Flamingos

[Balaji]

This is a loose watercolour sketch on A3 size 300 gsm Chitrapat watercolour paper (rough). I painted this one three years ago and I thought that I would share it here since Facebook threw it up today as an "Old Memory".

 

[txomsy]

That's a wonderful 'old memory' to share, thanks.

 

[Balaji]

Thank you Txomsy.

 

[snoball]

Nice! That near flamingo got excited about something.

 

[Joy]

Beautiful - just love the sense of motion and composition. I really enjoy the birds, and feed them daily.

 

[Balaji]

Margaret, Joy...Thank you.

Margaret...Yes. I does look startled.

Joy...My wife feeds them and I sometimes put out water for them, especially during our very warm summers. But the crows are very aggressive around where I live, and no other species of birds get to eat or drink what we offer.

 

[Triduana]

Lovely sense of motion here! Love the composition. I have yet to see a wild flamingo.

 

[Joy]

Lovely sense of motion here! Love the composition. I have yet to see a wild flamingo.

Kay, I saw them in the wild in Curaçao. There were dozens!

Balaji, I have tried putting out water, but they never seemed to have an interest. They are likely getting enough from other areas, as there is always adequate moisture here. The crows certainly are very aggressive, but fortunately they do not seem to have an interest in bird seed or suet. The blue jays, starlings and grackles tend to chase the smaller birds away. We have quite a variety of song birds and woodpeckers. Bald eagles have settled near us, and at the range we regularly see wild turkey and hawks. A few days ago, a minutes drive from our home, a car was stopped. He thought an injured bird was on the edge of the road, but it was a hawk that had just caught a rabbit in the snow. We were able to get right up close to it, as it was not bothered by our presence.

 

[Balaji]

Thank you Kay.
In India we can find Flamingos in the wild at five locations. One of them is at Pulicat Lake, located around 65 kms (around 40 miles) North of where I live. But, despite this proximity I have only seen flamingos at various zoos.

 

[Balaji]

Kay, I saw them in the wild in Curaçao. There were dozens!

Balaji, I have tried putting out water, but they never seemed to have an interest. They are likely getting enough from other areas, as there is always adequate moisture here. The crows certainly are very aggressive, but fortunately they do not seem to have an interest in bird seed or suet. The blue jays, starlings and grackles tend to chase the smaller birds away. We have quite a variety of song birds and woodpeckers. Bald eagles have settled near us, and at the range we regularly see wild turkey and hawks. A few days ago, a minutes drive from our home, a car was stopped. He thought an injured bird was on the edge of the road, but it was a hawk that had just caught a rabbit in the snow. We were able to get right up close to it, as it was not bothered by our presence.

Joy, Birdwatchers claim that there are around 138 bird species seen in and around Chennai, the city I live in. But I have seen only around a half dozen of them on a regularl basis and perhaps seen a dozen other species fleetingly on rare occasions. But then, I live in a fairly built up locality. There are some parts of the city which are densely filled with trees. Perhaps most of the bird species can be found there.

The birds around here seem to welcome laid out water as much as food. This is probably a reflection on our climate which is both warm (hot) and humid. And Chennai is a city which has neglected and discarded most of the waterbodies that it once had.