A misty Kannamangala

Mist clung to Kannamangala lake like a jealous lover, swallowing sights, muffling calls. My camera, a useless eye in the greyscale world, hung heavy. I captured some hazy photos in the lake's misty kiss. Here are the pics.

~~~
As usual, I reached the lake just as the sun was cracking open the sky, the scene already painted in a watercolor of mist.

~~~
The fog clung to the lake surroundings like a ghostly shawl, concealing the depths in mystery.

~~~
From a distance, I spotted a gaggle of bird watchers valiantly wielding their lenses, determined to outwit the fog and its feathered captives.

~~~
With patient persistence, an intermediate egret patrolled with its bill poised like a silent promise to any unwary minnow or frog.

~~~
And nearby, a Little Egret mirrored the patient vigil, its own slender bill ready for its next meal.

~~~
An Indian spot-billed duck pair, their chestnut plumage barely visible through the mist, drifted serenely across the still water.

~~~
The mist swallowed the little grebe whole.

~~~
From the heart of the fog emerged a pair of Aylesbury ducks. As they paddled closer, the fog reluctantly conceded, granting me a few moments of clarity.

~~~
Untroubled by my presence, barn swallows chattered and preened on a wire, seemingly shielded from my gaze by the invisible cloak of mist.

~~~
The fog clung stubbornly to the landscape.

~~~
Rose-ringed parakeets, awaited the mist's retreat, their silence a contrast to the symphony of the waking world.

~~~
A lone Asian koel, its charcoal form etched against the mist, perched patiently on a distant branch.

~~~
Further away, a bird sat atop a tree, a possible Rosy Starling.

~~~
The haze thickened.

~~~
A wave of joy washed over me as I glimpsed the common hawk cuckoo, with a Shikra-like gaze surveying its domain. This winter visitor, long unseen, brought back memories of crisp mornings.

~~~
Like a hungry beast gorging on the world, the fog thickened, forcing me to retreat. 

But on the path, its tendrils parted briefly, revealing an Indian pond heron and a juvenile Bronze-winged Jacana stalking it nearby.

~~~
Final pic of the morning when I left, the sun struggling to pierce through the veil of fog.

~~~
Do you think fog adds a layer of mystery and intimacy to birding, or does it frustrate the thrill of the chase? 

Share your thoughts in the comments section below.