Birds of Periyar I

The lake in Periyar Tiger Reserve is filled with birds, literally. Don't believe it? Check these photographs out:

As you can see, a flock of birds, mainly cormorants, were gliding over the water surface. These cormorants are abundant in the reserve, and very often, they tend to fly in large flocks like these over the water surface, and all of a sudden, they would plunge into the water. A few seconds later, their heads and necks would show up, with the rest of their bodies submerged in the water.

I was never good at photographing birds, but this time, due to their abundance, I managed to capture some decent shots of the cormorants.

And sure enough, I guess I'm slowly starting to learn how to shoot birds and other subjects in flight!

A happy couple.

A group of cormorants perching in line along the branch of one of the numerous submerged trees in the lake.

Alright, enough with the Cormorants. I spotted several raptors in the lake too, but well, these birds were fast and pretty far away, and so I couldn't photograph them well with my 200mm. However here's one of them as it flew off with it's fresh catch - a large fish from the lake. He must have had a five-star dinner that evening!

A Yellow-Billed Babbler. This bird was found close to the Visitor Centre in the reserve. I realized why it's called 'Babbler' upon listening to its calls.

More birds coming up next, in 'Birds of Periyar II'!