Saturday, August 11, 2012

Indian Birds - Cinnamon Bittern in Jabalpur

It is a delightful sighting of pair of cinnamon bitterns in Jabalpur. In this city these birds are rare now. During our childhood we used to see them flying. Probably intrigued we used to keep a regular look out for these birds in flight, usually with a mixed flock of egrets.  

The birds are probably nesting in the reed beds near my house. We will look to see if it is possible to photograph them in flight since the nest would be unreachable and we would not like the nesting process.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Bird Photographs - Panna National Park

Asian Brown Flycatcher
Great Tit

Greenish Warbler

Grey headed canary flycatcher

Long Tailed Minivet

Nest - Bonelli' Eagle

Tree Pipt

White Browed Fantail Flycatcher

White Bellied Drongo

White Throated Kingfisher
Photographs By Jagat Flora at Panna Tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh, India.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Neeraj Vegad Bird Photography India

Large Billed Crow
Laughing Dove

Red Vented Bulbul

Shikra Juvenile

Indian Bird Photographs by Tirath Singh

Common Stone Chat
Indian Roller
White eyed buzzard

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Bird trek at Bargi Dam in Jabalpur

Bargi Dam
Bay Backed Shrike

Savanna Night Jar

Common Kingfisher

The pictures above have been taken by Mr. Jagat Flora based in Jabalpur.


The birding that day was interesting and we saw many birds. Some good finds were:


Oriental Turtle Dove, White Eyed Buzzard, Long Billed Pipit, Tawny Babbler, White Bellied Minivet, Black Naped Monarch, Racket Tailed Drongo, Sulphur Bellied Warbler, Crested Serpent Eagle, Bay Backed Shrike, Savanna Night Jar, Red Jungle Fowl and Crested Tree Swift.     


Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Bird Watching at Barha

Thanks to Holi we are able to indulge in more birding - me and my friend Bittu. Yesterday we visited the Barha Reserve Forest in the evening. The expedition was quite successful and the fine weather regaled us. 

We saw
Coppersmith Barbet by Neeraj Vegad

Yellow Crowned Woodpecker
Common Rosefinch
Orange Breasted Green Pigeon
Coppersmith Barbet
Red Jungle Fowl
Black Naped Monarch
Brahminy Starling
Greenish Warbler
Hume's Warbler
House Sparrow
Red Throated Flycatcher
Pied Buschat
Common Stonechat
Chestnut Shouldered Petronia
Plum Headed Parakeet
Rose Ringed Parakeet
Honey Buzzard
Black Shouldered Kite
Tickell's Leaf Warbler
Tawny Babbler
Racket Tailed Drongo
Black Drongo
Jungle Babblers
Indian Roller
Hoopoe
White Breasted Kingfisher
Little Cormorant
Cattle Egret
Striated Heron
White Eye
Black Redstart
Spotted Redshank
Marsh Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper
Black Winged Stilt
Temminck's Stint
Red Wattled  Lapwing
Spotted Dove
Laughing Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
Little Green Beeeater
Common Myna
Grey Breasted Prinia
Ashy Prinia
Plain Prinia
Common Iora
White Eyed Buzzard
Pariah Kite
Streak Throated Swallow
Tree Pipit
Grey Wagtail
Common Tailor Bird
Purple Sunbird
Red Vented Bulbul

These birding trips are exciting and relieve stress.They challenge your memory and other cognitive skills. The exercise does good to your health. And the peace and tranquility in the forests accords peace to the mind. The striking birds affirm one's faith in nature and assure that the World is real.






Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Black Capped Kingfisher in Bandhavgarh

Black Capped Kingfisher


The picture taken by Teerath Singh proves the presence of this bird in Bandhavgarh National Park in MP, India. The black capped kingfisher is a coastal tree kingfisher its presence here is a surprise. With more and more bird watchers reporting their finds our understanding of avian distribution in India will be more accurate. 

Bandhavgarh is an excellent birding destination in Central India. But it is more popular as tiger safari destination and is less known for its wonderful avian splendors. 

Sunday Birding at Dumna in Jabalpur

It appeared to be dull birding day. I had gone alone to Dumna Road. The dense forest around the Khandari Lake is well preserved. This is what is known as Dumna Nature Reserve. The reserve forest outside the reserve is in a mess. Since years this beautiful forest patch has been subject to the woodcutters axe.   

I did see some interesting feathers:
Bay Backed Shrike
Long Tail Shrike
White Eyed Buzzard
Common Stonechat
Indian Robin
Common Chiffchaff
Grey Francolin
Jungle Bush Quail
Black Redstart
Red Breasted Flycatcher
Chestnut Tailed Starling
Rosy Pastor
Shikra
Black Drongo
Plum Headed Parakeet
Great Tit
Roseringed Parakeet
Common Tailorbird
Plain Prinia
Grey Breasted Prinia
Ashy Prinia
House Sparrow
Chestnut Shouldered Petronia
White Naped Woodpecker
Black Rumped Flameback
Indian Roller
Brahminy Myna
Common Myna
Purple Sunbird
Paddyfield Pipit
Ashy Crowned Sparrow Lark
Rufous Tailed Lark
White Browed Wagtail
Red Wattled Lapwing 

A day well spent but the forest destruction appalled me. A large junk of land has been given to IIIT institute. A five star hotels in being planned besides the expansion of airport which will devour more natural land. 

This is development????????  





Thursday, February 23, 2012

Kanha Birding

There is a Silk Cotton Tree near the Hotel Krishan at Mocha in Kanha National Park Buffer. Last time I visited Kanha around this time of the year and found the Gold Mantled Chloropsis a regular visitor. Other birds that I found were Coppersmith Barbet, Spangled Drongo, Chestnut Tailed Starling and Black Drongo.

Down by the riverside we came across temminck's stint, green sandpiper, white browed wagtail, little green bee-eater, black headed oriole, white, eye, black naped monarch, common tailorbird, black redstart, shikra, honey buzzard, common myna, Hume's warbler, greenish warbler, common chiff chaff, racket tailed dromgo, white bellied drongo, greater coucal, common grey hornbill, black rumped flameback, Tickell's Blue flycatcher, ashy prinia, plain prinia, barred jungle owlet and large billed crow.

This was a short trip as my guests from UK were more involved in tiger safari and wildlife photography.

Birding at Kanha is underplayed due to the magnificent beast that enthralls one all all here - The Tiger. The pure Sal forest may not harbor many species but the mixed forest zones and bamboo belts offer exciting birding opportunity and these are in plenty. The altitude variation also provides excellent bird habitat. Most exciting feature is confirmation of fire capped tit and Siberian Ruby Throat at Kanha (Nakti Ghati). Other Northern India visitors include grey bushchat, ultramarine flycatcher, grey headed fish eagle, Pallas's Fish Eagle seen by me. There may other such catch with birders frequented this park.  

All the tiger reserves are good for bird watching tours in MP but less known. There are many birding destination in the State of Madhya Pradesh which are less known.    

Core Zone at Kanha is excellent for forest birds and grassland birds. For birding at open fields, and scrub one needs to score the area outside the park. See earlier Kanha Birding Trip Report.  

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Bird Photographs

Pond Heron

Neeraj Vegad  By Neeraj Vegad



Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Birding trip report Muchmucha Bandhavgarh

Bandhavgarh National Park

Madhya Pradesh, India



I choose Muchmucha because of diverse habitat that Old Hunting Lodge offers in the vicinity.  The Lodge is situated about forty km from Tala main gate at Bandhavgarh. The surroundings are the periphery of Bandhavgarh And dense forest tracts near the lodge, scrub and fields.   Two small water bodies are situated at a walking distance which offer wetlands birds to see but mostly residents. River Mahanadi flows through forests here. Larger water bodies are situated at a distance of ten to fourteen km from the accommodation.

Checklist: Dated 11/2/2012 - 14-2-2012

Brown Shrike
Long Tailed Shrike
Bay Backed Shrike
Common Iora
Rufous Treepie
Tree Pipit
Olive Backed Pipit
Black Headed Oriole
Golden Oriole
Lesser White Throat
Bronze Winged Jacana
Lesser Whistling Teal
Paddy Field Pipit
Richard's Pipit
Tawny Pipit
Barn Swallow
Red Rumped Swallow
Asian Palm Swift
Wire Tailed Swallow
Crested Tree Swift
Ashy Crowned Sparrow Lark
Rufous Tailed Lark
Indian Bushlark
Magpie Robin
Indian Robin
Little Cormorant
Black Redstart
Little Grebe
Black Rumped Flameback
White Naped Woodpecker
Yellow Crowned Woodpecker
Chestnut Shouldered Petronia
Plum Headed Parakeet
Rose Ringed Parakeet
Alexandrine Parakeet
Black Ibis
Wooly Necked Stork
Indian Moorhen
Common Woodshrike
White Breasted Water Hen
King Vulture
Long Billed Vulture
White Backed Vulture
Egyptian Vulture
Honey Buzzard
Crested Serpent Eagle
Crested Hawk Eagle
Common Kestral
White Eyed Buzzard
Shikra
Black Shouldered Kite
White Browed Fantail Flycatcher
Little Green Bee Eater
Red Vented Bulbul
Jungle Myna
Bank Myna
Common Myna
Pied Starling
Barhminy Starling
Pond Heron
Ashy Prinia
Plain Prinia
Common Tailor Bird
Common Stone Chat
Pied Buchchat
Hoopoe
Red Wattled Lapwing
Yellow Wattled Lapwing
Gold Fronted Chloropsis
Tickell's Blue Flycatcher
Indian Roller
Eurasian Collared Dove
Spotted Dove
Laughing Dove
Oriental Turtle Dove
Red Turtle Dove

Jungle Babbler
Large Gray Babbler
Jungle Bush Quail
Barred Button Quail
Gray Francolin
Peacock
Red Jungle Fowl 
Blue Rock Pigeon
Pale Billed Flowerpecker
Thick Billed Flowerpecker
Greater Coucal
Purple Sunbird
Common Hawk Cuckoo
Indian Hawk Cuckoo
Purple Sunbird
Yellow Footed Green Pigeon
Emerald Dove
Asian Paradise Flycatcher
Indian Scops Owl
Black Drongo
Racket Tailed Drongo
White Bellied Drongo
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
Great Egret
Coppersmith Barbet
Cotton Pygmy Goose
Grey Lag Geese (Rare)
Sarus Crane
Grey Hornbill
Hume's Warbler
Greenish Warbler
Common Chiff Chaff
Brown Fish Owl
Spotted Owlet
Barred Jungle Owlet
Mottled Wood Owl (Calls)
Comb Duck
Brahminy Duck
Common Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper
Temminck's Stint
White Throated Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Common Kingfisher
Black Naped Monarch
Verditor Flycatcher
Short Eared Owl
Eurasian Thicknee
Savanna Nightjar
Grey Headed Barbet Barn Owl
Rufous Faced Warbler* 

*Clearly seen the Rufus on face but need to check it out again.  
Animals that can bee seen at Muchmucha Forests

Tiger
Leopard
Fox
Chinkara
Spotted Deer
Nilgai (Blue Bull)
Ruddy Mongoose
Porcupine
Toddy Cat
Small Indian Civet
Large Indian Civet
Jackal
Sambar
Jungle Cat
Ratel
Barking Deer
Wild Boar
Rhesus Macaque
Gray or Hanuman Langur



Most of the animal presence here is nocturnal but animals like Chinkara, Barking Deer, Nilgai, Wild Boar and smaller mammals can be encountered on road while driving towards Muchmucha from Kuan Village.   



Muchmucha Old Hunting Lodge is situated on Barhi Khitauli Road four km from Kuan Village. The road turns in and goes through a forest tract. The Tala Gate is about forty plus km while Khituali (Marzad Garh Forests), Magdhi Gates in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve are at a shorter distance.

The stay at the Muchumcha accommodation in Bandhavgarh was comfortable with lavish hospitality of Mr. Avinash Pathak the lodge owner. The hunting lodge is an old Kothi built in 1935. During the shikar days it was accommodation for top notch hunters. The Kothi used to house high profile guests, Sumant Mulgaonkar of TELCO and his family were frequent visitors.     




 


Saturday, February 4, 2012

Bird photographs by Teerath Singh

Brahminy Myna

Brahminy Duck

Crested Hawk Eagle

Crested Serpent Eagle

Open Billed Stork

There can be anything more enchanting than looking at winged wonders of India. Bird photography acts as tool for understanding our feathered friends and admiring the nature's creation. 
Teerath Singh from Madhya Pradesh is a tiger safari tour operator in India. He gets  lots of opportunity to photographs animals, birds and majestic tigers. Here is his collection amazing bird photographs taken in Bandhavgarh National Park in Central India.


Thursday, February 2, 2012

Long Tailed Shrike

Long Tailed Shrike by Navneet Maheshwari

Monday, January 23, 2012

Photo Golden Oriole

Golden Oriole By Neeraj Vegad

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Spotted Owlet Photo

Raju Itkelwar Spotted Owlet

Birding at Jabalpur - 22/1/2012

I took the road that leads to Narmada River. I went along the way that reaches the banks of the river. I did not go to the banks but restircted myself to the road. Below is the cehceklist of bird I saw:

Barn Swallows
Green Sand Piper
Common Chiff Chaff
Lesser Whitethroat
Grey Wagtail
Black Winged Stilts
Temminck's Stint
Yellow Wattled Lapwing
Red Wattled Lapwing
Nakta or CompDuck
Lesser Whistling Teal
Cotton Pygmy Goose
Coot
Great Egret
Median Egret
Little Cormorant
Ringed Rose Parakeet
Pied Starling
Cattle Egret
Greater Coucal
Greenish Warbler
Black Redstart
Common Redshank
Common Sandpiper
Wire Tailed Swallow
Pied Kingfisher
White Throated Kingfisher
Barhminy Starling
House Sparrow
Black Winged Kite
Pariah Kite
Purple Swamphen
Baya Weaver
Bronze Winged Jacana
Pond Heron
Little Grebe

As usual this was a short birding trip and wanted to score the banks but fell short of time die to a pressing engagement with a client.  Well more to come.


 


Saturday, January 14, 2012

Red Throated Flycatcher Photo

Red Throated Flycatcher by Neeraj Vegad

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Malabar Pied Hornbill

Malabar pied hornbill by Teerath Singh

Bandhavgarh is the right place to see and photograph hornbills - Common Gray and  Malabar Pied Horbill. 

Monday, January 9, 2012

Blue Rock Pigeon by Neeraj Vegad
This beautiful photographed here by Neeraj in flight is oft neglected by many but is a commensal of man. Its more exotic cousins are found elsewhere in India - speckled pigeon and hill pigeon etc. 

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Sunday Birding Jabalpur - 8-12-2012

We went to Barha Reserve Forest for early morning birding. In the company were a group of amateur nature photographers. It is encouraging to see people indulge in nature photography which is a healthy sport. They were young and excited to accompany a birder for a birding session and photography.   

In this foggy and cold morning and We could see:
 
Streak Throated Swallows
Red Wattled Lapwing
Oriental Turtle Dove
Tailor Bird (Call)
Black Headed Oriole
Verditor Flycatcher
Black Nape Monarch
Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher
Striated Heron
Barn Swallows
Plain Martin
Rufus Treepie
Racket Tailed Drongo
Black Drongo
Greenish Warbler
Hume's Warbler (Calls)
Common Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
White Throated Kingfisher
Black Rumped Flameback
Grey Hornbill
Crested Serpent Eagle
Common Kestrel
Shikra
Tickell's Blue Flycatcher
Black Ibis
Pond Heron
Little Cormorant
Jungle Babbler
Black Lored Tit (Calls)
Great Tit
Grey Wagtail
Brown Cheeked Fulvetta (Calls)
Rose Ringed Parakeet
Plum Headed Parakeet
Green Pigeon (Calls)
Spotted Dove (Calls)
Laughing Dove
Long Tailed Shrike
Red Kite
Magpie Robin
Indian Robin
Brown Headed Barbet (Calls)
Crimson Breasted Barbett (Coppersmith) (Calls)

This was a short two hour trip but we are planning to go for a long trip another Sunday. The long trip should result in much greater checklist with some exciting species.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Brown Rock Chat

Brown Rock Chat by Neeraj Vegad

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Lesser Whitethroat

Lesser Whitethroat by Neeraj VegadGreat Shot!
A winter migrant this bird can be seen hidden in the bushes. A shy bird and the photographs are rare get.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Lesser Known Birding Destination MP

Birding in India is popular among inbound tourists to popular birding spots. There is a goldmine of birding destinations in India yet to be explored. Very little work has been done in these destinations that promise exciting discoveries or better understanding of avian distribution in India. 

Birding in India is a commercial venture organized by many tour companies. Birding as hobby has yet to increase to a higher level of involvement. The reasons could be popularity of wildlife and bird photography, cost of optics and perhaps lack of encouragement etc.

Nevertheless people are becoming aware of the avian friends in the neighborhood all over the country.

I have visited many places in Central India that offer good birding potential but have yet to be explored.   

Pachmarhi  = High altitude variation, diverse flora, cold climate.
Satpura Tiger Reserve = Large Reservoir, Dense Forest Canopy Altitude Variation.
Amarkantak
=   High altitude variation, diverse flora, cold climate.
Nauradehi WLS =  Dry Deciduous Forest, Grasslands, Scrub and  Fields.
Kanha National Park - Tiger Reserve
Bandhavgarh National Park
- Tiger Reserve
Pench National Park - Tiger Reserve

Geographical position of Central India makes in ideal to score for taxa from different regions of India and migrants. Organized and guided bird watching in Madhya Pradesh is the best option. Though not in regular birding path the expedition would be rewarding.



Bird Photos By Neeraj Vegad Jabalpur

Verditor Flycatcher
Little Green Bee Eater
Golden Oriole
Bee Eater
Indian Roller
White Throated Kingfisher