The Wildlife Photography Shots

[Highway Ranger]

Moving on...

Dear Highway Ranger,

Man these are really great, tell me how do you remember all the names of the birds etc., and from where do you click them. You know my 5 year old daughter is also a big fan of your thread, she always browses for your photographs. Good work.

Thanks

Thank you VStorme.

We sight them mostly on the roads we drive. My wife is a good spotter. When we spot one we park the car, approach the bird and take the shot. If it flies away we follow it if it is closeby, else simply drive off. Places where we are not allowed to get down from the car, we shoot from the car. If necessary take a U-turn to get better field of view.

We get to see only a few new species every trip. This time we got 5. So it is easy to remember their names. I am also a member in another forum where there are many expert birders. We all post the name of the bird along with the picture. So many of what we see and photograph for the first time, we would have already seen their picture and name. What we do not know we post and the others pitch in to ID it.


Glad your Daughter likes wildlife. Hope she remembers the names...


Plum-headed Parakeet... @ Masinagudi... Specially for your Daughter...


The Plum-headed Parakeet is a mainly green parrot, 33 cm long with a tail up to 22 cm. The male has a red head which shades to purple-blue on the back of the crown, nape and cheeks while the female has blueish-gray head. There is a narrow black neck collar with verdigris below on the nape and a black chin stripe that extends from the lower mandible. There is a red shoulder patch and the rump and tail are bluish-green, the latter tipped white. The upper mandible is orangish-yellow, and the lower mandible is dark. The female has a dull bluish grey head and lacks the black and verdigris collar which is replaced by yellow. The upper-mandible is corn-yellow and there is no black chin stripe or red shoulder patch. Immature birds have a green head and both mandibles are yellowish. The dark head is acquired after a year. The delicate bluish red appearance resembling the bloom of a peach is produced by a combination of blue from the optical effects produced by the rami of the feather and a red pigment in the barbules [source - internet]

 

[nick1188]

Snapped this black beauty in Mansar lake, Jammu

 

[Highway Ranger]

Snapped this black beauty in Mansar lake, Jammu

Those are Common Coots.


Red-whiskered Bulbul... @ Masinagudi...

 

[nick1188]

@Highway Ranger
Thanks bro, I'm really pathetic when it comes to bird names, even fishes for that matter.

 

[Highway Ranger]

It doesn't become better by Camera but by the person who holds it.

Totally agree. We need to get our basics right. Replacing lenses, buying new lens and finally buying new camera - sadly these do not bring any improvement to the photos. Similar to a bad driver upgrading from a Tata Nano to a Audi hoping that the upgrade will improve his driving skill.

...So IMO it is not better to keep quite, Please come with Bang.

I simply let my photos speak for me.

@Highway Ranger
Thanks bro, I'm really pathetic when it comes to bird names, even fishes for that matter.

Birds, I too started with a blank slate. And I still do not know the names of fishes


Wild encounters at Masinagudi...

 

[Highway Ranger]

Common Myna... @ Kanakapura road, near Bangalore...

 

[manojodungat]

Introspection might help !

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[Highway Ranger]

The white-browed wagtail or large pied wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis) is a medium-sized bird and is the largest member of the wagtail family. They are conspicuously patterned with black above and white below, a prominent white brow, shoulder stripe and outer tail feathers. They are common in small water bodies and have adapted to urban environments where they often nest on roof tops. The specific name is derived from the Indian city of Madras (now Chennai).

The white-browed wagtail is the largest species of wagtail at 21 cm length. It is a slender bird, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus.

White-browed Wagtail... @ Mudimalai...

 

[manojodungat]

Should I sharpen you any further ?

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Will definitely miss these sights for a while.

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[Highway Ranger]

Red-whiskered Bulbul... @ Masinagudi...

 

[manojodungat]

That's quick

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[Nk4u]

Re: Photos of animals that we come across -both wild and tame

Some we took on our way back from Munnar after crossing Chinnar checkpost.

We had stopped the car to watch an elephant standing on the side of the road, when another one ran across the road just in front of our car and joined the other elephant.

It was a scary moment with my wife almost screaming.

Now after National Geographic Photography. This was the one i truly like. I hardly spent times on forums but now it seems like forum has some different identity then twitter and facebook. Well your pics rocks and really refreshed me. hope i was there. Cool Pics Man, .Keep it up!

 

[Vishwas]

T
Wild encounters at Masinagudi...
View attachment 145146

This is Epic encounter, and that creature mocking like would've made me flee the place asap. Thanks for the wonderful photo HR, hope to see more shots of these elephants.

 

[Highway Ranger]

Now after National Geographic Photography.....this was the one i truly like. I hardly spent times on forums but now it seems like forum has some different identity then twitter and facebook..........Well your pics rocks and really refreshed me.................hope i was there..............Cool Pics Man ..........Keep it up!!!!

Thanks You!

This is Epic encounter, and that creature mocking like would've made me flee the place asap. Thanks for the wonderful photo HR, hope to see more shots of these elephants.

I have taken a series of pictures of those Elephants. But I didn't want to bore you. So I will post a picture of an Elephant that we saw in Bandipur on Tuesday morning as we were leaving the place. Notice the color difference. The ones in Masinagudi were Brownish in color whereas these in Bandipur were dark grey in color. Though this elephant came very close to the car, we were not scared as it just kept on eating... not at all aggressive like the ones @ masinagudi.

BTW, we were staying just opposite to the elephant camp that you visited and we could watch the Elephants doing their routine from our place.


Wild and free... @ Bandipur...

 

[Vishwas]

Thanks You!
I have taken a series of pictures of those Elephants. But I didn't want to bore you. So I will post a picture of an Elephant that we saw in Bandipur on Tuesday morning as we were leaving the place. Notice the color difference. The ones in Masinagudi were Brownish in color whereas these in Bandipur were dark grey in color. Though this elephant came very close to the car, we were not scared as it just kept on eating... not at all aggressive like the ones @ masinagudi.

Ha ha, i knew you had photos in lots and releasing in phased manner, keep it coming this way, we are always waiting for a surprise!

The color difference might be one reason for the following reason:
When i spotted this elephant in Masinagudi, it was in a lake or pond (See the underbelly was wet) it would have played in the lake with mud.







This elephant was spotted at Bandipur which is similar to your situation, i think these elephants don't visit lake much.

BTW, we were staying just opposite to the elephant camp that you visited and we could watch the Elephants doing their routine from our place.
Wild and free... @ Bandipur...

Here are couple of them from the elephant camp: