The other day, I had an hour to kill at the Tata Management Training Centre in Pune. This is an amazing place, almost like a national park in the heart of the city. Fortunately, I had my camera bag with me, so I went walking around with my 17-55mm and 70-200mm lenses. Unfortunately, I didn't have the Sigma 150-500mm nor was I carrying an extender. So 200mm was going to be my max zoom.
While I was walking around, hearing various bird calls and taking aim at some kites that were hovering above, I was told about some resident owls. Immediately, I went looking for them and was fortunate to spot one of them almost immediately. This Spotted Owlet stared at me for a while and finding no interest (or threat) in me, closed its eyes and looked away.
I looked around and saw a lady who was really stressed out. The least I could do was to record her pain as honestly as possible.
As I looked around, there were a few tall trees and a nice canopy of leaves through which the setting sun was shooting rays intermittently. One couldn't imagine that just 100 metres away was one of the busiest roads of Pune.
The above photo (at 21mm) captures what I was able to see with the naked eye at that moment. I noticed that there was some slight movement in the hole in the trunk. Sure enough, when I looked through the lens, I saw another Spotted Owlet there.
I was intrigued because the TMTC admin head hadn't mentioned anything about this tree. Very slowly, I moved closer... the owlet stepped behind as I approached. I stood still and a few seconds later, it moved back to its earlier position.
I got a few shots and then I started looking around, trying to see if there was anything else interesting. Through the corner of my eye, I observed some movement in the hole; I focused the camera there, and here's what I saw.
The owlet was in the same position but it appeared somewhat different. I clicked a pic and compared it with the previous snap - yes, this was one was clearly a different owlet. Wow, there was a pair here! I waited for a couple of minutes to see what would happen. And then, the other one re-appeared.
I was really excited. Not only had I chanced upon an owl nest that the locals didn't know about, but I had also found a pair living there. It wasn't clear to me what the relationship between the two was... the second owlet clearly looked smaller / younger than the first one. After giving me the affectionate pose for a few seconds, the 'younger' one disappeared to the back of the hole. The first owlet continued to stare at me for sometime. The sound of the trains from the station nearby continued to disturb it. After a while, even it stepped back, out of sight.
By then, it was time for my meeting and I rushed to the office, with a story to tell...