Birding at Nandi Hills

A place where id previously gone and struggled turned out to be a heaven for birding this Feb.

Nandi Hills is situated approximately 60kms from Bangalore, a little beyond the International Airport. Nandi Hills is very rich in bird-life, making it a very popular birdwatching spot.

The images from the first day are:

Indian Pitta
Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 600mm F4 L IS USM, Gitzo tripod with ball head

Eurasian Blackbird
Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 600mm F4 L IS USM, Gitzo tripod with ball head

Nilgiri Wood Pigeon

Orange-headed Thrush

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

We also saw a pair of Common Kestrels and a pair of Peregrine Falcons towards the end of the trip.

A note to photographers: Nandi Hills usually has very poor light, so be prepared to use a high ISO and a tripod if possible.

All the above images were shot using a Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 600mm F4 L IS USM, and a Gitzo tripod with ball head for support.

The second day was a day well spent with raptors. We saw a staggering 8-9 Tawny Eagles, a pair of Bonelli's Eagles, a lone Egyptian Vulture and a lone Black Eagle.

It was just awesome watching the eagle fight amongst themselves. I have a lot more images of the eagles, but will upload the later.

Tawny Eagle in flight
Canon EOS 500D, Canon EF 600mm F4 L IS USM, hand-held

Since i had borrowed my friends Canon EOS 7 D on the first day, i decided to try out the HD video option on it. I short a very short clip of the Indian Pitta. Hope you guys like it!! :)

Indian Pitta from Angad Achappa on Vimeo.

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All Images are Copyrighted Angad Achappa and may not be used in any form, website or print/online media without written permission of the Photographer. For any inquiry for the photographs please contact: angadachappaphotography@hotmail.com

Tawny Eagle

Another post of the same Tawny Eagle that i had posted earlier, this image was shot from under the car, yes UNDER THE CAR! :)

Tawny Eagle
Canon EOS 20D + Sigma 135-400mm

Location: Bangalore, India

A little info about the Tawny Eagle from Wiki:
Length: 62–72 cm
Wingspan: 165–185 cm
Weight: 1.6–2.4 kg
The Tawny Eagle's diet is largely fresh carrion of all kinds, but it will kill small mammals up to the size of a rabbit, reptiles and birds up to the size of guineafowl. It will also steal food from other raptors.
The call of the Tawny Eagle is a crow-like barking, but it is rather a silent bird except in display.


All Images are Copyrighted Angad Achappa and may not be used in any form,website or print media without written permission of the Photographer. For any inquiry for the photographs please contact: angadachappaphotography@hotmail.com

Tawny Eagle!!

P.S. I had wrongly quoted the bird as 'Steppe Eagle' earlier. After some debate over the ID by some experts, it was identified as the 'Tawny Eagle'

Finally managed to get the Tawny Eagle(the first time being more of record shots on my first visit to this water-body). Made a few images. More to follow soon.

All images shot handheld and manually focused with: Canon EOS 20D + Sigma 135-400mm

Thanks for viewing. :)

Tawny Eagle

Tawny Eagle - Drinking Water

Tawny Eagle - Preening

All Images are Copyrighted Angad Achappa and may not be used in any form,website or print media without written permission of the Photographer. For any inquiry for the photographs please contact: angadachappaphotography@hotmail.com

A few birds from Hessarghatta

Made a visit to a local water body last weekend, now have a few more species to add to my list. Love a few pics... :) Hope you like them too.

All images shot hand held and manually focused with Canon EOS-1D MkII & Sigma 135-400mm DG APO

Pariah Kite


Pariah Kite


Brahminy Kite (juvenile)


Tawny Eagle


Tawny Eagles in action


Grey Francolin


Black Drongo

All Images are Copyrighted Angad Achappa and may not be used in any form,website or print media without written permission of the Photographer. For any inquiry for the photographs please contact: angadachappaphotography@hotmail.com