Week 1 – lockdown 21
On 23rd March, Tamil Nadu state had implemented a lockdown and restrictions across the state until 31st March as a precautionary measure to stop the spread of the Corona virus. The next day, PM Modi announced lockdown of the entire country for a duration of three weeks starting 25th March onwards. Social distancing was the weapon they hoped would contain spread of the virus.
I had just come out of social-media distancing (thanks to a friend who tagged me on a photo challenge). I thought to myself, how about posting one new image every day through the lockdown period.
A couple of coral trees were in full bloom and attracted a large number of winged wonders. I decided that would be a good place to start. Here is a small collection of images from the first week.
Day 1
A long time desire to make a satisfactory image of the colorful Plum-headed Parakeet (male) finally came true on day one.
The pretty Vernal Hanging Parrot inspects the bunch of flowers before gorging on them.
Day 2
The usually busy Purple-rumped Sunbird (male) stopped moving for a few seconds while perched next to a bunch of coral tree flowers, allowing me to freeze a few frames.
An equally busy and tiny bird like the Purple-rumped Sunbird is the Cinereous Tit. This one too, took a break from constant branch-hopping and posed for the camera.
Day 3
The first image is of a White-bellied Drongo and the one below it, Bronzed Drongo. Both the drongo’s were competing with each other trying to catch flying insects, and at times, ambushing other birds who were preying on insects on the ground.
Day 4
After flowers on a coral tree fall, pods form and offer a variety of birds, especially Parakeets, an unlimited food supply. Here, a female Plum-headed Parakeet feeds on a pod.
Yet another variety of Sunbird. This time a Loten’s Sunbird (female). Also known as the long-billed sunbird, hence the caption!
Day 5
Orange flowers along with incredible colors on this handsome male Plum-headed Parakeet made for a striking image.
Day 6
What would have otherwise been an ordinary image of a Red-vented Bulbul, changed due to the setting. Blurred coral flowers and green leaves in the background created a lovely paint like effect here.
Seeing a branch shaking on the adjacent tree, I was taken by surprise when I saw a Palm Squirrel feeding on a bunch of flowers. Though the squirrel didn’t stay long, I managed some images. First time, I saw a squirrel visit the coral tree.
Day 7
The ‘always on the move’ minivets took a break, and on separate occasions allowed me a few frames before going about business as usual. Orange is male and yellow is the female of the species.
Thats all for Week No.1 of the Lockdown. I continue my quest to make at least one image a day and present the second series in seven days.
All images made with Nikon D850 along with a 600 F4 VR lens. Few images have been made attaching a 1.4 TC II teleconverter.
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