Description:
An Indian wildlife blog where we share our wildlife experiences through our wildlife photography.
Contents:
Asiatic Buffalo - The endangered species of the Bovine Tribe
The Asiatic Buffalo are different from the Cape Buffalo by way of their signature long backward curving horns and they are the second largest wild bovid, smaller only than the Indian Gaur.
In India, this endangered species of Buffalos are found in some parts of North East India. And in Assam, the Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the best places that you can observe and photograph this species. One of the most important threats to Wild Water Buffalo are interbreeding with feral and domestic buffalo, hunting, and habitat loss/degradation. And because of this, we see their numbers diminishing over the years.
Here are a few images taken during our trip to the Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary; these images as always have been shot with the D300, 300mm f2.8 lens with the 2x TC. All images are copyright of Thomas and Shilpy. In case you are interested in any of them, pl. contact us on suresh_anand@hotmail.com    
Birding in India - Siberian Stonechat
The Siberian Stonechat is a resident and a winter visitor to India. During our visit to Nameri and Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuaries, we saw many of them, but found it was quite challenging to get close and photograph them.
But we did get lucky on a couple of occasions. Once we found a male in breeding plummage on the river bank in Nameri Wildlife Sanctuary. Then again while in Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary, during one of the safaris we saw a beautiful female who came and sat on a perch close to our Jeep. All images were taken with our trusted D300, 300mm f2.8 with 2x TC setup.    
Patience pays in wildlife photography
Wildlife photography is not always about being in the right place at the right time. It is also about having patience, and waiting for that right moment to come by when our cameras can start clicking. It is about spotting wildlife using tracks, sound, smell and of course keeping your fingers crossed for some good luck. Here we share with you such an experience that we had.
All images have been taken with the D300, 300mm f2.8 at 300mm focal length. Pl. note that all images are copyright of Thomas and Shilpy and in case you are interested in any image, pl. contact us at suresh_anand@hotmail.com
During one of our drives through the Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary, we noticed this Rhino standing amongst tall grass at a distance from the game tracks. We realized that he was waiting for us to move on so that he could cross over to the other side. Sensing this, we decided to wait there and photograph him crossing the road. Rhinos have poor eye sight and they depend heavily on their sense of smell and here you see him doing exactly that - smelling us out.  We decided to wait and see whether the Rhino would lose its patience and cross the road in spite of us being there. Well, that was not to be and he tracked back and we lost him in the tall grass. However, we were convinced that he was going to cross over. But the only question was when and where would he emerge.
After about waiting for 30 minutes, we got our answer when we suddenly saw a Rhino cross the road way off from where we were waiting.  But we were wrong. Because the huge bull Rhino, that we were tracking, was not the one who crossed. He emerged from the tall grass less than 50 feet from the Jeep soon after the Rhino above had crossed and gave us some frame filling compositions!  
Birding in India - Pallas's Fish-Eagle
The Pallas's Fish-Eagle is a rare species of Eagle found in Northern India. As a result of widespread loss, degradation, and disturbance of wetlands and breeding sites throughout its range, the population of Pallas's Fish-Eagle is declining and their conservation status is Vulnerable.
We were very lucky to see a couple of these awesome raptors in the Eastern range of the Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary. No wonder the Eastern range is known as a birder's paradise. Here are some images from these sightings.
All images are taken with D300, 300mm f2.8 lens mounted with the 2x TC. Basic post processing has been done using Capture NX 2.0.
All images on this site are copyright of Thomas & Shilpy and in case you are interested in any of them, pl. contact us on suresh_anand@hotmail.com.    
Indian Wildlife - Bonnet Macaque
The common Bonnet Macaque is a species of primate found only in Southern India. and they are found in almost every kind of forest. A striking behavior of these primates is that they have the tendency of gravitating towards human habitations. In fact, it is interesting to note that significant populations of completely wild Bonnet Macaques in interior forests have rarely been reported.
Birding in India - Red Junglefowl
The true ancestor of our domestic Chicken, the Red Junglefowl is a widespread resident in North Eastern India. While you can see them all over the Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary, photographing them in the wild is a huge challenge, given their shy and restless behavior. We found it easier to photograph their Peninsular Indian cousin - the Grey Junglefowl. You can read about the Grey Junglefowl in our earlier post here.
We sighted mostly the male Red Junglefowls' and here is a collection of images taken with the D300, 300mm f2.8 mounted with the 2x TC. All images were taken in the Eastern range of the Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary, which is truly a birder's delight. From among all the three ranges of the Sanctuary - Western, Central and Eastern, it was during our trips into the Eastern range that we saw and photographed many different species of birds. As this range is located furthest away from all the resorts, not many people visit the range, making it the least frequented range of the Sanctuary. But if you are a Birder and are visiting Kaziranga, we would recommend not just one, but a couple of trips to the Eastern range. It is beautiful and believe us, absolutely worth it.
Pl. note that all images are copyright of Thomas and Shilpy. In case you are interested in any of the images, Pl. mail us on suresh_anand@hotmail.com with the details.
     
Birding in India - Vultures at a carcass
We came across this Rhino carcass, a week or so old, during our first safari into the eastern range of the Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary. The carcass had been stripped to the bone by the wildlife around there, especially the vultures. And when we reached the site, we saw some of these scavengers still hovering around the carcass, giving us this amazing opportunity to observe and photograph them at close quarters.
We were quite fortunate to find a couple of species of Vultures at the carcass; the Himalayan Griffon, the near threatened Cinereous Vulture and the critically endangered Long-billed Vulture.
Here is a collection from that chance sighting. Most images are full frame compositions taken with the D300, 300mm f2.8 mounted with the 2x TC. The last image is taken with the D80, 18-200mm VR lens combo.
Pl. note that all images are copyright of Thomas and Shilpy. In case you are interested in any of the images, Pl. mail us on suresh_anand@hotmail.com with the details.    
Birding in India - Grey-headed Fish Eagle
The Grey-headed Fish Eagle is a forest dwelling raptor and as the name goes, it is known to be a specialist fish eater. It is a widespread local resident in most parts of Southern Asia. Although widely distributed, it's population is declining due to the loss of forested wetlands. As a consequence, the Grey-headed Fish Eagle is categorized as one of the "Near Threatened" species.
While we have seen this species many times in Southern India, we got lucky when we visited the Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary where we got to observe and photograph this species at close quarters.Here are a series of images taken with the D300, 300mm f2.8 lens mounted with the 2x TC. All images are taken in RAW mode, post processed in Nikon Capture NX 2.0.Pl. note that all images are copyright of Thomas and Shilpy. Pl. contact us on suresh_anand@hotmail.com in case you are interested in any of these images.    
Birding in India - Grey-backed Shrike
The Grey-backed shrike is a resident and winter visitor to North and North Eastern parts of India. It is common to see them perched on tall grass and bushes, constantly looking out for moving prey - primarily insects, lizards etc. Because of this behaviour of theirs, they are categorized as sit-and-wait predators.
The open grasslands of the Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the best places to observe and photograph the Grey-backed Shrike in NE India. During all our safaris, we saw this beautiful bird playing hide and seek with us in the grasslands. However, we were pleasantly surprised to see
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