Beautiful but brutal

 Beautiful but brutal describes my recent visit to Hoskote lake, when I saw many beautiful birds and their brutal hunting games. Here are the pictures... 

This pair of Indian Spot-billed ducks were in an interesting position...

And one took off in style...

Soon the other one took off...

At a distance a Grey Heron made a quick dash...

Looked like it was his first meal of the day. He gulped the fish instantly and was ready for the next...

Within a few seconds he pulled out a bigger fish by piercing it with his sharp bill...

He seemed quite full now and away he flew...

Meanwhile a phalanx of six Painted storks were out hunting in tandem...

One of them got reward for the effort...

The stork tries to crush the fish most brutally and slowly walks towards the shore before eating it...

Once at the shore and sure that the fish won't escape, he gulps it...

After seeing this carnage, I moved on to see some land birds. A grey heron was seen flying...

I saw a pair of  Scaly-breasted Munia...

This was my first sighting of Scaly-breasted Munia this year...

A Cattle egret was seen pacing through the grassland with long strides...

And then it stopped for a moment...

My first sighting of a Chestnut-tailed-Starling...

I had to stalk this Long-tailed Shrike for a while to get decent shots...

I saw a Purple Heron sitting on a tree top...

A Green Bee-eater was seen taking a dragonfly...

An Indian Pond-Heron was wearing his best outfit...

A Common Sandpiper was foraging alone...

I need not tell you that I returned with great satisfaction from the birdwatching session. The last sighting of the day was an Indian Spot-billed Duck...

Hope you liked the post. Please post your thoughts in the comments section below. 

A short weekday birding

What can you see if you just have an hour to spare before work on a weekday? Well, I decided to try bird watching and see how it goes. So, here are the pics from my trip to Hoskote on a weekday...

I reached Hoskote lake a minute before sunrise. It was quite misty at that time..

There were a large number of barn, wire-tailed and red-rumped swallows congregating on a wire. I shot a video as I waited for the sun to wake up...

The sun peeped from behind the bushes...

Within no time the orange ball was out to make the surroundings look happy...

Now that the light was getting better, I started exporing the area for birds. Soon, I saw a Cattle Egret (Eastern) in breeding adult plumage...

A Large Grey Babbler found some nesting materials...

 

The sun was still photogenic. I took a couple more shots...

At the lake, I saw a pair of Indian Spot-billed Ducks...

I took a few more shots of them floating gracefully in the middle of water hyacinth...

One was seen saying hi to its reflection...

It was time to return and head to work. On the way back I saw a Grey-headed Swamphen (Purple Swamphen)...

Last bird of the day was a Purple Heron...

The weekday birding worked well but unlike weekend birding, there is a hassle of looking at the watch all the time. Overall it was nice, although I had to contend with less sightings than usual. Hope you liked the post. Do let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

This week's avian beauties

It was more than the usual haul from a birding trip to Hoskote. There were many posers, some ruffled feathers, a foodie and some romance. Here are the pics...

I was just in time to witness the beautiful sunrise...

The egrets, stilts and Spot-billed Pelicans were already active in their quest for food...

The rose patch had beautiful yellow roses...

The birds were slowly waking up to life. The walk was made pleasant by the beautiful views and lovely bird calls... 

A Red-whiskered Bulbul perched on one of the trees...

A parakeet was active on a tree branch. It had a larger bill than a Rose-ringed parakeet. I guessed it to be a female Alexandrine Parakeet...

An Asian Koel was seen next. From the plumes, I guess it to be a female or an immature male...

Crossandra infundibuliformis, the firecracker flower...

The hike continued...

In the bamboo thickets, I saw a Green Bee-eater with ruffled feathers...

A male Indian Robin posed with his prized catch...

And a female Indian Robin was still hunting for her meal...

A Yellow-billed Babbler couple were indulging in public display of affection...

I watched a male Purple-rumped Sunbird doing acrobatics...

White-throated Kingfisher...

A Wire-tailed Swallow decided to pose for me and like a paparazzi I tried to capture from every angle...

I returned home extremely satisfied by the morning. Hope you liked the post. Please give your feedback in the comments section below.