On this trip to Bandipur National Park, I had rented out the Nikkon 600mm f4 lens just to see how different it is compared to my trusted 300mm f2.8 lens. So most images are photographed with the 600mm f4 mounted with the 1.4x TC. On the first safari, the only keeper was this picture of the Crested Hawk Eagle apart from a fantastic drive through the Bandipur National Park
The sighting of the endangered Asiatic Wild Dog more commonly known in India as the Dhole is the highlight of this post. The Dholes are pack hunters and they are rated as the most successful predator of the Indian forests. This was the Alpha male of the pack and after taking the feature image (first picture) when he was at a distance, I kept my camera trained on him all through the short sighting. My persistence was rewarded when the Alpha male came much closer when I composed the portrait picture (above) and got a fleeting shot (below) of him passing by the Jeep.
The other commonly found raptors in these parts, is the Crested Serpent Eagle and I took this picture (above) from close range to test the sharpness of the 600mm f4 lens. This final picture of the Sambar Deer was taken just before we hit the Jackpot of this trip. More about the Jackpot in our next post.
