Cranium Bolts: June 2018

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Sunday at Hoskote

Every visit to Hoskote lake in Bangalore has been excellent till date. Last Sunday's visit was no less exciting. Here's a photo tour...

An Ashy Prinia breaks the exoskeleton of a bug by repeatedly thrashing it on the perch...

White-breasted Kingfisher...

White-cheeked Barbet...

Brahminy Kite...

Crimson Rose Butterfly...

Black Drongo...

Black-velvet Leatherleaf slug...

When the Bitter gourd fruit is fully ripe, it turns orange and mushy, and splits into segments which curl back dramatically to expose seeds covered in bright red pulp...

Long-tailed shrike...

Grey Heron...

Green Bee-Eater...

Pelicans...

Furry caterpillar...

A shocked dragonfly after surviving a bird attack...

Indian silverbill...

Green Jewel bug...

Show stopper of the day was a Pied Kingfisher that was seen hovering over the water to detect prey...

Diving vertically bill-first to capture fish...

Making a splash with great force...

And flies away with the snack...

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Birds and Bugs of Hosakere

Rainy season is here! Despite the overcast Sunday in Bangalore, son and I happily joined a group of avid birdwatchers at Hosakere lake. Here are some pics from the fairly pleasant trip...

An Ashy Prinia with its catch of the morning...

A caterpillar with a ball on its back...

A Gaudy Grasshopper with interesting body art...

Crimson Rose butterfly...

Grey-breasted Prinia...

The boy picked a Puffball Mushroom. The fungi are called puffballs because clouds of brown dust-like spores are emitted when the mature fruitbody bursts, or in response to impacts such as those of falling raindrops...