In July 2015, a trip to the Osman Sagar Lake in Hyderabad made Sriram Reddy, a software professional, landscape and architectural hobbyist photographer for 20 years, add bird photography to his list of interests. Seven years later, Sriram is the only man from Telangana to have documented 1,013 (out of the 1,350) bird species in India.
In 2015, he went to the lake with his point-and-shoot camera in the company of some bird-watcher friends, intending to do some landscape photography and also understand all the fuss about greater flamingos. At that point, he was travelling with Hyderabad Birding Pals group, that he had helped co-found in 2014 out of a keen interest in landscapes. He recollects: “The sight of the birds basking in the sun converted me into a birder instantly.”
Describing himself as an outdoor person, who enjoys treks and hikes, Sriram says, “Although I accompanied my birding pals for some landscape photography, I ended up photographing the birds. The moments I spent taking photos of the greater flamingos cast a spell on me.” After that, he decided to start documenting his personal bird sightings.
