Born in Coorg, in southern India, Kiran comes from a family of nature lovers. Coorg is a land blessed by nature. Nestling in the Western Ghats of India, it is home to great many rare and beautiful species of birds and other wildlife. Kiran started birding at a young age and took great pleasure in observing and studying these 'winged wonders' in their natural habitat. However, career choices took him down other paths of life and for fifteen years, sadly, he was away from active bird watching. But he always carried this longing in him and knew that some day he would return to his winged friends. In 2006, his wife, “also my birding partner”, he reminds us, gifted him a camera and soon thereafter he met people who shared similar interests through a social networking site. These timely coincidences awoke and unleashed his passion yet again, this time with renewed zeal and commitment. He is a member of a virtual community called India Nature Watch, which houses works of brilliant nature and wildlife photographers from across the country. This exposure helped improve his photographic skills and gained him a distinguished audience.

Inspired by their sheer beauty, Kiran is presently engaged in making a collection of images of birds found in Coorg, as a tribute to the winged denizens of the land of his birth. He hopes that this contribution of his will serve to raise awareness about these birds and the need to conserve/restore their habitats. Says Kiran, “By helping them we are only helping ourselves. They are a very important link in our chain of life”. Learn more about Kiran Poonacha and the work he does at www.kiranpoonacha.com