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Showing posts with the label Birds from my window

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Ladakh - Planning The Trip

Over 2000 Km by road, in around 10 days. Stunning landscapes, wonderful people. That sums up our Ladakh trip. But how did it actually work? How did we make it happen? Read on to find out!  Leh, the capital of Ladakh , is accessible by air and road. Flying into Leh is the easiest, and time-saving option, while the road is the time consuming one, but with the added advantage of driving past some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. Each option has much to recommend it, and we chose the road for just one reason – altitude sickness. Altitude sickness was one of my biggest concerns, since I suffer from motion-sickness. Yes, I do travel a lot, but that is despite my condition, and, over the years, have learnt how to handle it. I struggled with it when we visited Nathu-La in Sikkim, and wondered if I would be able to manage a week at the even higher altitudes that we would encounter in Ladakh. This was the reason we stuck to a basic plan, of only 9 days in Ladakh, thoug...
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Birds From my Window - Purple Rumped Sunbird

Starting the week with this gorgeous bird I see from my window every single morning when I send Samhith off to school....
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Birds from my window - Asian Koel

Since the last few weeks, as I have been busy by the comp, writing my Sikkim series, the Asian Koels have been creating a racket! They choose the time I am inspired to write, to call, and I rush with my camera, leaving everything behind, only to see them hide behind the leaves - the male, that is. The female has remained so well hidden, I have yet to see her! And then, this morning, Samhith's bus was late, and I was bidding him goodbye from the window, I spotted this chap.... 
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Birds from my Window - Hoopoe

One of the best things about birdwatching is the excitement we feel on spotting a new bird. Even better is spotting a new bird in our own backyard! We were decorating the road outside our building with rangolis to welcome a procession of a local deity, and Samhith, who was hanging around, giving his opinion of our artistic skills, suddenly called me... This is what we saw....
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Birds from my Window - Purple Rumped Sunbird

Their busy twittering is the one that I hear every morning, as I relax with my morning cup of coffee. Capturing them on camera hasn't been so easy though, which is why, when I saw one of them grooming himself on a tree right oopposite my window, I set aside my coffee and rushed for my camera! This is what I managed to photograph.... The Purple Rumped Sunbird... .
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Birds from my Window - Crow Pheasant

The Greater Coucal , called a Crow Pheasant, is neither a crow nor a pheasant, but belongs to the cuckoo family. They are commonly called 'Bharadvaj', and sighting them is believed to be a good omen.
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Birds From my Window - White Breasted Water Hen

Now that the monsoons are finally here, our regular monsoon visitor is back too.. the White Breasted Water Hen. This lone bird seems to appear and disappear with the monsoons each year, and I have often wondered where it goes off during the dry months. It is quite a shy bird too, which scuttles into the bushes at the slightest disturbance. It is called पाण कोंबड़ी in Marathi, and appears to be a common bird, though I have only seen it in the monsoons!  I live in Mumbai, in a colony lucky enough to still have plenty of trees and open spaces. The best part of living here are the birds I see from my window, every single day. "Birds from my Window" is a series, where I regularly feature photos of birds I see from my home. To see all the posts in this series,  click here . 
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Birds from my Window - Black Kites

I see them all the time , soaring above the trees, their screech audible as I sit typing... or trying to type :) This is that time of the year when their screeches become shriller, and they build their nests atop the coconut trees. These are the Black Kites which nest in our colony, year after year...
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Birds from my window - Asian Koel

"कुहू कुहू बोले कोयलिया "  (kuhu kuhu bole koyaliya) ..so go the words of a popular Hindi song. The Koyal or the Cuckoo (Asian Koel) is a popular bird in Indian culture and folklore, highly appreciated for its song. It has sometimes been called 'The Indian Nightingale' for the same reason. 
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Birds from my window - Oriental Magpie Robins

I know its 8:00 AM when I hear them sing. These are the Oriental Magpie Robins, the most musical among the birds I see from my window. These days, this pair seems to be busy courting, for the music is even more pronounced!
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