King fishers cafe ....

The sun god had still not graced
us with its golden rays ,

but I could hear the musical notes of birds in the background .

We decided to sit by riverside,suddenly

 a bird just plunged in the waters and came out with a fish. The confirmation added to my excitement it was the ''crested kingfisher '' resident of the Himalayas .The crested kingfisher is generally spotted by the forested streams and by riversides of Himalyan foothills .

Clean and clear waters are the key factors in the kingfishers survival.The water has to be clean enough for the bird to see its tiny little prey skimming through the surface .

This pond was like a restaurant for the birds ,perched on the branch peering into  the water below .There stood the others as still as the rock ... 

The king just dived into the waters and was back in a flash with the prey in the dagger like bill.Swinging its neck and knocking the prey against the hard rock before swallowing it down 

 Getting over with its morning meal ruffled its feathers and wings and was ready for its next dive ...

So,there they are  perched again on the rock peering through the waters for the silver flash to glide .This pond would  be rated the best by the crested kingfishers .....so many of them could spotted around .

Kingfisher's cafe....Eat ,preen and refresh...

Happy birding....

Grand fatherly looks .... .....

Rambling old bungalow  surrounded  by neem trees where birds sing their songs before settling to a quite during dusk ... Ok, this I'm talking about is my in-laws place in Mathura.

 I could hear a loud krr-r-r-r kutruk kutruk .

Though it's a little difficult to spot the barbets but you certainly get to know that they are around.

It was earlier known as the large green barbet but now it is called the Brown headed barbet ( seems to be very evident- grass green color with a brown head).
 It has a bare patch of skin around the eye which I think gives it a very grand fatherly look ......

Happy birding ...

Flycatchers all the way....

Sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and returning to the same or a different perch. This technique is called '' flycatching''and some birds are known for it are several families of flycatchers .

 Grey headed canary flycatcher...

Verditer flycatcher..

They are usually found perched near the tip of a dead branch alertly ,then dart after the flying insect,grab it and returns back to its perch.

Ultramarine flycatcher(female )

Blue throated flycatcher

Generally, flycatchers are  dressed in drab plumage with a few which are spectacularly colored.The songs of the flycatchers are reasonably simple and distinct.

Flycatchers are very common near water where you find a multitude of insects that have spent their early life stages under water and over grassy fields .I spotted all these flycatchers sitting by a stream in Sattal a preferred habitat of many members in the family ...

Where do the birds finally go ????

 Hello World !!!
This sunday morning when I picked up the newspaper came across this article ...

''Where do birds finally go''?
 The world is populated with flocks of birds ,but strangely ,one never see bodies lying around unless it is the remains of dead bird left behind in a fight,where it is been devoured by an animal.So,what happens to birds when they die a natural death?Where do the birds go to die ?? After reading this article I actually started pondering about it .....

Everybody out there please let me know your views about it .... Has this question ever flashed your mind ???

Announcing Spring ....

Nights are getting shorter ,

the days longer .

Bright flowers and chirping of birds ,

ponds dotted with wild ducks 

Announcing spring.....

Spring Time :New beginnings....

 Spring time is the time for new beginnings .
Flowers in full bloom , birds spotted in pairs .

As the warmth of the spring approaches the birds become very vocal to attract the perfect mate or to defend their territory .Back in my home town I woke up to an orchestra of singing birds  . Rose ringed parakeets loud''kii-a'' , the golden backed woodpecker hammering out its  hearts desire with its beak against the hollow branches and the loud churring and chuckling of the spotted owlet.

When you wake up in the morning to tuneful calls and loud chirps it's official that ....it's spring time .

Happy birding ...

The Great Migrations....

I know my posts have been sporadic lately.

 But that does not mean I wasn't flexing my photography muscles.

 Landed up at'' Basai'' which happens to be close by from where I am living

I could spot some white birds from far, grabbed my binocolors .My exictment knew no bounds to have spotted the Bar headed geese holidaying in the wetlands of Basai.

Every year thousands of Bar headed geese make an epic journey across the Himalayas cruising at an altitude of 29,500 feet to their winter refuge.Bar headed geese are one of the world's highest- flying birds.For years scientists believed that tailwinds and updrafts aided the geese on their journey.To their surprise,the birds complete the ascent under their muscle power with almost no aid from tailwinds and updrafts .
I would just wind up saying that Bar headed geese are ''super birds''scaling such heights. They are not soarers that just glide with the wind but are'' powerful flappers '' .

Happy Birding ...