The Birds I Shot in my Orchards.

Variegated Laughingthrush. We don't see too many of them but a short respite from the rains today brought them out. Baghi- Ratnari. Himachal Pradesh (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

Variegated Laughing Thrush.

 

When I was growing  up I wanted to become a hunter. I was   encouraged in my bloody endeavor by my father when he got me my cousin’s hand -me -down air-rifle. With it, I  shot a wide variety of birds that live in my  orchards and its periphery, in Himachal. An adjoining forest feeds the orchards with a panoply of Himalayan birds – some of them migratory.

The easiest to take down was the streaked laughing thrush. In fact, it was the first bird I shot as a 12- year old and after this first kill,  I tasted blood as they say in hunting parlance.  I would look forward to my holidays from my boarding school,  just so I could go to the orchards and  hunt.    Whenever I set out with the air-gun I was tailed  about by the  village boys  who not only pointed out the birds to me but served as efficient retrievers. Risking the rasping nettles and   thorns,  which tugged at their clothes and skin, they bulldozed  into  the bushes to fetch the kill.

Brown-flanked Bush Warbler. The most beautiful and persistent song you hear in the orchards is of this bird. But its also the most difficult bird to spot. I was lucky to see it singing last evening. Mandhol- Jubbal. Himachal (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

Brown-flanked Bush Warbler. The most beautiful and persistent song you hear in the orchards is of this bird. But its also the most difficult bird to spot.

 

The hardest to shoot was the crow. In fact, I managed to shoot only two in all. The moment I leveled my gun towards them, they would fly.  Even when I leveled a stick towards them they flew. They, among all the birds knew what the gun  could do.

The birds were shot for morbid boyish pleasure of course but there were some like the streaked laughing thrush and the oriental turtle dove, we barbequed in the jungle and ate.  The streaked laughing thrush was particularly delicious and as a bird- lover now , disconcerting though the thought is,  my mouth still waters at the memory of the flesh.

Today the thought of killing any bird repulses me. I have graduated from shooting birds with my gun  to shooting  them  with my camera- though  amateurishly.

Spot-Winged Tit. The cute little visitor in the orchards today. Baghi- Ratnari. (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

Spot-Winged Tit. Mostly found at the edge of the forest. HP.

 

Though the intentions are so divergent, one  diabolical and deadly,  the other full of empathy and love, I wonder if shooting birds  – with a rifle and now with the camera- is just a way of making a sort of connection with the birds.  A way of getting close to the bipeds and perhaps nature itself.

Perhaps that explains the reason why once ferocious hunters could so easily become some of the world’s greatest conservationists. Steve Irwin, Jim Corbett, Frederick Selous to name a few.

It was because of the gun that I woke up before sunrise without my parents prompting and ventured out into the orchard and the forest,  perking my ears to sounds of birds and soon enough learnt to revel in   the sounds of the jungle itself and its eerie  intermittent silences.

 

Black Bulbul. This bulbul is kind of rare in the orchards. Quite unlike the ubiquitous Himalayan bulbul. Ratnari - Bagi. Himachal (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

Black Bulbul. This bulbul is kind of rare in the orchards. Quite unlike the ubiquitous Himalayan bulbul.

 

I learnt to observe the flight patters of birds as they dashed from one barbed bush to another  and  I learnt to recognize the bushes themselves and the wild berries  that grew  on them, some  so addictive that I  forgot all about the birds as I  stood  picking and  eating them till my mouth was purple.

In winters, I learnt to wait patiently at the edge of the forest in  my wellingtons in more than three feet snow for the bush babbler and the bulbul to show up. And when nothing emerged, I followed tracks in snow to the bushes.  Some of the  bushes  formed a hollow carven  with the snow weighing  down the bush to the ground.  These bush hollows had no snow and you could creep into their dryness and  use them to dislodge the snow from your boots and rest. They were also the  hedgehog’s dwelling, though no one really saw them except for their   nocturnal snow tracks  in winters.

Bar-tailed Treecreeper. As you can see this tree climber has an excellent camouflage and is very difficult to spot. Found it climbing a pine tree at the edge of an orchard in Mondhol. Jubbal-Rohru. Himachal. (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

Bar-tailed Treecreeper. As you can see this tree climber has an excellent camouflage and is very difficult to spot.

Many years later, when I decided to shoot the birds again- this time with the camera- it was uncanny to realize  that my body language was the same. I  had the hunter’s eyes, ever watchful of any stirrings and wary of camouflage. My ears were alert  to every scratch and rustle in the bush.

And when I saw a bird, I tiptoed towards it  in that same steady single-minded way; the zoom-lensed camera held firm between my legs pointing to the ground, the way the gun would have been, and then lifting it slowing to focus and shoot.

And when the bird flew just before I pressed the shutter, as it mostly did,  I felt the familiar twinge.

But for me, most importantly, for  very  different reasons of course, the gun and the camera ensured that I ventured out into the nature and explored.

The Oriental White Eye. The bird with the beautiful eyes. Baghi- Ratnari. Himachal. (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

The Oriental White Eye. The bird with the beautiful eyes.

 

Yellow-Breasted Greenfinch. Another rare colorful visitor. Baghi- Ratnari. Himachal (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

Yellow-Breasted Greenfinch. A rare colorful visitor in the orchards. HP

 

 

Streaked laughing thrush. A skittish bird that likes to stay close to the ground. Pretty common in these parts. Himachal. (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

Streaked laughing thrush. A skittish bird that likes to stay close to the ground. Pretty common in these parts.

 

Grey Bushchat (Male). Its black and white but I guess it got its name from the female of its species which is greyish and resembles a russet sparrow. Bushchats are among the most abundant birds in the orchards. Himachal (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

Grey Bushchat (Male). Its black and white but I guess it got its name from the female of its species which is greyish and resembles a russet sparrow. Bushchats are among the most abundant birds in the orchards.

 

Rock Bunting . Himachal. Baghi- Ratnari. (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

Rock Bunting . Himachal.

 

Oriental Turtle Dove. Himachal. Baghi- Ratnari. June 2013. This bird has an extremely large range but it created a sensation among bird lovers when it was spotted in England in 2011 where it is rarely found. The news of the bird's spotting: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8326275/500-birdwatchers-gather-to-spot-rare-Oriental-Turtle-Dove.html (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

The Oriental Turtle Dove. HP

 

Red-billed Blue Magpie. Because of its weakness for red cherries it is considered a pest in the cherry orchards. With its beautiful plumage and long tail who would imagine this beautiful bird belongs to the crow family.. Baghi- Ratnari. Himachal. (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

Red-billed Blue Magpie. Because of its weakness for red cherries it is considered a pest in the cherry orchards. With its beautiful plumage and long tail who would imagine this beautiful bird belongs to the crow family.

 

White Wagtail. At the Pabbar river. Hatkoti. Himachal Pradesh. (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

White Wagtail. At the Pabbar river. Hatkoti. Himachal Pradesh.

 

 

Its a great blessing for the birds here that they don't like apples. Otherwise they would have been decimated along with the insects and microorganism that plague the orchards. Russet Sparrow. Baghi- Ratnari. Himachal (sanjay austa      sanjayausta@gmail.)

Russet Sparrow on an apple tree. Himachal .

 

View from the Barn Door, Apple Orchards, Himachal (sanjay austa austa)

View from the Barn Door, Apple Orchards in Snow.


10 Responses to “The Birds I Shot in my Orchards.”

  1. Deval Kartik says:

    Beautifully written with immense sensitivity! And what lovely pictures, even though you shoose to call them amateurish!

  2. Amazing writing skills bro.. I dont know how and why .. there’s a huge connect with whatever you write.. it virtually takes me to the places ..
    i continue to get inspired beyond Kanchenjunga Expedition 🙂

  3. Meghna says:

    Even though i dont understand the technical aspect of photography at all, as a layperson i found your photographs very exciting. Your passion and connect are inspiring!

  4. Deb says:

    Love your candidness and your beautiful photographs. I particularly love your first picture of the variegated laughing thrush. The detail is exquisite! Thanks for sharing.

  5. huntfortech says:

    Your photography is really amzing and the way you have captured every moment of the bird is truly fantastic.I believe every kind of photography or sequence require different camera speeds.To the photograph enthusiasts just wanted to suggest that i came across a link on the web on Kingston Technologies who has high speed memory card(class 4 and 10) which helps capture fast action photographs and record more video without changing cards. I think having a high speed memory card is a important aspect of photography. I realize this is a little technical but just thought to add on:)

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