I recently had the pleasure to be invited along with a small group to the island of Qarnein which is situated off the mainland of the UAE 180km north-west of Abu Dhabi and can be found here at 24°56’7.00″N,52°50’59.00″E. Back in 2003 the island of Qarnein and its surrounding waters were been declared as a […]
Indian Grey Mongoose
One evening we (Mahesh, Vinay & I) decided to head out to our favourite photographing spot in Bangalore, Hessarghatta. Thankfully this day there weren’t any other vehicles & photographers, after traveling some distance I spotted a mongoose sitting on a mound at quite some distance. We decided to slowly approach it and get nearer. As […]
Iridescence of Costa’s Hummingbird’s Feathers
Extreme closeup photo showing feather details of a male Costa’s Hummingbird. At my home in the southern area of Baja, Mexico we havee two species of Hummingbirds. The Costa’s Hummingbird (Calypte costae) and the endemic Xantus’ Hummingbird (Hylocharis xantus). The Costa’s male has a brillant blue/purple cap and gorget. The male Xantus has a bright […]
Bald Eagle
I don’t know if it’s really possible to truly appreciate these birds without seeing them outside in the wild. Growing up I loved seeing them in zoos, and I’ve been very close to them at bird rehabilitation centers where I’ve been able to get a sense of just how large these birds are. But these […]
Drama at Oe
This morning at Oe I observed a Peregrine Falcon consistently attack an Eurasian Bittern. Although the falcon gained height and swooped down on a few occasions, it never actually “hit” the bittern – it kept breaking off its attack just before striking. I can only surmise that as it had lost the advantage of surprise, […]
Lake Apopka, 12/21/2012
Well, yesterday went a little better than predicted–the world didn’t end, and I had a great time at the Zellwood/Mt. Dora Christmas Bird Count. I was in the area around Lake Apopka–particularly to the north and east of it. It was a cold (by Florida standards) and blustery day, but it was a great day […]
European Goldfinch, males
Carduelis carduelis – Passeriformes – Fringillidae. This is the bird that started my passion for birding when I was a kid! I have hand raised a number of Goldfinches but one in particular was very special. He would go to his cage only to sleep and nibble seeds, otherwise he was always with one of […]