[Leica] Sarus Cranes

[Jim Nichols]

Wondrous creatures.  I like that last shot the best.  You got the birds 
pretty clear, despite the fog, and the fog adds to the beauty.

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA

On 1/28/2017 11:56 AM, Jayanand Govindaraj wrote:
> I had been on a short trip to Bharatpur and its environs last week.
> Bharatpur is home to the famed Keoladeo National Park, one of the great
> bird sanctuaries in the world, as well as a designated World Heritage Site.
> These man made wetlands (made in the 18th century, though) were the hunting
> preserve of the local maharajah, like so many of India's National Parks.
>
> The trip turned out to be memorable for the number and quality of Sarus
> Crane encounters we had, not only in the National Park, but in a village 70
> kms away, called Naunera, where a couple of hundred Sarus Cranes, which are
> revered in this country, lived in perfect harmony on fields of wheat and
> mustard with the human villagers. Sarus Cranes are the tallest flying birds
> in the world, clocking in around 6 feet in height, and as such, are
> extremely graceful, not only in flight, but surprisingly enough, on land as
> well.
>
> Here then are a few photographs. The Sarus, who are monogamous and mate for
> life, have a very distinctive trumpeting call, which both members of the
> pair ritually engage in together, periodically, to affirm the bonds between
> them:
>
> Duet: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/
> Bharatpur/Bharatpur-20170121-4030.jpg.html
>
> Duet in B&W: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/
> Bharatpur/Bharatpur-20170121-4034.jpg.html
>
> Finale: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/
> Bharatpur/Bharatpur-20170121-4047.jpg.html
>
> The Call: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/
> Bharatpur/Bharatpur-20170121-495.jpg.html
>
> When they are not feeding, they strut about, or groom constantly:
>
> In the Environment: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/
> Bharatpur/Bharatpur-20170122-1323.jpg.html
>
> Grooming: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/
> Bharatpur/Bharatpur-20170122-1415.jpg.html
>
> At Naunera Village, they loiter about in the mustard fields or wheat fields
>
> Mustard Fields: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/
> Bharatpur/Bharatpur-20170123-2537.jpg.html
>
> Family: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/
> Bharatpur/Bharatpur-20170123-2612.jpg.html
>
> Finally, a few photographs of their considerable grace in flight:
>
> Synchrony: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/
> Bharatpur/Bharatpur-20170122-1515.jpg.html
>
> Solo: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/
> Bharatpur/Bharatpur-20170123-3155.jpg.html
>
> Fog: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/
> Bharatpur/Bharatpur-20170123-2265.jpg.html
>
> Grace: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/
> Bharatpur/Bharatpur-20170123-2369.jpg.html
>
> Please see LARGE
>
> Comments and criticism, as ever, welcome!
>
> Cheers
> Jayanand
>
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