My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
Bombay has no winter to speak of. For us, it is winter when there is a slight chill in the air late and night, and early in the morning, and that too, thanks to living in an area full of open spaces and lots of trees. Which is why, I was surprised to notice that most of our regular winged visitors were missing for the past few months!
Finally, with the slight chill too having disappeared, some of the birds are back. A few days back, we noticed that the sunbirds have returned, and yesterday, one of them sat long enough on a branch for me to photograph it... So, here's a Purple rumped Sunbird, and hope more birds return soon.....
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| Purple Rumped Sunbird |
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| Purple Rumped Sunbird |
Amazing! We have exactly the same bird's pair as regular visitors to our home :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
Wednesday Wallpaper
I think this bird can fly backwards little. Have you noticed?
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence that you were commenting on my blog when I was commenting on yours!
ReplyDeleteWell, about your question on my Common Rose Butterfly [Atrophaneura Aristolochiae, Pachliopta Aristolochiae, Swallowtail Butterfly] Feeding on Marigolds post, click here to see where Mayureshwar Wildlife Sanctuary is located. It's not very worth visiting unless you have powerful binoculars, but yes, the efforts by the authorities are good. We saw small groups of deer far away from us. We saw a jackal also.
Beautiful Anu.
ReplyDeleteits a beautiful bird, isnt it. wish u more photo-ops soon :)
ReplyDeleteAnu, I've recently started following your blog. You have a nack for writing and observation :) Nice capture :D
ReplyDelete@Bhavesh : thanks a lot, for the comment as well as the info..
ReplyDelete@Chitra: it doesnt really fly backward, but hovers over the flower or bud it is sucking nectar from.... which makes it look like that..
@Mridula : thanks... your new blog looks very interesting..
@sandeep: yes, it is... i hope so too....
@Preeti: thanks a lot.... i liked your blog too......
Hi Anu,
ReplyDeletecame across your blog..great one!
as for these gorgeous birds, never seen or heard about them! they just look so beautiful. :) and love the name, SUNbird :))
hugs from Macedonia
Dani