29 Mar 2014

29 March 14 - Indian Owl Fest

I've just completed writing the last post for the Indian trip which visited Calcutta, the Andamans, the Western Ghats, Gujarat & Rajasthan. Out of the 420 species of birds seen, I managed to photograph 342 species (over 81% of species seen). However, to spin these photos out a bit further, I've decided to pull together some posts on particular themes. So here is the first of them on the Owls seen on the trip. On the trip I managed to see 11 or 12 species of Owl depending on taxonomy & all species seen were photographed. On the Andamans, I saw Orintal (Walden's) Scops Owl which Clements currently lumps as a subspecies of Oriental Scops Owl, but Rasmussen splits. I can't tick it at the moment as I also saw Oriental Scops Owl in the Western Ghats & I keep to a Clements taxonomy for simplicity.
I can't tick this Owl at Periyar
India is a great country for seeing Owls & seeing them well. In most countries, Owls are something you look for at night & we did see several species after dark. However, due to the large game animals & the number of sites I visited which are Tiger reserves, then looking for Owls after dark is often not possible (the Andamans being the main exception on my trip). But the result is the local Indian guides have become good at finding Owls in daytime roosts, where with care, you can get some good photos & more importantly not disturb the Owls. I'll leave you to enjoy the Owls.
Andaman Scops Owl: Jirgatna, Andamans (23 Dec 13)
Indian Scops Owl: Nominate subspecies bakkamoena, Thattekad, Western Ghats (5 Jan 14)
Indian Scops Owl: Subspecies gangeticus, Bharatpur, Rajasthan (28 Jan 14)
Bruce's Scops Owl: Desert Coursers, Gujarat (14 Jan 14)
Oriental Scops Owl: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (2 Jan 14)
Oriental Scops Owl: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (2 Jan 14) 
Oriental (Walden's) Scops Owl: Chiriya Tapu, Andamans (24 Dec 13)
Rock Eagle Owl: Jungle Hut, Western Ghats (29 Dec 13) 
Rock Eagle Owl: CEDO, Gujarat (19 Jan 14)
Dusky Horned Owl: Bharatpur, Rajasthan (28 Jan 14)
Brown Fish Owl: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (2 Jan 14)
Jungle Owlet: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (1 Jan 14)
Jungle Owlet: Parambikulam, Western Ghats (2 Jan 14)
Spotted Owlet: Subspecies brama, Jungle Hut, Western Ghats (29 Dec 13)
Spotted Owlet: Subspecies indica, Desert Coursers, Gujarat Ghats (14 Jan 14)
Andaman Boobook: Chiriya Tapu, Andamans (22 Dec 13)
Hume's Boobook: Chiriya Tapu, Andamans (22 Dec 13)