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Brief visit to Kaikondrahalli

I had an enjoyable morning at Kaikondrahalli lake. This was the first birding trip there since October, 2019.  Here are some pics from the brief visit...



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The dry trees in the water...
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I saw a couple of Indian Spot-billed Ducks sitting on a dry tree...
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Another one was busy preening...
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It is the breeding time for Great Cormorants. Incubation is done by both sexes. I saw several nests...
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One partner fetches food while the other incubates...
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One advantage of nesting in a colony, you can chat with your neighbor when you feel lonely...
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Partners are very caring and supportive...
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I saw a juvenile Black Kite perched on  a dry tree...
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A White-throated Kingfisher was seen next...
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An Indian Spot-billed duck was roosting in peg-legged stance while keeping the other leg tucked up into its body feathers for warmth...
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I got a closer look at one more Great Cormorant nest...
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And the non-incubating partner is always around...
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A couple of Brahminy Kites were busy preening...
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A Little Egret was busy taking Water Striders...
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The Pink Snakeweed plants were in bloom. They are butterfly host plants. The flowers were looking gorgeous...
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A Red Pierrot butterfly was seen. Here's the beautiful underside of its wing...
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Upperside of the Red Pierrot’s wings...
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Another view of the lake...
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A Common (no longer common) Kingfisher was doing what it is supposed to do, fishing...
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And here's the fish...

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I hope you liked the post. Looking forward to your thoughts in the comments section below.


Do join me on Instagram at @shijuvenate

Birding with Rohan

I could not go birding for close to a month due to unrelenting rain. Finally made a trip to Hoskote lake with my 7 year old, Rohan. Here are the pics...

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As we walked near the lake, we saw a few Spot-billed Pelicans floating gently looking for breakfast...
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A female Baya Weaver was seen next...
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A Grey Heron...
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A Little Grebe...
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An Indian Pond-heron camouflaged in the dried up water hyacinth leaves...
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Meanwhile, Rohan was exploring on his own with one of my old cameras...
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There were plenty of things to observe and I was happy to see him exploring in detail...
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A Little Cormorant was drying himself after a dip...
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And an Indian Pond-heron was focused on procuring his next meal...
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A Green Bee-eater sat on a wire...
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Rohan continued to explore. It was amusing to see how he closed his one eye...
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A Jerdon's Bushlark foraged in the grass...
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And a Purple Heron skulked...
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We reached the Baya Weaver colony. The male Baya Weaver is a fascinating tale of patience. One was wooing females hanging from his unfinished nest...
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While one was building yet another storey to his rejected nest in the hope of getting accepted...
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We watched them tirelessly building nest and trying to impress the passing females...
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The sky was looking good...
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A Jungle Myna hops on a cow to take insects disturbed by the grazing cattle...
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I took a timelapse video of the moving clouds...


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A juvenile Pied Bushchat...

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Rohan was still clicking pictures. I was curious to know what he was finding interesting...
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I introduced Rohan to the Shame plant (Mimosa pudica). He had fun making the leaves sleep. Here's a video...

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White-browed Wagtail is an unmissable bird here. And by chance if you miss, it gives a loud 3–4 noted whistle to alert you...
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...And another loudmouth is the Ashy Prinia...
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We sat near the lake and watched the water birds and reviewed the photos...
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A Painted stork...

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A Eurasian Moorhen...
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We browsed through Rohan's clicks. His subjects of interest were the cows, some pugmarks and the most interesting according to him was a sleeping dog...
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We headed back home satisfied with what we saw and clicked...
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When we reached home, Rohan showed me this snail shell he collected from the lake shore...
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I hope you liked the post. Looking forward to your thoughts in the comments section below.

Do join me on Instagram at @shijuvenate