Bird Photography at Old Magazine House Ganeshgudi

TRIP 2: February 2022 

It is amazing to believe how life changes with time. Usually you won’t notice it unless you revisit your old memories and that was exactly the case when we visited Old Magazine House this time around. Last time I was carrying Canon 400 f/5.6 with Canon 70D body and Supriya was with a binocular, the earlier Kenko one, not even the current Swarovski one that we use now. This time however things were complete different, in a matter of 5 year we upgraded our equipment so drastically, it shows how deeply we are involved with birding. As somebody said that one should upgrade their gear when they start feeling disappointed with their existing one and I totally agree with that part. It is just so that maybe our level of disappointment with our existing gear happened way too soon. So, now Supriya is using Canon R5 body with Canon 800 mm prime, I’m using 7D Mark ii body with Canon 400 f/4 prime. Not to mention I already placed the order for Canon R5 body too which I’m expecting to receive in another week’s time. Hopefully sometime later this year, I might even switch to Canon 600 f/4 RF lens, but that is just a thought. 

Anyway, so finally we reached Old Magazine House and struggling with elbow spaces on Saturday and Sunday. Once again realized that, the best time to go to Old Magazine House is from Tuesday to Thursday, no weekend trip from next time. The first day itself I heard the Red Spurfowl calling from the depth of the woods, I checked with Pundlik (veteran naturalist at Old Magazine House), he mentioned that the bird would never come out but on silent days might walk across the woods and can be seen by chance standing at the hide. I was not so optimistic considering the extent of the crowd on this weekend, but what happened on Sunday evening was totally beyond my expectation. Almost everyone checked out from the place by Sunday evening and only me and Supriya along with 3 other guests were at the hide. It was almost dark at 6-30 PM with all bird activity completely ended and I was standing at the edge of the hide watching at the woods when I noticed some movement inside the dense foliage. Initially I thought it was wild boar as that came a few hours earlier to, but all of a sudden I felt it was something like a bird. I just picked up my camera, reduced my shutter speed to 1/125 at 12800 ISO, I managed to click a couple of shots before the bird disappeared inside the woods. In my mind I was 99% certain, that I clicked the Red Spurfowl and I knew the photo will be a disaster at that dark conditions, but I still looked into my image review to see what I clicked. And there it was, my lifer number 790, captured in my camera. I cannot explain in words the joy it brings when I see a lifer, more so when it is a bird as rare as a Red Spurfowl. 

Now imagine, the story still doesn’t end there. We even managed to click the Spot-bellied Eagle Owl and also the Common Goldenback, all 3 lifers which we got this time in Old magazine house were the rarest of the rare birds. As I keep saying sometimes, luck somehow finds it’s way into my camera in some way or the other. And this time it was just too generous. 

Enjoy the video and pics below. 

Oriental magpie Robin female

Black-naped Monarch male

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Emerald Dove female

Crimson-backed Sunbird male

White-bellied Blue Flycatcher male

Puff-throated Babbler

White-bellied Blue Flycatcher female

Malabar Trogon male

Blyth's Starling

Indian Golden Oriole male

Orange Minivet male

Orange Minivet female

Malabar Woodshrike

Blue-capped Rock Thrush male

Glassy Tiger

Draco

Dark-fronted Babbler

Indian Yellow Tit male

Oriental White-eye

Malabar Hornbill female

Brown-cheeked Fulvetta

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

Yellow-browed Bulbul

Indian Blue Robin female

Emerald Dove male

Malabar Pied Hornbill female

Jungle Owlet

Brown-headed Barbet

Black Drongo

Jerdon's Leafbird female

Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker female

Malabar Pied Hornbill male

Red-breasted Flycatcher female

Indian Giant Flying Squirrel

Spot-bellied Eagle Owl

Red Spurfowl

Malabar Hornbill male

Indian Yellow Tit female

Common Goldenback

Malabar Barbet

Rufous-bellied Eagle

Common Sailor

Malabar Barbet

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Indian Golden Oriole female

Malabar Trogon male

TRIP 1: November 2017 

The most rewarding experience for any birder is to spot a lifer. Be it for a lifer or not, Old Magazine House surely tops the list for the entire birding community of India and abroad. Here are a few moments that I happen to encounter at the Jungle Lodges and Resort (JLR), Ganeshgudi and also at the Timber Depot, Dandeli during my 2 nights stay there. Not to mention, the drive per-se was a rewarding experience too through that mist-laden tarmac and the teak plantation of western ghats.


Driving Direction: Hyderabad - Bangalore (night halt) - Ganeshgudi (2 nights halt) - Chikmaglur (night halt) - Bangalore (night halt) - Hyderabad
Total distance: 2300 km
Transport fuel cost: Petrol (approx Rs. 10,000) + highway toll (approx Rs. 2500)
Cost of Stay: 2 nights JLR Ganeshgudi (Rs. 11,000) for 2 people
1 night JLR Chikmaglur (Rs. 12,000) for 2 people

Flame-throated Bulbul

Little Spiderhunter (lifer)

crimson-backed Sunbird male (lifer)

Crimson-backed Sunbird Female (lifer)

Rusty-tailed Flycatcher (lifer)

Malabar Barbet (lifer)

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater

Green Bee-eater

Vernal Hanging Parrot

Malabar Parakeet Male

Asian Paradise Flycatcher Male

Asian Paradise Flycatcher Female

Black-naped Monarch Female

Indian Blue Robin Male (lifer)

Oriental Magpie Robin male

Orange-headed Thrush Male

Orange-headed Thrush Female

Malabar Grey Hornbill Male

Blyth's Starling Male and Female

Black-throated Munia (lifer)

Malabar Giant Squirrel 

Nilgiri Flowerpecker

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher Female

White-rumped Shama Male

White-rumped Shama Female

Red-whiskered Bulbul

Verditer Flycatcher

Brown Shrike

Little Swift (lifer)

Green Warbler

Old Magazine House, Ganeshgudi (Jungle Lodges and Resort)

After 2 days of birding in Old Magazine House, we planned to make a quick trip to Timber Depot, Dandeli. This was primarily to spot the Malabar Pied Hornbill and Great Hornbill. Although this wasn't the fruiting season for the Great Hornbill, we still managed to see many other wonderful species. Here are the pics below from our timber depot visit.

Malabar Pied Hornbill Male and Female (lifer) 

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch (lifer)

Grey-fronted Green Pigeon Male (lifer)

Grey-fronted Green Pigeon Female (lifer)

Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

Golden-fronted Leafbird (lifer)

Jerdon's Leafbird Male

Asian Brown Flycatcher

White-rumped Munia

Common Iora

Black-headed Cuckooshrike Female

Plum-headed Parakeet Male

Lesser Goldenback