The heavy rain all through the night had almost washed out my plans for a Sunday early morning birding trip.
The rain finally stopped at 7:30am and I rushed to Hoskote lake, hoping against hope that it will stay dry.
Here's a photo tour of the difficult nature walk...
The heavy rains of the past week had inundated the grassland around the lake...
A Plain Tiger butterfly brought the elusive joy and I decided to venture into the messy and muddy path to search for more beauties...
Plain Tiger is the easiest butterfly to photograph. Its weak flight and fearlessness indicate that it is a protected butterfly. It is protected from attacks due to the unpalatable alkaloids ingested during the larval stages. Inexperienced predators will try attacking it, but will learn soon enough to avoid this butterfly as the alkaloids in its body cause vomiting...
The view was good as I squished noisily through mud and mire...
A green bee eater was not perturbed by the noise...
A kite was wearing a feather kaftan...
A Purple-rumped sunbird was happily exploiting a bike stuck in mud, abandoned by its owner...
I was sucked into its narcissistic play...
The play continued and I voyeuristically watched the self-discovery...
Even the farmland was inundated...
A moth...
Common Lime butterfly...
Mimosa pudica flower...
Clouds...
The overly shy Greater Coucal...
It flew far away just as he sensed my presence...
Iridescent green jewel bug
Ashy Prinia...
Spider...
Danaid eggfly is notorious for its ability to mimic and resemble toxic butterflies...
Excellent captures! The bird admiring itself in the mirror is outstanding.
ReplyDeleteThat's not a bird admiring in the mirror. That's the Sunbird confusing their reflection for another bird and acting aggressive towards it.
DeleteGreat set of photos as always, I've seen the same thing in the UK with the mirror, the bird thinks its an intruder on its territory and so it starts to attack its reflection.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Gordon.
Thanks Gordon. Birds attacking reflective window pane is a regular feature at home. This curious sunbird was not pecking.
DeleteGordon, could you please describe the details? I am currently working on a study of how Oriental Magpie Robins responds to the presence of mirrors. So, if you have ever made an observation of their (or any bird for that matter) interaction with mirrors (or even reflections on other surfaces), please do send it to me (whether it be be videos (preferred), photos, notes etc.) at paulvpop@gmail.com
DeleteAll the contributions will be duly acknowledgment in any publications that result from it. Please do contact me if even if don't own rights to the video but have seen some videos/observations in messaging apps, facebook or elsewhere, so that I can contact the original source.
Wonderful photos! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeletewhat an adventure! Thanks for sharing this magnificent photos. Each one is exceptionally beautiful
ReplyDeleteWhat a sight!
ReplyDeleteReally awesome.
Great pics!
ReplyDeleteI love how beautifully the photos came out especially the ones on the bike .
ReplyDeleteWhat a grand visual treat! Thanks for sharing beautiful pictures and the running commentary.
ReplyDeleteI loved the one where the sun bird is catching its own glimpse in the side view mirror! Jut fell in love with this romance!
- Anagha From Team MocktailMommies
http://mocktailmommies.blogspot.in/2017/09/musical-silence.html
Beautiful clicks. Loved the bird and mirror pics, Brilliant
ReplyDeleteGreat pics. Love you photography work.
ReplyDeleteThese photos are perfection. All of the birds posed perfectly for you. Thank you for linking up today and I hope to see you back again next week!
ReplyDeleteAs usual your photos are always so clear, vivid and beautiful. After the rains is a lovely time for getting nice photos too. Your insects and vegetation are almost the same as ours. That last butterfly is very common here with us too and easy to photograph even in the wild, it is not a Danaid but a Nymphalid. Hypolimnas bolina actually, male, hehe!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the feedback. Please recheck on the butterfly identity. Danaid eggfly it is. Hypolimnas bolina looks similar to this but the white spots are different and not native to India.
DeleteIt was a great pleasure for me to see your wonderful photos.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing. All the best for you,
Edith from Germany
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSo many great shots here. That bird and the mirror was so comical. Loved the Butterflies, Spider, and that Jewel Bug.
ReplyDeleteSo many great photos here... and so glad you didn't get rained out!! Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are stunning. Love the butterflies!
ReplyDeleteThat's such a lovely place to take a walk! And what wonderful things you've gathered! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHello, the birds are all gorgeous. I love the bee-eater and the sunbird with the mirror. Gorgeous butterflies and pretty skies. Great series of photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteOutstanding close ups and extremely creative. Loving the mirror shots. Beautiful butterflies and bugs too.
ReplyDeletegreat bird shots....but...I like the jewel beetle best :D
ReplyDeleteExcellent photos of the birds, beetle and the bitter gourd!
ReplyDeleteLovely!!
Have a Happy Weekend!!
Peace :)
Lovely to see a little of your landscape
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining the fun at Shadow Shot Sunday!
ReplyDeleteexcellent photography.. Enjoy weekend
ReplyDeleteYou never cease to amaze me with your photos! They're all stellar!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorites this week are the vain bird looking at itself in the bicycle mirror. What a great timing that was to experience this and that you decided to give us a view of it all.
Thanks so much for adding your link to this post with us at I'd Rather B Birdin' this weekend. Always a joy to view your shares!!
Such stunning nature photos! I love seeing other peoples environments!
ReplyDeleteIngrid
http://www.fabulousandfunlife.blogspot.com.au
Love your nature photography, always something I have never seen before. So much life around that lake.
ReplyDeletebeautiful pictures......
ReplyDeleteStunning photos!
ReplyDeleteespecially the little bird in front of the mirror.
So great.
A stroke of luck for a photographer.
Greetings from Germany
Absolutely wonderful photos! I love the sunbird!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness...what a fabulous collection of photographs!
ReplyDeleteYou have beautiful exotic birds and it was obviously a great idea to get out early to capture them. The bird on the mirror reminds me of a robin that used to visit our car side mirrors. He was so territorial that we had to cover the mirrors up when the car was parked on the driveway...otherwise he'd have burnt himself out!
Thanks for sharing :D
Neesie, could you please tell me which species of Robin she/he was? I am currently working on a study of how Oriental Magpie Robins responds to the presence of mirrors. So, if you have ever made an observation of their (or any bird species for that matter) interaction with mirrors (or even reflections on other surfaces), please do send it to me (whether it be be videos (preferred), photos, notes etc.) at paulvpop@gmail.com
DeleteAll the contributions will be duly acknowledgment in any publications that result from it. Please do contact me if even if don't own rights to the video but have seen some videos/observations in messaging apps, facebook or elsewhere, so that I can contact the original source.
Absolutely gorgeous shots, all of them!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photography
ReplyDeleteIt always ccacks me up to see birds interacting with mirrors, and you got some marvelous shots there!
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining us at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2017/09/orchids-endless-variety.html
Well worth the trip. Thanks for sharing these.
ReplyDeleteLoved them all except the spider....they scare me!
ReplyDeleteGood shots
ReplyDeleteWhat amazing images. You captured and shared every type of creature imaginable in this habitat. The sunbird display with the mirror is spectaccular. I popped over to your blog from Our World Tuesday and am I glad I did. I'm about to scroll and see if I can follow you. Have a great day. Jo
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful variety of things to see! I love the bird on the mirror and am glad you got several shots of him.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a exciting series and such a fun with the bird and the mirror!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing
Greetings from Germany
Those are beautiful photos of amazing creatures, Shiju..
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos! Amazing!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that it was muddy but what great photos you got. It seems that even in different areas we still have birds that attack their reflections in the mirror and butterflies that will make a bird sick if it eats it.. We have more in common than what makes us different...Michelle
ReplyDeleteRambling Woods, I am currently working on a study of how Oriental Magpie Robins responds to the presence of mirrors. So, if you have ever made an observation of their (or any bird species for that matter) interaction with mirrors (or even reflections on other surfaces), please do send it to me (whether it be be videos (preferred), photos, notes etc.) at paulvpop@gmail.com
DeleteAll the contributions will be duly acknowledgment in any publications that result from it. Please do contact me even if you don't own the rights to the video but have seen some videos/observations in messaging apps, facebook or elsewhere, so that I can contact the original source.
Stunning work. Oh I envy how you were surrounded by nature and all those creatures came out to play!
ReplyDeleteMore fantastic photos. I'm happy the rain didn't dampen your mood and you endured. The series of the sunbird in front of the mirror is fun.
ReplyDeletethank you for venturing out...these photos are amazing, especially the mirror admirer!!
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing on just BE.
robin.
ReplyDeleteWe are urgently in need of KlDNEY donors for the sum of $500,000.00 USD, WhatsApp or Email for more details:
(customercareunitplc@gmail.com)
WhatsApp +91 779-583-3215