Photographers Pramod Dhal and Gloria show their snaps to children at Know Your Birds exhibition at Modern Art Gallery in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 7: To inspire a communion with winged creatures, a father-daughter duo have organised a photography exhibition at the Odisha Modern Art Gallery.

True to their mission, they have named the exhibition ‘Know Your Birds’.

The five-day exhibition, which began today, showcases 120 clicks of Pramod Dhal, a senior custom official with the central government and his daughter Gloria, who is pursing her MTech from a city-based college.

Travelling all across the state, the father-daughter duo has clicked the photos of the birds in their natural habitat. From water birds such as ducks, storks, gulls and moorhens to species of raptors such as kites and eagles, there are numerous snaps of the feathered friends. Most of the pictures were taken at Nandankanan Botanical Garden, Dhauli, Khandagiri, Chandaka, Shikharchandi Hill, Chilika Lake and Bhitarkanika National Park.

Children aged between five and 15 easily recognised the kingfishers, sparrows and parrots and they also learnt their scientific names.

“I saw pictures of so many of them from tiny humming birds to the huge cranes. I never knew that there are so many birds around us,” said Samikhaya Bhuyan, a six-year-old schoolgirl.

“I did not know that a hornbill could be spotted in Ganjam. I always thought they can be found only in north-east India,” said Riti Patnaik, a 16-year-old visitor.

The pictures have not merely captured birds but also show them engaged in various activities such as preying, flying, eating and fighting. Pramod has always been an admirer of nature both flora and fauna — since his childhood days, which he spent in Kendrapara.

“I had started identifying their calls and had learnt a lot about their eating and nesting habits. Last year, when I bought a camera, I decided to document their activities. Gloria, too, pursued the hobby with me. We try our best to explain all about the role that birds play in maintaining the ecosystem,” said Pramod.

The works of noted ornithologist Tim Inskipp inspires both the photographers. The exhibition is being organised by Soumya Memorial Trust.