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.

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.

From Birds

we were looking for the great crested grebe when suddenly i noticed a painted stork taking off and heading towards the rising sun, i quickly took my camera out and fired a few shots hoping to get a sharp shot.

Photographing the cranes of japan by Art Wolfe

was a beautiful evening when it was virtually impossible to seperate the horizon from the sky the low tide had begun and i was trying to stalk a grey heron to get it with its reflection, while shooting it i heard a diffrent kind of call which i had never heard before, an adult crab plover and a juvenile were flying by, i had the Nikon D40 with the Sigma 170-500 dg lens on it, (Darn!!! - the autofocus would not work as the D40 doesnot have a motor and same goes with the sigma 170-500) somehow luck was on my side and i managed to focus on these beautiful birds as they came close.

These little waders are very difficult to get close.
I had to slowly crawl on my elbows like a soldier to get
a reasonable size image of this stint in beautiful plumage,
the bottom part of the image looks green because of the low angle
and the grass in the foreground near the lens

These godwits were preventing each other from intruding their patch near a lake, both of them were continuously feeding but both of thought that the grass was greener on the other side and tried invading each others patch, at times hitting each other with their beaks. while the poor photographer was sitting in the muck with his shoes stuck in and his trousers dirty - giving joy to all who passed by. on one instance one of the godwits got a really nasty hit and fell down but got up and started fighting again till both of them flew away.

tern fishing

This tern was photographed using manual focus mode after it tried to catch a fish from the water

This comb duck was photographed with a D40 with 70-300 G lens using manual focus.

© MANJEET & YOGRAJ JADEJA
This sunbird was photographed in rain
while my brother was holding an umbrella.

Wildlens.blogspot.com

© MANJEET AND YOGRAJ JADEJA

One of our favourite shots photographed at dusk near our home,
we soon learned that there is no need to go to exotic places
to take good photographs also no need for expensive equipment,
this photograph was shot with a 70-300mm zoom lens
(costing INR 5K i.e. ~ 125 $)