dr ian dsouza: musings of an Oncologist

musings of an oncologist

Images of the Year Gone By…

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A long, long time ago I was sitting on a beach with a friend watching the sun set. She had this intense look on her face and when I asked her what was going on, she replied:

“I’m saving a picture of this scene in my mind” she said, “so that I can enjoy it later in the years to come.”

That’s the beauty of images.

Whether they reside in an album or in a hard drive, or even between the pages of one’s mind, they always help to relive special moments of the past…

6th January 2018. 

(2112 images)

Waldevi, Nashik.

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Early morning view from a friend’s vineyard farmhouse on Waldevi Lake near Nashik.

 

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I did get a quite a few bird images and a higher than average number of ‘lifers’ (birding term for the very first sighting of a particular species) including this tree pipit.
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Siberian stonechat (male). Another ‘lifer’ from Waldevi.
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Screen shot of the cover of a 12″x12″ coffee table book on Waldevi, Nashik. It was a great trip and was the inspiration for the first of three books that I came out with this year.
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The book was predominantly – but not exclusively – about birds in the strictest sense of the term! The screenshot of the last page of the book (above) with bear testimony to that.

 

23rd January, 2018

(6656 images)

Old Magazine House, Ganeshguddi, Karnataka.

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A magical  couple of days at a birding paradise in Karnataka. If ever there was an ‘armchair version of birding this was it! Above is a panoramic view of the birding hide from where the birds are viewed.
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Emerald dove (male). Just one of the many spectacular images I got at Ganeshguddi.
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Oriental white-eyes
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Screenshot of cover of my second coffee table book of the year

26, January 2018

(1379 images)

Zuari River Safari, Goa.

 

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Osprey (juvenile). This was my 4th or 5th Zuari River safari that was originally run by Mr. Balachandra Kamat before his sad demise in 2016.
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White-bellied sea eagle

26, January 2018

(142 images)

Farmhouse, Calangute Goa

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The fallen gunpowder tree. In Jan 2018 the gunpowder tree at the far end of the yard finally fell. In its heyday the number of birds that were attracted to the fruit of this tree is what got me hooked onto birding. It forms the very backbone of my book: Chronicles of a Goan Birder.
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A white-throated kingfisher with a freshly caught field mouse taken just outside the front porch of the farmhouse.

31st January, 2018

(32 images)

Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, Mumbai

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Lunar eclipse. Partial shadow of the earth on the moon.

15th February 2018

(1002 images)

Mangalajodi, Chilika Lake, Odisha

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Birding on the narrow, pole driven boats on the northern end of Chilika lake at sunset.
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Yellow bittern at Mangalajodi
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Ruddy crake, Mangalajodi

18th February, 2018

Bhubaneshwar, Odisha

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The image of a tennis ball-sized Odisha Rossogolla that sparked a heated Inter-state controversy over who has the bragging rights to the origin of this incredible sweet!

18th February 2018

(4568 images)

Bhitarkanika, Odisha

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The boat that took us through the mangrove jungle of Bhitarkanika
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The spectacular brown-winged kingfisher. Bhitarkanika, Odisha.
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Mangrove pitta. Bhitarkanika, Odisha.
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Massive salt-water crocodile. Bhitarkanika, Odisha

8th April, 2018

(884 images)

Farmhouse, Calangute, Goa

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Red-whiskered bulbul nest with egg in the cycas just outside my front porch. A day later a second egg was laid.

18th April, 2018

(1901 images)

Benreu, Nagaland

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Benreu Village. Typical terrain in Nagaland. Wild and ruggedly beautiful. We stayed at a resort at the top of the hill on the left.

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Black-eared shrike babbler
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Blue-winged minla
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Azure sapphire butterfly
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Crested finchbill
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Buff-barred warbler

 

21st April, 2018

(1202 images)

Zuleke, Nagaland

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My homestay room in Zuleke. Basic accommodation but spotlessly clean. The only mess was of my doing!

 

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Panoramic shot of our birding group in one of the valleys around Zuleke
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Striped laughing thrush
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Black-tailed crake
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Yellow-bellied fairy-fantail
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Maroon oriole
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Ferruginous flycatcher

 

22nd April, 2018

(714 images)

Khonoma Nagaland

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Huge swathes of the invasive Ageratum conyzoides (billy goat weed).
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Little pied flycatcher (male)
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Common windmill butterfly
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Spot-breasted scimitar-babbler
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Barred cuckoo dove
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pair of bamboo partridge

 

28th April, 2018

(1494 images)

Farmhouse, Calangute Goa

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The eggs of the red-whiskered bulbuls had hatched…
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…resulting in a couple of very, very busy parents!
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Also a wild fig tree was fruiting and attracting a large number of birds including this female Asian Koel

6th May, 2018

(7 images)

Hiranandani Gardens, Powai

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Mention the month of May to any Goan worth his salt and one of the first thing he will think of – apart from feni – is MANGOES! Mangoes from our Goa trees were used to make this trifle. Add to that Natural’s Malai ice cream and roasted pecans and it made for a truly yummy dessert. Especially when served in a glass that had more than a few dregs of a Margarita cocktail lining the bottom.

 

12th May 2018

(796 images)

Farmhouse. Calangute, Goa

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Juvenile coppersmith barbet on the still fruiting wild fig tree
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Plum-headed parakeet (female)
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Plum-headed parakeet (male)
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White-spotted fantail

29th May 2018

(1307 images)

Farmhouse. Calangute, Goa

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The wild crotalaria plant was flowering and already attracting the ‘tiger’ butterflies. It meant that the rains couldn’t be very far away…
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…but the highlight of this particular visit were the Vigor’s sunbirds (male in spectacular breeding colours above)! These sunbirds are endemic to this part of the world and I have never ever seen them in such large numbers as I did on this occasion!
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Vigor’s sunbird (male)
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Vigor’s sunbird (male)
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Vigor’s sunbird (female)
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…also got this nice shot of a crested serpent eagle

6th June 2018

(543 images)

Farmhouse. Calangute, Goa

 

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Indian pitta bird. This was only my second sighting of this bird at the farmhouse and the very first time – EVER – that I actually got to hear its beautiful wolf whistle-like call!
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Chestnut sailer butterfly
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yamfly butterfly

 

21st June 2018

(40 images)

Hiranandani Gardens Powai

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As of now, I’ve got great images of 10 of the 12 kingfisher species found in India. I had 12″ x 12″ canvas frames made of 9 of them and used them as a backdrop for the bar.

1st July 2018

(18 images)

Hiranandani Gardens, Powai

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The pina colada made on this particular Sunday afternoon was only to get this image…………honest!

 

5th July, 2018

(19 images)

Hiranandani Powai

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French toast: thick slices of bread soaked in batter of milk egg, nutmeg, vanilla essence and maple syrup and fried. Ian’s secret modification: sprinkle the top with powered brown sugar and caramelise it to a crisp with a blow torch. Add roasted cashew nuts…Yummmmmm

14th July, 2018

(18 images)

Hiranandani Gardens, Powai

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Made myself a couple of margaritas on this Sunday afternoon and set them up, one slightly behind the other. Took 8 images with different focus points and stacked them to get this image with both glasses and the two limes in sharp focus. Must admit though, I tended to lose a bit of that focus when I eventually finished the cocktails…

 

21st July 2018

(1301 images)

Farmhouse. Calangute, Goa

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The monsoons were well and truly here so apart from the occasional bird like this juvenile bhraminy kite for the next few months it would be a feast of butterflies and insects…!
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Blue bottle butterfly
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Common mormon female
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Blue shield bug
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Common mormons. Male below, female above

 

29th July, 2019

(22 images)

Hiranandani Gardens, Powai

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‘Gadbad’! A traditional hotpotch of nuts, fruit, cake, jello cubes and ice cream. To which I added candied peel soaked in Drambue and swirled the glass in blue curaçao….Heaven!!

 

4th August, 2018

(1169 images)

Farmhouse, Calangute Goa

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A friend had a champaca magnolia tree outside his house and, despite being bang in the middle of a concrete jungle it attracted an unusually large variety of birds. I managed to get hold of 4 grafts of the tree and got the gardener to plant them around the backyard.
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While looking for a place to plant the grafts the gardener noticed this rat snake in the bushes…
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…and a short distance away, while digging to put the grafts in the soil,  he came up with these beauties (that I got him to put back where he found them). Snake eggs!

18th August 2018

(1095 images)

Manhattan, New York

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Indian Indépendance Day celebration day parade near Madison Square Garden. This lady popped out of the crowd to click an image and I shifted focus to give the image a much more interesting composition….(in my opinion, that is!)
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A float at the parade. Women in traditional Indian dress. Complete with 9 yard saris, veni (flowers) in the hair, glass bangles…the works. But what’s with the footwear?! Sneakers! Perfect example of a fusion of Indo – US culture. Even Bapu seems to find it amusing!
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Red peppers at a Farmer’s Market on Union square
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Inside the awe-inspiring ‘Oculus’ in the financial district of Manhattan.
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From where we were staying we had a great view of 8th Avenue and this is one of the many images I took. It was fairly early in the morning and I waited for the someone to cross the street to catch their long shadows.

8th September, 2018

(2880 images)

Farmhouse. Calangute, Goa.

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Dew-laden flowers in the monsoons. A photographers delight!
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Vernal hanging parrot
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Sunset from the farmhouse
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Indian fluorescent grasshopper

 

23rd September 2018

(1022 images)

Ovelekar’s Butterfly Garden, Thane

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I hadn’t visited this beautiful park in Thane, (just outside Mumbai), for some time and thought I’d check it out this Sunday morning. As usual it did not disappoint and I got some nice images including this blue oak leaf butterfly.
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The second largest butterfly in India, the Blue Mormon is not a common visitor at the park
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yamfly butterfly

23rd September 2018

(4568 images)

Hiranandani Gardens Powai

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Dramatic monsoon sky as seen from our apartment balcony.

 

29th September, 2018

(2446 images)

Farmhouse. Calangute, Goa

 

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Around this time of the year butterflies tend to dominate my image folder. This trip had a few unusual ones like this Southern birdwing…
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…blue mormon…
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…and this tiny monkey puzzle.
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I was even thrilled to see this huge, (must have been at least 5-6 inches long), fat caterpillar of an Atlas moth. (Although the same cannot be said of my gardener as it was going through the leaves of our precious cinnamon tree like there was no tomorrow!)

 

14th October 2018

(1166 images)

Farmhouse. Calangute, Goa

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Got some interesting visitors on this trip like this violin mantis…
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…a young male peacock that dropped in for a drink…
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…and this juvenile male blue-capped rock thrush that I was seeing at the farmhouse for the very first time!

9th October 2018

(1 image)

Hiranandani Gardens, Powai

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Found this old image of our now 13 year-old Labrador, Buffy, taken with a film SLR when she was about a year old. The print was not in very good condition and so I scanned it a cleaned it up on Photoshop.

 

30th November, 2018

(735 images)

Holiday Inn Resort, Cavellosim, South Goa

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Reunion of our Medical College batch of 1976. 30+ ‘senior citizen’ medicos, many meeting for the first time in 42 years! A thoroughly enjoyable couple of days!

3rd December 2018

(1299 images)

Farmhouse. Calangute, Goa.

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Didn’t need much arm-twisting to join a few batchmates on a Zuari River Safari. The highlight of this trip was this collared kingfisher. Perched on a branch that was sticking out of the water, it allowed us to come within 10-15 feet of it before casually flying off!
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Back at the farmhouse I had a super session of birding. The icing on the cake was, undoubtedly, the eyebrowed thrush (on the right) whose last recorded sighting in Goa I’m told was about 11 years ago!
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It’s alway a thrill to get a sighting of the near-endangered grey-headed bulbul.
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I had just completed the delicate and time-consuming process of dismantling and packing my camera paraphernalia in preparation for the hour-long drive to the airport to catch my flight to Mumbai when this giant redeye skipper flies in and poses invitingly on the front door! Needless to say, I unpacked all over again to get the image! Not that I’m complaining, mind you!!

 

15th December, 2018

Andheri, Mumbai

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This was the opening slide of a presentation I made that had nothing to do with medicine! I was invited to conduct a three hour seminar for a mixed group of photographers on my experiences as a nature photographer. From the positive feedback I received I am relieved to say I did not seem to bore the audience as much as I feared I would!

17th December, 2018

(1058 images)

Farmhouse. Calangute Goa

 

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I needed to be in Goa for a day. Chasing a Southern birdwing butterfly in the backyard I was startled by the sight of this shikra perched not 15 feet from me at eye level on a cassia biflora tree. Needless to say, there was not another bird in sight at that point in time!!

 

18th December 2018

(1927 images)

Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary, Goa

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My homestay room for a night at Verlem village in Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary
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Indian scimitar babbler was one of the target bird species
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A large Indian rat snake comfortably coiled around the branches of a tree
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Although by no means rare, a decent image of a crimson-backed sunbird has always eluded me. Till now, that is!

 

23rd December, 2018

(670 images)

Farmhouse. Calangute, Goa

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Today would have been Dad’s 99th birthday. He loved the farmhouse he built and so after returning from Netravali I spent a few silent hours in his honour out on the front porch watching the birds. He must have pulled some strings from up there for I can’t remember when last I saw so many species in such a short space of time! Including this blue-faced malkoha.
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Earlier this year the gunpowder tree that attracted such a large variety of birds and dominated the backyard had fallen. To keep its memory alive, where it stood, I used a 4 foot section of the main trunk as a pedestal for one of the birdbaths.
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The highlight of the ‘show’ was the appearance of a pair of red spur fowls that very rarely provide me with the pleasure of their company!
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I was also thrilled to see the progeny of the fallen gunpowder tree, that had being growing quietly in the shadow of the parent was now making its presence felt. Its berries were beginning to attract birds.

 

25th December 2018

(23 images)

Hiranandani Gardens, Powai

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Christmas Day! A painstakingly compiled cheese board…
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…and a groaning lunch table contributed significantly to the celebrations. But what made the memory of that day stand head and shoulders above most of the others this year were the small group of very, very special people that graced the relatively quiet affair.

 

And that my friends,  is a ‘small’ selection of some wonderful memories of the year gone by.

Taken from a total of 45,646 images, not including ones that were deleted or the numerous images taken on my cell phone. Which is far, far more than the number of surgeries I’ve performed this year!

2019… here I come!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Awesome experience , privileged to have been in it some where with a great personality and a gentleman like you

    Reply

    • I’m honoured, Satish. Coming from you, that is high praise indeed! Looking forward to doing more birding trips together in the near future!

      Reply

    • Thanks Dolly! Sorry to have missed the Bhandup trip. Hope we can do something now that the over-indulgences of the festive season are thankfully coming to an end!

      Reply

    • Thanks Cedric! Happy New Year to you and the family. Hope we can realise our plans to meet sooner rather than later!!

      Reply

    • Ha ha ha, Ro! They were awesome weren’t they. Worth going back to Odisha if only to tuck into a few more of those whoppers!!

      Reply

  7. Thanks Ian for the wonderful blog post with amazing pictures and great commentary- you have certainly had a spectacular year of birding! Here’s to more in 2019!

    Reply

    • Thanks Sriram! And here’s to hoping we can do another birding trip together in the coming year!

      Reply

  8. Awesome images. Bursting with great colour, your PP skills are as awesome as your photographs. 10 of 12 kingfishers is awesome.

    Reply

    • Thanks Kartik! Happy New year to you. Hopefully will get to complete the kingfisher list in the near future!

      Reply

  9. I think u have a 36 hrs day instead of the 24 hrs which we all have great u have the inclination so u find the time keep it up enjoy

    Reply

    • Ha ha! I really wish that were true….! Thanks Varsha. A very happy New Year to you and the rest of the family.

      Reply

  11. What wonderful pictures. I think there is no happiness comparable to what one gets when such rare birds visit the backyard like you have seen in your farmhouse. May you get to see many more rarities.

    Reply

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