Baya weaver

Baya Weavers always attract photographers because it gives you ample of opportunities to photograph them in nice perching positions on their nests.
My casual visit to s Jahangirpura area for birding took me to the place near dandi cross road where I spotted 15 to 20 numbers of nests of baya Weavers and same numbers of baya too.
I enjoyed their company for whole one hour. They too were very generous in allowing me to take their photos

Malabar hill squirrel

When I was going through a post on Facebook of one visitor of matheran and his desperation for spotting Malabar hill squirrel, I updated my Wish list for this trip of matheran by adding Malabar hill squirrel in the list.

I spotted this beautiful creature accidentally when I was trying to take photo of Indian paradise fly catcher.

I saw some movement  in bush in front of me. My son gestured towards the movement on tree behind the bush.

Suddenly a giant squirrel appeared fully before me. I was awestruck and busy grasping whatever was taking place before me. Bright coloured and long tailed squirrel was staring at me. I readied camera, but squirrel was running too fast on tree and hid itself behind leaves. I still managed to take 2-3 photos of squirrel.

It was really memorable to watch Malabar hill squirrel for me and my family members

Indian paradise fly catcher

I have been to Matheran twice before. This march my family members decided to go Matheran again. So I searched for places and varieties of birds that can be spotted in matheran

I came to know that people who have visited matheran in last month had spotted Shama and Indian paradise fly catchers. So I was excited and was expecting to spot them in this trip

I had come to know from one of friends that Matheran is not a hotspot for birding and birds are difficult to spot. I took my point and shoot camera Canon SX50HS with me

We stayed in Rugby in matheran. I found only bulbuls around there

But luck started working when we were returning from Charlotte lake

I felt bird activities when I put foot on a road, near lake, leading to main Market. I entered the little opening in bush beside road. And I spotted many male and female Indian paradise fly catcher flying. It was little dark so every attempt of taking photos went in vain. I stayed there for three hours. But I had not had single photo though tens of paradise fly catchers were flying around me

The next morning I took my family to watch these birds in such a large number

I again tried to take photos, but all attempts in vain due to thick forest and low light. So we started thinking that we'll never have photo of this beautiful bird. So we started for lake and stayed there for sometime

I again spotted one paradise fly catcher in bush when we were returning from lake and I clicked in hurry. I had this photo of beautiful bird in my Wishlist

Though I could not take more and clearer photos of this beautiful bird, we all family members enjoyed their company for two hours 

That priceless memory will remain with us forever

Purple sun bird

Tiny bird it is. But lot of patience is needed to take photo of this beauty.

But once you manage, it is always a delight to your eyes whenever you watch what you have captured through your lenses of camera.

Morning of 11th March 2016 was as common as usual until Dimple, my wife, told me to go for birding to Tena. 

Tena area has dried up because of rise in temperature.

So we were planning to leave place after offering prayer to Steneshwar Mahadev. But I was not ready to move without taking at least one good photo of purple sun bird hopping on branches of tree I was standing in front of.

This photo is one of few photos I took

White eye bird

26th march 2015

This white eyed beautiful little bird was found near kodai lake during our family tour to kodaikanal

I was fortunate to spot a bird which is in my whishlist

As bird is little and keeps flying around so clicking and having good photo was difficult

After moving after it for 10 to 15 minutes, I had this snap. 

Children were getting irritated because they wanted to go to a garden near lake which was closing within hour because they were on vacation tour and were desperate to enjoy every opportunity of having fun

But I was delighted to have chance to take photo of this little beauty and which made my evening in kodai even more pleasant

Common Kingfisher

This tiny bird always pleases your eyes whenever you spot them. 

Several bright colors have been packaged in a tiny pack by almighty.

Almost every time I go for birding, I spot this little beauty. But I have not been tired of clicking this bird

This bird is found near almost every water body little or large, downtown or in the middle of city

Common but very uncommon bird

Yellow eyed babbler

27th February 2016

Surprizes are always rejuvenating

After night shift, I wanted to go to birding to start my offday with activity that rejuvenates me. But  I didn't have energy to go far

So plan was not going too far. I chose bhesan village area which is only 1.5 km away from my home

I took photos of stone chats and bulbuls and started going back home. And then I sighted a tiny bird which I was seeing for the first time with my naked eyes.

I took some photos of this bird, but only 3 photos were satisfactory ( which I liked )

I came home and watched them properly on laptop

They were yellow eyed babbler

So I now have a new member in the list of birds I sighted

A delightful start of offday which is rare after doing night shift

Hoopoe

Crested bird with vibrant skin colour was my favourite when I started clicking birds

First time I sighted them in Barbodhan village near Surat

They gave me excellent poses though they are known for their shyness for camera lenses

I have sighted Hoopoe many a times since then, but I cherish this sighting of Hoopoe till now because it was like a prized catch in the beginning of my birding journey

Blue throat

My Wishlist, of watching bird, is an endless list of names of birds 

In Surat, I believe, we have limited chances of sighting birds included in the list

One day, I saw a photo of blue throat in a birder group posted by Vijayendra Desai. It was spotted in Tena village near Surat. 

I made two unsuccessful attempt in Tena

Frustrated I was and one day I spotted blue throat in Khajod when I was attempting to take photo of Marsh Harrier. 

This tiny bird was hiding in bush. After little wait, it came out in open and I clicked

Though photos were not of good quality, I had satisfaction of sighting blue throat at last

So I now have a photo of bird which was in my Wishlist

Pied bush chat

18th February2016

It was a off day. The first thing that came to my mind was the probable work shift of Parag Kuberkar. 

He too should be free I thaught

Immediately I called him at 0630 hrs. in the morning. He was free and intended to go to Dumas area in Surat for birding

I agreed to accompany him. I reached Vesu near his home by car. Then we took his scooter and started for Dumas

After roaming after many tiny birds, we reached a pond. 

I saw a black and white tiny bird. Which was a pied bush chat. I and Parag started clicking. 

We had some nice clicks of this stylish bird which have enriched my collection of birds' photos

Tour to Ooty, kodaikanal, Mysore

After a little battle for leave, I could confirm my tour to Ooty and kodaikanal this summer vacation of children.

I included Mysore in my itinerary

I contacted my cousin Bhalchandra who is working in Jindal Aluminum in Bangalore. His family too got ready to accompany us.

We started on 23rd march from Dabaspet Bangalore

First day we reached Ooty in the early evening and visited botanical garden.

The next day, we went to coonoor where we visited Tea company and understood the process of making tea from tea plant leaves. And visited some beautiful places in Coonoor.

In return journey to Ooty, we travelled in Nilgiri train which was a memorable experience

The next day we started for kodaikanal. We travelled through many small towns of Tamilnadu.

Kodaikanal was not as cold as Ooty. We stayed there for one night.

In kodaikanal, we visited berijam lake. We took ride in forest approved bus to reach berijam lake

We also visited some scenic places and a place where one of kamal hassan movies was shooted

Local People's dislike for Hindi language was felt prominently here.

In a restaurant named Hotel Punjab, We had Punjabi named dishes with south Indian taste.

Restaurant owner got angry when I tried to make inquiry about must watch places in kodaikanal in Hindi language.

Hill station has taken shape of small town so to have feel of hill station, one has to travel few kilometers outside main town. Even at cross roads, traffic was as thick as that in cities