Showing posts with label Pied Kingfisher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pied Kingfisher. Show all posts

Saturday, 6 December 2014

Chambal Days 2 & 3

As you can tell, I've now spent quite a bit of time trying to get some decent views of Indian Skimmer – and still no luck, I think three days is enough though. The past two days on the Chambal weren't wasted though, managed to see 2 Gangenic River Dolphins and got the best views I've ever had of Jungle Cat. Bird Wise the river has been pretty good fare over the last couple of days with over 300 Bar-headed Geese, 40 Greater Thick-knee, 2 Ospreys, 2 Citrine Wagtails, 20 Black-bellied Terns (though none close enough to photograph), 20 Pied Kingfishers and multiples of Ruddy Shelduck, River Lapwing, Painted Stork, Lesser Whistling Ducks and Black-winged Stilts. Oh, and I also found a Brown Hawk Owl nearby.
The six Egyptian Vultures, that were seen on both days, were always hanging around one particular sandbank, and today I found out why – it's the place where the bodies are burned !
Jungle Cat

Bar-headed Geese

Brown Hawk Owl

Citrine Wagtail

Egyptian Vultures

Great Thick-knee

Osprey

Pied Kingfisher

Sunset over the Chambal

A scene that has probably been happening here for thousands of years
 

Wednesday, 3 March 2010

14th February 2010 Khijadia Sanctuary.

All day at Khijadiya Sanctuary, about 8 miles NW of Jamnagar - this place is an absolute gem of a place, unlike others sanctuaries in India there is nobody chopping trees down for fire wood, dumping rubbish or grazing their cattle ! Most of the birding was done from the watch towers or the raised banks that connect them, on the lake in the eastern end there were - 10 Ferruginous Ducks (probably many more in the reeds), 1500+ Greater Flamingo, 500+ Lesser Flamingo, 7 River Terns, 500+ White Pelican, 40 Dalmatian Pelican, 30 Common Crane, 50+ Glossy Ibis and 2 Black-necked Storks.
Along the raised banks there were - 2 Wrynecks, 14 Oriental White-eye, 1 Orphean Warbler and 8 Paddyfield Warblers.
6 Sykes Larks and 10 Sand Larks were in the car park at the Visitors Centre.
At the western end it become more of a marsh with scattered trees, from the towers on this side we saw - 14 Greater Spotted Eagles, 2 Pallid Harriers, 2 Black-shouldered Kites, 3 Caspian Terns, 37 Small Pratincole, 5 White-tailed Lapwings, 8 Pallas's Gulls and 50 + Temminck's Stints. At dusk some 750+ Citrine and Yellow Wagtails, plus 200+ Tawny Pipits flew over the tower to roost on the saltmarsh, as 79 Night Herons left their roost and flew onto the fresh water marsh.


Khijadiya.


Black-necked Stork.

Caspian Tern.

Grey Francolin.

Grey Heron.

Greater Spotted Eagle.

Issabeline Shrike.

Little Cormorant.



Night Herons.

Oriental White-eye.

Pied Kingfishers.