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Beautiful but brutal

 Beautiful but brutal describes my recent visit to Hoskote lake, when I saw many beautiful birds and their brutal hunting games. Here are the pictures... 

This pair of Indian Spot-billed ducks were in an interesting position...

And one took off in style...



Soon the other one took off...

At a distance a Grey Heron made a quick dash...

Looked like it was his first meal of the day. He gulped the fish instantly and was ready for the next...
Within a few seconds he pulled out a bigger fish by piercing it with his sharp bill...


He seemed quite full now and away he flew...

Meanwhile a phalanx of six Painted storks were out hunting in tandem...
One of them got reward for the effort...

The stork tries to crush the fish most brutally and slowly walks towards the shore before eating it...

Once at the shore and sure that the fish won't escape, he gulps it...

After seeing this carnage, I moved on to see some land birds. A grey heron was seen flying...

I saw a pair of  Scaly-breasted Munia...
This was my first sighting of Scaly-breasted Munia this year...
A Cattle egret was seen pacing through the grassland with long strides...

And then it stopped for a moment...
My first sighting of a Chestnut-tailed-Starling...


I had to stalk this Long-tailed Shrike for a while to get decent shots...

I saw a Purple Heron sitting on a tree top...

A Green Bee-eater was seen taking a dragonfly...

An Indian Pond-Heron was wearing his best outfit...
A Common Sandpiper was foraging alone...



I need not tell you that I returned with great satisfaction from the birdwatching session. The last sighting of the day was an Indian Spot-billed Duck...

Hope you liked the post. Please post your thoughts in the comments section below. 













48 comments:

  1. I'd say: brutal but necessary...
    Great shots, as usual.

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  2. Hello.
    What wonderful birds! Great photos.
    Thank you. Have a nice weekend.

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  3. Hello,
    I always enjoy your post and photos. I would be thrilled to see all of these birds in person, great sightings. The Painted Storks are one of my favorites but I loved them all. Great collection of photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post! Take care, have a happy weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

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  4. Beautiful birds, well portrayed.

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  5. The painted storks are my favorite of these! WOW! They are really gorgeous and I love when you can capture a bird with his 'catch of the day'! Well done!

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  6. Super series of photos once again. And, as you know, a guy hast to eat.

    The Painted Storks are a really quite special treat for birders who don't see such exotic creatures. Have great week ahead my friend.

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  7. Stunning photos of these beautiful birds hunting and catching their food. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day.

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  8. Wonderful selection of birds. My favourite is the Shrike

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  9. ...these are fabulous. The birds in flight and the ones with the fish are amazing. Thanks for sharing your artistry.

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  10. Great morning of birding. Ultimately, every species is food for another.

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  11. Absolutely brutal entry this time ... your camera shots are brutal capturing many types of birds and their poses are cool !.

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  12. beautiful wildlife! I love all of them, but especially the stork.
    Yes, life is brutal. At least, wildlife is not evil. They need food. But don´t inflict unnccessary pain!
    Taek care!

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  13. The feathers of Painted storks look fabulous - nture's art!

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  14. Your photos are always worthy of National Geographic magazine!!! Beautiful exceptional and incredible.
    We all at IRBB send thanks to you for letting us view your blog post!!

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  15. I enjoy seeing Indian birds that are new to me. Painted storks are so colorful in comparision to storks her in Florida (which are all white). Your pond Heron is a beauty and I love those spotted ducks.

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  16. Fantastic series of "fishing" birds! Yes, nature is brutal. I love to eat fish myself...

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  17. Amazing collection of photos. My favorite is the one with the six painted storks - it's a work of art. Nicely done.

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  18. Fascinating blog of birds. Love them.

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  19. Beautiful, sharp, clear bird shots!!

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  20. Brutal maybe but at least they hunt to stay alive. Man is quite another story, they kill for the sake of killing and that to me is doubly brutal. Health remedies that have never been proved, or trophies on the wall!!!! The human race is cruellest of all the animals and how long will it be before the children of today will only ever see stuffed birds and animals in a museum that are extinct.

    Hope though you are well and I love your photos, excellent photography. Diane

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  21. Amazing shots! Birds I am not familiar with, like the painted stork. What incredible colors and markings on them.

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  22. Fantastic works!
    The birds look SO beautiful!

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  23. Wonderful series of photos. Great shots of the birds in flight.

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  24. These photos are simply spectacular. I've a very fond spot in my heart for herons and I love watching them fish. The sequence you showed (all) are so beautifully done. You've had a grand time discovering gorgeous birds. Thank you for sharing them with us.

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  25. Beautiful captures as usual can see every detail :-)

    Have a tweettastic week 👍

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  26. Every one of your photos ALWAYS is stunning.
    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2021/04/north-carolinas-pollen-season.html

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  27. What stunning photos with each one telling its own story. Surprised by the size of fish some of these birds manage to swallow.

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  28. Incredible photos! Food chains exist in nature but mankind seems the most consciously brutal.

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  29. Wow ~ dynamic nature photos ~ way of nature ~ favorites are your macro shots of the beautiful feathered friends ~
    XX

    Living moment by moment,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  30. You literally caught them in the act of catching fish. The painted storks look like the should strut down a runway.

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  31. Wow - amazing shots. Those painted storks are gorgeous!

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  32. You take fantastic bird photos!

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  33. These are some of the most amazing bird photos we have ever seen. It was great to see how they hunt for their food. The Grey Heron went from a little snack to a big dinner the very next fish. Thanks for sharing. Have a beautiful rest of your day.
    World of Animals Bensalem

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  34. Spot-billed ducks are very beautiful....

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  35. Great shots! Nice to see crisp shots of scaly breasted munia and long tailed shrike

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  36. Those painted storks are just beautiful! What wonderful action shots.

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  37. fantastic bird shots. Thank you so much for sharing. Stay safe, enjoy your weekend, and thankyou for coming to my blog this week.

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  38. What a beautiful blog this is.
    I love the painted storks, I've never seen this species before.
    I wish you a nice weekend.
    Greetings Irma

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  39. I love your bird photos..we have two species of heron that fish the pond and I love watching them along with the ducks and geese...Michelle

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  40. Again so beautiful! I do not mind seeing birds catch and eat their meals ... they take what they need to survive (and only that). The balance of nature really. These storks in this post are eating better than the one in your later post above! That one in the later post had such a small fish!

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  41. Thank you for linking Shiju. I follow on the news the terrible corona virus situation in India. Take care & stay healthy. Wishing happy First of May.

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  42. So many of these shots need to be in a frame! The painted storks live up to their name. The upside down weaver is stunning. All of the wings in the sky. Wow!

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