Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, The Magical Rain Forest #1

Eldho, the magician bird spotter from Thattekad. I got his contact from Shiva A.N and was trying to contact him and book the slot in November. After so many commitment, he failed to give me his time and lastly he tagged me with his friend Girish. I stayed in Girish's home stay. This home stay is only home stay inside the park. Girish also an expert bird watcher from that place.

18th Nov 2010: I catched the train (Ernavikulam Exp) from Yashvanthpur, Bangalore for Aluva. Next day morning around 7:20am I got down at Aluva, Just one station before the Ernavikulam end station. Aluva is the nearest railway station of Selim Ali Bird Santuary and Kochi is the nearest Air port. From Aluva I taken one taxi (60 km) and reached Selim Ali BS withen one and half hour. Sudha-Amma (Girish's Mather) was waiting for me at the gate of the park. After breakfast with Appam and egg I planned to take rest but Sudha-Amma asked me to go with her for bird watching. She is also good bird spotter like her son.

We went to the nearest lake for water bird shooting and found a big gang of Lesser Whistling Ducks was playing in the lake, whiskered tern flying around for fishing and white Breasted King fisher waiting alone in the rain for prey. It was drizzling and light was very poor, So to save my camera from rain water we took place in fishing shades and try to manage some shot in unfavourable condition.









After spending some time in the fishing shade Sudha Amma asked me to come back becouse we ware expecting a heavy rain at anytime. While coming back we found two Grey Jungle fowl, Before I possitioned my tripod and Camera they went off but still I managed some record shot.



At the main gate of the park Sudha-amma spotted one Brown Hawk Owl couple. This is the 1st time I watched the Brown Hawk Owl and photographed too.



At last as a closing event of morning session she showed me Malabar grey Hornbill seating on tree branch just outside wall of her house. I photographed and quickly packed my camera as rain started by that time. I did not expect rain at all and it made me down almost but still during morning session I photographed two new species that I never seen before. I went for bath and plan for a short nap after lunch to keep myself ready with full of energy for evening session.

Other than Wetland : Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, The Magical Rain Forest

Three years before I heard about Thattekad BS from one of my friend and about the famous bird watcher Eldho from that place. But I could not manage my time to head out over there. So last November I decided to take this trip. It's a amazing place for bird watcher and a natural rain forest discovered by famous Ornithologist Dr.Selim Ali. Some important information on Thattekad Bird Sanctuary (Presently Selim Ali Bird Sanctuary)

From Wikipedia: The Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, covering an area of hardly 25 km², and located about 60 km north-east of Kochi (Kerala state, India & nearest Airport too), is one of the important bird sanctuaries of India. The literal meaning of Thattekad is flat forest, the region is an evergreen low-land forest and is located between the branches of Periyar River, the longest river in Kerala. The Thattekad Bird Sanctuary has a rich and varied birdlife. Several species of birds, both forest birds as well as the water birds, visit the sanctuaries, and the important ones include the following:

A) Indian Pitta : which visits the sanctuary during winter and spends almost six months here.
B) Ground Thrush : an orange-headed bird.
C) Large-billed Leaf-warbler
D) Jerdon's Nightjar
E) Indian Cuckoo
F) Darters
G) Cormorants
H) Whiskered Terns
I) Collared Scops Owl
J) Frogmouths==> which are nocturnal birds.
K) Pompadour Green Pigeon
L) Yellow-browed Bulbuls

The sanctuary is a habitat for different varieties of Cuckoos and a region of the sanctuary popularly called Cuckoo Paradise is home to them, and they include the following:

Drongo Cuckoo: which may be easily mistaken for Drongo
Indian Hawk Cuckoo: which is highly vocal
Large Hawk Cuckoo: which looks relatively massive compared to other types of cuckoos, and is characterized by a dark grey and heavily streaked throat



I stayed there for two days only. I realished after reaching, I should have been there at least 4 days to complete 25% of the resident bird species. I'll update my day by day activity from my later post. Before that I would like to list down some species that I spotted and few of them I could photographed.

1. Lesser Whistling Duck



2. White Brested King Fisher
3. Lesser Flameback Wood Peaker
4. Heart Throted Wood Peaker
5. Whiskered Tern
6. Brown Hawk Owl
7. Malabar Grey Hornbill
8. Srilankan Frog Mouth
9. Little Cormorant
10. Crested Goshawk
11. Yellow Throated Bulbul
12. Crimson Back Sunbird
13. Fairy Blue Bird
14. Malabar Blue Parakeet
15. Black Baza
16. Verdict Flycatcher
17. Great Eared Nightjar : One of the instinct species from that place.

Please follow my next post .....

Other than wet Land: Valmik Thapar's interview in NDTV on releasing his new book

Study on Indian Wetlands #6

Importance of wetlands :

“Civilization began around wetlands; today's civilization has every reason to leave them wet and wild.” - Edward

Most of the major civilizations of the world have evolved from river valleys and their flood plains. These wetlands have supported the growth of the civilization in various ways ranging from agriculture to transport.

1. Wetlands play a vital role in maintaining the delicate ecological balance. They support a wide range of flora and fauna. Waterfowl rely on wetlands for reproduction and shelter during the different life stages. Shorebirds, geese and ducks use wetlands as resting places during their long migrations.





2. Wetlands also help prevent flooding. Many wetlands are associated with the floodplains surrounding rivers. When these rivers swell in times of heavy rainfall or spring runoff, the wetlands store excess water which is gradually transferred to groundwater reserves rather than flowing overland.



3. Wetlands store excess water and replenish local groundwater supplies. When water reaches the aquifer, it is cleaner than when it entered the wetland because it has been filtered through tiny spaces in the overlying rock. Sediment is often a major pollutant in aquatic systems. Wetlands filter out sediment and decomposing plant matter from water Wetlands reduce sediment by serving as pools where sediment can settle.


4.Wetlands are used for fishing, hunting, boating, bird watching and other forms of outdoor recreation. At one time, wetlands were seen as waste lands because they were too "dirty" to swim in or too shallow for large boats. As people become more appreciative of nature, wetlands continue to become valuable recreational areas.




Importance of wetlands :


5.Tampering with wetlands has also threatened the lives of thousands of people through increased flooding, droughts, and water contamination. Some existing wetlands have been enhanced yet attempts at re-creation have failed. Wetlands are highly dynamic and a change in water level or rainfall can change plant and animal populations.

Other Than Wetlan #3

Last friday was a good sunny day after a long time in Bangalore. I visited back side of Banerghatta open forest (Shivanahalli) and got some Green Bee Eater. Here some zoological information on Bee Eater.



Green bee-eaters also reach in color like other Bee Eaters. It is about 9 inches (16–18 cm) long with about 2 inches made up by the elongated central tail-feathers. The sexes are not visually distinguishable. The entire plumage is bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat. The crown and upper back are tinged with golden rufous. The flight feathers are rufous washed with green and tipped with blackish. A fine black line runs in front of and behind the eye. The iris is crimson and the bill is black while the legs are dark grey. The feet are weak with the three toes joined at the base. The wings are green and the beak is black. The elongated tail feathers are absent in juveniles.



Both the above image taken with camera: Camera: Nikon D70s Lens: Nikkor 300/F4 IF-ED AF-S + 14E-II TC with Manfrotto Camera support.

Other than Wetlan #2

The Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. Despite the similarities in plumage to the egrets of the genus Egretta, it is more closely related to the herons of Ardea.
It is a stocky white bird adorned with buff plumes in the breeding season which nests in colonies, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. it feeds in relatively dry grassy habitats, often accompanying cattle or other large mammals, since it catches insect and small vertebrate prey disturbed by these animals. During monsoon seasons this breeding plumage adult looks relatively fantastic. We were always amazed by the transformation birds undergoes during the breeding season. This post is all about one such extraordinary transformation.
Camera: Nikon D70s Lens: Nikkor 300/F4 IF-ED AF-S + 14E-II TC with Manfrotto Camera support.



Scaly breasted Munia is very common in Wetland. This small beauty is very naughty and difficult to shoot, somehow I manage one decent shot.

Other than wetland #1

Last weekend I visited Ranganathittu after a long time. It was very cloudy and bad weather. Still I could able to manage some o.k-o.k shot that I want to share with you. Here you go .....



This very busy small stripped squirrel I found in early morning light. camera: Nikon d70s Lens: Nikkor 300/F4 IF-ED AF -S +14e-II TC with Manfrotto camera support.



Black head Ibis is very common in Ranganathittu, basically they are all seasons resident at there. The flying Ibis really a nice object to shoot. Camera: Nikon d70s Lens: Nikkor 300/F4 IF-ED AF -S +14e-II TC with Manfrotto camera support.



Pheasant Tailed Jacana is one of the beautiful bird in wetland. This beauty I found in Channapatna Wetland on Mysore Road. I'm very glad to say people/corporation has the initiative to conserve the wetland and I found variety of water birds. I do visit this wetland another time and post the report. The Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus) is a jacana in the monotypic genus Hydrophasianus. Jacanas are a group of waders in the family Jacanidae that are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes, their preferred habitat. The Pheasant-tailed Jacana is capable of swimming, although it usually walks on the vegetation. The females are more colourful than the males and are polyandrous.Camera: Nikon d70s Lens: Nikkor 300/F4 IF-ED AF -S +14e-II TC with Manfrotto camera support.

Other than Wetlands

Dear Friends,

Due to some family issue, I'm not able to continue my posting on wetland. So I decide to post some of my recent wildlife image here. Here you go & hope you'll enjoy my work.



This is image of Brahminy Kite, Taken from Bangalore. Camera: Nikon D70s, Lens: Nikkor 300/F4 IF-ED AF-S +14E-II TC



This is image of Jerdons Bush Lark, Taken from Vally School,Bangalore. Camera: Nikon D70s, Lens: Nikkor 300/F4 IF-ED AF-S +14E-II TC



This is image of Sopt Bill Palican, Taken from Banerghatta NP,Bangalore. Camera: Nikon D70s, Lens: Nikkor 300/F4 IF-ED AF-S +14E-II TC

Study on Indian Wetlands #5

King Fisher, This is the most beautiful bird found and well spread across the all Wetlands. I can remember in my childhood whenever we used to see a kingfisher, we used to say "look kingfisher, make a wish". Still today king fisher is my lucky bird and I wish to click this beauty again and again. Everybody knows they are really deadly predator in Wetland. It is very pleasant experience to watch the fishing style and capabilities of this bird. Here some image of Pied king fisher and small blue king fisher.


I have taken this above image of small blue kingfisher from a river side wetland of kauvery river, Bhimeswari, Karnataka. Gear used: Nikon d70s, Sigma-170-500mm/F5


This Image from Lake of Kodai,Tamilnadu. Gear used: Nikon d70s, Sigma-170-500mm/F5

There are roughly 90 species of kingfisher in the world. All have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. Most species have bright plumage with little differences between the sexes. Most species are tropical in distribution, and a slight majority are found only in forests. Among the 90 species there are only (as per my knowledge) 7 species found in India.

a) white brested kingfisher
b) Small blue king fisher
c) Pied Kingfisher
d) Strok billed kingfisher
e) Crested Kingfisher
f) Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher
g) Black headed Kingfisher

I appreciate your help to inform me about any new species apart my knowledge.



This above image of Pied Kingfisher taken from Ranganathittu,Karnakata.
Gear used:Nikon d70s, Sigma-170-500mm/F5

Study of Wetland .....continue

Study on Indian Wetlands #4

From my last post, I'm not posting any text information about wetland. Apart from my study and knowledge about Wetland, I'm trying to furnish this blog with more rich information, so I'm studying. Please wait a little while and till then enjoy some image from wetland of Karnataka.

The above Spot Billed Palican is not native resident of Wetland but I have seen so many Pelican in adjacent wetlands of Kaveri River. This image I have taken from Kokrabelur.Gear used: Nikon D70s, Nikkor 300/F4 IF-ED+14EII TC

Indian Wetlands.....continue