BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, Dhaka, October 2008

BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, Dhaka, October 2008

18 October 2008

This Autumn (Sarath season in Bengali) was a lean season for me in terms of watching Nature. I had lamented pretty regularly regarding the wild beauties of Nature that I've missed. The Autumn clouds and the white "kaash ful" (a wild flower) beckoned me all the time. I had a brief look at kaash during my last JU Naturewatch. But that a look at "some" kaash, but at a "forest" of kaash. I heard of places where you couldn't see anything other than these white beauties. But I couldn't do anything other than devouring those news. Now the chance came up all on a sudden; a photowalk right in the midst of kaash.

Did I ever even think of getting a forest of kaash inside Dhaka City? Absolutely not! Its the concrete jungle that this city is very good with, not with a jungle of kaash! At least, thats what I thought of until several days back. One of our young photographer friens, Sakeeb, invited us to a place very close to his home. His invite was succulent enough; he uploaded some beautiful images of kaash, found near his living place, in the Bangladeshi Photographers Group in Flickr. Its within the boundaries of Bashundhara Residential Area, on the eastern edge of Dhaka City.

We reached there in turn on this idle Saturday afternoon. We had a pretty long deliberation regarding authorisation for photography inside the area. As it turned out, the place where we were supposed to shoot, was pretty much open for us; so, no problemo. Time was another important factor, as the season for kaash was slowing fading away. The Autumn is almost gone now, with the Late Autumn (Hemanta in Beangali) knocking on the door.

Our first sight on that place made us blind! We could see only white! The warm afternoon sunlight made the kaash glow. It was fabulous. There was a whole jungle of kaash over there. And it wasn't just one piece of jungle! There were too many places where kaash dominated! It was kaash and kaash, literally! We were overwhelmed and din't know what picture to take and what to leave out. We knew that the afternoon sun would soon go under the horizon. It was already half past four in the afternoon, and we had hardly an hour's shooting time. We started to chase the sun in the "kaash bon" (kaash jungle), literally! We were running from one place to another to catch the sun kissing the beautiful kaash. It was funny, but thrilling. It was a pity that only a small group of photographers could join us; really missed the others.

We stayed until the evening, enjoying the beautiful colours of sunset. It was one of the shortest photowalks we could manage, yet one of the most rewarding and soothing experiences. We can now bid goodbye to Sarath (Autumn) and say welcome to Hemanta (Late Autumn).

These are some of the glimpses we could manage from the short photowalk.

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Reaching for the blue........

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Afternoon glow..........

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Smooth as silk..........

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

"Kaash" in afternoon light........

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Nature's careful perfection........01

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Nature's careful perfection........02

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Reaping the benefits...........

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

The man has gotta do what the man has gotta do!!

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Light at the end of the tunnel.............

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

A soft kiss.............

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Keeping a shy presence..........

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Almost surreal........01

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Almost surreal........02

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Last lights.............

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Evening colours........01

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Evening colours........02

From BP Photowalk: Bashundhara, October 2008

Evening colours........03

Jahangirnagar University Naturewatch, September 2008

Jahangirnagar University Naturewatch

12 September 2008

It was a quickly organised tour. JU has always been one of my favourite spots for a quick getaway. So, when the call for the tour came up, my heart leaped! My recent trips came in May and February in 2008. The February tour was a birding tour, but the May tour was a tour of Summer colour. This time it would be mostly a birding event. I took my birding equipment with me and left everything else back home.

Birdwatcher of Bangladesh (BoB) was the tour organiser. They are the most avid birders around here. Its difficult to match their knowledge and enthusiasm. Faisal Bhai of TTL Group in Flickr gave the impetus; though a little late at night on the 11th. But 5:00 in the morning?? You gotta be kidding! I would've struggled even if it was 8:00AM! But when I met one of the birders the day before, I got inspired. Why not give it a try? May be not as early as 5:00AM, but 8-8:30 would be manageable. This is the month of Ramadan. Other times would've been a little easier.


Bronze-winged Jacana.........


Rufous Treepie...........

Going to sleep after the late night Seheri and waking up by 7:00AM wasn't an easy task at all. Neaz Bhai was my travel mate; while others reached JU a zillion hours ago! We boarded the bus by around 7:45AM. The road was clear and we eased to JU by around 8:15AM. The birders were already at work near the Fazilatunnesa Hall. The large tank near the Hall attracts a lot of migratory birds in the winter. A lot of spectators also flock here to enjoy this marvel of Nature. But this is Autumn. And the tank was largely empty. Not quite actually. A single Bronze-winged Jacana was finding its food among the floating plants. This became my first victim. The trees on the northern end of the tank was full of many types of birds. But the single Rufous Treepie captured my attention more than anything else.


Asian Koel..........


Red-vented Bulbul.........

Others were moving south. So, I thought it would wiser to follow the experts. That way, it was possible for me to find the birds much more easily. On the way, we found quite a few birds and had a field day clicking. Asian Koel, Red-vented Bulbul and others kept us busy. The experience of others helped them to capture more shots more quickly. I tried to follow them as much as I could.


A couple of juvenile Asian Koels waiting for its Common Myna mother.......

We found a couple of juvenile Asian Koels sitting right beside the road. They were waiting to be fed by a Common Myna mother! Well, this is a species that apparently relies on other birds (in this case, Common Myna) to bring up their children. The Koels are actually bigger than their mother Myna. We didn't really get a look at the mother though.


An Orange-Headed Thrush moving around the bush.........


The ever busy Coppersmith Barbet.......


Coppersmith Barbet having a feast......


Indian Pond Heron also joined us at a nearby tree........

We proceeded and hit the jackpot! A single Orange-Headed Thrush was jumping around the bush near a big tree. Everyone readied their guns! This single bird also introduced the Coppersmith Barbets on that tree. This is a beautiful bird; very colourful. But its colours are extremely hard to capture. Its a very busy bird and is constantly moving from one branch to the other. The thick leaves of the tree provided the crucial cover from the sun and made our lives difficult. The shadows under those leaves made photographing these birds damn difficult. But the birders were persistent. And when I say persistent, I mean it! They clicked the heck out of those Barbets! I don't know how many thousands of clicks those birds attracted, but it certainly didn't prove enough when the birders literally had to be taken out of that place! I also found an Indian Pond Heron on a nearby tree; spotted by expert birdwatcher Zamir Bhai.


The juvenile Scaly-breasted Munia allowed us to go "macro" close!!


But they kept on having their feast........

That place around the tree provided more opportunity to shoot and made the tour worthwhile. The bushes around there had a whole flock of Scaly-breasted Munias. We went close. Closer! Closer! We went close as long as the distance was the minimum focusing distance of the lens! It seemed like a bird-macro! I wondered how could we all go so close to those birds, yet they didn't bother to move! One of the birders gave me the reason: "they're juvenile". They're yet to get their full training. They just continued to eat right in front of our clicking machines.


Indian Pond Heron looking around..........


Spotted Dove basking in the Autumn sun.......


The silver beauty: Kaash Phul.......


Some were just hanging in the air.......


There was a whole bunch of them.......


Some were drying their wings........


Others were reaching for the Autumn skies......


Some were trying hard to distinguish themselves from cotton!!

By around half past nine, we started to move. We moved towards the vast open spaces behind Mohsin Hall. The path towards that place was also not devoid of birds. I snapped an Indian Pond Heron and a Spotted Dove on the way. But what caught my real attention on this path is the "Kaash"; "Kaash Phu". These white marvels just bogged me down while others proceeded. I simply couldn't leave these cotton-like beauties without snapping. This is Autumn; Bengali season of "Sarath", and Bengali month of "Bhadra". And this season is characterised by those silvery white flowers. For some time I was wondering whether I would be able to get a view of Kaash this year. I can't complain now. The Kaash was at its full blossom there. Though the whole place wasn't flooded; yet it was enough for me to continue clicking. I fell behind; but with a very valid reason.

I proceeded very slowing; stopping on the way. By around 10:00AM I was at the big playing field and found the birders toiling away under the scorching sun. Some of them were crawling on the ground looking for that rare glimpse! I enjoyed their enthusiasm more than anything else. But I didn't have the energy to chase the birds like they could. We were all tired actually. None seemed fit enough to continue this venture under that kind of heat. Most of us were also fasting; so, thirst grew up to our tongues and made us call it a day.

We were all tired. But it was a great trip. We had a lot of fun and for me especially, it was a trip of knowledge. I was able to learn from them things that otherwise would've been very difficult for me to get. I came back tired physically; but mentally I came stronger; for yet another naturewatch, which may come pretty soon. I would keep my fingers crossed.