The farm area of Hoskote lake host a wide variety of birds. After the enjoyable visit a week back, wife and me decided to raid the farm at Hoskote again today morning for birding and fresh veggies. Here's what we saw...
Spot-billed pelican, Painted stork and a gray heron were busy fishing in the lake...
Ashy prinia...
Cottony fluff was all over everything. The Bulrush reed disperse seeds by releasing minute seeds attached to fine hairs which fly around and stick to everything around...
A female Baya weaver was seen sitting on the sausage-shaped spike of the Bulrush reed. It was transporting the cottony fluff probably for nest building...
A pair of Red Avadavats were covered with fluff...
It couldn't be photographed properly due to the fluff...
An Ashy prinia looked as exasperated as me...
Jerdon's Bushlark...
Bachelor's button...
It didn't have to search for long...
Indian Pond heron...
Exploring fresh veggies from the farm...
Can there be anything fresher than mint?
Mint done and she explores for more...
A Black-winged Kite was watching us from its high perch...
Red-whiskered bulbul...
Spinach...
Spinach made her eye pop...
Popeye's favourite...
Jumbo sized bunch of spinach was uprooted...
Meanwhile, a Paddyfield pipit got its food in the form of a caterpillar...
Pied Bushchat...
A beautiful caterpillar of Plain tiger butterfly...
It was feeding on Calotropis Gigantea or Milkweed. Calotropis is a poisonous plant. The caterpillar consumes the plant and builds up alkaloids in its body. Alkaloids will later be used by the plain tiger butterfly for defense from predator birds. The birds will vomit if they peck the butterfly...
Here's the plain tiger butterfly I saw in my last visit...
She completed her food collection with some Ivy gourd. The beta-Carotene in ivy gourd aids our defense mechanism...
A Little Cormorant was acquiring its nutrition quite skillfully as we called it a day...
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