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Birds and other beautiful things

 This week's birding trip to Hoskote lake produced some interesting views. Here are a few pictures...

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I reached just around sunrise and a mesmerizing view greeted me...
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A Green bee-eater and a Drongo were seen together...
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I saw a Net-winged beetle and immediately took out my macro lens...
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Now that the macro lens was out, I looked for tiny things to shoot. Here's a Mimosa pudica (Shame plant) flower...
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Lantana flower...
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A Thistle plant...
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A Blue Banded Bee...


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And another Net-winged beetle...
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A beautiful Spotted dove made me change back to telephoto lens...
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A Green bee-eater caught a dragonfly and I watched it beating the prey to death and gulping it...
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I noticed a few butterflies. One Common Crow butterfly...
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Plain tiger butterfly...
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I saw a guy enjoy powered paragliding...
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I composed a shot with the paraglider and the hills...


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A Little Egret's sudden focus caught my attention...
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It speared its sharp bill on an unsuspecting fish...
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Some Intermediate Egrets gave a fitting fly-past to end the satisfying birding trip...
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Hope you liked the post. Looking forward to your comment...
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61 comments:

  1. Wow, gorgeous series and another great post. The sunrise scene is beautiful. Some of my favorites are of the Bee-eater with the dragonfly and the Egret with the fish. They are all awesome, great collection of photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your weekend! PS, thank you for your comment today and on all past visits.

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  2. Beautiful! I enjoyed all your photos. The Spotted Dove is my favorite!

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  3. Not only beautiful birds but also butterflies in your post! Thanks for sharing. The Bee-eater is fantastic.

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  4. Once again, some gorgeous pictures. I love that early morning shot of the lake, so atmospheric. Also, the Spotted Dove - with nesting material? Your macro pictures are super too as you have some very colourful insects to portray.

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    1. Doesn't look like it was engaged in nesting activities. I think he inadvertently pulled it out while foraging.

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  5. Some trip! Lovely shots. The bee-eater swalloving the dragonfly...

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  6. The bee-eater is as adept at subduing and swallowing its prey as the egret. I am sure they both enjoyed their snack.

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  7. Beautiful photos! I love the closeups of the flowers! :)

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  8. ...what a collection of beautiful things! Thanks for taking me along.

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  9. Each and every one is magnificent, whether macro or mega.

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  10. What a beautiful collection. I love the soft colors of the dove, and the man on the lake is another favorite.

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  11. Wow! Fantastic nature shots and great capture of the hang glider too ~ Xo

    Dancing while I can,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  12. Wow, the photos are stunning to see. I love your close-ups, they are beautiful. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed all the photos.

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  13. What a wonderful variety of beautiful captures!

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  14. The macro photos are a great addition to your usual birds and wide-angle shots. I love the little bird eating the dragon fly.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  15. What an amazing series of photos you took on your trip.
    I really like the bee-eater that eats the dragonfly.
    I wish you a nice Sunday.
    Greetings Irma

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  16. Amazing pics. Loved the post.

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  17. Love your gallery at the beginning and the wonderful captures throughout

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  18. Another brilliant series Shiju.

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  19. As always, a treasure of photos here!! I loved seeing all and especially enjoyed the bee eater & dragonfly series.

    Have a great week ahead and thanks for taking time to link in at IRBB so we can visit!

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  20. What beautiful photos and such a lovely morning to visit the lake.

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  21. WOW! What an amazing selection of nature pics. I love the bee eater. So pretty. The net-winged beetle sure is a beauty. Loved this post.

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  22. Wow there were some amazing shot here. I've never seen a blue banded bee, very pretty. Also that red beetle was pretty cool looking and the bird with the dragonfly and the one with the fish were fascinating.

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  23. Your photos are so colorful and crystal clear.

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  24. Un reportaje espectacular, todas las fotos son extraordinarias, enhorabuena Shiju. Tienes un nuevo seguidor desde el norte de España, saludos.

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  25. Another great set of photos, well done. Keep safe and keep well Diane

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  26. The morning certainly started out right with the beautiful scene you captured. Fun to see some smaller characters in focus. The red beetle is a good color. I would loved to have seen the Bee Eater capture and eat the dragonfly. What good photos of that experience. I have never seen that type of gliding either. It appears that the person has a big fan on their back.

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  27. Why a shame plant? Do you know? #Lifethisweek

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    1. Its leaves fold on touch. Also known as touch-me-not plant.

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    2. A small video I made of the shame plant:

      The Shame plant

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    3. I didn't realise it had a pink flower! My Dad pointed out the touch-me-not plant in Malaysia - I spent holidays as a kid scouring the ground to touch them! Ha! I see the leaves now. #Allseasons

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  28. Your shots are always superb! I love the one where the bird has a fish in its mouth! #lifethisweek

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  29. As always, an amazing group of photos. I love the beetle.

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  30. Love the mesmerizing lake view. Great macro shots. Sorry for the dragon fly and the fish but they were great shots.

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  31. There are fantastic scenes. Thank you for sharing. Have a wonderful week.

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  32. A stunning collection of images!
    Thank you for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2021/07/happy-birthday-love.html

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  33. Oh my love these and so clear as always beautiful lake :-)

    Have a laketastic week 👍

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  34. Your world is soo rich I envy you. I hope it stays taht way so you can continue sharing.
    The Spotted dove is such a beautiful bird. I wish we had it up here. And the bee-eater as well. Great shots when it eates lunch. :)
    Thanks for sharing.

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  35. I can hear the local kookaburras still but they haven't been hanging out in my yard recently. I miss them!

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  36. Terrific series of shots with the green beeeater and dragonfly.

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  37. Amazing photos and them birds look stunning x #mysundayphoto

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  38. What a bounty you captured on that trip. We have lantana and their flowers are pretty but they are called a noxious weed in Australia! Thank you for linking up for LifeThisWeek. It's always good to see you link up a post. Next week, the optional prompt is 29/51 Please. 19 July. I will be sharing a post about Head and Neck Cancer in the lead up to World Head & Neck Cancer Day 27.7.2021. Gotta keep the awareness happening! Take care, Denyse.

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  39. Nice birds and bugs in your neighborhood.

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  40. Super shots of the Egret with the fish..We have the flowers in your post but not the birds or bugs..Wonderful series of photos..Thanks for sharing..

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  41. Great selection of photos! The pictures of the bee-eater with the dragonfly are amazing

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  42. Wow. I love seeing your part of the world here on your blog. You live in a magnificent part of nature.

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  43. I love the collection of framed pictures. I enjoy seeing your photographs of your life. Thank you for taking the time to link up.

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  44. Beautiful opening photo. Incredible images of the bee-eater feeding on the dragonfly. Well done!

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  45. Your post eagerly makes me visit Hoskote lake soon

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  46. Nice macro photography and great bokeh too. Very nice set of pics!

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  47. You lookd high and low for beauty and found it. The photo collage at the beginning is so cool. I bet it is hard to pick favorites to actually frame in your home. So many to choose from.

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  48. I love the way you put all this together. And your photography is wonderful!

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  49. I guess bee eaters deal with food like kingfishers do…

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  50. Such gorgeous photos especially the birds and macro shots, it's lovely to see wildlife so close up x

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  51. Such beautiful photos! The detail on the net wing beetle is incredible, as is the detail of the bird eating the dragonfly.
    #mysundayphoto

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  52. Your animal discoveries look really wonderful as framed pictures! Great shots from tiny to large. And although I have already seen and photographed bee-eaters, including catching prey, I have never been able to photograph them so close when killing and eating their prey, despite my large telephoto lens (https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2020/07/von- one-castle-in-bratislava-und-von.html) - your photos are sensational! Paragliders also appear in my current post - and can be seen better in an older blog post (https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2020/09/september-ausflug-auf-die-hohe-wand.html) The equipment of the that you photographed looks different ... Beautiful photos of the egrets too.
    All the best from Austria, Traude
    https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2021/07/auf-ins-hochgebirge-ausflug-auf-die-rax.html

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  53. The opening photo of the people on the lake...absolutely awesome!

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  54. Amazing shots. The spotted dove is adorable and I loved your artistic arrangement of the first photo.

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