Pictures

The best of what I could get

 A chickadee at the bird feeder after those spikes were added to keep the squirrels away--it did not!

A chaffinch looking at me through a cloudy window.

The usual gull around Illinois lakes.

The spotted gull that I saw on the Michigan Lake beach, which google says is a younger bird.

The naughty squirrel lying on the outside cushion box after her depradations on the bird feeder.

Backyard birds in Chicagoland

I was in the Chicago burbs almost 2 months.  As my son has a bird feeder in the backyard and that too quite close to the house, I got to see a number of native birds.  I did a little googling to identify the birds I might see.
I was so happy to be able to spot and identify many birds.  The most common birds to visit the the bird feeder, were the sparrows.  Of course there were many robins around.  But one site I looked at said that robins don't come to the feeders.  Then there were a pair of house finches.  I loved the splash of red on them.  Mourning doves came fairly often.  A cardinal pair visited almost every day.  I saw a couple of gold finches.  I noticed a black-capped chickadee and I was lucky enough to spot a woodpecker on my last day.  The only thing was it was a bit too far for me to identify the specifc one it was, though it might have been a downy woodpecker as it was quite small.  I did spy in their backyard a really tiny bird, a sort of humming bird I think.  There were the occasional grackles and a european starling.  In the park and at the lake near where they live, I saw a band of American crows and the red-winged blackbirds.  They are such beautiful birds.  The mandatory geese and ducks were there.  But those I have seen and noticed over the 7 times we have visited.
There were gulls near the lake and they all seemed to be grey and white. So I was surprised to see, at the beach near Lake Michigan, in downtown Chicago, the grey and white gulls and some who were spotted.  When I googled it, it said that the spotted ones were the younger gulls, which seemed amazing as some of the spotted gulls were as big, as the grey and white ones.  I must say the gulls there were really raucous and so used to people feeding them, they were almost aggressively begging for scraps.
I just loved the show the birds put on for me every day. 
But also fun were the antics of the squirrels at the bird feeder.  One particular squirrel was very bold and so very hungry.  Then one day I noticed her teats and decided she must be pregnant or feeding and stopped chasing her off the feeder.  I used to occasionally feed her the kids' leftover cereal.  She got quite used to me and usually stayed in the vicinity, even if I was sitting outside.
I really wish I had had a really good camera to take blog worthy pictures of the birds I saw.  What I did get was not too good.  I'll post the pictures of the birds and the squirrel in my next post.

Gulmohur tree

This tree of mine is like a Phoenix.  the branches have been lopped off at least 3 times.  As the branches used to grow too near the house, and the tiny leaves blocked the roof tiles, I have had to cut the branches often.  After the last cut, the tree again began sprouting and now it is full of flowers.  It was a favourite of my eldest son, who passed away.  He used to be upset every time I chopped the branches.  He would have been happy to see it now.

My furry friends.

These furry friends kept me company on walking up, up, up the hills, and just sitting quietly by me whenever I sat on the verandah.  But of course the little pup never sat quietly.  But she loved with her whole self.

Pictures from my one week relaxed holiday in the hills

Blue, blue skies!

Visitors in the garden--

A pair of bulbuls were nesting in a hanging creeper with the red flowers( in the first picture).

A watching squirrel who came down to the grass later, to be chased by the bulbul as it ventured a little nearer the nest, though way down in the grass.

Cooler climes

I have been in Kodaikanal for a week, enjoying the pleasant weather after the heat of the hometown.  I will post pictures after I get back home, as the con of this place is that the internet is very slow.

Hot and Thirsty--pictures

A racket-tailed drongo

A tree pie

                                                        A thirsty ant, sitting on the pipe edge


There were around 3 drongos.  I saw the tree pie and a drongo drinking water together.  Then one of the drongos, dived into the bowl, not once but twice-.  I guess the tail was too long to sit in the bowl and bathe like the crows. 

Thirsty!

It has been very hot here, where I leave and we are apparently going through a heatwave, by Kerala standards.  There has been no rain for around 2 months now, which is not usual here.  So, the ground is dry, and the wildlife has very little water.
I have a birdbath on the ground, in my yard.  I have seen various birds come to drink and the crows having a bath, each waiting their turns politely.  I have seen squirrels and a cat come and drink from the bowl.  I try to see that the stagnant water is thrown out and fresh water put in once in 3 or 4 days.  Yesterday I saw a squirrel come by and drink water, after making sure there was nobody around.
But this evening I saw an interesting sight.  The water tank next door was overflowing and I saw a racket-tailed drongo fly over to where the water was overflowing, sit on the pipe and drink it's fill.  The water was flowing quite heavily too, not a dribble.  I never thought a bird would drink from flowing water.  I have only ever seen my Labrador retriever drink like that.  What thirst does!

A hunt

Hearing a piercing and repeated bird cry from just outside the house, near my bird bath, I crept out of the house carefully.  I saw a bird of prey--a kite possibly, with a grey head.  On searching through google, the bird I saw seemed most like a grey-headed fish eagle.  But after reading up about it, that seems almost impossible.  Whatever, the bird seemed a young one, because it was making a huge commotion.  After a bit, I saw it fly and swoop down, and then I saw it sitting in my driveway with a chameleon in it's beak.  It then came back and sat on the tree I have right next to my front verandah.  I tried to take a picture with my phone.  But before I could adjust everything it flew off.  I presume it must be a young one, because he/she was shouting out his triumph in getting his prey.   I did try to find an image I could use here.  But I could find nothing quite like what I saw. 

Kovalam, an all time favourite.

As we had a long weekend, my husband and I decided to go to Kovalam in the south of Kerala, which is around a 3.5 hours car drive from here.  It was obvious that we had not been for quite a long while--for us--for we found the roads had been widened and were in the process of getting even more efficient.

It was hot and extremely sunny, what we call here, heat to fry an egg in.  But as always, hot or not, the sea has it's own allure.

Kovalam has a great many stray dogs, all of whom I believe are being vaccinated regularly.  Most of them lie in the shade under the beach beds, or whatever shade is available, near the beach, in the day.  Unfortunately I did not get a shot of any of them.  But, to me strange, I saw a couple run down to the sea and stand in the water around noon.  This is unusual as the sand can really burn their feet at that time.  [Maybe the sand on the part of the beach they ran down, was not so hot.]  By the time I was able to focus my phone camera(they were pretty far away), they had run away.

Here are some of the pictures I did get.

New addition, surf boards.  I saw a tiny sign board saying surf school on the beach.

The mix of sea, beach and the sunset always call to me.

Tinge of red below thunderclouds: but disappointingly there was no rain.

and of course the lighthouse at Kovalam.

Some recent pictures

The full moon recently through bamboo leaves

The photo of the flowers from an evening walk, and growing at a neighbour's.