Raptor Friday: A meeting with a Lesser Kestrel
A birding trip to Koonthakulam, Tamil Nadu, revealed a rare sighting of Lesser Kestrels, seasonal migrants that pass through India en route to Africa
Category: Birds
Birds are probably the gateway drug for many people into the fascinating world of nature. Because they are ubiquitous, birds arouse curiosity. Birdwatching is also among the most accessible of hobbies. Soar with birds in their world as you read these posts that celebrate birds and draw us into their world of marvels.
Americana – a birding diary from the United States
On the rarest of rare occasions, your boring desk job can get really interesting. If it takes you on short trips to lands unseen. July 2012 was one such, for it took me the United States and kept me there for four months. I was mostly busy with work but the weekends were left to me. So what does a bored birder do on weekends? That one’s a sitter.
Meluha Moment – In which I blink my third eyelid ;)
The nictitating membrane protects a bird’s eye from dryness and injury. You might call it a Meluha moment, this blinking of the third eye. Take a look and be amazed.
Morning Raga by the Kentish Plover
On the first day of 2014, we found this adorable Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) in half minds whether to sing or not. Warm sunshine, sandy beaches and blue skies – who wouldn’t want to?
Winning The Toss: Blue-tailed Bee-eater pops a meal
Humans toss pancakes but birds like the Blue-tailed Bee-eater grab venomous insect prey like wasps and bees in mid-air and thrash them dead to dislodge the sting before tossing them in the air a la Rajinikanth with the cigarette
Say, does this Crab Plover speak Malayalam?
The Crab Plover (Dromas ardeola) is a bird of decidedly unique appearance. It found along the coasts of Asia and Africa, where it chases after crabs and deftly pries them open with its highly specialized steak-knife of a bill. Here’s a picture of one on a beach in Kerala.
Monsoon romance: Birds love rain, rain loves birds
Rain drives some of us indoors. But a Green Ogre loves nothing more than to step out, get wet and click madly. Uh, let’s go see what the birds are up to.
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.
April Fooled: A drongo’s spot of bother!
The thin line between beautification and photo-manipulation can get troublesome… if the culprit manipulates the vital evidence!
Encounter: White Storks wintering in Polachira
In the Polachira wetlands of Kollam, southern Kerala, the sight of a White Stork, a winter visitor increasingly hard to come by in the subcontinent, fills the mind with memories seen and imagined
Encounter: The Bald Eagle, America’s most majestic raptor
A lucky and rewarding encounter with the Bald Eagle, one of the enduring symbols of America, in Maryland’s Conowingo Dam
Birds Bizarre: Revenge of the Plum-headed Parakeets?
The sky swarmed with hundreds of Plum-headed Parakeets, uncommon visitors to Punchakkari’s wetland habitat
September is here, download the wallpaper!
September fluttered in a tad late for us Ogres. But there’s more than 20 days left to enjoy this wallpaper. Download and share.