was a bad bird that would kill us and whose feces was so toxic that it would literally burn though anything. I tried to stop them but I was just a little child and no one listens to children so I had to run and get my parents. They finally went away but some other boys came back with slingshots and started shooting at the bird. Before we could stop them the bird flew away and we never saw it again.

The reason I wrote that is because something similar happened to these beautiful black ibis. Some weirdo decided that these birds don't belong here and so every morning whenever they would alight on the fields some men (and women) would try and shoot them with slingshots and even set dogs on them.

I'm glad I got to see these birds again because I haven't seen them since.

Calling Out

In the past we'd get a lot of birds everyday in our garden. On most days we would see rare and really beautiful birds that we didn't even know existed.

Sadly over the past few years the number of birds has come down as has the variety of birds that we see. The loss of habitat is the main problem but I guess that isn't something you can stop. The Jungle Babbler is a bird that we don't see much of nowadays.

This bird NEVER moves about alone. It is always with a group and boy are they noisy! The way they move about is quite interesting. I've never seen one of these birds walk in a straight line. They'll always hop about.

The best thing I like about these birds is their eyes. Those eyes remind me of eagle's eyes. They have this piercing feel to them. It looks like they haven't slept in a very long time. Almost like zombies (if zombies exist, that is).

Two Little Bulbuls

When I wake up in the morning I usually like to go and spend a few minutes on the balcony just looking out at the sunrise, the birds and fields and people out with their dogs and stuff. It all seems so peaceful and beautiful.

One morning I noticed these two beautiful red-vented bulbuls on this guava tree. They seemed to be talking to each other - probably discussing their own dreams of a tasty guava feast or something like that.

They they kinda just stayed there for a while talking and then just quietly. They were there for quite a while which made for a good photo opportunity.

Into The Sunset

So many movies have a final scene in which the main characters walk/ride away towards the sunset.

This particular scene reminded me of just that.

There were a lot of birds out that day and this particular bird seemed to be flying off into the sunset while all the others were flying away from it.

A Delicious Meal

We have two guava trees in front of our house and this season we didn't really get a lot of ripe guavas.

There were tons of raw ones and then they would suddenly disappear when they ripened.

Turns out these red-vented bulbuls were the once eating them. We did manage to get a few which were really delicious.

It's a real treat to see these bulbuls everyday :)

Basking In The Light

Sometimes you get great pictures when you least expect it. This was one of those moments.

I'd gone fishing with a few friends and I noticed this kingfisher sitting on these overhead cables. I just loved the silhouette of the bird against the setting sun.

The picture turned out even better than I had expected. I just set the aperture to the smallest on the SX50 HS i.e. f/8 and took the shot.

When I later looked at it on the computer screen it just looked really really good. Usually overhead cables are a mess in photographs but this time they actually helped create a really nice shot - well, at least I like it :)

I'm Next

We have a lot of guava trees in our compound and so those attract a lot of birds...and people :D

It's always fun to see all these different birds trying to be the first ones to get to a ripe guava. This also means picture opportunities so that is always an added bonus.

These two bulbuls landed together and one proceeded to eat the guava while the other just watched. It's as if the first on said "Cover Me!" :P

After a while they switched places and then when they were done, they flew away.

Stretch As Far As You Can

We were having breakfast one morning when suddenly we see this brown flash and this really pretty bird lands in the vacant plot adjacent to our house.

This was a pleasant surprise as I've only seen this bird once before and not for very long.

It stayed there and stretched its neck to a massive length that I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't seen it. It was pretty. I had to run to the first floor to get a shot of the entire bird which I'll share in a few days.

Btw I might not be able to post everyday this week as I'll be away from home. I'll try my best to do so but I can't promise I'll be successful. My sincere apologies if I'm unable to post everyday.