[vikash49]

I was visiting Bangalore recently for a business conference and the night before my departure, I casually shared the news with a friend living there. As I had a couple of hours free time in the morning, an impromptu plan was chalked out to visit the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary and do some early morning birding there.

At 4.30am in the morning, my friend picked me up from my hotel in his Fiat Linea T-Jet, and from there we proceeded to J.P.Nagar to pick up two more friends. From here, it was a straight run of approximately 132kms which was disposed off in less than two hours.



We arrived at the place around 7.30am, but there was still an hour left for the park to open as its official opening time is 8.30am.





Since we had some time on hand, we made a quick dash to a local roadside eatery for an early breakfast of 'plate idlis' and vadas complimented by some mouth smacking chilli-coconut chutney!





The park gates opened at 8.30am and we were the only visitors around. It was an overcast day, and hence bird activity was much lower than normal. Even light was below par, but we decided to take a ride in one of the boats to seek out some action, and this is what we got.


Indian Grey Hornbill


Common Kingfisher


Majestic flight of Spot Billed Pelican


Carrying back nesting material to its nest


Close up!


Great Indian Thick Knee


Adult Spot Billed Pelican carrying nesting material


A typical Pelican Nest


Pied kingfisher


Black Crowned Night Heron


Stork Billed Kingfisher


Five Indian Darters on a tree, probably a nesting site closeby.


An immature Black Headed Ibis pulling out food from its parents gut!


Loved the mood of this one!


Pelicans picking up twigs from the lake in flight!


Black Headed Ibis in flight


Watery kiss. Just before touchdown!


Skimming the water surface


Was lucky to spot this Asian Paradise Flycatcher in the garden!


Beautiful lotus flowers were in bloom in the garden.


Lots of places to sit around the lake and capture the action.

Finally, our time was up and we had to make a move. Drive back took almost an hour extra due to the increased traffic, but this discomfort was more than compensated with this lovely South Indian lunch at Adigas!



Overall, a nice short trip with some decent birding.

Thanks for reading!

[hillsnrains]

Let me be the first one to congratulate!

Wow...great pictures there. Can we know the details of your gear? May be camera, lens? i have been in Bangalore for 8 yrs, but have not been to this place my bad. I have decided right now that,i will visit this place with in next 2 months.
Thanks again!

[VindyWheels]

Great pics! Did you go on a weekday?

[JASMEET MATTOO]

Amazing pictures. I specially liked the one where the baby black headed Ibis is taking food out of its parents mouth. Lovely!

[M35]

Some sharp and well composed shots there.

You did pretty well to capture those beautiful BIF shots in overcast conditions.
Thanks for sharing.

[vikash49]

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

Let me be the first one to congratulate!

Wow...great pictures there. Can we know the details of your gear? May be camera, lens? i have been in Bangalore for 8 yrs, but have not been to this place my bad. I have decided right now that,i will visit this place with in next 2 months.
Thanks again!

All of these have been shot on my Nikon D7100 with Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 Sport lens. In some of them, I've also added a 2x Teleconvertor for added reach.

Nice place to visit with family and kids. Best birding activity is between December and February though

[PVPal]

Such beautiful images. Clearly you had a good time enjoying the company of these magnificent birds.

The camera is worth the money paid and the photographer has done a great job. The timing is stunning.

By the way, the meal looks sumptuous.

[vikash49]

Originally Posted by VindyWheels

Great pics! Did you go on a weekday?

Thanks!! Yes we went on a Tuesday.

Originally Posted by JASMEET MATTOO

Amazing pictures. I specially liked the one where the baby black headed Ibis is taking food out of its parents mouth. Lovely!

Thanks! Indeed, parenting must really be tough job for these birds!

Originally Posted by M35

Some sharp and well composed shots there.

You did pretty well to capture those beautiful BIF shots in overcast conditions.
Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the appreciation sir!

Originally Posted by PVPal

Such beautiful images. Clearly you had a good time enjoying the company of these magnificent birds.

The camera is worth the money paid and the photographer has done a great job. The timing is stunning.

By the way, the meal looks sumptuous.

Thanks!! Indeed we had a good time, but this place definitely has more to offer and deserves a second visit during peak season time

[srikrishna717]

Vikash,
Superb pictures !
I have been to Ranganatittu (Mysore is my home town ) many times, but never managed to get these beauties like how you have captured !! Great Pics once again !

[Divya Sharan]

Originally Posted by vikash49

All of these have been shot on my Nikon D7100 with Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 Sport lens. In some of them, I've also added a 2x Teleconvertor for added reach.

Nice place to visit with family and kids. Best birding activity is between December and February though

Lovely captures.

I have a Tamron 70-300 mm lens I use with my Nikon D3200. Can you tell me what 2x teleconverter you use?

[naveenroy]

Sweet shots! Spectacular. Loved the "before touchdown" shot most of all.

I've been there too and wonderful place to shoot birds. With a camera

[vikash49]

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

Lovely captures.

I have a Tamron 70-300 mm lens I use with my Nikon D3200. Can you tell me what 2x teleconverter you use?

Thanks Divya! I've used a Sigma 2x TC, but unfortunately, a TC will not work with your lens as its most likely an f/5.6 aperture at 300mm!

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Sweet shots! Spectacular. Loved the "before touchdown" shot most of all.

I've been there too and wonderful place to shoot birds. With a camera

Thanks Naveen! The 'Watery Kiss' is my favorite too!!

Originally Posted by srikrishna717

Vikash,
Superb pictures !
I have been to Ranganatittu (Mysore is my home town ) many times, but never managed to get these beauties like how you have captured !! Great Pics once again !

Thanks Krishna!

All one needs is a bit of patience, some practice and a little understanding of the birds behaviour, and I'm sure you too will be able to get similar or even better shots!

[SKavuri]

Thanks for the crisp travalogue and incredible pictures, vikash.
The pictures are truly professional quality and shows your patience in clicking at right moment (birds in flight, bird picking up the twigs floating on the water...). The razor sharp focus of of birds, that too in flight...

Your fairly fast lens and early morning warm hues added charm to the pictures!

I am surprised and unhappy that the sanctuary doesn't open till 8:30 AM - it is a bit late, as many birds would disperse by then. Are there any local guides available at the Sanctuary to help locating the birds?

Are there any hotels and restaurants available close to the sanctuary or Bengaluru is the nearest option?

[psurelia]

@vikash49, that's a beautiful little travelogue. The pictures are outstanding. The captions with the names of the birds are really helpful for a birding dummy like me. Looking at your pictures in which you captured the ornithic actions, I came to realize why photography is an art - it is because a photographer of your caliber can capture such precious instants of time which are so easy to overlook with naked eyes!

[NPV]

@vikash - excellent pictures, Thanks for sharing
That was a good way to spend a day with a dash to Ranganathittu and back!

Originally Posted by SKavuri

Are there any hotels and restaurants available close to the sanctuary or Bengaluru is the nearest option?

The turn off to Ranganathittu is near Srirangapatna on the Bangalore-Mysore highway and the highway upto that point is like a food court with several options all the way! From Kamat, Adigas, Kadambam to McDonalds and what not .. and a couple of Food Courts, one on on each side of the highway, It's the Highway on your plate!