Spring on a Full Swing

Photography can be very difficult at times. And especially when it comes to freezing wildlife moments, it needs a great deal of accuracy, skill and patience. While wildlife photography is my cup of tea, suggestions, feedback and new strategies are my cookie.

And so here I am with one step ahead to my pursuit of being a pro, at various random places in and around Kolkata.

Common Tailorbird

The stitches of Life: The Common Tailorbird

This bird derives its name from the kind of nest it builds. It technically sews and stitches big leaves to form its nest. Its breeding season is around the Indian monsoon period and it mostly feeds on insects. As we all remember, it has been immortalised as a character in the Jungle book series. It enriches its surroundings with loud cheep-cheep song.

Asian pied starling(Pied myna)

The pied myna graciously finds its place on the wires and poles, as I patiently click it searching for food.

Also known as the Asian pied Sterling, this bird is mostly found in the Indian subcontinent. The word 'Contra' is in its scientific name. Possessing a reddish yellow wheelbase, this bird has its breeding season starting around March. It loves to live around oceans and other water bodies.

staMYNA: On a rope Walk

Rufous Treepie

Moments before takeoff

The Rufous Treepie belongs to the crow family. Both the sexes look alike and they are mostly found in Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, at agricultural or open spaces. Its breeding season ranges from April to June and around this period, they often engage in joint hunting with birds of other species. The perfect blend of the three colours on its body are my personal favourite.

Black-rumped Flameback or Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker (Dinopium benghalense)

This golden backed woodpecker is literally a woodcutter. And this is something I figured out when chunks of small woods kept falling over my head, when I was capturing other birds. And then, I had to hurry for this shot. Don't let that 30 cm length fool you, because that beak can hammer deceptively fast. Mostly found in the Indian subcontinent, this bird has its breeding season fixed around February which is the reason I found it too notorious. I still have no idea why this bird aimlessly pecks at rock hard woods! Anyways, the attractive red tint on its head is something to watch out for.

Decked up to Peck: Golden Backed Woodpecker

Common hill myna

Breakfast of the Spring: Common hill Myna

The common Hill Myna is a little bird with Orange Yellow patches on its head and side with a red beak. Beautifully clicked in the nature by Soham, the bird is seen to munch on fruits, amidst all the greeneries. They generally have their nest in tree holes which houses two or three eggs. One common misconception is that it imitates other birds in the wild, but it is not so. Broadly found in the Western Ghat region, Myna has varied subspecies. Generally feeding on insects, these birds are actually omnivorous.

Spotted Dove

Shattering shackles!

Enjoying the season!

The spotted dove is also known by the name of mountain dove, pearl necked dove. This is a bird, found in Asia and mostly in countries like Australia, New Zealand, India. However, in Taiwan, these birds seem to have breeding season all year long. They are dark brown in colour and their grey feathers have white spots marks all over. The adults have spotted necks, too! Generally known to feed on seeds and grains, they are also recorded to have small insects. Who knew that the flight of this dove would look so majestic?

Emulating the phoenix: Spotted Dove

Common bulbul

Found mostly in Asia and Africa, the Bulbul has a total of 5 sub species. Its body is of black colour and it possesses dark brown eyes. If you ever see a Bulbul’s egg, you can notice it to be deep brown-spotted all over the surface. This little bird here, was patiently searching for food, when I captured a snap. Up and down and sometimes through the leaves, it's pursuit for food was never ending and that provided me a lot of time to click it in the appropriate pose. One amazing thing is that rarely do we find birds looking perpendicularly upwards and this picture, right here, just froze that moment!

Sky High Ambitions: Common Bulbul

Dendrelaphis tristis (bronzeback or Daudin's bronzeback)

The sneak of Death: Daudin’s Bronzeback

One major advantage of wildlife hunting is that you come across different animals or plants, that are worth capturing, but you were definitely not expecting them. The bronze back snake may be harmless for humans but is an expert hunter of geckos, birds and small frogs. Notice the dark scales above and the bronze coloured inner scales. It finds its habitat mostly in South Indian regions and at the foothills of Himalayas. Deceptively fast a reptile, Soham had such a hard time freezing this little thing in his frame, and clearly, he deserves the credit!

Housefly

Colourful bugs

At Work: Housefly

 When you witness a creature, though infinitely irritating, almost regularly, you can never go by, leaving it unclicked! All the credit goes to this house fly, whom I have found posing, but not at my house this time! Notice the colours of its wings, strangely turned to blue as the sunlight reflects on it!

Small, Dark and Fearsome: Housefly, out of the house

I'm going to share some quick ‘Did You Know?’ moments regarding this little insect, infamous for its tendency to contaminate foods! Do you know that female houseflies mate only once and store the sperm for future use? Did you know they lay their maggots only on rotten food or animal remains? Did you know house flies have been assisting the laboratory researches on human aging and sex determination? Just like I thought, you didn't!

Plants and Flowers

The best thing about freelance photography is that you can click out of your genre; anything and everything that catches your attention. The spring is the time that generally brings the best out of nature. The season when poets like Rabindranath Tagore incubates great thoughts, the season when colours galore in the earth, and not to mention, it is a season of love and mating! Marked by the end of the Bengali year, the spring brings the best fresh flora all around us and subsequently, a great food on the platter of a photographer.

I personally like to click flora and other stuffs when I am strategizing a great click! Take for instance, I did not hesitate to take snaps of these leaves which seem very young and fresh. 

Lifeline: Through lens

Bloodless veins

The veins literally look like they belong to humans. I wonder if there is blood inside! 

Red Sprouts of Spring

And then, this beautiful Red Flowers grabs our attention on the ground. Soham’s wandering eyes did miracles again. I believe, flowers always add to the scenic beauty of a place.

Other Insects

Go Vegan!

Given the amount of praise this little buddy receives everyday typically in any Indian household, it doesn't require much of my comments! I was relaxedly glad to see this mosquito clinging to the leaf and the secret is that my mom never lets me adventure without mosquito repellent!

Ready for the next move!

We all have seen plenty of this red insect which is actually a relative of cricket. Look how the white antenna stares boldly at the camera when my shutter goes down!

Antennae telecasting spring life!

Catch you with even more upcoming albums. Stay tuned!

Photography: Riddhisattwa Bhattacharya, Soham Chakraborty

Content: Ivan Das

Camera: Canon EOS 600D, Nikon P610

Lens: Canon 55-250mm lens

Locations: Botanical Gardens, Shibpur and around Behala