Subdued Monsoon and native village birding

Monsoon has revived the landscape of our native village and it is pleasure to behold such a mesmerizing scene. The greens are saturated, the environment is lush with birds, the paddy fields are blooming, the seasonal streams are alive and why not there is beautiful play of clouds in troposphere. All these comes with soaring humidity levels which we need to bear in tropical coastal areas.

Meanwhile I landed in native village after a long gap of 6 months. That's massive gap indeed. We drove through misty winding roads of Charmadi Ghats and welcomed by monsoon rains as we approached boundary of coastal Karnataka. It rained heavily in my village that day but terminated once we reached. This year monsoon has been lacklustre thanks to climate change. The rains have shifted to north India especially owing to continuous low-pressure areas. These LPAs are dumping massive precipitation at some places in a week. The precipitation is huge that they dumped almost season's rainfall in matter of just 2 weeks. The excess rains are boon to some places however depriving rains at our region. It was evident from the low velocity of monsoon streams lacking vigour and depth. I could clearly see the base of the stream which we usually get to see during October end. There were beautiful sunset/sunrise everyday which is recurrent during monsoon season thanks to rains. However, my excitement was low owing to lethargic monsoon. Never seen such a deficient monsoon season in recent years.

The moderate September rains provided hope of revival of monsoon. But still not terrific like last year. Despite the rains lacking intensity, paddy growers are happy that rains are sustaining. This is crucial for standing water in paddy field. This time of year is vital for paddy growth since the cultivation needs standing water for the nascent paddy grains to evolve into mature consumable product. The sustained rains with mild sunlight provided that hope for first 15 days. However, nature can turn things around. The rains stopped completely for a week almost. It is predicted to revive around 25th September which is not guaranteed. The quirky monsoon pattern has prompted farming community to abandon the cultivation job. It is impossible to predict the vagaries of monsoon which takes high toll on investments of farming community. The dry days with intense sunlight have rendered paddy fields arid. The rains are badly needed for 15 more days for the crop to mature. Hopefully monsoon gives good news at least from 25th onwards without any surprises. Perhaps this would be final spell of South West Monsoon before conclusion. Keeping fingers crossed. Overall a year to forget in terms of monsoon and look forward for brighter days in 2022.

Meanwhile birding has been pleasant so far in my native. Birds were the only factor that induced enthusiasm in me. I spotted plenty of new birds and discovered the birds that were present in Bangalore. The blooming of monsoon streams have increased the bird population nearby our house and thus adding to my joy. The overcast skies were problematic at times but somehow the lens managed them quite well. It was same set of birds with early morning melodies/babbling with few additional ones. The paddy fields lure plenty of tiny birds which were not visible during winter. The migratory birds were absent though especially Indian Paradise Flycatcher. Let me unfold the maiden birding journey in my native after I bought new tele lens.

Lets start with our morning melody star Red-Whiskered-Bulbul :-). They are plenty here and only active bird throughout the day.

The next one is eternal commotion creator, The Jungle babbler. Glad to see them again. I missed them greatly at Bangalore. Their clamour has reduced perhaps due to rains. But they are active throughout the day and pleasure to watch.

The common bird with daily routine is Black-Rumped flameback

The rufous treepie was pondering on something

The white cheeked barbet was vigilant 360 degrees for any possible threats before it could feed on papaya tree for breakfast.

The surprise visitors were the white rumped munias. The sweet little birds found some time after heavy shower to enjoy the Sun. The birds feed on paddy grains before they resort to relaxation.

The oriental magpie robin whistles throughout the day. They are shy too! Difficult to grab sometimes.

The purple rumped sunbird was busy sucking nectar from flowers.

Some more barbet pictures from when it perched on electric line for a while steadily.

I have plenty more to share. Stay tuned!

Check out my Bird Series blogs here : NKBirdSeries

Need some breakfast buddy?!

As I mentioned in my previous post here, I am thoroughly enjoying the birding with new lens which has extended reach. While I mentioned a brief about the munching parakeet, this post is extended version of those breakfast moments as visualised by mind :-D. Lets start munching the breakfast!

It looks like there is stiff fight between mynas and parakeets to occupy tree holes for dwelling. Yeah! survival of fittest. It also means that looking for nearest food joints. Perhaps, this tree hole is fortunate for everyone due to presence of edible breakfast. Currently, the tree hole is occupied by parakeets and they patrol tightly for any invaders.

Here is how notional conversation begins!

Hey buddy want some breakfast. It tasty yummy! I have to live with options nearby my house or else mynas will invade my sweet home. You humans have made our survival difficult.

I am asking you with polite and honour. Just little would enlighten me :-)

Wow! That's big one. Don't eye my breakfast buddy. If you want I can tend some. We have limited resource here in city. Be polite with us.

Its edible buddy. See I am easily surviving with this kind of food

Ok. This is last chance I am giving. You want it or not? Or else let me conclude.

Just a piece left buddy. Your last chance to savour tasty breakfast.

OK. You are disinterested. Thanks for leaving breakfast for me alone. Have a great day!

Check out my Bird Series blogs here : NKBirdSeries

Birding at Amruthahalli Lake (01 September 2021 edition)

My old camera is newly serviced and new lens for birding provided twosome happiness. Today I took the mighty lens with serviced camera to Amruthahalli lake and I was impressed by its performance even in low light. I was able to get crisp and sharp images of avian creatures even though bright sun was absconding. Thanks to prevailing clouds, the light is not quite great even during day time. Despite all the negative feedback that was dominating in internet, this lens for sure performed quite well even in dull light. The post processing needed little work thanks to the clarity provided by lens. To add upon, the serviced camera helped to me capture spotless pictures which earlier was a problem.

Here is how new journey gets started with new lens!

The Indian pond Heron was busy with its breakfast session. Despite the distance, look how great image turned out to be :-). I was enthralled after the final outcome post image editing!

The Ashy-Prinia was over the twig calling its partner. Later it frantically was trying to trace source of shutter sound once I started cleaning. I was amazed by the depth of clarity the lens captured under low light as well being distant.

The next action is from thicket due west as usual.

The parakeets were seen guarding their home i.e. tree hole. Looks like there is intense competition to grab these abandoned trees for dwelling between mynas and parakeets. I have seen them umpteen times fighting for the tree holes.

The oriental white eye too came quite good in dull light. I was pleased with the picture quality and true colour reproduction after post processing.

The red-whiskered bulbuls were busy preening and singing over electric lines and twigs.

The scaly breasted munia was hard to grab in low light due to its dark plumage. The post give good picture overall.

Once my thicket exploration completed, I move on to next area where there is stiff competition between mynas and parakeets for tree-hole. Currently this is being held by parakeets. I see at least one of them guarding the home. One of them was munching breakfast and those moments filled my eyes & lens. It seemed as if parakeet was offering me breakfast :-).

As I moved on, the glossy ibis captured my eyes. The White Ibis flew away but the glossy ibis decided to wait and watch. I was able to get some good glimpse of it thanks to its patience :-). The bird was initially firm in its position and stood firm clearing all its apprehensions. Later it continued with food probing once it was confident that I was not a threat. I too moved on for my next bird.

The Bronze Winged Jacana (immature) was easy grab today thanks to reach of lens. The images came out crisp despite the dull light. I could see its plumage clearly which is all bird photographer yearns for.

Some closeup of Gray headed swamp-hen. These birds seemed to annoyed with me today. Despite foraging closer to periphery, I did not take them seriously during photo-shoot. Consequently they seemed to be uninterested in showing up :-)

The coot was busy preening. It was rigorously preening through every nook & cranny of its body for better health. Even though it heard shutter sound, the bird did not seem to heed to it. Perhaps, they are used to it now.

Overall, I have now excellent gear to capture avian creatures. All shots were handheld and I was impressed by the image outcome despite the dull light. Hope to explore more unique avian critters in my village.

Check out my Bird Series blogs here : NKBirdSeries