Pics from Hoskote & home

I made a short trip to Hoskote lake and also found some photo opportunity at home on return. Here are the photos...

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Hoskote lake area continued to be overcast. A small Jerdon's Bushlark was seen foraging on the ground for seeds... 

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There was no dearth of the common species called Common Myna. I usually ignore them, but not this day...

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An Indian Silverbill showed up next...

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A female Pied Bushchat was also sighted...

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Next I saw a bunch of purple Bachelor's Button flowers...

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It was amusing to see a clumsy male Baya Weaver starting to build a nest in the middle of monsoon. This fellow is very very late in this. Most of  the others have already completed building and have got paired too...

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A Crimson Rose butterfly flitted around sucking nectar from Lantana flowers. I took many pics...

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Also saw a Plain Tiger butterfly...

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I returned home to see a small bug sitting on the Water lily plant in my garden... 

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I took out my macro lens to capture it in detail...

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Here are some flowers from my garden.

Aster...

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Gazania (african daisy)...

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Begonia...

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And more water lilies...

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Hope you liked the post. Looking forward to your comment. Be safe and enjoy your weekend...

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Lackluster mornings continue

After two weeks of continuous monsoon showers, yesterday morning was dry. I immediately set off for a birding trip to Hoskote lake. 

But, as luck would have it, drizzle started as soon as I reached the lake. And the lighting condition was terrible. Here are the few things I saw in the 20 minutes of walk in the rain...

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I sat in the car contemplating on whether to go back or wait for the rain to stop. The flutter of a Pied Kingfisher made me rush out completely disregarding the rain...

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It saw the prey and was ready to dive...

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Looks like it caught something. Wish I could get a better shot...

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A Plain Tiger butterfly was enjoying the humid morning...

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I saw an anthill with no ants about...

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A Grey-headed Swamphen ran around looking very grim...

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Rain made the landscape so green...

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Indian Nightshade bloom...

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A male Baya weaver was guarding his nest...

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A White-throated Kingfisher sat patiently with his sharp beak ready for action...

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The rain intensified and I realized, I was not carrying an umbrella. I shot this Long-tailed Shrike in a hurry and ran to the car...

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I shot this time-lapse video as I headed back home...

Looks like the lackluster mornings will continue for some time. As I write this, I can hear the rain drops splattering on...

Thanks for your visit to my blog. I look forward to your comments.

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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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