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.