Bird-watching in the garden is one of the most fun things to do when you have free time. Here in this garden there is no need for a hide, the birds come reasonably close, sometimes staying still. It is a pleasure to see how the behaviour is of some of the birds are. Some are quiet, others are nervous and skittish. Still others again are shy and stay low near the tea bushes and some hide in them. The Red Vented Bulbul is a pushy bird and does not tolerate any other bird around and when these are cranky they harass the other birds and chase them out of the garden. Then the Babbler, this species looks a lot like humans, and is good at making messes and not cleaning up. The Junglefowl the National bird here digs all over the garden in search of food. The migrant the Pita, is the most nervous of the bunch, smelling danger it scurries away into the undergrowth. It is a beautiful species to see and a welcome guest every year. The Minivet is also a popular bird in the garden, always looking for grubs and insects, this bird has a beautiful colouring. The male is orange/black and the ladies are dressed in yellow/black.
The birds in the garden always come in waves, when the Babblers come there are always other species that accompany them , like the aforementioned Red Vented Bulbul, Myna’s and Scimitar Babbler, this species mainly eats larvae, caterpillars and other insects. One of the most beautiful birds to come into garden is the Indian Paradise flycatcher, this is a graceful bird and as the name says always in diving flight grabbing its prey. Watching all this activity, you soon forget about time.
The garden here does not have the four seasons as in Europe, though it is clear that there are two seasons for the trees and certainly the plants. At this time of writing, it is November and you can clearly see that there are fewer flowers in the shrubs and plants, which also means fewer butterflies and insects. The equipment used is the OM-1.1 with the razor sharp M.Zuiko 300mm and sometimes the teleconverter TC 1.4 for the smaller bird species. All hand held without a tripod, so that you are more flexible.