not something feathered! a spider called spiny orb-weaver which is less than 1 cm across.. shot by Adit during our recent trip to masinagudi. i think he used pentax kp, tamron 90/2.8 macro and the raynox dcr-250.
spiny orb-weaver
birding in the nilgiris
me and my son Adit went on a birding road trip to masinagudi and kothagiri (roughly 600 km from chennai), both in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in the Western Ghats, from january 10-16. we were dogged by unseasonal rains in the hills and it was foggy with poor light most of the time. but, nevertheless it was a productive trip. Photos from the trip, mainly birds and mammals….
asian brown flycatcher
a small flycatcher, smaller than a sparrow, that breeds in the himalayas and winters in south india.
purple-rumped sunbird
one of the most common urban birds, smaller than a sparrow but spectacularly colourful….
harrier portrait
all i’ve got to show for a saturday morning’s birding…Montagu’s harrier (female).
the harriers are here
this migratory season is a good one by all accounts. plenty of sightings of winter migratory birds such as harriers, kestrels and other migratory species. photos from a visit to a grassland in the outskirts of chennai this weekend. except white-eyed buzzard, oriental skylark and bay-backed shrike, all the others are migratory.
harrier country
it’s that time of the year when harriers, primarily from europe and central asia, overwinter in the subcontinent. this is one of the grasslands around chennai which they frequent, on a cold and frosty morning. we didn’t get to sight any that day but we are hoping to in the days ahead…. taken with my cellphone.
indian roller
A fairly common bird when you cross the city limits in india. the european roller is also a winter visitor to the continent. hopefully will sight/photograph it this year…
grizzled pintail
A small dragonfly with blue eyes, endemic to asia.
red-necked falcon
This one is from just before the lockdowns kicked in. the red-necked falcon (Falco chicquera), endemic to india and africa.
