Christmas was celebrated worldwide on the 25th day of the month of December in the year 2009. It happens every year. What's so special about 2009 Christmas.
It was the day when we 3 friends decided to visit Vedanthangal, a bird-lovers paradise. Jag and Sam were part of the plan. We checked up what the weather-cocks have to say and got the green signal. No rains to wet the cameras. Being non-veggies, we 3 decided to shoot some birds.
We started very early in the morning around 5 am - ironically the time similar to when the oracles saw the pole-star led them to the cattleshed where Jesus was born. Our target was to see the little birds being fed their first morning snack. We tried to be the early birds to catch the early bird.
It was a wonderful drive from Chennai to Vedanthangal via Guindy, Meenambakkam airport, Pallavaram, Chromepet, Tambaram, Vandalur, Guduvanchery, Chenglepet. It was the location after Maraimalai Nagar between Guduvanchery and Chenglepet that we decided to have a pit-gut-stop. After satiating our tummies with tea and biscuits, Sam drove the car to our destination. As I've been to Vedanthangal twice earlier, I was the self-appointed guide (who was never completely trusted though!) to the locale.
On the way, we came across lots of ponds on either side of the GST (Grand Southern Trunk) road with some birdlife (little cormorants and a few cattle egrets were the stars) in it. And the sun was rising from behind us reminding us that we're driving towards wild wild west!
As I did not own a cam that time (aware that I will get a camera as Pongal present from myself), Sam has thoughfully brought his tiny point-and-shoot camera apart from his Alpha-SLR camera; and not to mention the binoculars which had the shades of the camouflage - different tones of green. Though the binoculars were handy, it was the cameras that were the key inspiration factor. Since Jag had bought 2 cameras, one for wide-angles and one for telephotos, there were always more cams than the necks.
Once reaching there, we bought a string to fasten the binocular to the neck and started our venture. Vedanthangal is a huge pond surrounded by one side by a footpath for visitors and tourists (with enough watch-towers interspersed). The other 3 sides have green farmlands, which the bird-poop filled fertilised water nourishes 24 by 7. Since there are resident birds, the supply of free manure is ensured throughout the year.
We started shooting the wildlife - with our lenses (birds, bugs, monkeys and anything that moves and flies - including ourselves and cattle).
Jag and Sam were kind enough to share their cams as well as the tips of photography.
A few species that we saw during the walk in the scheduled walkway are:
1. Kingfisher (both the bird and Vijay Malya's broken bottles in the path's slopes on the side),
2. Ever energetic River and Whiskered Tern,
3. Pelicans and their ever-hungry nagging and demanding chicks; which transform from bulldogs on land to perfect and elegant flying machines in air,
4. Painted Stork - ever colourful and cheerful as it keeps clapping with its beaks,
5. Open Bill Stork and their chicks (which has not yet developed the gap between the bills which derives the name),
6. White Ibis - with their winning black-and-white combination and curved beaks,
7. Purple Heron,
8. Pond Heron,
9. Grey Heron,
10. Sleepy Night Heron which is active only during dawn, dusk and nights,
11. Little Cormorants,
12. Spoon Bills,
13. Little Egret,
14. Cattle Egret,
15. Jacana,
16. Garganeys (type of ducks)
17. Pin-tail Duck,
18. Northern Shoveller (note its beak),
19. Spot-billed Duck,
20. Little Grebe,
21. Common and Marsh Sandpipers,
22. Drongos,
23. Pipits,
24. Babblers (commonly known as paddy birds or seven sisters),
25. Parrots,
26. Hoopoe,
27. Eagles,
28. Hawks (we noticed a sparrow hawk),
29. Bee eaters,
30. Common and Purple Moorhens,
31. White-Breasted Waterhen,
32. Common Coot,
to mention a few species.
As we stayed there shooting we could also notice other animal kingdom which is a part of the ecology. To note a few, there were:
1. Fishes - We saw a dying catfish (saw one green heron grab one and managed to gobble it, whose head was as big as the bird's beak)
2. Watersnakes, which we could not find - striped keelback, olive keelback and checkered keelbacks
3. Insects - millipedes, centipedes and seven-spotted cockroaches. I uncovered a praying mantis too from its perfect camouflage.
4. Frogs and Toads - obvious view in a water eco-system.
5. Bugs on flights - butterflies, moths, and dragonflies litter the area.
It was the day when we 3 friends decided to visit Vedanthangal, a bird-lovers paradise. Jag and Sam were part of the plan. We checked up what the weather-cocks have to say and got the green signal. No rains to wet the cameras. Being non-veggies, we 3 decided to shoot some birds.
We started very early in the morning around 5 am - ironically the time similar to when the oracles saw the pole-star led them to the cattleshed where Jesus was born. Our target was to see the little birds being fed their first morning snack. We tried to be the early birds to catch the early bird.
It was a wonderful drive from Chennai to Vedanthangal via Guindy, Meenambakkam airport, Pallavaram, Chromepet, Tambaram, Vandalur, Guduvanchery, Chenglepet. It was the location after Maraimalai Nagar between Guduvanchery and Chenglepet that we decided to have a pit-gut-stop. After satiating our tummies with tea and biscuits, Sam drove the car to our destination. As I've been to Vedanthangal twice earlier, I was the self-appointed guide (who was never completely trusted though!) to the locale.
On the way, we came across lots of ponds on either side of the GST (Grand Southern Trunk) road with some birdlife (little cormorants and a few cattle egrets were the stars) in it. And the sun was rising from behind us reminding us that we're driving towards wild wild west!
As I did not own a cam that time (aware that I will get a camera as Pongal present from myself), Sam has thoughfully brought his tiny point-and-shoot camera apart from his Alpha-SLR camera; and not to mention the binoculars which had the shades of the camouflage - different tones of green. Though the binoculars were handy, it was the cameras that were the key inspiration factor. Since Jag had bought 2 cameras, one for wide-angles and one for telephotos, there were always more cams than the necks.
Once reaching there, we bought a string to fasten the binocular to the neck and started our venture. Vedanthangal is a huge pond surrounded by one side by a footpath for visitors and tourists (with enough watch-towers interspersed). The other 3 sides have green farmlands, which the bird-poop filled fertilised water nourishes 24 by 7. Since there are resident birds, the supply of free manure is ensured throughout the year.
We started shooting the wildlife - with our lenses (birds, bugs, monkeys and anything that moves and flies - including ourselves and cattle).
Jag and Sam were kind enough to share their cams as well as the tips of photography.
A few species that we saw during the walk in the scheduled walkway are:
1. Kingfisher (both the bird and Vijay Malya's broken bottles in the path's slopes on the side),
2. Ever energetic River and Whiskered Tern,
3. Pelicans and their ever-hungry nagging and demanding chicks; which transform from bulldogs on land to perfect and elegant flying machines in air,
4. Painted Stork - ever colourful and cheerful as it keeps clapping with its beaks,
5. Open Bill Stork and their chicks (which has not yet developed the gap between the bills which derives the name),
6. White Ibis - with their winning black-and-white combination and curved beaks,
7. Purple Heron,
8. Pond Heron,
9. Grey Heron,
10. Sleepy Night Heron which is active only during dawn, dusk and nights,
11. Little Cormorants,
12. Spoon Bills,
13. Little Egret,
14. Cattle Egret,
15. Jacana,
16. Garganeys (type of ducks)
17. Pin-tail Duck,
18. Northern Shoveller (note its beak),
19. Spot-billed Duck,
20. Little Grebe,
21. Common and Marsh Sandpipers,
22. Drongos,
23. Pipits,
24. Babblers (commonly known as paddy birds or seven sisters),
25. Parrots,
26. Hoopoe,
27. Eagles,
28. Hawks (we noticed a sparrow hawk),
29. Bee eaters,
30. Common and Purple Moorhens,
31. White-Breasted Waterhen,
32. Common Coot,
to mention a few species.
As we stayed there shooting we could also notice other animal kingdom which is a part of the ecology. To note a few, there were:
1. Fishes - We saw a dying catfish (saw one green heron grab one and managed to gobble it, whose head was as big as the bird's beak)
2. Watersnakes, which we could not find - striped keelback, olive keelback and checkered keelbacks
3. Insects - millipedes, centipedes and seven-spotted cockroaches. I uncovered a praying mantis too from its perfect camouflage.
4. Frogs and Toads - obvious view in a water eco-system.
5. Bugs on flights - butterflies, moths, and dragonflies litter the area.
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