Although I haven't been posting I had taken quite a few shots of birds over the past few weeks. A White-breasted kingfisher often comes and sits on the wires close to our house. Usually I manage a blurry blue with my camera but the other day I happened to be on the balcony upstairs and as luck would have it the kingfisher landed on the wires. I got enough time to get these shots. It's amazing to see the beak from close quarters despite knowing that kingfishers are meant to be that way....
To see more of our feathered friends, click here.
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Recently I had posted pictures of egrets seen in the marshy plot of land near our house. Yesterday there was this lone bird foraging amid the vegetation and I realized with a pang that this could well be the last year I'll be seeing them here. This patch will soon have a structure coming up. The trucks have been coming and one side of the land is already filled with tons of soil. Since New Year's day we have had light showers and cloudy days and the droplets of rain on the colocasia leaves are the first thing that catch my eye as I look down from our balcony. Otherwise this season is usually very dusty.But these birds are not the only ones who will be deprived of their feeding ground. The white-breasted water hen is another and the worst affected might be the marsh mongoose.
This photo of this small Indian mongoose was taken at the local zoo today. Although we see the marsh mongoose in our yard, it moves very fast and it's near impossible to get a decent shot. In only a few months' time our landscape will change and another habitat, will be destroyed forever.
I'm linking up to Michelle's meme, Nature Notes.
The Black Drongo is a bird found in the tropics in lightly wooded habitats from south-west Iran through India and Sri Lanka to southern China and Indonesia. Like the sparrows and the crows, the drongo is a regular visitor to our gardens. The glossy black feathers of this bird also have blue metallic hues. The tail is long and forked and both sexes look similar. Juveniles are said to have dull brown feathers but I have never seen one so far.Like the bee-eaters, drongos are also fond of sitting on the power lines and preying on insects. These pictures were taken in the gardens of the local Cultural Centre where the drongos are seen in large numbers.
Drongos are said to be fearless and aggressive. Although their length is 28 cms only they are known to attack larger birds if their young or nests are in danger. Although their call is said to be varied I often hear the sweetest ones when they perch themselves on the mango tree or on the power lines near our house.
This is my entry for World Bird Wednesday. Please click on the link to see birds of many different feathers....
We often see kingfishers on the electrical wires but they are too far away to be photographed with the kind of camera that I have. The other day as I was busy with some weeding and re-potting, I sensed a presence and looked up the mango tree . This pretty kingfisher sat there seemingly oblivious to my activity. I tiptoed back to the house for the camera and got these shots.
I was surprised to find out online later that the White-throated Kingfisher is a tree kingfisher and often lives away from water. Their diet includes amphibians, small rodents, and other birds. According to Wiki, they are widely distributed in Eurasia from Bulgaria, Turkey, east through south-east Asia.
This is my contribution to World Bird Wednesday. I don't know much about birds but I love observing them. I'd like to share the birds that I see on a regular basis in my garden.
