View allAll Photos Tagged Ranganthittu
The Asian Openbill or Asian Openbill Stork, Anastomus oscitans, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Southeast Asia.
Asian Openbill Stork is a broad-winged soaring bird, which relies on moving between thermals of hot air for sustained flight. Like all storks, it flies with its neck outstretched. It is relatively small for a stork at 68 cm length. They breed near inland wetlands and build stick nest in trees, typically laying 2-6 eggs.
Breeding adults are all white except for the black wing flight feathers, red legs and dull yellow-grey bill. The mandibles do not meet except at the tip, and this gives rise to the species' name. Non-breeding adults have the white of the plumage replaced by off-white. Young birds have brown tinge to the plumage.
The Asian Openbill Stork, like most of its relatives, walks slowly and steadily on the ground, feeding on molluscs, frogs and large insects.
Shot @ Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary,a Bird Sanctuary in the Mandya District,June 2010.
More info about the place :-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganthittu_Bird_Sanctuary
If you have a moment,let me capture it for you.
Contact:-
akash.bhattacharya17@gmail.com
Follow me in : FaceBook Page | Twitter
All Rights Reserved.2010 © Akash Bhattacharya Photography
A Lovely Weaver Bird Nest
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, near Srirangapatna/Mysore (Karnataka, India)
The Indian Cormorant or Indian Shag (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis) is a member of the cormorant family. It is found mainly along the inland waters of the Indian Subcontinent but extending west to Sind and east to Thailand and Cambodia. It is a gregarious species that can be easily distinguished from the similar sized Little Cormorant by its blue eye, small head with a sloping forehead and a long narrow bill ending in a hooked tip.
This medium sized bronze brown cormorant is scalloped in black on the upper plumage, lacks a crest and has a small and slightly peaked head with a long narrow bill that ends in a hooked tip. The eye is blue and bare yellow facial skin during the non-breeding season. Breeding birds have a short white ear tuft. In some plumages it has a white throat but the white is restricted below the gape unlike in the much larger Great Cormorant. Sexes are similar, but non-breeding adults and juveniles are browner.
This cormorant fishes gregariously in inland rivers or large wetlands of peninsular India and northern part of Sri Lanka. It also occurs in estuaries and mangroves but not on the open coast. They breed very locally in mixed species breeding colonies. In some seasons they have been noted as abundant in the harbour of Karachi. They extend northeast to Assam and eastward into Thailand, Burma and Cambodia.
~Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary~
All photographs taken with a Canon 400D with a Sigma 70-300 lens from a boat.
Minor editing on the iPad and uploaded via Flickstackr for the iPad and iPhone.
The Stork-billed Kingfisher is a tree kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher is a species of a variety of well-wooded habitats near lakes, rivers or coasts. It perches quietly whilst seeking food, and is often inconspicuous despite its size. It is territorial and will chase away eagles and other large predators. This species hunts fish, frogs, crabs, rodents and young birds.
The Indian River Tern or just River Tern (Sterna aurantia) is a bird in the tern family . It is a resident breeder along inland rivers from Iran east through Pakistan into India and Myanmar to Thailand, where it is uncommon. It does not occur in Sri Lanka. Unlike most Sterna terns, it is almost exclusively found on freshwater, rarely venturing even to tidal creeks.
This species breeds from March to May in colonies in less accessible areas such as sandbanks in rivers. It nests in a ground scrape, often on bare rock or sand, and lays three greenish-grey to buff eggs, which are blotched and streaked with brown.
In non-breeding plumage in Hyderabad, India.
This is a medium-sized tern, 38–43 cm long with dark grey upperparts, white underparts, a forked tail with long flexible streamers, and long pointed wings. The bill is yellow and the legs red. It has a black cap in breeding plumage. In the winter the cap is greyish white, flecked and streaked with black, there is a dark mask through the eye, and the tip of the bill becomes dusky.
The sexes are similar but juveniles have a brown head, brown-marked grey upperparts, grey breast sides and white underparts. The bill is yellowish with a dark tip
As with other Sterna terns, the River Tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, crustaceans, tadpoles and aquatic insects in rivers, lakes, and tanks. Its numbers are decreasing is due to the pollution of their habitat.
Info source : Wikipedia
•Gear: Nikon D800E + Nikon 200-500 f5.6
•Aperture: f5.6. I prefer to shoot wildlife and birds in aperture priority. F5.6 is the largest aperture available in this lens. This ensures the fastest possible shutter speed. I was in Ranganthittu early morning, hence was expecting a lot of in flight bird activity. December is also early nesting time for storks, hence expected and visualised imagery similar to what I finally captured. Therefore, I needed a very high shutter speed to freeze action.
•ISO: 640. Pretty good lighting conditions, hence did not need to bump up the ISO, knowing fully well that I had a full frame body at my disposal to accommodate higher ISO if needed. But 640 was giving me pretty high shutter speed. I was satisfied with it.
•Shutter Speed: I got 1/5000th of a sec. Couldn’t have asked for more for the combination of f5.6 + 640 ISO.
•Metering: Evaluative metering (Matrix metering in this case as I was using Nikon). This is ideal for general wildlife or birds in standard lighting conditions. It averages out the exposure required for the entire frame in the composition.
•Exposure compensation: -0.7 (-2/3rd). Generally, I prefer to keep -2/3rd exposure bias. This ensures a faster shutter speed, as I am over ruling the camera and telling it that I am OK if you allow a little lesser light into the sensor, but I gain about 66% faster shutter speed, which is often a great advantage when I am expecting action, or even otherwise. I can always get back that exposure or brightness in post processing, but can never increase my shutter speed and hence the sharpness of the photo in post processing. This is often a vital trade off bargain in the field.
•Focusing Point: Single focusing point (AI Servo) at the centre. I prefer single or a small cluster (max 4 AF points) in most of my wildlife and bird shoots, as it helps me pin point the focus. In this case it was at centre (eye of the open billed stork), but I change it quickly depending on the composition I am looking for.
•White Balance: Generally I prefer 5000-5600K range for these scenarios. It gives natural colours. I like slightly warmer hues, but that’s a matter of personal preference. Although it can always be changed later as I shoot in RAW, but I prefer to set it reasonably near to what I want in the field. In this case it was 5200K.
Shot @ Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary,a Bird Sanctuary in the Mandya District,June 2010.
More info about the place :-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganthittu_Bird_Sanctuary
If you have a moment,let me capture it for you.
Contact:-
akash.bhattacharya17@gmail.com
Follow me in : FaceBook Page | Twitter
All Rights Reserved.2010 © Akash Bhattacharya Photography
Shot @ Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary,a Bird Sanctuary in the Mandya District,June 2010.
More info about the place :-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganthittu_Bird_Sanctuary
If you have a moment,let me capture it for you.
Contact:-
akash.bhattacharya17@gmail.com
Follow me in : FaceBook Page | Twitter
All Rights Reserved.2010 © Akash Bhattacharya Photography
The Black-headed Ibis or Oriental White Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) is a species of wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae which breeds in South Asia and Southeast Asia from Pakistan to India, Sri Lanka east up to Japan. It builds a stick nest in a tree and lays 2–4 eggs.
It occurs in marshy wetlands inland and on the coast, where it feeds on various fish, frogs and other water creatures, as well as on insects. It walks about actively on marshy land probing with its bill into soft mud and often feeds in shallow water with its head momentarily submerged. Like storks and Spoonbills, it lacks a true voice-producing mechanism and is silent except for peculiar ventriloquial grunts uttered when nesting.
Adults are typically 75 cm long and white-plumaged, with some greyer areas on the wings. The bald head, the neck and legs are black. The thick down curved bill is dusky yellow.In breeding,plumage some slaty grey on scapulars and in wings and ornamental plumes at base of the neck. Sexes are similar, but juveniles have whiter necks and a black bill.
The Indian Pond Heron or Paddybird (Ardeola grayii) is a small heron. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Iran and east to India, Burma, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They are widespread and common but can be easily missed when they stalk prey at the edge of small water-bodies or even when they roost close to human habitations. They are however distinctive when put to flight, the bright white wings flashing in contrast to the cryptic streaked olive and brown colours of the body. The camouflage is so excellent that they will often allow humans to approach very close before taking to flight, and this has resulted in folk names and beliefs that the birds are short-sighted or blind.
~Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary~
All photographs taken with a Canon 400D with a Sigma 70-300 lens from a boat.
Minor editing on the iPad and uploaded via Flickstackr for the iPad and iPhone.
2nd May 2010, had a photoshoot outside Bangalore with some of the BWS folks.Places visited:
Somnathpura
Talakad
Ranganthittu
Sivanasamudram
Full day photoshoot involved people photography, bird photography, landscapes, cloudscapes,portfolios,sunset and the list continues...
~Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary~
All photographs taken with a Canon 400D with a Sigma 70-300 lens from a boat.
Minor editing on the iPad and uploaded via Flickstackr for the iPad and iPhone.
Shot @ Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary,a Bird Sanctuary in the Mandya District,June 2010.
More info about the place :-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganthittu_Bird_Sanctuary
If you have a moment,let me capture it for you.
Contact:-
akash.bhattacharya17@gmail.com
Follow me in : FaceBook Page | Twitter
All Rights Reserved.2010 © Akash Bhattacharya Photography
The Indian River Tern or just River Tern (Sterna aurantia) is a bird in the tern family . It is a resident breeder along inland rivers from Iran east through Pakistan into India and Myanmar to Thailand, where it is uncommon. It does not occur in Sri Lanka. Unlike most Sterna terns, it is almost exclusively found on freshwater, rarely venturing even to tidal creeks.
This species breeds from March to May in colonies in less accessible areas such as sandbanks in rivers. It nests in a ground scrape, often on bare rock or sand, and lays three greenish-grey to buff eggs, which are blotched and streaked with brown.
This is a medium-sized tern, 38–43 cm long with dark grey upperparts, white underparts, a forked tail with long flexible streamers, and long pointed wings. The bill is yellow and the legs red. It has a black cap in breeding plumage. In the winter the cap is greyish white, flecked and streaked with black, there is a dark mask through the eye, and the tip of the bill becomes dusky.
The sexes are similar but juveniles have a brown head, brown-marked grey upperparts, grey breast sides and white underparts. The bill is yellowish with a dark tip
As with other Sterna terns, the River Tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, crustaceans, tadpoles and aquatic insects in rivers, lakes, and tanks. Its numbers are decreasing is due to the pollution of their habitat.
~Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary~
All photographs taken with a Canon 400D with a Sigma 70-300 lens from a boat.
Minor editing on the iPad and uploaded via Flickstackr for the iPad and iPhone.
A Painted stork splashing water around. I guess the poor thing couldn't stand the heat.
Do view the bigger picture for more details.
Shot @ Ranganthittu Birds Sanctuary.
Oh yes, am finally done with the images from China & around. :)
Night Heron: The night herons are medium-sized herons in the genera Nycticorax, Nyctanassa and Gorsachius. The genus name Nycticorax derives from the Greek for “night raven” and refers to the largely nocturnal feeding habits of this group of birds, and the croaking crow-like call of the best known species, the Black-crowned Night Heron.
In Europe, Night Heron is often used to refer to the Black-crowned Night Heron, since it is the only member of the genus in that continent.
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax
Adults are short-necked, short-legged and stout herons with a primarily brown or grey plumage, and, in most, a black crown. Young birds are brown, flecked with white. At least some of the extinct Mascarenes taxa appear to have retained this juvenile plumage in adult birds.
Night herons nest alone or in colonies on platforms of sticks in a group of trees, or on the ground in protected locations such as islands or reedbeds. 3-8 eggs are laid.
Night herons stand still at the water's edge, and wait to ambush prey, mainly at night. They primarily eat small fish, crustaceans, frogs, aquatic insects, and small mammals. During the day they rest in trees or bushes.
There are seven extant species. The genus Nycticorax has suffered more than any other ciconiiform genus from extinction, mainly because of their capability to colonize small, predator-free oceanic islands, and a tendency to evolve towards flightlessness.
From wikipedia: The Cattle Egret is a popular bird with cattle ranchers for its perceived role as a biocontrol of cattle parasites such as ticks and flies