Friday, January 29, 2021

Birds at Bhigwan

This is the second time that I have been to Bhigwan and being unlucky with flamingo sightings. But then the other birds made up for the loss. I am sure the one on the right is an Ibis.
This pond heron was on a tree. He did a wonderful display of sweeping down into the water to catch a fish and come back to the same spot to display his catch. Did he put on a show knowing that I was filming him or was this his daily routine of having breakfast?
The yellow wagtail was busy running after the small insects.
While witing for our boat, I was observing the birds on the far off trees.
It is interesting to see how they glide down and settle on a boulder so that thy have a better vantage point to spot the fish.
If you have the patience, you can catch these birds in action. I was trying to capture this lady to show that the daily chores around the area goes on, when I saw a bird behind her tossing a fish.
I like the black band over the eye of the green bee eater. (reminded me of Zorro)  Their breeding season is from March to June and they nest in hollows in vertical mud banks.
These little cormorants were fishing in groups. It is a wonderful sight to see them take off together and land at a different place for the next catch.
Apparently a flock of Cormorants is known as a "Gulp". . One thing I noticed about the birds is that they never squabble about the catch. There seems to be an unwritten rule among themselves "you caught it, you eat it". Spotting a Spoonbill in the crowd was easy with the spatulate shape of their beak. While reading about them the feature that struck me was that the primary cause of their brood failure was not predation but starvation.
Not sure about this bird, but I think this is the Eurasian Coot (Warkari)
The painted stork stands out pretty tall among the lot.
Here she stands with her knees bend and that gives you an idea of the length of her beak.
A closer look at the formation of her feathers and its colours.
All these birds were pretty close to our boat and they were quite comfortable about it.
Found many Waders and Stilts among the lot.
Grey Heron stands majestically.
The Pied Bushchat had a unique call of her own.  They say that a bird shot is perfect if you can see the white dot in the eye.
All these birds were found in the backwaters of Ujani Dam (Bhima Dam). A game sanctuary is not far from this place and we were lucky enough to spot two Chinkaras (Indian Gazelle) Made a 5 minute video on it.

37 comments:

Ze' Incarnate said...

Brilliantly captured pa... Such a pleasure to relive these moments :)

Ed said...

My favorite is of the woman doing laundry by the boat. The boat is so colorful and unlike anything I would find around here where 99% of the boats are white.

DUTA said...

You seem to know quite a great deal about birds. The avian world is a wonderful world!
The cormorants fishing in groups, and their spectacular take off - are great sights!

Christine said...

Lovely birds!

Lorraine said...

Oh, those green bee eaters and painted storks are so eye-catching. Great photos!

Liz A. said...

Lots of great birds. Quite the variety.

Martha said...

Fantastic photos! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. I appreciate your input :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, Wow. Lucky to have such a place nearby. - Titus Francis

Unknown said...

Thank you, beautiful captures

Unknown said...

Beautiful pictures! In 2019, We had been to Mangalajodi, Orissa, spotted many birds,with the help of a guide, It was a wonderful experience,sailing on a small boat, perfectly serene, only bird sounds.

Milind Bodas said...

Amazing!

Suhas said...

What about flamingoes? Dont see you capturing them

Haddock said...

Suhas, Unfortunately the flamingos are not showing up due to the water level.

Jax said...

I'm loving your bird post! Hopefully next time you'll catch some shots of those flamingos. :)

trees said...

Beautiful pictures. Now, Nilgiris 😀

bindyamc said...

Beautiful snaps!

Anonymous said...

Very interesting to know that birds follow the rule "what you caught is yours and what I caught is mine and others don't have any authority over it" - George Joseph

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Another excellent series of captures, love all of the bird, especially your gorgeous green bee eater. Your fifth and sixth shots should be framed, superb compositions 💙 Can't believe the size of the fish caught, that was quite a meal 😊

Anonymous said...

Fantastic Photos....
Brilliantly captured avian world...
I am surprised to see your knowledge of birds in a great deal...
- Upendra Kulkarni

Kate Larkindale said...

How lucky to have seen so many unique and beautiful birds on the trip. Even if there were no flamingos...

Sakuranko said...

Oh so nice photos darling
xx

Vallypee said...

These photos are truly lovely, Haddock. And the scenery is beautiful as well. I love water birds and waders. Your storks are gorgeous. Did you know we have a flock of flamingos here in the Netherlands? They come every winter!

माधव said...

Joe, beautiful photos supported by your writeup gave us picture of an enjoying trip you had to Bhigwan. Next year you should be lucky to see the flamingos.

Anonymous said...

It was a wonderful experience going through your blog Joe. You have an in depth knowledge of birds. Very nice. - Brig. Punita

NatureFootstep said...

what a treat to see all those birds. And this The painted stork, really a gorgeous one. :)

Mr. Shife said...

Wow. These are some great photos and I appreciate you sharing them with us. It is a part of the world that is completely foreign to me but I am glad I learned more about it. Take care.

the dogs' mother said...

Lovely bird pictures!
Being winter here we don't see too
many varieties right now. :-)

Jane and Lance Hattatt said...

Hello!

What superb pictures.

You must have the patience of a saint to wait to capture these amazing images.

And,how wonderful it is to see these elegant creatures in their natural habitats. Thank you.

KParthasarathi said...

Very pleasing to the eye to see the birds in varied moods and actions.
Thank you.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

What a wonderful break ... and you obviously took full advantage of seeing nature and its habitat ... beautiful birds. Stay safe - Hilary

magiceye said...

Beautifully captured!

Elephant's Child said...

What absolute beauties. Many thanks for showing me birds I will not see for myself.

Anonymous said...

Good information especially the Gulp of Cormorants - Sowmia

Linda Starr said...

my goodness such beauty in nature, great photos, this year I've put out seed and suet feeders to attract woodland birds to my home and I am enjoying them

gigi-hawaii said...

I just love that green bird. Such a pretty color!

Elderberry-Rob said...

I have never seen a painted stork before, it is the most beautiful, elegant creature, you captured it well. You have a huge variety of birds.

Balkrishna said...

It's wonderful experience thanks .