Birding Nirvana – Still stupid after all these years
No matter how long you’ve been birding, it’s never too late for an enlightening moment of stupidity
Category: Beej
All posts authored by Beej
Rajasthan – A Thar Desert Lifescape
What is west to India is east to Pakistan. But what does the Thar care for such demarcations? Its dunes sift with abandon, and thrum with life
A Skylark on song evokes Shelley
An Oriental Skylark in song at Goa’s Chapora Fort evokes Shelley. But you must listen to the song to believe that the poet wasn’t exaggerating in his effusive praise
In Rainbows – The Mindanao Gum Tree
Meet the only eucalyptus species native to the northern hemisphere, the Mindanao Gum Tree or Rainbow Eucalyptus, so known for the vibrant colored patterns left by its peeling bark
Chuffed by a chough
The first time I came upon ‘chough’ I thought it was a dictionary entry for an act of expectoration by one with a North Indian surname. It would be a few years before I got the hang of what it was really – a kind of crow
Seven monsoon Instagrams to set the mood
It’s that time of the year when I ache to be anywhere but in an office, feeling the tug of the breeze on my face, the burst of impatient rain. To be drenched in the news of the sea that the monsoon brings ashore. So much for dreaming. I’m still here. Clacking away on a keyboard, conjuring up visions. So share my pain. With monsoon Instagrams.
Why did the caterpillar cross the road?
Why did the caterpillar cross the road? Apparently, to get to the other side. In a tearing hurry.
Krithi Karanth’s dream to re-wild India – we second!
Every now and then I delight in a moment where I can introduce my daughter to something alive and wild — the birth of a butterfly, a sisterhood of elephants, the jawbone of a monitor lizard, the nest of a carpenter bee, the bill of a pelican, the colour of a fruit bat’s fur, the proud puff of a baby cobra’s hood… And when I meet parents who, like me, revel in the moment they introduce their own children to these fast diminishing joys of nature, I can sense their wonder and share their delight. And rest, at least for a wink, in the comfort that our tribe will increase. Thanks to Krithi Karanth for this innervating talk about her dream to re-wild India. Watch, share and teach your children well.
Encounter – The Spotted Forktail
For many years, the Spotted Forktail was just an apparition in a dream. Now, happily twitched off the list, it is one of my favourite Himalayan birds.
Birding in Hong Kong: One flu over Victoria Park
In flu-fearing Hong Kong, Victoria Park is perhaps the sole isle for anyone who cares for a spot of garden birding.
Birding notes from Melbourne, Australia
It wasn’t a day fit for birding, but even on such a dull day Melbourne had plenty to offer to a jet-lagged birder on a lightning first-time visit to Australia.
Remembering Roger Tory Peterson
Every time you thumb through a field guide to nature, say a little prayer to Roger Tory Peterson. His path-breaking field guides breathed life into birding.
Wanted – Tiger-friendly ID cards for tourists!
The wildlife resort business in India, modeled on African game safaris, has taken off in the last decade, and tiger reserves have been under the most pressure to entertain their guests. And it has been the beholden duty of these businesses to stuff into eco-sensitive zones vanfuls of tourists who pay stiff fees to enjoy intimate encounters with the big cats and who, sadly, almost always miss the forest for the trees, and the other joys that the forest inevitably offers. What makes this any more than trophy hunting, albeit in a modern sense?
Encounter: The Black-and-Orange Flycatcher
In a Nilgiri forest cloaked with moss, the adorable and confiding Black-and-Orange Flycatcher sets the woods — and your imagination — aflame.
Encounter: God, Darwin, Ali and the Blue-capped Rock Thrush
In the foggy ruins of time, most memories can get blurred, or muddied entirely. But not a birder’s remembrance of a cherished bird. Every time I see the Blue-capped Rock Thrush, I am reminded of myself at twelve, a scruffy, itchy pilgrim gazing in rapture at a sprite, a vision, a gift of the forest. It’s a story that involves God, Darwin and Salim Ali — all playing significant bit-parts.