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Out in the rain

Yet another rainy weekend and birding prospects looked bleak.

Son had an athletics event in a stadium at Hoskote.

Wife noticed me staring into the gloomy horizon and suggested going for a drive in the rain.

We hoped to give a surprise to our son and do some birding if the rain stops .

So, at around 11:30 AM we were heading towards Hoskote, which apparently is also one of my favorite birding places. Follow us...

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At the stadium, we watched him(in yellow T) win the sprint. The rain wasn’t bothering the athletes at all...
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She sits in the shaded seating area waiting for her son’s next events, which are scheduled so far apart. Occasionally, she would pose for a portrait...
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I glumly realize that I shall miss birdwatching. Eventually hunger forced us out of the stadium. We tried the famous Raj Biryani, located close to Hoskote lake. The biryani was tasty…
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After lunch, we took the road next to the lake to see if we could spot any birds from the car. The sky is overcast and it’s all drizzling around us...
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As I got down from the car, the drizzle turned into fat drops. I got back in the car and focused my lens on a nearby tree...
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A female Indian Golden Oriole flew in. I take a few quick shots. She sits there giving various poses and waits for me to finish clicking...
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I spot a Jacobin Cuckoo next...
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The rain didn’t seem to bother the birds either. Brisk bird activity continued...
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Several Cinereous tits flitted with great urgency...

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An immature Black Drongo was lording over the entire area he was seeing...
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A male Asian Koel gave a dramatic pose...
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We had a fleeting glimpse of a Greenish Warbler, but a Blyth’s Reed Warbler waited a bit longer for a click...
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Several Yellow-billed Babblers appeared on the tree...
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The rain again returns to a drizzle. We step out for some portraits in the rain...
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Overall, a good haul for all of us - birds for me, insta profile shots for wife and 2 Gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal for son…
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Hope you liked the post. Please post your thoughts in the comments section below...

Bird sightings at Saul Kere

A couple of  Sundays ago, I drove to Saul Kere lake, starting late for the first time, after a brisk badminton match with son. I reached there, I am ashamed to say, at 8 am. Through my binocular, I could see several migratory birds. But I could only get a very few pictures of the resident and migratory birds, as I had missed the golden hour...

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The sky...


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I saw a skulking Purple heron...
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Look at its excitement on seeing a potential prey...
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A female Pied Bushchat...
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Grey Wagtail...
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Indian Pond-Heron...
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A couple a juvenile Red-whiskered Bulbuls figuring out a way to eat the dates that were a bit bigger for them to swallow...
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A White-cheeked Barbet...
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A flush of Garganey was busy dabbling...
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An Indian Spot-billed Duck was the last sighting...
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That's all for today.  I will visit the lake again this weekend to see the migratory birds that are streaming in from around the world...