Birds from my Balcony

Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis) Adult

I was in my Balcony as usual sipping a cuppa tea, mid morning when a sudden burst of activity on the tree in front got me all excited. I had my camera in my hand in no time and started tracking the Birds. It seemed like an entire colony of them had come out with the Juniors on a their first outing into the Big Bad World. There must have been a dozen or more of these Magpie Robins and you could distinctly see the Parent pair and their off spring in various routines on the tree.

Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis) Baby

Birds from my Balcony

Blue-throated Barbet (Megalaima asiatica)

I was up the terrace supervising some Painting and repair work when I heard a Bird call in the air. I looked around and on the South-East Corner just adjacent to our Building I spotted the bird. I immediately ran down the stairs to my apartment and grabbed my Camera and came back up. After various attempts and angles, once I got closer I managed to get a clear shot of the Bird before it flew off.

I'm keeping this as part of my stories of "Birds from my Balcony"

Bawali Revisited

So we decided to take another trip down to this amazing getaway in the nestled in the midst of rural Bengal just on the outskirts of Kolkata's city limits. Bawali Farmhouse is truly amazing for Bird Watching.

And this time around, for the first time, our Maruti Suzuki Ertiga ZXi was tested for what it was built for a people carrier. So six of us got into the car and it ferried us like a breeze to and from this lovely place.

Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus)

Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger)

Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)

Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans)

Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans)

Indian Pond-Heron (Ardeola grayii)

Asian Koel - male (Eudynamys scolopacea)

Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or common Indian monitor

Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or common Indian monitor

White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)

Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)

Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis)

And that was all the Bird & Nature Watching for the first day.

The next morning I got up early to see if I could spot some more birds and capture some of them on my camera as I walked around.

No idea what Bird this is. Will find out and post.

Oriental garden lizard (Calotes versicolor)

Dragonfly

Oriental garden lizard (Calotes versicolor)

Oriental garden lizard (Calotes versicolor)

Mongoose

Dragonfly

Asian Koel - female (Eudynamys scolopacea)

Asian Koel - female (Eudynamys scolopacea)

Asian Koel - male (Eudynamys scolopacea)

After our breakfast at Bawali Farmhouse, we decided to take a drive down to the Riverside (River Hooghly) at Raypur and all the way down river along the banks to Burul.

And that's a wrap from the Riverside at Burul.

Off we go back home to Kolkata.

Enjoying Nature & Birds at CKBS

I'm not sure about names of all the birds and tress I see around when I go on these jaunts in the lap of nature but that doesn't stop me from trying to capture them in all their splendour. On this particular day, I chaperoned three young kids who were dying to go the this Bird Sanctuary. While I taught them the joys of appreciating nature, I managed to capture some of it with my lens. You'll are most welcome to let me know the names of plants/trees/flowers which I have no clue about.

Asian Koel

Red Whiskered Bulbul

Oriental Magpie Robin

Fulvous Breasted Woodpecker

Fulvous Breasted Woodpecker

Red Vented Bulbul

Bronze Drongo with Insect in it's beak

Bronze Drongo

Blue Throated Barbet

Large Tailed Nightjar

Oriental White Eye

Oriental White Eye