Great Barbet

[Murugan Anantharaman]

There is another small town that I discovered during my stay in Uttarakhand last year. The place is called Pokhri and is in the Chamoli district. I came to know of this place when I was looking for some offbeat places to stay during my 2 week sojourn to the Himalayas in Uttarakhand. There is a lovely homestay in Pokhri owned by a lady who lives in Delhi, when I spoke to her came to know that during one such vacation in Uttarakhand she found this place and fell in love with it and bought this place. And when I went there I wasn't disappointed, with the view of the snow capped Himalayan ranges and dense forests around Pokhri, it is a nature lovers den. Birding was abundant, I was told a week back a king cobra had passed within the premise of the homestay, there is a picture of a leopard taken 200-300 mtrs from the homestay. While I saw a lot of birds I didn't really come across any other mammals or reptiles. Its a place I would love to go back. I saw this Great Barbet hopping from tree to tree, however I couldn't get a clear shot due to the branches.

Nikon D7500,Nikkor 200-500 @480mm, f/7.1, SS 1/320, ISO 200.

[Mrudul Godbole]

Pokhri sounds like an ideal place to get away after a year of lockdown. Nice sighting of this Barbet. Good you got the eye in clear and good light on its head area. Nice capture. Thanks for sharing.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

You got the head in the clear with nice eye contact. Slight movement if possible to the right would have helped in getting the complete beak. Movement without disturbing the bird is ofcourse not always possible. Your description sounds like a mouthwatering place in Uttarakhand. Hope the place is not crowded now as every where people are simply constructing houses. Lockdown blues is becoming overwhelming. Hopefully the tide will turn and we will be able to visit Uttarakhand soon next year.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Shyamala Kumar]

Nice place and beautiful sighting of a rare bird .The colours look glorious .Wish you had a clear shot .Thanks for sharing