Jungle owlet (Glaucidium radiatum)

When I was a kid, we had a pair of owls roosting in one of the large trees near my home. I still have a distant memory of their eery hooting in the evenings. But later I got used to it and then too busy with my studies to care for it.

When I grew up and tried to photograph their possible descendants, I realised how rare this species has become. I was very excited to spot this one at the top a tree outside my fence. It was out of reach for my point and shoot camera, but I clicked. To my eyes it appeared nothing more than a silhouette. Honestly I did not expect a reply, when I posted it on a Flickr group, Field Guide: Birds of the World, for identification. To my surprise, I got a quick reply saying it was a Jungle owlet and then in all my ignorance I suggested it could not be an immature one, to be called as an owlet. It received a polite reply advising me that Jungle owlet is the common English name for that species and it has nothing to do with the bird's age. The influence on me was so strong that I bought a field guide to the birds of the Indian subcontinent in the same month.

Jungle owlet (Glaucidium radiatum), originally uploaded by retheesh k r.

One month later when I came back home on a holiday, I saw this one trying to chase away a pair of Common mynas. This dead coconut tree was one of the 2 such trees suitable for nesting at that time. Unfortunately most people in my village are intolerant towards dead trees. As soon as a tree stops yielding its been cut down, completely forgetting the fact that they provide excellent nesting opportunities for a wide variety of bird species.

In this following occasion when this Jungle owlet came up to land on a tree, not far from my bedroom, I was fortunate to have a clear direct view. I was laying on my bed relaxing over a heavy breakfast. Since my windows were wide open, I was completely exposed and I didn't dare to move to reach for the camera. What I could do was to pull the window curtain close, inch-by-inch, whenever this bird turned its head away. Once I was behind the blind, I could safely reach for my camera to take this picture.

To me, the most difficult part of taking the picture of a Jungle owlet is to locate it before I am seen. This could be true for any owl species. They are perfectly camouflaged for their habitat, rarely move, truly inconspicuous and on their lightly loaded wings with special feathers they effortlessly flow through the woods without the faintest noise. Their keen eyesight and acute hearing make it almost impossible to approach them without being spotted.

I started noticing that whenever I stepped out of my room, a dark brown bird flies away from a short tree. First I thought it would be a Rufous Woodpecker, but then I realised a woodpecker with its characteristic restlessness cannot go unnoticed. I decided to have a watch on that tree through my window. It took less than a couple of hours before this beautiful bird came back to reveal its identity, a Jungle owlet. Now I could enjoy my advantageous position, I crawled out of my room and up to the fence to take this photo. I used spot metering on the bird to handle silhouette creating strong back light.

After tasting the success I went on to record all its preferred perches. Most of the big trees in my compound were planted by my grand mother, Devaki Krishnan. However after her death, her youngest son with a very bad taste for wildlife, considered many of these trees worthless.

Two years later, this was the only tree remaining in my original list of Jungle owlets' favorite perches. I took this photo from my roof, keeping a low profile and covered with a home made camouflage cloth.

Forest Wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus)

I found this small bird quite unexpectedly, when it suddenly landed on this mango tree. It was smaller than almost any leaf found in my back yard. I realised I have never seen this bird before. Its greenish brown upper part, small size and the pattern on wings and chest enabled it to merge with the background. I agree its not a good picture, but it helped me to identify this bird as a Forest Wagtail when I posted it on a flickr bird group.

Forest Wagtail, originally uploaded by retheesh k r.

Unlike other Wagtail species, a Forest wagtail sways its tail from side to side. This bird also differs in preferring forest clearings and wooded area, just as its name suggests. It was quite unbelievable to know that this small bird was a winter visitor to my garden from central India or even from far north.

A couple of years later I got a chance to spend considerable time in my village. I knew, finding a bird like this in the shadows of a broad-leaved woodland is not easy. But fortunately, like all other Wagtails, it rarely stops wagging its tail. And if I could concentrate more on movement rather than looking for the bird, it would be possible to find this bird foraging among the dry leaves on the floor.

I was fortunate to spot this one well before it spotted me. I lay down and watched closely as it started hunting insects. It swayed its beak quickly to either side of the body, scratching the floor in search of hidden food.

Here, I could see the sand grains flying.

A small insect tried to escape, but this bird's reflex was incomparable.

It seemed very hungry, the swallowing was even quicker.

100-300mm lens at 300mm, f5.6 for 1/200 sec., ISO 800

It moved on looking for another one.

Searching among the fallen dry leaves, it slowly drifted away...

...and dissolved into the dappled shadows.

100-300mm lens at 300mm, f5.6 for 1/320 sec., ISO 1600

Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)

Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus), originally uploaded by retheesh k r.

When I approached a flock of these fast birds in an isolated bush, they started fleeing into a nearby wooded area in small groups. I selected "AI Servo" focusing and "Continuous shot" in my Canon EOS 400D. Hand holding my camera, I pre-focused my 300mm lens at the bush and tried to follow and contain the emerging birds within the view finder before they disappear in the woods some 10m away. I would say this picture, of below average quality, is the result of perseverance and sheer luck rather than anything else. At the end of my shooting frenzy, I found this picture among around 30 frames of empty sky.

For anyone who is interested in shooting birds in flight will appreciate this equipment available at http://www.bushhawk.com/

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), originally uploaded by retheesh k r.

After a couple of failed attempts of shooting Barn Swallows in flight, I decided to settle for a less ambitious project, shooting gulls in flight. They are much larger, and glide smoothly in a predictable way. They are good for beginners.

With large number of gulls flocking, the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland which is less than a km away from my apartment was a perfect place for me. When I reached there, I could see a lot of these gregarious birds sitting quietly on top of Glasgow Science Centre. I waited for more than half an hour hoping that they will start flying again. As a result of some disturbance they all are back on their wings. After few shots I realised, the white clouds in the background doesn't suit these white bellied birds.

I moved to another place following the circling flock. Positioning myself in its path, I focus tracked this approaching bird and shot continuously till it passed overhead. One of my very rare photos which I could take in the same way as I anticipated.

Few more photos are here, all of them I took as it happened.

Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii)

Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii), originally uploaded by retheesh k r.

My aunt called me when she saw me going home after some shopping. She took me to a neighbouring stream to show me this heron. I could not understand first, why this heron stayed there even after we reached quite close to it. Uncharacteristically it kept its long bill in water. Then I realised this unfortunate heron is a victim of our own carelessness act of throwing everything into streams and rivers. This bird while attempting to spear its food, pierced this old discarded cloth. It was visibly exhausted by trying hard to remove the cloth from its bill. This piece of wet cloth was little too heavy for this bird to fly with. I left my bag on the shore and decided to wade to reach the bird on the other side. By this time my cousin brought me my camera, which helped me to take this photo just before entering water.
I was bit nervous seeing the long sharp bill. So after reaching near the bird, I got its bill in my right hand and secured it before picking the bird up. Once I reached back on the shore, I tried to pull the bill out of the cloth. But it seemed like the cloth got entangled with few tiny ridges on the herons bill. My aunt then gave me her kitchen knife suggesting that I should cut the cloth away instead of pulling it hard and thus hurting the bird. That proved to be a brilliant idea. She hold the bird in her hand and I carefully cut the cloth from its bill. We were all happy to see it flying towards one of the lower branches of a nearby tree.

White-Breasted kingfisher

A White-Breasted kingfisher's brilliantly colourful plumage makes it one of the most beautiful birds around. As a child, I used to stare in complete awe at its extremely fast and accurate dive into water for small fishes. Almost certainly it comes back to its perch with a fish in its beak. The fish is then killed by repeated thrashing against the perch before swallowing head first. A fascinating bird which feeds and nests like no other birds in my village. When I had my small open aquarium in my backyard I was literally feeding many local Kingfishers unknowingly. However the memories are always not pleasant. I still remember one tragic incidence of my neighbour shooting an enormous Stork billed kingfisher with his rifle. Two days later I found the dead bird on the other side of the stream.

After my schooling I spent my life almost completely in cities, long dry periods. Many years later it was photography that enabled me to reconnect with the nature.

I tried to take my first photo of a kingfisher when I visited one of my friends home near Chennai (Madras). This bird was spotted on the way in a large wetland. After few failed attempts to reach this bird I realised how threatening I have become.



After coming back to my home, I decided to patrol the canal where I used to see these birds. Kingfishers are highly territorial. They actively defend a stretch of water, which often extends a couple of kilometers. They prefer vertical sandy banks of rivers, canals and ponds for safe nesting site. The nest is in the form of a tunnel excavated by both male and female. When I took this bird against a clean concrete embankment I did not immediately realise how such simple canal beautification programs could adversely affect these magnificent birds. But on a closer look this kind of development that lacks imagination and environmental awareness, clears the natural vegetation along the canal banks, create grades and even virtually seals it with concrete walls. It is easy to see an impenetrable canal bank makes it impossible for these birds to build a nest and a cleared site does not give any protection from predation.

*One of the solutions is here. This nest box simulates the natural tunnel nest of a Kingfisher and could be easily integrated during the construction of the embankment.

I still had to wait really long to get a decent picture of a White-Breasted kingfisher. Two years later while going to Ranganathittu bird sanctuary I took this picture through the window of my cab.

100-300mm lens at 300mm
f5.6 for 1/250 sec
ISO 400

Back in home when I was trying hard to locate a resident Jungle owlet, this one came like a flying jewel. Probably in search of lizards, it landed far from the nearest stream but very close to me. Just 3 clicks and I was spotted.



100-300mm lens at 300mm
f5.6 for 1/250 sec
ISO 400

Till now, I took all the Kingfisher pictures by chance. But early in this year I saw a kingfisher flying across my backyard. I decided to have a try. To my delight it landed on our compound wall, very close to a thick bush. I took my camera, covered myself with a handmade poncho and then crawled few meters to reach the bush. Stood up slowly, located the bird through my view finder and clicked one of my all time favorite pictures.

100-300mm lens at 300mm
f5.6 for 1/250 sec
ISO 400

* Further reading

Distribution of White-Breasted kingfisher

http://www.schwegler-nature.com/BirdCare/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Kingfisher

http://www.alanaecology.com/acatalog/Kingfisher_Sand_Martin_Nesting_Tunnel.html

Asian Paradise-flycatcher

In the shadow of a large Cinnamon tree, I placed my hide temporarily and waited for anything with feathers. This clueless Rufous Paradise Flycatcher male came to me, closer than what I expected. For my 100-300 mm lens, I had to recompose diagonally to accommodate his long streamers.




I always wondered how it flies with such long tail feathers and often awe struck when I think about how it catches its prey on the fly, while negotiating effortlessly among numerous interlacing branches. Looking at this picture now, I realized I've had a couple of pictures of the same bird, taken few days before. After I retrieved those less detailed pictures shot from a distance, I sensed an opportunity to portray this magnificent bird's flight path. I downloaded Photomatix trial version and blended two hand held exposures to get this picture.

The bird perching on that small branch is blended twice. The "shadow" diving bird to the left shows how it could launch from its upright position clearing its long tail like in a Fosbury flop.



Distribution of Asian Paradise-flycatcher

Greater Flameback

While planning our trip to Eravikulam National Park, my wife and I were invited to stay at one of her relatives' farm house. It was a quite place, not far from Munnar town. This beautiful house was constructed on top of a small hill. The plan was to stay there for 3~4 days. But then a sudden heavy rain robbed our trip off a couple of days. When we finally reached, I noticed the damaged window frames of this relatively new house. The estate manager gave an explanation, a resident woodpecker caused the mischief. Woodpeckers could be territorial. In this case, offended by its own reflection on the window panes, it would drum the wooden frame vigorously for hours in an effort to beat its "rival". He then revealed his earlier plan of electrocuting this beautiful bird. However my wife's uncle, the owner of the farmhouse and a conservator himself, never approved that idea.

Watching those windows, I assumed the bird used to land on the middle horizontal wooden frame and worked upward in typical woodpecker style. It was intriguing that this bird chiseled only on the right side vertical frames!!

Even though I could not think of any safe *solution to discourage the bird, the prospect of watching it so close was exciting. We quickly finished our breakfast and waited inside the room. Around half an hour later this bird came landing on this damp coconut tree just outside the window. Hiding behind the curtain, I opened one of the windows quietly to take this picture.




100-300mm lens at 100mm
f5.6 for 1/125 sec
ISO 400

*further reading
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/wldlf2/L866.pdf

Rufous Woodpecker

I was sitting in my home made bird hide watching a group of Jungle Babblers, then a more rufous bird from the hunting party flew to the other side a small canal. It disappeared behind this rotten tree stump. It was evening and there were more shadows than light. I decided to wait for sometime. In fact I was by its movement towards my side. Finally this bird emerged from shadow, climbed up to this well lit spot and quickly started drilling for its favorite food.

I clicked few shots in a failed attempt to freeze the action, but had to satisfy with this picture when it took a break..

Snake scaling a palm

Behind my neighbor's farm yard, my friend Balan spotted this snake climbing up a coconut tree..

.. we took few pictures and about to move, then this Palm Squirrel came climbing down.

We stopped in anticipation for an action. They were on the same side facing us. I thought the snake will get provoked. They came closer. I set my camera for shooting anyone falling!!. However they went to the other side of the tree making us wait... They came back to our side few minutes later and departed as if nothing happened :-))

Orange-headed Thrush

I spotted an unusual visitor while I was on my usual stroll near my home. Even though It was pretty far, I took this photo and reviewed it. It resembled an Orange-headed Thrush which I had seen for the first time at Kuruva island in Wayanad.

As it was moving towards me, I hid behind a small bush and waited in anticipation. After fifteen minutes or so it flew and disappeared among the dark green leaves of a cinnamon tree. A few minutes passed before it reappeared on a branch.

Orange-headed Thrushes feed on ground, so I waited for some more time clicking these pictures under poor light.

It finally landed in a nearby clearing. I sat motionless, continuously tracking and clicking.....

... and finally got an uncluttered area where I could take this photo.

Brown Hawk Owl

I saw a Brown Hawk Owl few months before, resting on a tree..



Assuming that it prefers that tree for roosting, I used to look for it whenever I find time. Today quite unexpectedly, I saw it (not sure its the same one I saw before!) flying from somewhere near that area to reach this dead coconut tree.
But unfortunately its talons got entangled somewhere on the bark.



It struggled to free itself..



The struggle exhausted the bird and attracted a small crowd of crows, a Brahmini Kite, a pair of Common Myna and a Black Drongo.. All started swooping down menacingly.



Then this crow suddenly attacked the owl on its back. Made feathers fly. But the owl's strong wing beats literarily threw the crow spinning in the air.



Should I help or stay away from natures way? Owls are cute.. I kept my camera down, picked up few pebbles and drove the rogues away. Anyway the direct attack helped the owl to free its legs off :-).. It came down gliding and landed on this branch near its favourite "hang out".

Collared Scops Owl

I was not very far from this tree trying to shoot a Forest Wagtail. This, largest of the Scops owls, appeared nothing more than a dead leaf until I snapped a twig beneath my feet. 

I just could not believe that it was sitting there all the time looking other way. Easily one of the most exhilarating moments I've had in recent times. It was evening. The light was fading fast. I took few pictures pumping up my ISO to the maximum value. I stayed there watching it closely. In the twilight it became lively, scanned the forest floor for a while and flew away with out making the slightest sound.

Owls are specially designed raptors. They have exceptional eyesight and accute hearing enhanced by the facial discs formed by the feathers, which collect and direct the faintest sounds. Lightly loaded broad short wings enabling it to navigate through the forest very slowly while serrations on the leading edges of its flight feathers muffle its wing beats. Generally colour of the eyes indicates its behaviour. 

Dark Eyes = Night (Nocturnal)

Orange Eyes = Dawn & Dusk (Crepuscular)

Yellow Eyes = Day (Diurnal)

Leopard

Leopard, the smallest of the four "big cats" is near threatened mainly because of hunting and loss of habitat. A leopard is differentiated from Jaguar by the lack of internal spot in the rosette on its fur. This one appeared from nowhere and jumped across our safari van at Nagarhole National Park. It crossed the clearing provided on the sides of the road and reached the bushes. It started walking slowly parallel to the road but still blended with the background. Our experienced driver drove fast ahead and parked the vehicle where there’s a gap in the bushes. The cat emerged at the gap but did not show much interest on us. Then this magnificent predator stopped for a while, looked at something else which we could not see, smell or hear, before fading away into the forest!!

Black-Rumped Flameback

I took this one through my window, slightly opened. When I stumbled upon a vase on the floor it flew away. Well, not far away, it landed on a higher branch. I ran out through the other door, crawled a bit and reached my hide, set up out side the compound wall, overlooking this mango tree. I was having a clear view of this mango, when I left the hide for my lunch. So I expected to take a good picture when this bird come back. But now I'm unable to find the mango, first through view finderand then even with out that. Disappointed, I came back to home. Surprised at what my mother would do by plucking that half eaten mango.

Spot-Billed Pelican

Every year around 2000 Painted Storks and 500 Spot-Billed Pelicans come to Kokkare Bellur for breeding. Nobody in the village has a definite answer for, when these birds started coming in their village for nesting. Most of the people say these birds were here before they are born. 

Sulekere, Malavallikere, Gurudevanakere and Shimsha river are the main feeding grounds for pelicans and Painted Storks at Kokkare Bellur. Eventhough these birds get the protection in the village, the insensitive sand mining in the river pose a real threat to it's long term survival and to the unique status of this village as a breeding ground.

I used continuous focus and continuous shot for getting this bird about to land on a tree top. See the angle of attack, the position of tail and webbed feet, extended and spread, all for creating high lift and drag.

CODE OF BIRDING ETHICS

American Birding Association's
PRINCIPLES OF BIRDING ETHICS

Everyone who enjoys birds and birding must always respect wildlife, its environment, and the rights of others. In any conflict of interest between birds and birders, the welfare of the birds and their environment comes first.

CODE OF BIRDING ETHICS

1. Promote the welfare of birds and their environment.

1(a) Support the protection of important bird habitat.

1(b) To avoid stressing birds or exposing them to danger, exercise restraint and caution during observation, photography, sound recording, or filming.

Limit the use of recordings and other methods of attracting birds, and never use such methods in heavily birded areas, or for attracting any species that is Threatened, Endangered, or of Special Concern, or is rare in your local area;

Keep well back from nests and nesting colonies, roosts, display areas, and important feeding sites. In such sensitive areas, if there is a need for extended observation, photography, filming, or recording, try to use a blind or hide, and take advantage of natural cover.

Use artificial light sparingly for filming or photography, especially for close-ups.

1(c) Before advertising the presence of a rare bird, evaluate the potential for disturbance to the bird, its surroundings, and other people in the area, and proceed only if access can be controlled, disturbance minimized, and permission has been obtained from private land-owners. The sites of rare nesting birds should be divulged only to the proper conservation authorities.

1(d) Stay on roads, trails, and paths where they exist; otherwise keep habitat disturbance to a minimum.

2. Respect the law, and the rights of others.

2(a) Do not enter private property without the owner's explicit permission.

2(b) Follow all laws, rules, and regulations governing use of roads and public areas, both at home and abroad.

2(c) Practise common courtesy in contacts with other people. Your exemplary behavior will generate goodwill with birders and non-birders alike.

3. Ensure that feeders, nest structures, and other artificial bird environments are safe.

3(a) Keep dispensers, water, and food clean, and free of decay or disease. It is important to feed birds continually during harsh weather.

3(b) Maintain and clean nest structures regularly.

3(c) If you are attracting birds to an area, ensure the birds are not exposed to predation from cats and other domestic animals, or dangers posed by artificial hazards.

4. Group birding, whether organized or impromptu, requires special care.

Each individual in the group, in addition to the obligations spelled out in Items #1 and #2, has responsibilities as a Group Member.

4(a) Respect the interests, rights, and skills of fellow birders, as well as people participating in other legitimate outdoor activities. Freely share your knowledge and experience, except where code 1(c) applies. Be especially helpful to beginning birders.

4(b) If you witness unethical birding behavior, assess the situation, and intervene if you think it prudent. When interceding, inform the person(s) of the inappropriate action, and attempt, within reason, to have it stopped. If the behavior continues, document it, and notify appropriate individuals or organizations.

Group Leader Responsibilities [amateur and professional trips and tours].

4(c) Be an exemplary ethical role model for the group. Teach through word and example.

4(d) Keep groups to a size that limits impact on the environment, and does not interfere with others using the same area.

4(e) Ensure everyone in the group knows of and practises this code.

4(f) Learn and inform the group of any special circumstances applicable to the areas being visited (e.g. no tape recorders allowed).

4(g) Acknowledge that professional tour companies bear a special responsibility to place the welfare of birds and the benefits of public knowledge ahead of the company's commercial interests. Ideally, leaders should keep track of tour sightings, document unusual occurrences, and submit records to appropriate organizations.

PLEASE FOLLOW THIS CODE AND DISTRIBUTE AND TEACH IT TO OTHERS

The American Birding Association's Code of Birding Ethics may be freely reproduced for distribution/dissemination. Please acknowledge the role of ABA in developing and promoting this code with a link to the ABA website using the URL  http://americanbirding.org. Thank you.

ABA Code of Birding Ethics was adopted by Indiana Audubon Society in 2001.