Siberian Ruby-throat: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — We worked hard for this bird. It was hanging around the little trickle of water that flows under the road at the second entrance station at Keoladeo. But it was only seen every few days. We were there at the absolute end of its season in India. Most Ruby-throats were already on their way back to Siberia. This one bird was still around. We stopped for at least a half hour at the entrance station each morning on our way into the park…some used the restroom facilities provided, and one day we had chi from the little canteen around the back of the garage, while we looked for the bird, but it was only on our third day in the park that we arrived at the right time…and even then it took more than an hour for the bird to emerge into camera range. And because the bird had already been sighted that morning, we had pretty much the whole staff of the entrance station out helping us. When we found it, it was perched, kind o flattened out, deep in the brush with only a few windows that allowed a look or a photo. Not easy! Still, worth it for a bird we basically had only this one chance of seeing…and which, indeed, we only saw at Keoladeo. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 500 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus .3EV.

Sarus Crane: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — It was late, after 5PM, and we were still deep in the refuge. The sun was setting. The light was failing. We were well out on dyke birding the marsh on both sides when we heard cranes in flight calling and turned to see a pair of Sarus Cranes coming right at us and just above tree top level. Not much hope, but I had to try. You have to right? I did not have time to zoom out, so as the birds passed over I just fired off a burst of shots and hoped for the best. I do have my Birds In Flight settings programed to a button so I was able to switch on the fly, so to speak. This is not the best ever, but it is the best shot I got. 🙂 These are huge birds. Long wings. Heavy bodies, and tall…the tallest cranes on earth at over 5 feet. I had to pull detail out of the shadows in this very back-lit shot, but overall I am happy with it. You don’t get many chances at a shot like this, especially if you are only in India for two weeks. Sony Rx10iv at 591mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4.5 @ 1/1000th.

White-breasted Waterhen: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — There are several birds at Keoladeo which are adapted for walking on floating vegetation. One of the most common is the Waterhen, which is, at least in the park, relatively fearless. We saw them right next to and even up on the road. In fact, not to spoil a future post, we hand fed one who was enamored of our trail mix. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 561mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/500th.

Immature Black-necked Stork: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — Not our first Black-necked Stork, but considerably closer than the ones we saw from the road on our way to Bharatpur. This is an immature bird. We saw a LOT of immature birds of many species at Keoladeo. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 125 @ f4 @ 1/500th.

Bar-headed Geese: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, March 2023 — Keoladeo is winter home to a fair number of Bar Headed Geese. There are lots of things of note about the Bar-headed Goose. It migrates to and from high mountain lakes in central Asia, flying through and over the Himalaya Mountains at elevations up to 14,000 feet, in temperatures as low as 0 degrees, sometime through 300mph headwinds. Their blood chemistry is adapted to extract more oxygen than your average bird. They can fly up to 1000 miles in a single day during migration, flapping all the way. They run so hot and are so well insulted that ice can not form on their wings, even at the highest elevations…and they fly strongly enough so that a they can fly through strong cross-winds without being blown off course. Now that is some goose! And yet to look at they don’t look like super-geese…they are, in fact, kind of elegantly attractive. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.