Egrets are medium to large sized birds, closely related to the Herons (see here) and belong to Ardea or Egretta genera. Similar to their (very) close relatives – Herons – they also have long legs and a long beak.
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Egrets are medium to large sized birds, closely related to the Herons (see here) and belong to Ardea or Egretta genera. Similar to their (very) close relatives – Herons – they also have long legs and a long beak.
Continue ReadingWade in the Water – Birding at Phillaur – Part 7
My next Birding Day Out in Phillaur was on 15 December, 2019
The first place I visited was our Local Forest. While exploring the area I noticed a Dead Tree Trunk which was overgrown with Mushrooms. The Sun was just coming out and the light was pretty diffused so I decided to try some artistic frames of the mushrooms.
Continue ReadingWade in the Water – Birding at Phillaur – Part 6
Local birding is much more exciting to me compared to going to far off places to witness a complete new set of wildlife. So, I began this season’s birding adventures by visiting the place that I consider as ‘One of the Finest Spots for Birding around Phillaur’ – Sutlej.
CONTINUE READINGIndian Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax fuscicollis)
Size(60-63cm): It is a large Cormorant larger than the Little Cormorant but smaller than the Great Cormorant.
Area: Widespread over much of the region except the North and North-West.
Habitat: Several Fresh Water and Salt Water Bodies.
My two words: This specific Cormorant is found only in India, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar.
This Cormorant has a bronze brown-black plumage. The Breeding Plumage is metallic black with distinctive short white-tufts. The non-breeding plumage is browner and the bird develops a yellow patch of bare skin around the throat.
CONTINUE READINGLittle Cormorant
(Microcarbo niger)
Size(48-52cm): As the name suggests, it is the smallest Cormorant that can be found in India.
Area: Widespread resident over much of the region except the Trans-Himalayas
Habitat: Lakes, ponds, river and estuaries. Basically any water body.
My two words: A very common sighting across much of India. Can be easily spotted around any water source where there is enough to fish for and live.
CONTINUE READINGCormorants (Phalocrocoracidae)
Cormorants are medium to large sized fishers. All the 3 species of Cormorants that are found in India are dark coloured. Some species have coloured facial skin. The Great Cormorant has yellow and a white gular patch, the chin is yellow with a patch of white skin after yellow.
CONTINUE READINGSpiti Sojourn – Spiti Valley – Part 4 – The Moon Lake – Chandra Taal
On 28 June, 2019, a beautiful day dawned with a promised chill and some overhanging clouds over Kaza.
At around 1 in the afternoon, we packed up and began on an amazing journey towards Chandra Taal!! The day was jampacked with a lot excitement and surprises.
CONTINUE READINGSpiti Sojourn – Spiti Valley – Part 3 – Local Sightseeing
After a tiring journey from Kalpa to Kaza, we were all too tired, so, we woke up quite late at around 8-9 am. As it was quite late to go anywhere far off, the plan for the day was to visit the beautiful villages around Kaza.
CONTINUE READINGSpiti Sojourn – Spiti Valley – Part 2 – Entering Spiti
The next and the most important and thrilling stage of the trip was entering Spiti Valley…!!!
There were NO bird sightings and ONLY Landscape Photography till we were somewhere near Nako.
CONTINUE READINGSpiti Sojourn – Spiti Valley – Part 1 – Entering Kinnaur
This June break, I visited a place which was on the top of my ‘Want to go’ List – Spiti.
We began our long journey on 23 June, 2019, 5 am.
The first day was a direct and no birding journey to Rampur. On 24th we started early in the morning.
CONTINUE READINGBirding Evenings – An evening at Okhla Bird Sanctuary
I attended a 12-day Summer School at Amity University from 27 May to 7 June. It was then that I found out about an amazing Birding Spot only 10 mins from the university. I decided to pay a short visit to the Sanctuary on the evening of the last day.
CONTINUE READINGAn hour at Kanjli
Kanjli is a 1200 acre man-made wetland near Kapurthala in Punjab. It was created to facilitate irrigation in the surrounding areas.
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