Saturday, December 25, 2010

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary - Collection

If anyone asks me how many times have I visited Ranganathittu bird sanctuary, I really won't be able to answer because it is innumerable. My visits to this place have always been for a purpose of bird watching and photography, of course! Situated at around 125 KM from Bengaluru and 3 KM from historical Sri Ranganapattan, Ranganathittu is a small bird sanctuary along the river of Kaveri (since 1940). The islets formed out of the Kaveri river (after the KRS dam was built) form an important nesting grounds for birds. The sanctuary attracts lot of migrants throughout the year. Though the best time to visit the place is said to be from March to May, I would say throughout the year you will be able to spot lot of birds (except some migrants which are seasonal). Early morning would be the best time to visit, because either you will find only nature lovers along with you or you will be the lonely visitor in the early morning. Otherwise, rest of the day you would find the place chaotic(most of the times), with people screaming and shouting or playing in the lawns.


Bird Life in Ranganathittu:
Common Kingfishers, Pied king fisher, White Ibis, Openbilled and Painted Storks, Wagtails, Magpie Robin, Red Whiskered bulbul, Pelican, Paradise Fly Catchers, Grey hornbills, Night heron and Pond herons, Little Cormorant, Indian Peacocks.. (the list goes on)

The photographs will keep on piling up on top of the archives, because my visits to this place are going to continue as long as I am around Bengaluru. I hope the readers/visitors of the blog like this collection and hope this adds to your love for nature and bird life. 

Most of these shots are taken with following equipments:


Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras  Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black)   Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

1. A beautiful winter Morning, covers the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary and the fields around with a thick fog; when the Sun rises above the horizon the fields get a golden bathing

2. The fields along side the river provide a good habitat for lot of birds which are seen throughout the year

3. The early morning mist dripping down as a droplet 

4. Morning is the best time to visit the sanctuary as there will be less visitors giving you an opportunity to go around and take a lot of pics patiently. Also boating (250rs for a 8 seater) would help you go close to the habitats of migrant birds
5. Commonly found bird at the sanctuary; River Tern rests on a rock in an islet of the Kaveri river, on an early morning


6. Pelican in flight; these Pelicans are huge in size and when they fly you can actually hear the sound of their wings pulling the wind back
7. Little Cormorant: It is always such a delight to see this bird's flight, and it flies tangential to the water looking for fishes

8. Eurasian Spoonbill in flight

9. Eurasian Openbilled Storks sitting on a tree, seen cuddling each other


10. Eurasian Spoonbill in flight

11. Common Kingfisher on a dried up branch



12. Night Heron waits for it's prey while making sure it is getting shade

13. Magpie Robin, not a very shy bird; gives enough opportunities for a photographer

14. King of the sanctuary: Pied Kingfisher waits for a fish hunt on a broken tree branch

15. Birds: Great Thick Knee

16. River Tern, turning its head before scratching it's back ;-)
17. Painted Stork in flight

18. Indian Grey Hornbill; Hornibills are very beautiful birds to watch; a  number of species of hornbills are threatened with extinction
19. A small birdie (may be a Sun bird or yellow wagtail?), in a cultivated field; I somehow feel very happy seeing this picture though there is nothing great in it. I love the bird in its solitude and there is a whitish grass over the bird's head as if it is an umbrella.

20. How can I forget this picture which won me a consolation prize at Canon Go Green competition Bangalore; A tiny droplet shows the green landscape along side the bird sanctuary


29 comments:

  1. Awesome pics Prashant.. Pro ones.. Loved all of them.. Nice capture.. :)

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  2. maan naa padega...u r a good photographer... ;)
    the last one is truly awesome.

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  3. excellent captures kulli....you should major in photography :)..not in EE ;)

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  4. excellent captures kulli...you should major in photography :)not EE ;)

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  5. its amazing bro, mainly that droplet 1.. wow....

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  6. nice pics bro.. mainly that droplet1. wow....

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  7. Can't take off my eyes from the last one.. Amazing..

    -Prem.

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  8. Nice writeup with nice clicks

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  9. Thank you all for dropping by! Need the encouragement going.. :-)

    @Niki, late realization to me :'( but having this as a hobby makes me more happy.. I don't mind forgetting what transistor or a diode is.. :-P

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  10. awesome captures Prashant..keep it up...and keep do this, feast for our eyes :-)

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  11. Thanks Subbu for your encouraging words.. Thanks Roopa and Vablog.. :)

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  12. Really nice. Fantastic bokeh. If you have a software for noise reduction use it.

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  13. Nice photos. You are right, I agree about the solitary small bird in the last but one shot has a nice feel to it..with the expanse of grass and the little one looking over it. If this was a cropped version you could try a different composition with the bird in the bottom right corner, thereby giving more green expanse in front of it.
    I think it is grey wagtail though.

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  14. Thanks Nanda. Yes, I believe it is grey wagtail ( I shot grey wagtail recently and hence can guess now) :-) I will try the improvements suggested :)

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  15. Ahh..well. Let me know how it goes. The image is nice as it is also with the nice bit of muddy bank and grass behind it.
    Btw, the dew drop which has captured the sanctuary inside it truly deserved the prize. Too good.
    The flight shots have come out very nicely also!

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  16. Amazing... Amazing.... Congrats on the Canon win. Too good :)

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  17. @Shree, thanks for dropping by and commenting.

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  18. Lovely shots Prashant. Just happened to visit your site when searching for the best time to visit Ranganthittu. Your pics have inspired me to go there! Good effort!

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  19. Awesome Pictures Prashant.
    inspired by your pictures I am really excited to visit here.
    Can you suggest me the best lens for photographing the birds here?
    I plan to take a lens from toehold rentals...should I take the 400mm or 600mm would be a overkill?
    Kindly advice

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    1. Thanks for dropping by!!

      600mm would be a overkill I guess. I guess you should carry Canon 400mm L f/4 prime(body weight is light) or Canon 100-400mm L (body weight is heavy for hand held shots);

      If you are sure you have enough time (and money of course) to rent the bulkier lens and the tripod as well, you will get even better shots for sure. :-) All the best and please share the link of your photographs!

      Cheers

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  20. Excellent Pictures!what are the chances of seeing some birds if we go in the month of march?

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    1. Thanks Nitin.. since it is almost the ending season of winter, there are still chances of sighting some beautiful migrants.. :) all the best..

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  21. Hi Prashant, awesome clicks, May i know which lens did u use to capture the last droplet photo?

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    1. Hi, thanks for dropping by.. You won't believe, I used Sigma 70-300 mm for Canon mount. :-)

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  22. Beautiful sanctuary full of animal life, especially the morning fog was awesome and each and every photograph of the wildlife photographer is very good. Thanks for the post.

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