Tawny Eagle

This was a lifer on the day when it rained raptors! Truly, Hesaraghatta is a paradise

Kestrel in its world

Early morning light had lit up Hesaraghatta and I was intrigued by the mesmerizing fog & the golden light. This juvenile Kestrel which had made the tree its home for the night, was waiting for the sunrise so that it can resume its daily routine.

Jackals & Misty morning

I've not had time to process images since I went to Ombatttu Gudda trek for 3 days and work had been hectic post Republic day! These images are a week prior to Republic day when me, Raks & Nagesh went to Hesaraghatta.
The day opened with Marsh Harrier and later we saw a Jackal pair. The morning was completely misty and the golden light added to the drama. It was a sight to behold. This happened to be great day for Raptors since we sighted Marsh Harrier, Steppe Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Montagu Harrier (female), Pallid Harrier (female) and also the usual Kestrel (male, female & juvenile).

Post processing differently

Rakesh commented on one of the other Kestrel images about the light. He said if the Kestrel was in front light, the effect could have been better!! I couldn't have agreed with him more. However I couldn't have changed the light at that time as I was positioned inside Manoj's scorpio and was fairly cramped too. Changing the position of the Scorpio meant loosing those crucial moments of Kestrel feeding.

However I thought about it and decided to post process the image differently. I've processed this image twice in different white balances one in day light and the other in slightly cooler color temperature. Since the Kestrel was getting good light I had to process it in day light white balance. The background was however was with a cooler WB. I've blended both the images to get a better frontal light and over all a much better effect that my earlier image. Let me know which one do you like.

Montagu Harriers

Spotting Montagu Harriers was a lifer last Sunday. The male is really more colorful. However it was too shy and wasn't comfortable to our presence. Hence we had to shoot from a distance.

A day with Birds of Prey

Hesaraghatta is teeming with Birds of Prey this winter. We'd a fantastic Sunday morning with Harriers, Black Shouldered Kites and Kestrels. Montagu Harrier was a lifer for me. The male Montagu Harrier is so beautiful! We sighted Pallid Harrier (female), both the Montagu Harriers and Kestrel. The Kestrel (Juvenile) was in great mood & gave us ample opportunity to shoot. It hovered in air & picked up a grasshopper and started feeding on it. Here are couple of shots from yesterday morning.

River Terns

TG Halli backwaters attracts plenty of river terns from the north during the winter. Yesterday me, Rakesh & Murthy visited early morning. Though over all it wasn't a great photography outing in terms of number of "keepers" I did manage to get couple of river terns in flight.

Swallow scape

I'd always wanted to shoot swallows. But they wouldn't seem to sit on one place except for electric wires! Finally at Bheemeshwari yesterday, I got a chance to shoot one of them albeit from a distance. Here is one swallow scape from our visit to Bheemeshwari. The frame filler of Swallow can still wait at least for now!

Kestrels again!

Rakesh joined me and Manoj today to Hesaraghatta. It seemed today for couple of hours that it was a waste to come with nearly no light. Till 9am it was completely foggy and no activities near the lake. However the Sun did come out after we finished our packed Ïdli-Vade-Karabath" and Kestrels didn't disappoint today! I wish the male kestrel was more cooperative, but that gives us one more chance to visit Hesaraghatta.

For the first time in my life me, Manoj & Nagesh got to see Kestrel! Boy, how beautiful this lady was. Had a chance to spend nearly an hour with her. Though the lighting wasn't that good, we did manage to get some decent shots.