Small Indian Kites with Grasshopper

That Sunday evening I was strolling with my Canon EOS 5D mark II fitted with Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM & Canon EF 1.4x II Extender. Focusing with 5D Mark II was not as efficient as 7D. It used to hunt before getting proper focus. I saw small bush fire nearby. People here are famous for lighting fire to any thing they see that is dry. We tend to burn dry leaves, plastic and all substances which are not suitable for recycling under the impression that it is the best method of disposal. Agni, god of fire in Hindu Mythology is supposed to digest anything you offer. Due to this we not only destroy precious dry leaves which would have decayed and enriched our top soil, but also pollute our atmosphere with harmful by-products of plastic like dioxin.

Small Indian Kite Landing

My birding ground is a large vacant government land at Bondel, Mangalore. Because of frequent fire it is invaded by species of grass called fountain grass (Pennisetum species). This is a large variety of grass which grows on clumps. Even though this grass takes advantage of fire they are a carbon fixing perennial bunch grass that is native to open, scrubby habitats in East Africa, tropical Africa, Middle East and SW Asia. It has been introduced to many parts of the world as an ornamental plant. It is drought-tolerant, grows fast, reaches 1 m (3.3 ft) in height, and has many purple, plumose flower spikes. They are favorites of several small birds like Munias which feed on them.

Small Indian Kite Landing

The bush fire I saw was a very low intensity and got extinguished very fast. It nevertheless drove all the insects like Grass Hoppers away from the patch which was getting burnt. This caught attention of the hovering kites which landed there to grab them. I got few Small Indian Kite or Pariah Kites (Milvus migrans govinda) which are the commonest urban kites we see around here. Small Indian Kites are opportunistic hunters and are more likely to scavenge. They spend a lot of time soaring and gliding in thermals in search of food. Their angled wing and distinctive forked tail make them easy to identify. This kite is widely distributed through the temperate and tropical parts of Eurasia and parts of Australasia, with the temperate region populations tending to be migratory. Several subspecies are recognized and formerly with their own English names. The European populations are small, but the South Asian population is very large.

Kingfisher Airline Flight

They grabbed few insects and flew away squabbling among themselves as soon as the fire was extinguished. When I looked at the sky I spotted a man made Kingfisher. What I am referring is Kingfisher airlines flight VT-KAH. This Aerospatiale/Alenia 72-500 plane was passing just overhead. I had opportunity to compose myself and take the belly shot of the aircraft in just the nick of time. I was using Canon EF 2X II Extender on Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM mounted on my Canon EOS 5D mark II.

As the flight passed I could see a bright waxing gibbous moon on the eastern sky. I also saw few Brahminy Kites (Haliastur indus) soaring in front of the moon. Light was perfect as it was emanating from the setting sun in the west. I wanted to capture a moon with kite photo. Patiently waiting for the right moment was difficult as the sun was dipping down in the western sky. Finally after several close shots of Brahminy Kites without moon in the background, I was able to capture one which came close to my imagination how a bird soaring high in the sky should be presented in from of the majestic Moon.

Brahminy Kite Side View

Brahminy Kite

Unfortunately this shot I got the bird in sharp focus but moon was out of focus despite using f/11 to gain depth of field. If I had calculated and used Hyper focal distance and tried I think I could have got both bird as well as moon in sharp focus. That is an experiment I have to try with next such moon day.

Moon and Brahminy Kite

Here is a composite which included a sharp picture of kite and sharp picture of moon merged in Photoshop as I envisioned I would capture. The technique is simple, I exported both the individual images as layers in Photoshop then masked the bird and placed it on top of the moon photo layer. This is the final result in the form how I really wanted the photograph.

Moon and Brahminy Kite Composite

Chocolate Albatross

Monsoon had just begun. It was late evening. Through the incessant drizzle I noticed a small yellow brown butterfly sheltering on the bi-lobed leaves of Malabar Bauhinia(Bauhinia malabarica). On closer inspection it turned out to be a male Chocolate Albatross butterfly (Appias lyncida).

I wanted to take a closeup photo but it was impossible with my Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM as butterfly was around 12 feet from the ground and all I could get using that lens would have been a tiny image. So I took my Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM fitted it with Canon EF 2X II Extender on my Canon EOS 7D thus increasing the focal length to 960mm (in 35mm terms). Now with this magnification I could reach up to the butterfly without disturbing it.

With rain clouds all over the evening sky, Light was fading fast. I used my new Manfrotto 0055CXPRO3 Carbon Fiber tripod to setup the rig. Covered it with Storm jacket to prevent rain damaging the camera and lens. Used my Canon Speedlite 580EX II flash as fill light to get this beautiful shot. Even at full power 580EX was good enough to get f/9.5 at that distance. The depth of field at that distance was razor thin. you can see the eyes are sharp but wingtips are not.

Chocolate Albatross , Appias lyncida is a butterfly of the Family Pieridae. It is found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Indochina, Taiwan, Hainan and possibly South China.

In India, the butterfly ranges across South India, peninsular India, Nicobar islands, Sikkim to Assam, and onto Myanmar. In South India, the Chocolate Albatross is to be found along the foot of the Western Ghats. It is found throughout the year in the Nilgiris where it is locally common. In the northern parts of peninsular India it extends into Orissa and North up to Lucknow.

The Chocolate Albatross has a wingspan of 55 to 70mm. The male is white above with chocolate-brown or black margins, and, bright lemon-yellow below with chocolate-colored markings. The female is white and densely clouded with dark-brown.

The butterfly shows seasonal dimorphism and is very variable wet and dry season forms exist.

The Chocolate Albatross is a forest butterfly and prefers rainy highlands, up to a level of 3000 ft. Flying strongly and swiftly close to the ground, the Albatross is frequently found in jungle clearings and along stream banks. The males are often found circling around trees and bushes. The Chocolate Albatross often mudpuddles, sometimes in large numbers. The butterfly occasionally visits flowers and has been recorded to visit Verbena flowers in Kodagu.

The larvae have been recorded on Crataeva religiosa, Capparis roxburghii and Capparis heyneana.

Trying to go beyond my comfort zone has been my effort for last few months. I tried my hands in travel photography in my Lakshadweep island trip. Now I am trying my hands with my new lens Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM. I bought this lens as I wanted a considerable reach for shooting birds. After trying out Canon EF 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM lens successfully for macro it was difficult to use Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM. There were 2 main reasons. Minimum focusing distance of 300mm f/4 was 1.5meters with a magnification of 0.24x. With 300mm f/2.8 minimum focussing distance increased to 2.5 meters and the magnification decreased to 0.13x. I used Canon EF 2x II Extender to increase the Extenders do not affect the Minimum Focus Distance of the lens they are mounted behind, thus the Maximum Magnification of the lens is also multiplied by 2x. I got 600mm lens with 0.26x magnification which was great. If I need more magnification I need to add my Kenko extension tubes but I haven’t resorted to that yet.

Because the Canon EF 2x II Extender is multiplying the aberrations/flaws of the lens it is mounted behind by 2x, there will be noticeable degradation in image quality when using the 2x. Sharpness and contrast take a hit with all but the best lenses. Additional CA (Chromatic Aberration) is introduced as is slight barrel distortion, but vignetting is somewhat reduced. The best 2x results will only be made using a very sharp lens such as the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens. I have tried this 2x Extender on my other lenses almost all of them have failed.

Female Crimson Marsh Glider (Trithemis aurora)

Crimson Marsh Glider (Trithemis aurora)
It is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.

It is a medium sized dragonfly that is commonly found in weedy tanks and ponds, marshes, channels, and slow flowing streams and rivers in the lowlands and mid-hills. It breeds in streams, rivers, canals, ponds and tanks. It is found commonly and widely distributed in India throughout the year.

The male of the species is distinctly different from the female.

The male has a reddish brown face, with eyes that are crimson above and brown on the sides. The thorax is red with a fine, purple pruinescence. The abdomen, the base of which is swollen, is crimson with a violet tinge. The wings are transparent with crimson venation and the base has a broad amber patch. The wing spots are a dark reddish-brown and the legs are black.

The female has an olivaceous or bright reddish-brown face with eyes that are purplish-brown above and grey below. The thorax is olivaceous with brown median and black lateral stripes. The abdomen is reddish-brown with median and lateral black markings. The black markings are confluent at the end of each segment and enclose a reddish-brown spot. The wings are transparent with brown tips. The venation is bright yellow to brown and basal amber markings are pale. The wing spots are a dark brown and the lags are dark grey with narrow yellow stripes.

Grey Pansy Butterfly (Junonia atlites)

Grey Pansy Butterfly (Junonia atlites)

Wingspan of 55-65 mm. A medium sized light gray butterfly with darker colored wing margins. The sexes are similar. The upper side is marked with a row of post-median ocelli on both wings. There is a series of short wavy bands hanging off the costal margin of the fore-wing. The underside ground color is much paler, and the hind wing has an oblique line running across the wing. The markings and the intensity of color on the undersides of this butterfly are quite variable; the dry season forms showing the lightest color and fewest markings.

It is a much more habitat specific species than the other pansies, inhabiting areas in the vicinity of water such as rice fields, canals, tanks and marshy areas. It is not plentiful but may be found throughout the year and is the least common of the pansies. It is seldom seen above 2500 feet elevation.

Its behavior is very similar to that of the other pansies except in egg laying. It will often lay eggs on plants above the waterline in rice fields or open water bodies. The larvae are capable of surviving a rise in water levels by moving to high ground or other host plants nearby with relative ease. Like the other pansies, it joins migratory flights.

Black Torrent Dart Damselfly (Dysphaea ethela)

Black Torrent Dart Damselfly (Dysphaea ethela)

A large black damselfly with amber coloured wings. Lives in torrential hill streams from 300-1000m ASL. This damselfly is rare and usually sits in the middle of streams on boulders or emergent twigs. If disturbed flies high up to riparian trees. Breeding: Not known. Flight season: June to December. Distribution: Western Ghats from Agastyamalai to Aghanashini river in Uttara Kannara district. This species is also known from the Eastern Ghats.