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2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with

Skywatch Friday - Birds From My Window

If it's Friday, it's time for Skywatch! Wondering what I was going to post today, going through my photos, I realised that when I looked out of my window, at the sky, more often than not, I saw birds! So, here are some birds that I see quite often. These are just common birds, but each of them is a joy to watch...

The Red Vented Bulbuls are the most frequent visitors, and I have loads and loads of photos I have clicked of them. This one happens to be my favourite, because of the odd expression he seems to have on!





The Red Whiskered Bulbul is also a regular visitor, but this one is a little more shy of my camera, since he flies off before I can focus!



And then there are the sunbirds - We dont get to see the Purple sunbird often, but the Purple Rumped Sunbirds are regulars.



Capturing them is a challenge, since they flit so quickly between flowers, and hide amidst the leaves.



But there are those rare times when they stay still on a branch long enough for me to click...



or I manage to capture one mid-flight...



Monsoons bring the Egrets in dozens....



and the White Throated Kingfishers....



The Water Hen is also a frequent Monsoon visitor...



And then we have the Tailor birds....



I first mistook them for the sunbirds.. they are just as small... and look quite similar to the females, but now, I see them often enough differentiate between the two.. but not often enough to get some really good photos..



The Coppersmith Barbet is a bird I hear more often than I see! Their distinctive call is heard from quite a distance, and I don't often figure out which tree they are on. No surprise then, that this is one bird I have photographed rarely... Just last week, I managed to see one sitting for quite a while on a branch, but it flew just as I clicked....


And then there are of course, the Parakeets, which I have written many posts about!!


With so many birds around, don't you think the sky seems a wonderful sight?

So, what do you think of my version of the Skywatch this week? To see photos of beautiful skies from around the world, go to the Skywatch Page..


Comments

  1. Great Captures, Anu.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2012/10/gokarna-ten-things-to-dosee.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love those sunbirds. I get to see only the purple sunbird here!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I see those rarely, Mridula... these are abundant here..

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  3. And you get to see them all in the concrete jungle of Mumbai? Wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Zephyr! we are lucky to live in an area which is sort of like an oasis in the concrete jungle and we get to see all these birds...and many more, actually.... just that i havent been able to capture those :D

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  4. Fabulous shots of that adorable face.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow! What wonderful captures of those cute little birdies! Love the shots of bulbuls and the kingfisher. Awesome

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice clicks.. and I appreciate your patience .
    Many of those birds I never saw..
    Please can u tell from which camera you took photos .. Dr.A

    ReplyDelete

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