Amber Habib's Bird Pages
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I became seriously interested in birds when I was sixteen
(1982!). My father had just bought me a pair of binoculars (Hanimex 8x40). I had
asked for this pair with visions of using them to become a master spy, but the
first thing I saw when I stepped out with them was a Roseringed Parakeet, and I
was hooked. A Purple Sunbird a few minutes later sealed the deal.
I have lived in various places, and usually I have been lucky enough to be on
the edge of town, or just outside, and the hobby has been easy to pursue. I am
yet to travel to exotic locales, but for a long ago trek in Ladakh, or even to
the major sanctuaries. The lists here have been compiled through many walks
wherever I have been living.
Of course lists are not the reason for birdwatching - that lies in the
frequency with which you can get a high. Returning from the department at 3am,
two Barn Owls fly slowly across your path. As you walk along a river, a lump of
mud sprouts white wings, becomes a Pond Heron and flaps away. Up late after a
party, you decide to wait for dawn and then from a boat watch a Pied Kingfisher
slice into the water.
