Currently IUCN Red list classifies the conservation status of the Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo, as of Least concern. However it was not so always Read how was it and more…
Great Cormorant – A vicious cycle?
Category: Mundane Musings
Life Updates!
Was going through older posts searching where to people land up with the weird search terms that I so often keep seeing in the analytics screen I felt the urge to do an LJ style update post (Take that Twitter!! You just don’t make the cut).
Things which are dominating my free time? TV serials: Started watching LOST completed the 5 seasons and now up to sync with season 6, season 1 and 2 really held my attention but after that it was mostly watching something while I read thing. The serial which has really caught me up is Caprica. If you are a sci-fi buff or more specifically BSG then you should not miss it! Tells the story of 58 years before the War. Oh yes! You probably guessed it right I have picked up a WDTV.
The most recent books that I finished were “Raiders from the North” by Alex Rutherford, “Goddess of the Market” by Jennifer Burns and “Spectacular India” by Shobha De. The selection doesn’t really represent my likings but since I have gotten better reading glasses I am enjoying reading anything I can get my hands on 😉
The bird photography has slackened a bit but last Sunday we drove around in the non-protected areas of the Bor wildlife Sanctuary, an almost 230km trip. No we did not see any big cats, though it would not have been unlikely we did see a good number of birds. A photo lifer for me was Green Heron. Meanwhile I have been updating my Flickr account fairly regularly. Have a conceptual photo-shoot planned with a Painter for tomorrow, let see how that goes.
Have been coding on a few itches – basically WordPress plugins for better Flickr integration. WordPress code is a nightmare but it gets the job done very well and that is what ultimately counts – Interested? Have written about them here
Pale-billed Flowerpecker
This bird is rather plain looking, it not is endangered or rare but still getting a full frame photograph was a thrill!
Pale-billed flowerpecker (Dicaeum erythrorhynchos) is a tiny bird, 8 cm long, and is one of the smallest birds occurring in most parts of southern India and Sri Lanka. It is reportedly common in the southern India but in Nagpur we get to see them seldom and that too very high up in trees, so when last week in Pench I saw this individual a few feet away I was ecstatic. Read more about the Pale-billed Flowerpecker
Bay-backed Shrike
This post is merely for testing my latest Flickr related WordPress plugin – Flickr foto info. If you view this post on my blog – hover your mouse over the picture above…. Amongst other thing – this picture made it to Flickr explore on 27th Feb 2010, rising to #5
The quest for “Dongar Dudaa”
The quest had long been in the making but it was being postponed for quite some time because I knew whenever we started out we will surely complete it. Umm… will cut out the dramatics – “Dongar Duda” is the local Korkus name for the critically endangered Forest Owlet, Heteroglaux blewitti. Continue reading, 4 more photographs
Rann of Kutch: Day 7 – Last day and the Last word!
All good things come to an end would be a cliché but then they do and today was the last day of this mega birding trip and it was a fitting end I would say!
We had reserved the morning for the McQueen’s Bustard. The day started with a close encounter with a Steppe eagle. This was soon followed by sighting of two Indian foxes and a Desert Fox. Continue reading, some more good pictures inside 😉
Rann of Kutch: Day 6 – Republic Day
26th Jan, 2010: Roughly 250 kilometers on bumpy terrain with temperature ranging from 7 degrees Celsius to 34 degree Celsius and lots of dust. Am dead tired, my face it all chapped but it was the best Republic day celebration for me ever 🙂 Continue reading, 9 more photographs
Rann of Kutch: Day 5 – Day of nothing much.
25th Jan, 2010: This can be termed as “The day when nothing much happened”. We left CEDO, Nakhtrana at 6:00 am and reached Rann Riders , Dasada at 12:00 a distance of 350km. Continue reading, but just 4 more photos
Rann of Kutch: Day 4 – Super speciality birding!
24th Jan, 2010: A day of “Super specialty birding” is what I would call the day! Swati and Aasim opted to stay back due to yesterday’s tiring drive. So I went along with Mr Jugal Tiwari to a thorn forest near Banni grassland searching for the first target species of the day. “White-naped Tit” – This species underwent a rapid population decline in the recent past. Its small, severely fragmented population continues to decline, although at a reduced rate, as a result of the loss, degradation and fragmentation of its tropical thorn-scrub habitat. It therefore qualifies as Vulnerable. Continue reading, has 14 more photos
Rann of Kutch: Day 3 – Bonanza continues…
23rd Jan, 2010: Started the day with an excyrsion to the Naliya Grasslands. The trip started off well with spotting of a Male Pallid Harrier soaking up the heat of the early morning sun. As soon as we had enough of the Harrier we spotted another beautiful lifer Black Francolin. Continue reading, There are 24 more photos