Friday, December 3, 2010

Did you know? Beak facts



Most waders have different lengths of beaks, so that even when they all feed together each species feeds at different depths. most waders have nostrils at the base of the beak and the tip of the beak is extra sensitive, to feel the prey underground.
The kiwi bird is unique in that it has nostrils at the tip of the beak, making it extremely sensitive to smell.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Published in BBC Wildlife magazine (oct '10)

Just got one of our images published in BBC Wildlife Magazine (oct '10) 
on page 111


Crows mobbing vultures (Gyps bengalensis)

Nikon D40 with Sigma 170-500mm DG Manual focus

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Sneak preview of Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The world’s most prestigious wildlife photography competition,
Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year, 
has revealed the commended images from this year’s competition. 
Have a Sneak preview

Friday, October 8, 2010

Did you Know? - Crab Plovers

The crab plover (Dromas ardeola) is the only member of 
the Dromadidae family,
and has no close living relatives. 
It is also unique among waders, 
in using ground warmth to aid incubation of eggs.

Crab Plover (Dromas ardeola) adult teaching juvenile to feed
Crab plovers (Adult and Juvenile)

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Our Images Published in a book about Nature Education

We feel fortunate to have our photographs (5 images inside and back cover image) featured in "Glimpses from India's natural world"
A book for nature education - By Shri AK Sahay.
The book has been Edited by Shri JC Daniel and Foreword by George B Schallar
It is an excellent book with beautiful images and thought provoking text.

sharing a few pages, with permission of shri Sahay

cover (Image - Shri Vivek Sinha)
Cover "Glimpses from India's natural world" A book for nature education - By Shri AK Sahay. (cover image - Shri Vivek Sinha)
Back cover
Back cover of "Glimpses from India's natural world" A book for nature education - By Shri AK Sahay. (with our flamingo image)
View the images published in the book here and
All our published images here
To know more about where our images have appeared click here

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Did you know? - Little Grebe

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) feeding chick (with a shrimp?)
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) in non-breeding plumage (at dawn)
The little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), also known as the Dabchick,
is the smallest member of the grebe family.
All grebes are accomplished divers and to assist them in swimming under water
the bird’s lobed feet are placed well back at the rear of their bodies.
In fact, a grebe cannot move well on land and rarely comes ashore,
mostly to breed.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Beauty of Grasslands

Forget about species extinction, Homo sapiens are responsible for destroying
huge chunks of entire ecosystems.
surely we need to be wiser, if we want to survive on this planet.
we have been like parasites and its high time we develop a symbiotic relationship
with our planet instead of spending billions on searching other planets for life.
We have already lost 50% of our Grassland Habitats
and continue to do so even today.
The beauty of Grassland is just breathtaking,
and supports a lot of endangered species.
here we share some of our favourite grassland images.

Velavadar landscape
blackbuck leaping at velavadar national park
nilgai at velavadar national park
Leucistic Blackbuck
Male Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus)
Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata) camouflage
The Striped Hyena with nilgai feeding in background
Drongos mobbing Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus)
Male Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra)
Male Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra)

eia report about illegal wildlife trade

eia Report about illegal wildlife trade (tiger and leopard skins and parts)

Monday, September 6, 2010

Peregrine Preening

On our last trip to the Little rann of kutch,
we had missed the opportunity to see
this beautiful raptor, as our car had got stuck
in the wet desert mud.
This time we kept our distance from the lake 

to avoid getting stuck.
This time we got lucky. Raptors (like most birds)
spend a considerable time preening their feathers,
we spent almost 90 minutes watching the Peregrine Falcon
scratching and preening its feathers, before taking off.


Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) scratching

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) preening

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) preening

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) preening

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) stretching wing

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) stretching wings

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) shaking off loose feathers and dust

peregrine falcon flying

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Juvenile Hanuman langur playing
We have photographed the Hanuman langur before, 
But never seemed to like any of the shots.
On this particular day the light was softened by the clouds
and the juveniles were in a playful mood.
The only problem was the low light and 
to add to that the playful mood of the juveniles,
who were always on the move. 
Shooting lots of frames was the only way to get a few usable frames.
It is one of our all time favorites, as we feel that it captures
the playful character of the Langurs

Nikon D80 with Sigma 170-500mm DG lens at 460mm, 1/160 @ f7.1, EV -0.3, ISO 400.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Ethics in wildlife Photography
(An interesting article in BBC Wildlife magazine)
http://bit.ly/aaGJSf

Recently published

We feel fortunate to have the following images published in 
"Glimpses From India's Natural World"
a book about conservation by Shri Akhilesh Sahay who also Authored 

"Green Tops in Goa".
We are sure that "Glimpses From India's Natural World" will help to ignite a spark of wonder and awaken a sense of responsibility in the hearts and minds of its readers.
The flamingo image is on the backcover and inside,
while the others are inside.


Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) feeding

Hoopoe (Upupa epops)

Indian courser low angle

sarus crane in field

Spiny tailed lizard

Monday, August 16, 2010

Osprey Magic

Had the good fortune to watch the only member of the family Pandionidae (an osprey) with fish fly over our head and land in front of us,and eating it. After a while it was mobbed by a crow and as it took off it was than mobbed by a stilt and than a kite.
It didn't loose its meal to the kite, and was seen feeding on the fish a mile or so from the original feeding perch.



While flying with a fish it keeps the head of the fish forward, 
To reduce drag and thereby reducing the effort required to fly.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) flying with fish


Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) flying with 
fish


Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) flying with 
fish


Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) flying with fish

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) flying with fish


Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) with fish

The Osprey and Owls are the only raptors whose outer toe is reversible, 
allowing them to grasp their prey with two toes in front and two behind.
This is particularly helpful when they grab and carry slippery fish.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) feeding on fish

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) feeding on fish

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) with fish

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) deficating

To reduce its weight it usually removes the waste products before taking flight.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) being mobbed by
 a crow

Monday, August 9, 2010

Did you know?

bee with pollen on it
Seemingly unimportant insects are vital for the health of an ecosystem. bees and other insect pollinators provide pollinating services to us "FOR FREE".
Fruits and edible-oil seeds cannot be formed without "HELP" from these critters.
Pollination services provided by insects, mainly bees, are worth EUR 153 billion a year, according to new EU-funded research. This figure is equivalent to almost a tenth of the total value of world agricultural food production. Scientists warn that without these pollination services, the supply of fruits, vegetables and stimulants such as coffee and cocoa would no longer meet the current demand.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Did you know?

Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) regularly eat dung, which is a source of Beta-carotene, which gives their beak, the distinctive Yellow color

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Did you know?

Ladybird eating Aphid

Ladybird eating Aphid 

Aphids can reproduce by parthenogenesis and are a pest, once the host plant starts to die out,the females start to grow wings,to fly off in search of another plant to feed on and colonize.Ladybirds feed on aphids and keep their population under control.Even a small insect has a vital role to play in maintaining the health of the ecosystem.Here a Ladybird was feeding on a winged female aphid.

Vivitar V3000s camera,reversal ring,extension tube,vivitar 50mm lens,1/125 sec at
f16,Flash,Kodak Elitechrome 100 film pushed to 200 ISO,scanned with Nikon Coolscan 5000ED

Thursday, July 8, 2010

HOME (English with subtitles)



We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate.

The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being.

For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible. EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film.

HOME has been made for you : share it! And act for the planet.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand

HOME official website
http://www.home-2009.com

PPR is proud to support HOME
http://www.ppr.com

HOME is a carbon offset movie
http://www.actioncarbone.org

More information about the Planet
http://www.goodplanet.info

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Monday, June 14, 2010

Crows mobbing vultures (Gyps bengalensis)

Crows often mob Raptors and other threats to their nests. here they were attacking a small group of critically endangered white backed vultures.
loved the embarrassed look on the face of the vulture. While the crows are quite adaptable the white backed vulture populations are declining rapidly. These Vultures have suffered a 99 percent population decrease in India and nearby countries since the
early 1990s. The decline has been widely attributed to poisoning by diclofenac, which is used as veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID),
leaving traces in cattle carcasses which when fed on leads to kidney failure in birds.

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