Impressions (Tale Four of Four)

Continued from the previous post. Slytherin! I was busy observing a sandpiper catch insects on the banks of the pond and tentatively scanned the surface of the placid waters half expecting to sight the usual flared snout of an odd turtle or two. Instead there was this pair of eyes set on an olive brown …

Impressions (Tale Three of Four)

Continued from the previous post. Three to Tango! The pond heron was absolutely still, contemplating whether it was time yet for breakfast. The egret was halfway through its breakfast picking at the finest fins sagaciously. The waterhen was at its best fowl behaviour, running away from a meddlesome me, breakfast be damned. On the scene …

Impressions (Tale Two of Four)

Continued from the previous post. Eavesdrop Moment! I was being my usual annoying self, attempting to frame the rear of a, for once, disinterested bull when the bull paused grazing and stood still. I did likewise – stood still I mean. Head raised, it oriented its bulk a few degrees east and stared straight ahead. …

Impressions (Tale One of Four)

Every picture narrates a tale; though it is for the beholder to unravel it commensurate to the empathy towards that subject. The photographer graciously allows the frame to be the storyteller, except when there is a compelling story behind the shot. And if one is a nature photographer, in all probability, there invariably exists an …

Not just another Lifer

The 238 steps leading to the top of the hill, which were usually worth only a trifling effort, seemed like an arduous task. Even at 6:30 am the air was uncharacteristically still and a heavy blanket of humidity weighed down on me, the first trickle of sweat already running down my spine a quarter way …

Un-Pheasant Truth

The sparse brown brush was fast fading into a parched and shrivelled tangle as the once sinewy roots now groped for traces of moisture in the dusty grit and gravel. A haze of sooty flecks hung in the air settling slowly as a deathly shroud over the singed leaves. Unfamiliar sounds brutally assaulted the tenor …

Watch it!

A race it has become to tick off a bucket list,bird watching a pursuit now for a brief tryst.A lens and memory card are all that we care,exploration lost out to detached quick affair. Whither the curiosity what a bird is up to,puzzling why it did that just before it flew.EV ISO shutter speed f-stop …

Muni(a)’s Worth!

Weary soles and wretched souls,ending one of our worst strolls,a trail promising sighting goals,no birds and empty crab holes. Then at the dirt trail’s fag end,in the shrubs around the bend,fluttering wings heard in descend,flickering hopes began to ascend. A furred figure buff and blurred,turned a clumsy juvenile bird,busy with preening undeterred,despite our presence unstirred. …

The Dark

As junior and I stood, shoes sinking in the slushy marshy banks of the lake, this ibis uncharacteristically circled overhead a couple of times. I could have ratcheted up the EV but would have only ended up with an unremarkable abdomen. Thinking quickly on my clogged feet, I stepped it down a bit for this …

Limitless Scopa

Bees collect both nectar and pollen from flowers. While the nectar is a source of carbohydrates, the pollen provides them with protein, fats and various macro and micro nutrients. To carry pollen back to their hives, the female bees have different specialised structures on their body which vary as per the species. Honeybees and bumblebees …