Blackbuck near Navalur village

This week's Sunday morning was towards Navalur. First we go into the village, then go along the lake embankment and take the 6-km straight road. The road cuts through black soil fields, it's peaceful barring three or four bikes or cars at the max. This time wanted to do a short ride meaning not exceeding 20 km. The morning air was misty and cool. Around the 10th kilometer we stopped for a short break. We took a few pictures in the dim light. We were about to restart when Pushpa heard and saw a couple of deer  sparring. We could hear their horns clash and it was such a lovely sight. We realized they weren't deer but blackbucks. The handsome creatures clashed several times.. they seemed to be playful youngsters. We must've watched them five minutes before they stopped their game and then suddenly ran deeper into the fields.

During our earlier rides around Navalur we had seen deer, peacocks, owls and a rat snake. Wild life sightings have made our mornings, and those rides remain memorable.

One more interesting thing here was the duck-shaped tree.

A shot of the road, rider and bicycles.

You might want to check out earlier bicycle ride posts.

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Rain clouds on 911

For the past few days there has been a lot of cloud activity. It was fun to watch the clouds and make time-lapse videos.

Here's one such video..

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black & white canines

Seen during my early morning bicycle rides. Four or five days earlier, there were four such pups, all black-n-white. I guess someone must've taken two of them. The sight of five black-n-white furry creatures was a sight to behold. Unfortunately I couldn't stop to take a picture that morning.

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Sunset of Sept-27th 2024

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Bulbul chicks

Second week of August 2024, a bulbul pair started visiting our utility area. It's a hint that the pair would be having children soon. The pair brought in twigs and coconut strands to make a nest. They weaved their nest over the two previous nests already present in the same space. I a week or so three eggs were laid and incubation began. The eggs hatched in less than two weeks. The pair got really busy fetching food for the always hungry chicks. The pair was very watchful and turned hostile whenever we went to the balcony for chores. On September 7th morning around 11 AM the chicks emerged from the nest and perched on our clothesline. They were ready to leave the safety of the nest and become independent. This was a rare sight- the mother and her three chicks perched together. Father was close by, looking out for threats. Once the chicks are out of the nest, there's no turning back. They could barely fly yet they are raring to move on. Few minutes after this shot two of the chicks flew out, their parents staying close by until their wings gained strength. The last chick stayed back a couple of hours more and then flew down.

Fortunately there are plenty of trees and plants behind our apartment where the chicks could take shelter and remain safe until they were fully ready. I hope all three are fine and flying around in our locality.

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