Birding notes from Kaikondrahalli

I got a day off from work and visited Kaikondrahalli lake on a Friday morning. With lesser crowd than on weekends, I sighted some unusual things. There are lesser number of pics this week due to a distraction (explained in the later part of this post)...

...

At the cormorant rookery, I could see several Great Cormorant nests...

...

The tree reflections were looking good...

...

...

A Little Grebe was seen ducking for food...

...

And so were the Indian Spot-billed ducks. Dabbling and ducking in the hunt for food...

...

...

...

A Eurasian Coot did catch something to heat...

...

Far away from the ducks, a solitary Indian Pond Heron was quite successfully catching unwary fishes from its perch above water...

...

...

...

...

Then came the big distraction. I saw a Chequered Keelback snake trying to catch a pair of mating Asian Common Toads...

...

The snake bit the foot of the female toad and twisted himself to dislodge the male...

...

But, the toad couple didn't panic. They held on. It was impossible for the snake to swallow, if they stick together...

...

It was a long cat & mouse game where the snake continued to twirl and twist to dislodge the couple...

...

Lovemaking saved the day for the toads. The snake was forced to give up and retreat...

 

The distraction ate up a lot of time and it was time to end the outing. Hope you liked the post. Please post a comment, I look forward to hear from you.

Weekend walk at Hoskote

On my latest walk at Hoskote, I found some very interesting bird activity. Here are the pics...

...

The morning sky was littered with small clouds to make it interesting...

...

A Rose-ringed Parakeet settled on a tree branch...

...

Two Great Cormorant were sitting on a water pipe. The backdrop and reflection looked good...

...

I walked along the edge of the Marigold field, admiring the orange and yellow flowers...

...

...

I saw an Ashy Prinia. He was carrying nesting materials into the marigold bushes where he seemed to build a nest...

...

And popping back after a while...

...

Another Great Cormorant couple sat on a distant tree...

...

A Long-tailed Shrike marked its presence...

...

A male Baya Weaver was savoring corn tassel...

...

...

...

A male Pied Bushchat was seen next...

...

A Green Bee-eater swooped through the air, displaying amazing aerobatics, catching his meal...

...I watched the marvelous spectacle of the bee-eater tossing, thrashing and finally swallowing the bee sans the stings...

...

...

...

...

Another Green Bee-eater was operating on another tree branch...

...

And here is his special catch...

...

A Plain Prinia was seen next...

...

Now it was a female Baya Weaver's turn to munch corn tassel...

...

A non-breeding male Baya Weaver made an appearance on the corn plant...

...

A tiny Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark was seen next...

...

On the way back, I clicked this pic of the Marigold field...

...

Hope you liked the post. Looking forward to your comment.

Birding in the rain

Monsoon is in full swing in many parts of India. Bangalore has been having spells of rain. This week,  I visited Saul Kere lake with an umbrella in one hand and camera in the other. I didn't walk around much and spent a lot of time waiting for birds to show up. Here's what I saw...

...

A Eurasian Coot chick was following the mother coot...

...

A Purple Heron caught a fish, quite effortlessly in the rain...

...

A Pheasant-tailed Jacana couple flew around enjoying the rain...

...

...

A Spot-billed Pelican was also seen flying...

...

The Pheasant-tailed Jacana couple looked territorial. They were driving away all intruders to their space... 

...

Rain stopped for sometime and a solitary Intermediate Egret began his quest for a meal...

...

...

...

...

A Spot-billed Pelican was floating gently...

...

A male Pheasant-tailed Jacana was incubating eggs. Yes, the male does the incubation while the female defends the nest...

...

A Bronze-winged Jacana was seen next...

...

And a Glossy Ibis was wading in the shallows...

...

I continued to watch the beautiful Pheasant-tailed Jacana foraging in the floating vegetation...

...

...

...

My attention was drawn to a solitary Little Grebe...

...

And a Spot-billed pelican looked like a tale of serenity...

...

Once again, a Pheasant-tailed Jacana displayed its brown bordered white wings, visible in flight...

...

...

...

Another Spot-billed pelican...

...

And another visual treat from a Pheasant-tailed Jacana...

...

...

A Purple Heron was ready with its sharp beak to spear the prey...

...

...

A Eurasian Moorhen was shivering out water and preening...

...

And a Little Cormorant was sitting and drying wet feathers...

...

An Indian Pond Heron in breeding plumage...

...

A Purple Swamphen was looking for a snack...

...

A solitary Indian Spot-billed Duck was dabbling for its morning meal...

...

...

...

A White-throated Kingfisher watches potential prey from its high perch and takes off for the hunt...

...

...

...

A Green bee-eater...

...

Last sighting of the day was this Red-whiskered Bulbul. Rain started pelting down again and I called it a day...

...

Hope you liked the post. Do let me know your thoughts in the comment section below...