Thursday, September 15, 2005

Finally !! This blog goes global.

Since the inception of this blog I have finally got to travel outside India. The following snaps are from the Ras-Al-Khor Bird Sanctuary in Dubai. A great place close to the heart of this fast growing cosmopolitan city.


These Greater Flamingos have to be the star of this Sanctuary (quiet like our Flamingos in Sewri - back in Mumbai)
Birds of interest seen here - (besides the Greater Flamingos) Painted Stork, Grey Herons and hundreds of waders including this Pacific Golden Plover (Male seen here in Breeding Plumage).

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

@ Asola

Went to check out the Conservation Education Centre here in Delhi @ the Asola Wildlife Sanctuary a few days back.



This good scrub forest- is a great place for Crimson tips and Arab Butterflies.
The Green Lynx
One more of this small beauty.

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Drosera - The Carnivorous plant

Members of this genus are called 'sundews'. There are about 150-160 Drosera species described, and they are scattered around the globe. These plants bear stalks or tentacles on their leaves, and these stalks are tipped with glands (which are often brightly coloured). The glands exude attractive nectar, adhesive compounds, and digestive enzymes. Insects that land on the leaves stick fast and are digested. Often nearby glandular tentacles are stimulated and also adhere to the insect, and on many species the entire leaf coils around the prey. These motions are slow, taking minutes or hours to occur.
Unsuspecting prey (like this unided blue butterfly) get stuck and digested by the Drosera
This sticky substance secreted from its tentacles bearing leaves help this Carnivorous plant in catching unsuspecting prey

Saturday, September 03, 2005

@ Siri Fort

This from a few days back at the Siri Fort Park in South Delhi
The Common Gull also from the Park

Friday, September 02, 2005

Dragon Season

Its Dragon/Damsel season and I'm celebrating it in my own way by this Odonata only posting session for a few days. Though I've clicked most of these specimens in the past one month I'm also going to be using some from my archieves.


Firstly, the very beautiful Damsel - Agriocnemis nana

This is a very common dragonfly - Orthetrum sabina sabina -Also @ home. These voracious eaters are known to catch insects that are much bigger than them.
Sorry about the quality of the snap, this beautiful and fast dragonfly - Ictinogomphus rapax - was snapped thru my binoculars near the Vihar Lake inside SGNP, Mumbai
The male and female of this species shows a lot of variation. The below snap is of a female - Diplacodes trivialis
This Crocothemis servillia from Powai, I have another angle of this same species posted earlier - showing the black line on it's back clearly.
The Bradinophyga geminata is usually found (like in this snap) on rock surfaces and on the ground, where it becomes difficult to spot them quickly.
This Brachydiplax chalybea from home in Calicut
This Ischnura senegalensis was clicked at home in Calicut.

Thursday, September 01, 2005

This Lestes (Spreadwing) from Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra
This species -'Orthetrum-triangularis'- was quiet common @ Kasauli