Trip to Delhi

On the 2nd of July I boarded my plane bound for Delhi from Bangalore. The main purpose of this trip was to visit my family in Delhi and see some of the city as this would be my opportunity to  visit Delhi before I leave for collage.

Our flight was at 9:30 and we landed in Delhi by 12:30. We were a bit delayed as there was another domestic flight landing at Delhi which got hit by a bird. Due to this we had to go into a holding pattern and all domestic flights had to be diverted to the International runway. The domestic runway had to be closed as, according  to the pilot, the affected plane was still on the tarmac.

This day was mainly uneventful. I was a bit tired from the travel and was taking rest today at my grandfathers house. I decided to go to my grandfathers roof for a while. I saw the usual pigeon and kites while I was there. I only photographed this lone pigeon  as the kites were a bit far.

That was all I did today.

 July 3^rd

The next day, my grandfather, mom and I left to the Connaught place area.  This is one of the main commercial areas of Delhi. We first went to a Kali Temple. This is a Bengali temple which has two temples, one of kali and one of Shiv. This temple also holds Druga Pooja every year.

 After we made our way down to Wingers, a famous pastry shop in Delhi, where we bought a few pastries and kebabs to eat at home. This was a short stop and afterwards we made our way to India gate. India gate is a monument which was unveiled in 1931. This is a war memorial which has the name of the Indian soldiers who died during WW1. Previously, cars could drive around the gate but now only pedestrian can go near it. It is a very nice attraction and I highly recommend visiting it if you visit Delhi.

In the evening, I went up to the roof again to see if any birds were there. The only photogenic thing was this pair of pigeons.

July 4^th

Today we took a short 2hr trip to Qutab Minar in Saket. This is one of my favorite places in Delhi. It has been a long time since I have stepped foot inside the monument, and I enjoyed visiting it after so long.







































































In the evening, I finally managed to get a picture of a black kite in flight.

This kite was flying very low and I could hardly fit it in the frame.

July 5^th

Today we visited Humayun's tomb near central Delhi. Humayun was a Mughal ruler who ruled between 1521-1540 and 1555-1556.  The complex is made up of two separate tombs with the larger one belonging to Humayun. This place is worth the visit and the best time to visit is usually the evening.

Later in the evening I had discovered a Common myna nest above the back part of our A/C which hangs in the balcony.  Due to the nest, the parents were staying close to the nest on some electrical wires in front of my houses. Due to that I could get some very clear shoots of the birds.

That was all for today.

July 6^th

The morning today was uneventful, I just spent most of the time at home. In the evening, I went down to Lodi Gardens for birdwatching. It is in central Delhi near Connaught place.  It was a very nice escape form the city. The greenery really helps to take your mind of the city traffic. I spent 1 hrs. there and saw around 16 species of birds including Eurasian moorhen, Eurasian collared-dove and Indian Gray Hornbills.

Black Kite





Black Kite





Black Kite





European Moorhen









































July 7^th & 8^th

These two days were uneventful and I spent most of my time at home.

July 9^th

Today Was a special day as I witnessed the common myna chick fledging. As it was new to flying I could out onto the balcony at witness it takes flight for the first time. I managed to get a few good shoots of it before it flew off.

This was before it took the leap of faith and survived.

Afterwards, in the evening I went to the local park. There were significant number of species including two Brahmin starlings. I was happy with the pictures of the red vented bulbul and oriental magpie robins.

July 10^th

This was my last full day in Delhi. I decided to go back to Lodi Gardens





Juv Common Myna





to see the birds. We only had an hour to see the birds. I managed to get a good shoot of the jungle babbler and a pair of Indian Gray Hornbills. Today was a bit dry in terms of birds, but I was still happy that we saw somethings. Of course, you had your common birds as well like the myna’s, black 

jungle babbler