
Join me on a Himalayan Bird Photography Adventure: Capturing the Beauty of Avian Life in the Wild. Explore over 40 bird species, including the majestic Rufous-necked Hornbill, and gain insights into expert photography tips, scenic locations, and wildlife inspiration.
The Himalayan mountain ranges are a paradise for bird photographers, offering a breathtaking blend of pristine landscapes and abundant avian life. Recently, I had the privilege of staying for a week at Jhandi Eco Huts Glasshouse, a serene homestay nestled amidst the hills. From there, I explored surrounding regions like Rishop and Doorkhola for bird photography. Here's a detailed account of my journey—an adventure filled with challenges, beauty, and learning—to inspire and guide aspiring photographers.
Exploring the Himalayan Wilderness: A Journey Through Bird Photography
Bird photography in the Himalayas presents a unique blend of excitement, challenges, and beauty. The region’s rich biodiversity, stunning landscapes, and elusive bird species made this adventure both exhilarating and fulfilling. With over 40 bird species captured through my lens, every moment of the trip was a reminder of how nature continuously surprises and inspires.
Key Moments from My Himalayan Bird Photography Adventure: Capturing the Beauty of Avian Life in the Wild
Embarking on my Himalayan Bird Photography Adventure: Capturing the Beauty of Avian Life in the Wild was an unforgettable experience. The serene landscapes, coupled with the diverse bird species, created the perfect setting for capturing breathtaking moments. From the elusive Rufous-necked Hornbill to the vibrant Scarlet Finch, each encounter added to the excitement and challenge of the journey. This adventure not only tested my photography skills but also deepened my appreciation for the delicate balance of nature in the Himalayas.

The Location: Jhandidara
Jhandidara, often simply called Jhandi, is a picturesque village in the Himalayan mountains of Kalimpong district, West Bengal, at an altitude of 6200 feet. The word “Dara” in Nepali means hill, and “Jhandi” originates from “Jhanda,” meaning flag. It is a tradition for villagers to place religious flags on nearby hilltops, giving the place its name.
This serene destination is surrounded by lush green forests, misty valleys, and enchanting tea gardens. Jhandi offers breathtaking views of the Kanchenjunga massif and is renowned for its glorious sunrise and sunset views. Its cool, misty weather and rich biodiversity make it a haven for nature enthusiasts and photographers. The area is also close to the Neora Valley National Park, making it an excellent base for birding adventures.
Nearby birding hotspots include Rishop, Doorkhola, Pashiting Wild, Lava, Neora Valley National Park, and even farther places like Gajoldoba, Latpanchar, and Rongtong. The region is well-forested with sal, pine, and other trees, providing an ideal habitat for a diverse range of birds.
Preparation for the Adventure
1. Why Early Mornings Are Key
Birds are most active during the early hours of the day. Each morning, my routine began at 4 a.m., ensuring I was ready to step out for birding by 5:30 a.m. This timing is crucial, as the soft morning light enhances photographs and increases the chances of bird sightings.
2. Essentials to Pack
A week-long photography trip demands careful packing. Here’s what I carried:
Camera Gear: DSLR/ Mirrorless Camera, telephoto/super telephoto lenses, spare batteries, memory cards, camera/lens cleaning kit.
A Laptop & external hard disks for transferring & saving images from the camera memory cards .
Clothing: Layers for cold mornings, Camouflage clothing is always better, sturdy trekking shoes.
Accessories: Tripod/ Monopod, Binoculars, Powerful Searchlight / headlamp for night birding (if intended or allowed).
Miscellaneous: Snacks, water bottle, and first-aid kit.
The Team That Made It Happen
I wasn’t alone on this adventure. My team included:
Anindita Mukherji, my best friend and fellow photography enthusiast. She is presently doing intensive research on birds sighting and behaviour in the Himalayan Mountain Ranges in Kalimpong, Kurseong and other North Bengal districts. Her associaton made the adventure successfull and memorable.
Krishna Gurung, an experienced bird guide, working with Anindita Mukherji, whose knowledge of the terrain and bird species was invaluable.
Kancha, our driver and guide helper who ensured smooth travels through the rugged hills.
Challenges of Bird Photography in the Himalayas
1. Navigating the Terrain
Steep slopes, narrow trails, and dense forests presented constant challenges. Trekking through pine trees and bushy undergrowth required not just physical stamina but also mental focus to stay safe.
2. Lighting Conditions
The interplay of light and shadow in the forests made capturing well-exposed shots tricky. Quick adjustments to camera settings were often required to adapt to the ever-changing lighting.
3. Elusive Birds
Many birds were well-camouflaged within dense foliage. Sightings were fleeting, demanding split-second decisions to capture a shot before the bird vanished.
4. Risk of Wild Animals
There is also the risk of encountering wild animals like bears, which makes remaining alert and always accompanying a local guide vital for safety.

Technical Skills for Successful Bird Photography
Successful bird photography in the wild involves not only patience and timing but also technical mastery of your camera settings. The dense, shaded forests of the Himalayas present unique challenges for photographers, especially when it comes to lighting conditions. Here's a deeper dive into some essential techniques to improve your bird photography in these challenging environments:
1. Mastering Camera Settings
In bird photography, capturing the perfect shot requires constant adjustments to your camera settings to account for the ever-changing lighting and movement of your subjects. Here are the primary areas to focus on:
Aperture Priority Mode or Manual Mode: Using aperture priority mode (A or Av mode) allows you to control the depth of field, ensuring your subject is sharp while keeping the background blurred. This is essential for making the bird stand out against busy forest backdrops. If you're confident in your settings, you may prefer manual mode (M) to have full control over both aperture and shutter speed. By setting your aperture and shutter speed independently, you can maintain a consistent exposure while adjusting your exposure triangle (shutter speed, aperture, and ISO) to suit the environment.
Fast Shutter Speed (1/2000s or Higher): Birds, especially in flight, move quickly. To capture fast-moving birds, you need a fast shutter speed—ideally 1/2000s or higher—to freeze their motion. In dense foliage, however, even stationary birds can pose a challenge due to varying light conditions. For stationary birds perching among dense foliage, where sunlight doesn't reach properly, you'll need to use lower shutter speed to avoid high ISO. Try shooting in High Continous Frames Burst mode so that you may get a few shots sharp and focussed. I captured several such shots at shutter speed of even 1/125. You’ll need to adjust your settings on the fly to keep up with sudden changes in light as the bird moves through light and shadow.
ISO Sensitivity: Adjusting the ISO is crucial in low-light conditions. In dense forests, light can be dappled and inconsistent, especially in the early morning or late afternoon. Increasing the ISO can help you maintain faster shutter speeds, but be mindful of the potential for noise, especially at higher ISOs. Some cameras perform better than others in low light, so it’s worth testing your camera’s performance in these conditions before heading out. The Auto ISO function is a great tool when you’re unsure of the exact ISO setting required. It will automatically adjust ISO within a set range, allowing you to focus on composition and focus while the camera compensates for changing light.
2. Light Metering and Exposure Compensation
One of the most significant challenges in bird photography within dense foliage is handling the difficult lighting conditions. The shadows, bright patches of sunlight, and diffused light through trees can confuse your camera’s light meter, leading to overexposed highlights or underexposed shadows. Here’s how you can counteract that:
Metering Modes: Most cameras come with several metering modes that evaluate the light in different areas of the scene:
Matrix Metering/Evaluative Metering: This is the most common setting, as the camera evaluates the entire scene and sets exposure based on the average brightness. However, this can sometimes be problematic in areas where there are dark shadows or bright highlights.
Center-weighted Metering: This mode prioritizes the light in the center of the frame, which can be useful when your subject is in the center but you still want to retain some detail in the surrounding areas.
Spot Metering: Spot metering takes the exposure from a very small area of the frame, typically in the center, making it ideal for cases where your bird subject is surrounded by much darker or lighter surroundings. This is particularly useful when photographing birds perched in bright patches of sunlight surrounded by dark shadows in dense foliage.
Highlight-weighted Metering: Found in Nikon Professional Cameras, highlight-weighted metering is designed to prioritize the brightest areas of the scene. This mode ensures that the highlights, such as a bird's feathers catching sunlight or a bright sky, are not overexposed. It’s especially helpful when you’re photographing birds against a bright background or when the scene contains high-contrast light situations. By using this mode, you can capture more detail in bright areas without losing essential details in the shadows.
Exposure Compensation: When using evaluative or center-weighted metering, the camera might try to expose for the entire scene, leading to overexposure or underexposure, especially in tricky lighting. Exposure compensation allows you to tweak the camera's exposure to ensure you capture the bird's details without losing highlights or shadows. For example:
If you have a backlit bird or one against bright sky, your camera might underexpose the bird. In such cases, you can increase exposure by +1 or +2 EV (exposure value) to ensure that the bird is properly exposed.
If you're photographing a bird in dense foliage with shadows, you might need to reduce exposure (–1 or –2 EV) to avoid overexposing the highlights from the direct sunlight.
Adjusting exposure compensation, in combination with your metering mode, will give you more control over the exposure and allow you to adapt to the lighting challenges presented by dense forests and moving subjects.

3. Autofocus Techniques
In the Himalayan wilderness, birds rarely sit still. To capture sharp images, especially when birds are perched or flying through dense trees, your camera’s autofocus system plays a crucial role. Here are some techniques to improve your focus:
Continuous Autofocus (AI Servo/AF-C): Birds in motion require a camera that can track them quickly and accurately. The continuous autofocus mode (AF-C on Nikon or AI Servo on Canon) allows your camera to track moving birds as they fly or hop around branches. This ensures your subject remains in focus even when it's on the move.
Focus Points: Customizing your camera’s focus points to make it easier to lock onto birds quickly is essential. Some cameras allow you to use a single point for precision focus, while others let you use a broader group of focus points for better tracking. When photographing birds perched in the forest, using a single point focus can ensure that the bird is sharp, even when surrounded by busy foliage. Modern Mirrorless Cameras have several options of Focus Points with Subject Detection which is very efective. Remember that in Nikon Mirrorless Camera, Single Focus Point can't be linked with subject detection. I therefore use 'Wide Area AF (Customised to small size area) with birds subject detection, which works almost like a Single Focus Point. I have set my Lens Function Button to 'Wide Area AF (Customised to medium size area).
Autofocus technique gets better as you keep practicing in different conditions.
4. Quick Adjustments
Bird photography often requires rapid adjustments on the go. The dense foliage and changing light conditions demand that you stay nimble/swift with your camera settings. Here’s how you can streamline this process:
Customize Function Buttons: Many modern cameras offer customizable function buttons that allow you to adjust key settings quickly without diving into the camera’s menu. You can assign important functions such as AF Area Mode /Focus Mode / Subject Detection / Recall Shooting Functions / Cycle AF Area Mode / Image Area FX /DX, switching to these buttons, making it easier to change settings on the fly.
Switching Between Focus Modes and AF Area Mode: When photographing birds, especially in challenging environments like dense foliage or in-flight shots, adjusting your camera’s focus modes and AF area modes becomes essential to ensure sharp, accurate focus on your subject. Sometimes, you’ll need to switch from single-shot autofocus (AF-S/One-Shot) to continuous autofocus (AI Servo/AF-C) depending on whether your subject is stationary or moving. By customizing buttons for focus mode switching, you can adapt quickly without fumbling with the settings, which is especially important when dealing with fast-moving birds or sudden lighting changes in dense forests.
By mastering the switching between focus modes and AF area modes, you can ensure that your camera remains responsive and focused on the bird, regardless of its movement or the surrounding environment. This flexibility allows you to capture stunning, sharp images of birds in various settings, even in the most challenging conditions. The modern advanced mirrorless cameras have very effective AF Area Modes like Wide Area AF/ 3D / Auto which can be linked with Subject Detection ( Birds/ Animal etc.)
By mastering these techniques—especially light metering and exposure compensation in challenging light conditions—you’ll be better equipped to handle the complexities of bird photography in dense foliage and varying lighting. Combining these skills with a keen eye for composition and patience will help you capture stunning, well-exposed images that truly showcase the beauty of avian life in the wild.

Memorable Moments: A Wish Fulfilled
One of the most unforgettable experiences of my trip was sighting the Rufous-necked Hornbill. I had a specific goal of capturing both the male and female of this species. For the first four days, I searched tirelessly across the surrounding areas, but the hornbills eluded me.
On the penultimate day, disappointment began to set in. I decided not to venture far and chose to stay within the premises of the homestay to save on the daily expenses of conveyance and guides. As usual, I woke up early, prepared my gear, and prayed fervently to God to help me fulfill my wish. From 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., I spent time photographing birds like Striated Laughing Thrush, Great Barbet, and Orange-throated Barbet in the jungle behind the homestay.
Later, I returned to my room and suggested to my family that we enjoy some tea at the adjacent Karki Homestay. Something urged me to take my camera along, and I’m forever grateful I did. While sipping tea in the sunshine, a thrilling sound caught my attention. A female Rufous-necked Hornbill gracefully flew into the avocado tree right in front of us. Moments later, a male Rufous-necked Hornbill joined her.
I couldn’t believe my eyes! It felt as if the birds had heard my prayers and appeared just for me. Heart racing, I began shooting in burst mode, capturing over 650 shots in 10-12 minutes. I even climbed to the balcony of the homestay’s double-storeyed building to get eye-level shots. This magical encounter was the highlight of my trip, and I’m thrilled to share the images of these magnificent birds in this blog.

Bird Species Sighted During the Trip
During my week in the Himalayas, I photographed over 40 bird species. Here are some highlights:
Scarlet Finch: A vibrant red bird often found in the canopy.
Himalayan Blue Tail (male & female): Known for its stunning blue plumage and active behavior.
Himalayan Cutia: A social bird with striking black-and-white patterns.
Grey Bush Chat: Found in open fields and bushy areas, it’s a delight to capture.
Green-tailed Sunbird: A small nectar feeder with iridescent feathers.
Rufous Sibia: Easily recognized by its rufous body and black cap.
Whiskered Yuhina: Charming and active, they are a photographer’s challenge.
Russet Sparrow: A common yet beautiful sparrow of the hills.
Green-backed Tit: A small, acrobatic bird often seen flitting through trees.
Oriental Turtle Dove: Graceful and elegant, they’re a joy to capture.
Golden-throated Barbet and Great Barbet: Both species are colorful and often heard before seen.
Black-throated Bush Tit: Tiny and sociable, they move in flocks.
Blue-fronted Redstart and Daurian Redstart: Both species are strikingly beautiful with contrasting colors.
Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher: A small bird with a rufous patch on its throat.
Orange-tufted Spiderhunter: Quick and elusive, often seen feeding on nectar.
Andean Condor: A majestic sight, though rare in the area.
Black Eagle: Graceful in flight, it’s a thrill to spot.
Minla: Known for their colorful plumage and social behavior.
Rufous-winged Fulvetta: Small and active, usually in mixed flocks.
Orange-bellied Leafbird: Stunningly colorful and a joy to photograph.
Blue Whistling Thrush: Known for its melodious calls.
Laughing Thrush (including Striated Laughing Thrush): Both species are active and noisy, adding life to the forests.
Black-eared Shrike Babbler : Found in dense forests.
Red-flanked Bluetail and Rusty-fronted Barwing: Elusive yet rewarding to photograph.
Hume’s Leaf Warbler: A small, fast-moving bird.
Slaty-backed Forktail: Seen near streams, it’s a challenging subject.
Red-billed Leiothrix: A colorful bird often moving in groups.
Old World Babbler: A shy bird often hiding in dense foliage.
Grey-hooded Warbler: A small and active bird, constantly moving.
Each of these species added unique moments to my journey, making the trip unforgettable.

Final Thoughts
My Himalayan bird photography tour was more than just an adventure—it was a lesson in perseverance, skill, and respect for nature. The challenges I faced, from navigating rugged terrain to the fleeting moments of bird sightings, taught me the value of patience and preparation. Each click of the camera was a reminder of how fragile and beautiful our natural world is.
The journey deepened my connection with nature and reinforced the importance of conservation, especially as many of these species face threats from habitat loss and environmental changes. If there’s one takeaway I want to share with aspiring bird photographers, it’s this: the beauty of birding lies not only in capturing stunning images but in embracing the process and respecting the creatures we photograph.
As I look back on my week among the Himalayas, I feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced such an intimate connection with these birds and the landscape. And as I continue my photographic journey, I hope to inspire others to appreciate and protect the rich biodiversity we have on this planet.

Invitation to Connect
If you’re passionate about bird photography and want to learn more or need personalized advice, feel free to contact me. You can also explore my Nature Photography Page to view my wildlife and bird photography portfolio, showcasing some of my best moments with nature. You may visit my BLOG Page to read other articles related to Bird and Wildlife Photography.
Together, we can continue to capture the beauty of these winged guests, share their stories, and contribute to their protection for generations to come.
Ranjan KM
Professional Photographer, Deoghar, Jharkhand India
Please Visit my website to learn more.