28 February 2009

There's something about Osprey's..............

The Osprey Story in the Lake District

These photographs are taken in march 2008 when i went to KG Wetlands, this year i have not been able to go there to see the Osprey. But i happened to go for an illustrated talk by a person named Bill, who made a lovely presentation on the Ospreys in Lake District.

Osprey is definitely one of my favourite birds, I could not believe my ears, when i heard in 1912 the Osprey's were almost extinct in Scotland, i was shocked numb when i heard it was the so called "egg collectors", who kept stealing the eggs from the Osprey's nests & they were the one's who were solely responsible for the near extinction of Osprey's.

I listened with rapt attention when Bill presented how they tried to dissuade the egg collectors, the initiatives taken by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and of the work of the Lake District Osprey Project

From a single pair of Ospreys, it was amazing to hear how they tried to enable the nesting, breeding etc. Also how their idea of involving the public really worked in dissuading the "egg collectors" & finally how the Ospreys started to breed etc.


It is indeed one of nature's greatest spectacle to see the Osprey hover...........then taking the dive & finally the lift off, the presentation had some fabulous snaps of all this..........Though i still haven't got over the "egg collectors" part of the story......... What the hell do they get out of displaying the eggs in their living rooms ??

15 February 2009

Visit to Daryaganj Book Bazaar

While having dinner my parents said tomorrow is Sunday, What shall we do....... ?? any suggestions ?? Well, Let's go to Daryaganj.

My eyes lit up because i knew from one of my friends that there is a huge book bazaar which takes place there only on Sundays & if one searches properly then one can find very good books at a reasonable price.

We walked, we browsed....... we walked.......... we browsed, the crowd was too much, sometimes it was difficult to even walk. I saw Garfield, my eyes lit up, i picked up a few copies for Rs 30/- each, then my eyes spotted a a book The Aerial Hunters, then another on Mammal Hunters, then another one with animal drawings............... that was a cool buy only for a few hundred rupees.

I was getting tired, parents suggested................
let's go to have a kulfi......
yum !!
Strawberry Kulfi at Pandara Road !!
I could have had three at a time (Sigh!)

8 February 2009

Meeting Ghabhar Singh........... a Labrador

My maasi called us for a picnic in Lodhi gardens. I just love picnics. Usually every one is relaxed, i get a chance to play loads of badminton with nana, plus i know for sure there will be some awesome food, especially since my maasi & my nana are cooks par excellence !!

But this picnic was special, i got to meet Ghabar Singh, a Labrador of Amit Uncle & Champaka aunty. It goes without saying he was one of the sweetest dogs i have ever met. Amit uncle or Chanpaka aunty could literally talk to him. If some ball comes his way........... hey Gabhar ye hamara nahi, he leaves the ball, Gabhar.....chal.........he gets up, ghabar paani.......... he drinks the water, hey ghabar baaito......... he sits. Plus he was so kind we could roll over him, he was hardly bothered.

Just the way Ghabar is looked after is what makes him so relaxed. We used to have a lovely dog named Magic, he was also like that, my nana's whistle is enough he would zoom in from nowhere, he was a free dog, never on a leash. I want to have dogs, but nana says it is not nice to keep them in a flat. He promises when we finally get a farm land we will have many. But he does not like foreign breed dogs, he prefers the local breeds like Rajapalayam's or the Caravan Hounds. He showed me some snaps, they look so cool.

So as of now, i will wait & be happy playing with other's dogs !!