Jakkur lake revisited

Jakkur lake has always been a great place for birding. My last visit to this lake was way back in October 2017 when the jogging track around the lake was being renovated. The visit last Sunday was quite nice. Here are some pics...

It was dark when I reached the lake. The moon gave me company as I waited for the sun to wake up...

A flurry of activity as the sun showed up...

A Painted stork was enjoying the rising sun...

I went straight to the peepal tree that hosts a lot of Alexandrine Parakeets...

I watched them flying around screeching their good morning...

Also seen was a jet that took-off from the nearby airport...

 I spent some more time watching the lipstick-winged beauties...

I decided to make a full circle around the lake and see the active birds. Jakkur lake is one of the largest lakes of Bangalore...

An Indian Pond-Heron looked engrossed in fishing...

A Green Bee-eater was also seen searching for prey...

A lovely bloom...

A Blyth's Reed Warbler...

Some beauties...

 A Spot-billed Pelican swimming alone in the vast lake...

A female Purple-rumped Sunbird caught a spider...

I followed the bird to its nest where the chicks would have relished the spidery treat...

Microphone like flower and fruits...

A common castor butterfly was active as the sun became harsher...

I ended the walk as the sun was beginning to get very warm. Bokeh of sun glare reflected from the water surface...

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

Day One of 2020

I spent the day one of 2020 at my favorite birding place of Bangalore - Hoskote lake. Like always, it was very productive with some special sightings. Here are the pics...

I was just in time to witness the first sunrise of the new decade...

I was seeing a proper sunrise, first time since October. It was always overcast here...

It is always nice to start birding as close to sunrise as possible because bird activity is maximum...

A Gray-headed Swamphen made an appearance...

Loved the patterns made by the reflections of a Black-winged Stilt. Made a collage...

Wood Sandpiper...

A juvenile Bronze-winged Jacana was searching for food...

It spots something...

Yay! Got a fish...

Some Barn Swallows were congregating on a wire...

  A Green Bee-eater was looking beautiful in its gorgeous outfit...

A cute little Sykes's Warbler was busily hopping around...

Black Drongo. Australian friends will chuckle hearing this. Drongo means 'stupid fellow' in their local slang... 

Indian Silverbill...

I spotted a pair of  White-throated Kingfisher, taking turns to guard their nest...

Every 15 minutes, it will dart towards the ground level nest...

Here it is surveying the nest which is in a hole dug in the bank of a ditch...

Long-tailed Shrike...

 A Painted stork was probing deep in the water for fish...

The deep probing seemed to be aimed at catching fishes close to the lake bed...

It actually caught a Catfish which is a bottom feeder...

Catfish is a survivor. It has some very clever defense mechanism...

They deliver a stinging protein through their fin rays. This venomous protein is so strong it may hospitalize humans who are unfortunate enough to receive a sting. The Painted stork seemed to be stung... 

It dropped the fish...

The injured fish was caught again with more aggression...

As luck would be, the intestine made an awkward tangle around the bill...

And the fish had to be dropped. The stork gave up...

Saw another juvenile Bronze-winged Jacana...

They grow up to be beautiful adults. Hope to capture the adult soon...

That was a satisfying first day of the year. Hope you will have a wonderful new year. My best wishes for the same. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.