Niraj's Birding Journey
The First Seed - Interest Jan 24​
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Introduction to Birding - Passion​​
- First Bird Count Walk Preparations Birding by Sounds
- First Bird Count Walk Aug 24
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Backyard Birding - Photography Aug Dec 24​
- Phone Camera Aug Dec 24
- NIKON COOLPX 950 P Jan 25 Onwards
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Niraj's Birding Journey
The First Seed
​ I was 73 years old in January 2024. I did not even know the word “Birding” when the first seeds of this journey was sown.
I was still active, loved walking, travel and nature. On a vacation in Nasik, Maharashtra, India we visited one of the listed tourist attractions – the Nandur Bird Sanctuary.
​ This vast expanse of water (pick-up weir) was developed between 1905-1913 from two rivers. Due to silting and organic matter growth it had developed marshes, islands, shallow ponds and weeds. Along with the large trees on its shores it was a haven for birds.
I savoured the peace of Nandur - the birds perched on trees, swimming lazily in the water, circling over head in the balmy late evening winter sun.
I took the first Bird Pictures with my top end phone camera - frustrated by its limitations. But a couple of the better pictures and one video were good enough to be modestly proud of.
The fuse had been installed but not Lit. I still did not know the word “Birding”.
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Nandur Birds
Black Drongo
Indian Pond Heron
Breen Bee Eater
Niraj's Birding Journey Begins
Introduction to Birding
​ I am based in Mumbai, India. I had become a Life Member of the Bombay Natural History Society in 2010. I kept receiving intimations of Nature Walks and other programmes but had never paid any attention until June 2024. A new Whatsapp titled “Bird Count Walk” caught my attention. It was free and asked for volunteers to go one Sunday a month for a 3-6 km walk in the Borivali National Park in small groups to “count” birds with an Expert Group leader. I met the criteria of fitness etc and decided to try it little knowing what I was entering into.
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The First Bird Count Walk Preparations
A Communication sent in advance outlined the preparations:
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- Date: 25th August 2024.
- Reporting time at Haathi Gate: 7:00 am
- Duration: 7:30 to 10:30 am.
​​ - Items Required - binoculars, raincoat, light refreshment, water and Camera (optional), mobile with Internet connection.
- Much more challenging was the requirement to download and study the use of the eBird software through a youtube link.
It was learning to use eBird (and the associated Merlin Bird ID Software) that opened up the fascinating World of Birding
eBird
- Recording Bird calls
- Identifying them
- Counting them Specie wise
- Recording the data and the collation worldwide
Merlin Bird ID
- Taking Bird Photographs
- Identifying them​
- Creating a collection
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Did this really work? Was it so easy?
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23rd August 2024: 2 days before the walk armed with the ebird software on my phone I went to test eBird around my Housing Complex which fortunately has a ring of trees around it.
DELIGHT: Within Minutes Black Kite identified. WOW! It works!
And 3 other birds in 15 minutes:
Common Myna
Alexandrine Parakeet
Common Tailor Bird
I had lived and walked this compound for 3 years, loved the trees around it, but missed this world living there!
I was hooked.
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The First Forest Bird Count Walk
I decided to brave the rain and report at 7:00 am. Four co walkers had assembled on time. The weather was kind - the rain stopped during our 3.5-hour walk.
​ The walk itself was unforgettable experience. Surrounded by the lush green forest, flowing streams, and teeming wildlife felt like I was on vacation. I soon realized that Sighting/Listening to Birds required very slow walking with frequent short stops.
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Running Merlin to identify Birds by Sound was exciting and we logged 21 birds during this outing. I was amazed by how the experienced birders identified most of them without software. There was so much to learn.​
Sighting birds was a totally different story. The experienced birders in the group spotted 5 birds. I confess I could not see one even after they were pointed out. I realized that I needed to develop the "jungle vision" of the ancient African tribes.
The Magic of Birding .... A Dragon fly and a Karvy Flower
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As we walked the leader kept pointing out some other points of interest:
- Karvy: A flower that blooms once in 8 years. How fortunate to see it on my first walk.
- A beautiful Dragon Fly
- A Teak plant - rub the leaf on your palm and a bright red color emerges.
- an exotic Mushroom
- a Crab
Birding brought the fresh air, lush greenery, flowing streams, and teeming wildlife to life as never before in so many nature-walks during all my 73 years.
Birding had become a Passion!
Backyard Birding - Bird Photgraphy
- I live in a flat on the 3rd floor of a housing complex in a heavily built up Suburb of Mumbai. We are very fortunate to have a ring of large trees along the complex boundary. This attracts a lot of birds from the Bombay National Park just across the highway which borders.
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- Apart from capturing and identifying sounds thru Merlin on my daily evening stroll there were instances when I could not help noticing birds that were not the common crow/eagle/sparrow and started to capture their photographs with my Phone Camera.
- There were two phases of Learning:
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Phase 1 - Phone Camera (Sept to January 2024)
I started experiencing some of the challenges of Bird Photography.
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Spotting a bird (Luck and Practice)
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Suitable position for a clear shot
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Stays in a position long enough
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Speed of talking shots – Open screen, aim, zoom, Shoot
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Limitations of Zoom and Camera – Blur
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Light effects etc
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Taking videos - a challenge I got the sparrows in one video.
I also learned that some birds were spotted at the same place around the same time.
Patience was the name of the game – to get GOOD shots. 4 of the best photos taken are shown as samples below.
Spot Breasted
Fantail
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Rock Pigeon (White)
Common Tailor Bird
Common Sparrow (Video)
Phase 2 - "Proper" Camera (Sept 2024 - Endless Journey)
I had realised that capturing beauty of birds in a high-quality photographs was for me the greatest joys of Birding. I envied the experienced birders in our walks their huge cameras, adjusted so easily to capture clear zoomed images of tiny birds so far away.
Selecting a “suitable” camera became necessary for “progressing” to the next stage in my birding journey. For a Photography novice this was a challenge. Cameras come with bewildering specifications, differing technologies, capabilities, operating complexity, and prices. The “Quality Capability” of any model depends upon the specific combination of all these factors that the chosen camera offers.
How?
- Google. Google, Google to isolate the Wood from the Trees:
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Survey well known camera brands (Canon, Panasonic, Sony, Canon etc) made me quickly realize that the variety and levels of sophistication and therefore price range were mind boggling.2
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Understanding the specifications and terms used and their criticality for Birding3.
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Assessing which camera was most suitable for my birding aspirations and budget.4.
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Clearing the confusion: Found a wonderfully clear logically compiled article. I recommend it highly for novices like me getting started, Click to access:
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The Ultimate Guide: Choosing The Best Camera For Bird Photography - The Birdy Blog
The Step-by-Step approach to clear the fog is best summarized in the contents of this article:
Table Of Contents
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Why Choosing the Right Camera for Bird Photography is Important
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Criteria to Consider When Choosing a Camera for Bird Photography
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​​5) Budget: Having isolated the models of suitable Cameras it was easy to shortlist a couple based upon my budget and availability in India.
6) Recommendations of experienced birders I met during my walks
This process led me to select NIKON COOLIX P950. The P1000 was had just been launched but I was warned that it is heavier and for beginners it was challenging – being much more sensitive to hand movements.
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​​​​As an Engineer learning about cameras and photography was very interesting and perhaps at some stage I will include a section in this blog detailing some key technicalities.