ODKF once again

It is quite interesting to watch this small and colourful King Fisher, which breeds during monsoon season in this part of the country. Their nest is basically a hole or cavity made in the vertical steep bank of  jungle stream. Once the eggs are hatched, both male and female ODKF get busy with the job of feeding their chicks. Their chicks seem to be voracious eaters and guzzle down their throat whatever is made available to them i.e. gluttony by design. As a result male and female birds make regular sorties to hunt for the prey in the forest and come back regularly after every 15 to 20 minutes with a prey in their beak to feed their chicks. As you can see from the photographs some of their prey are much larger in size. During monsoon, the forest generally teems with life, resulting in good availability of prey. These birds fly very fast. Before entering the nest the bird generally sits for a few seconds on a perch giving good view of the nest and move in to the nest only if it feels safe. The opportunity to photograph ODKF arises when they rest on the perch for few seconds.

 

Outing at Vanvihar

The Bhopal is a sleepy tier 2 city in the heart of central India and state capital of Madhya Pradesh. It has a huge lake known as Bada Talab or Upper Lake or Bhojtal, which is said to be built by Raja Bhoj centuries ago. On the south side of the lake, there is a small National Park called Vanvihar, which houses an open zoo having few carnivores and habitats such as deciduous forest, grass land, some swamps and lake. The birds that frequent these habitats can be seen here. The access inside the National Park is easy as it has a 5 km metalled road laid on the periphery of the park almost touching the lake and connecting entrance gates at both ends of the park. Recently I went to Bhopal for a wedding and took that opportunity to visit the park once again and took these photographs.

In the forest area abutting the lake there is a tree with a cavity or hollow. The cavity is used by Spotted Owls to roost. This time I saw a couple of birders intensely observing the tree and taking photographs. There were two Spotted Owls perched outside the hollow and looking bewildered. I also joined the party and took this photograph. 

When I was observing a tiger in its open enclosure, a Coppersmith Barbet flew down and perched on a shrub in front of me giving these poses. This Barbet is easily recognisable by Its call which is incessant and monotonous cook, cook, cook, ... Though one can hear its call, as it blends well with surroundings it is a challenge to locate it on the tree. For nesting and roosting purposes, it excavates several circular holes on the branches.

At the tiger enclosure, a tiger was having its lunch. In a forest mere sight of tiger itself is awe-inspiring. But a tiger in an enclosure is a sad case. Therefore, I would always prefer to see a tiger in its habitat roaming freely and enjoying its freedom.

The Black Drongo is commonly seen in open country and farmland. It is quite a daring bird and can take on predators intruding in to its territory.

During winter the Black Redstart migrates to this part of the country. It gives good poses for photograph

Near the tiger enclosure I also saw a male Black Redstart.

The Common Iora which is a resident in this part of the country, for a change was seen on a wire fence instead of tree tops. 

The Common Woodshrike which is also a resident bird in this part of the country was exploring the trunk of a tree for its food.

While on the lookout for birds near the snake enclosure, at a distance I saw this Golden Jackal.

Near the snake enclosure, at the top of a Bamboo clump, I saw this Large Grey Babbler with an insect in its beak. It is also a resident bird in Bhopal area.

The Laughing Dove, which is a resident bird in this part of the country, can be seen very often.

The Long Tailed Shrike is quite common out here throughout the year.

This bird requires no introduction. It can be seen in many places and has a melodious call. Oriental Magpie Robin. 

Another resident bird known as Thick-billed Flower pecker was seen in the tree canopy in search of food.

I thought that Pied Bushchat is a migrant bird coming from far off land across the border for winter but recently came to know that it is a resident bird. It can be seen in and around Bhopal. It gives good poses for photographs. One can see it perched on overhead electrical cables very often.

While passing through the grass land area, Rufous Tailed Lark attracted my attention. This bird can also be seen throughout the year.

Giving company to the lark, were few Paddyfield Pipits. Paddyfield Pipits are also seen in these places for most part of the year.

A White-Browed Fantail was hopping around a wire fence at the periphery of the grass land.

A pair of Dendrocopos maharattenis or Yellow-crowned woodpecker exploring worms on a Prosopis juliflora or Vilayati Babool tree was seen in the forest area after the grass land.

Some workers were cutting overgrown grass on the side of the road near the exit gate. They had left a portion uncut as this young Rock Python was basking on it.

The crocodile open enclosure is a large swamp type of habitat. At one corner this habitat an Asia Open Bill Stork was searching for its food. The eBird showed it to be a rarity for this area, forcing me to take this record shot.

The large water body of Bada Talab attracts Ducks, Geese, Cormorants, Gulls and Terns. This time due to extended monsoon the water level in the Bada Talab was high at the time of my visit. Hence the migratory ducks and geese were not visible. Few gulls and terns were sighted. This one is Common Black Headed Gull, which migrates during winter to these parts also.

The open crocodile enclosure attracts many birds. One of them is Bronze Winged Jacana. I took this record shot and moved on. But when I processed the photograph I observed that it had caught a frog for its meal. So I missed getting much clearer action shot of this bird.

The open tiger enclosure with trees and shrubs gave me one more surprise. The Cinereous Tit came in front of me for few seconds to give these poses. 

On a Prosopis juliflora or Vilayati Babool tree, I saw a Common Chiffchaff, which is said to be a winter migrant to northern India.

In the forest area after the grassland, a Common Hawk Cuckoo with a prey in its beak was seen. This bird is also known as brain fever bird. 

The Common Kingfisher waiting patiently to carry out its dive bombing attack to catch its prey.

The Common Tailor bird on a somber note.

The Hume's Warbler is a winter migrant to northern India.Probably the bird has got its name from Mr Allan Octavian Hume. According to wikipedia he was a member of the Imperial Civil Service (later the Indian Civil Service), a political reformer, ornithologist and botanist who worked in British India. 

He was one of the founders of the Indian National Congress. A notable ornithologist, Hume has been called "the Father of Indian Ornithology" and, by those who found him dogmatic, "the Pope of Indian ornithology".

The Indian Robin is quite regularly seen in and around Bhopal.

The Indian Roller is also a common bird in this locality.

Near the lake side the Indian Pond Heron was seen.

The Lesser White Throat is also a winter migrant to this part of the country. It often forages in the trees.

The resident Indian Silverbill often gives good poses

. The Tickell's Blue Flycatcher is also a resident bird with a melodious call. But I was wondering why it is named as Tickell's. That lead to me to do a search in google, which lead me to Wikipedia. According to Wikipedia, Tickell was born at Cuttack in India to Lieutenant General Richard Tickell and Mary née Morris. In 1829 At the age of nineteen he join the Bengal Native Infantry. During his time in India, Tickell made important contributions to the country's ornithology and mammalology, with field observations and the collections of specimens. He contributed to volume 17 of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Tickell had been working on a seven-volume work entitled Illustrations of Indian Ornithology, but his deteriorating eyesight forced him to abandon it. Before his death he donated the unfinished work to the Zoological Society of London. A number of birds were named after Tickell. 

The Asian Brown Flycatcher is a resident Bird. I saw it near the tiger enclosure.

The Whiskered Tern was hovering over the lake taking its time to decide as to whether to dive or not.

Near the snake enclosure facing the bamboo clump the White Bellied Drongo was seen.

I have seen the opportunistic White Throated Kingfisher earlier preying on frog, garden lizard, mice, insects etc.

The year 2019 saw extended monsoon season. As a result the water level in Bada Talab is high. Therefore the regular migrants seems to have bypassed the lake this time. 

Since the road inside the park is metalled, people use it for jogging and cycling. Visitors can also take their car or two-wheelers inside after paying the entry fee. So people tend to come in with picnic mind set. I wish that the authorities had not metalled the road. Otherwise, Vanvihar National Park is a good place to visit in Bhopal. The naturalists and bird lovers would definitely find this place appealing.

I would appreciate if you can post your views after reading the above article in the comment portion below in the blog itself please. Thank you.