Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting comfortable on a grassy patch of ground adjacent to one of the stillest ponds I've ever seen, with a light breeze blowing my hair onto my forehead. Dead ahead, a stately Pelican cut through the water with nary a ripple in its wake, as if it had being doing so all its life (which it probably had). A number of Painted Storks flew overhead, banked, and descended upon the treetops with all the grace of a falling leaf. Lying down on the springy turf, I wished that this beatific moment would never end. But it eventually did.

Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, located in the state of Rajasthan in India, has been officially declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and rightly so. One of the best avifauna sanctuaries I've ever visited, Bharatpur boasts a plethora of migratory species during the winter, with thousands of birds flying in from all over India and abroad, including Siberia, Mongolia, and Europe. Although pretty small compared to most National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in India, Bharatpur is unimaginably idyllic, and should be on the radar of anyone with even a slight interest in bird life.

Through this blog post, I wish to share some of the bird photographs I took during my trip to Bharatpur in mid-February 2014. Unlike my previous photoblogs, I'm going to provide information on the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO settings for each photograph. My gear included a Canon EOS 600D camera, along with a Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS II lens and a tripod.

I'm going to dive straight into it, so here are the photographs (in alphabetical order):

Bar-Headed Goose (Anser indicus):

1/100s, f5.6, ISO 100
This species, native to Mongolia, is known to fly even over the highest Himalayan mountains during migration!

Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica):

1/400s, f5.6, ISO 100
Although tiny, this member of the Chat family is quite beautiful. Very frisky, and difficult to photograph.

Brahminy Starling (Sturnia pagodarum):

1/200s, f5.0, ISO 640
Also called the Brahminy Myna

Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis):

1/20s, f5.6, ISO 100
One of my favourite birds

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela), juvenile:

1/640s, f5.6, ISO 100
I had seen mature Crested Serpent Eagles before, but this is the first time I spotted a juvenile one.

Darter (Anhinga melanogaster):

1/400s, f7.1, ISO 200
Also called the Snake Bird, owing to the serpentine shape of its neck.

Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo):

1/640s, f4.5, ISO 100
Might I add - capturing this bird running across the pond was a total fluke!

Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus):

1/640s, f5.6, ISO 100
So regal, so majestic.

1/500s, f8.0, ISO 100
Behold the beauty of a pelican in full flight!

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea):

1/400s, f5.6, ISO 100
Lone sentinel

Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis):

1/100s, f5.6, ISO 100
The colours on this bird are to die for.

Lesser Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna javanica):

1/320, f5.6, ISO 100
Their rapid wing-flapping produces a repetitive whistling sound.

Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala):

1/400s, f5.6, ISO 100
This one doesn't seem to be delivering any babies . . . 

1/400s, f6.3, ISO 200

Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea):

1/400s, f5.6, ISO 100
From a great distance, it's easy to confuse its neck with that of the Darter.

Rose-Ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri):

1/400s, f5.6, ISO 100
Polly the Parakeet sounds just wrong

Sarus Crane (Grus antigone):

1/800s, f5.0, ISO 100
These birds always occur in pairs. They mate for life, which is very unusual behaviour for a bird.

White-Breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnesis):

1/250s, f5.6, ISO 100
Larger than the Common Kingfisher, yet equally beatiful

1/1000s, f5.6, ISO 400
The word is iridiscent

1/1000s, f9.0, ISO 400
If you look closely, you can see the insect caught in its beak

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed the photographs!

Until next time.