World AIDS Day - Rally by medical students

Rally being taken out by students of Gandhi Medical College for spreading awareness on HIV/AIDS and voluntary blood donation in Bhopal city on eve of World AIDS Day.

From the fence at Van Vihar

One could see number of spot billed ducks across the fence on Saturday morning from Van Vihar in Bhopal. It is awesome site though many got missing on Sunday !

Whistling teals zipping Bhopal !

On a Sunday morning, whistling teals zip around the bhopal's van vihar. Whistling teals can be sited in numbers in winters in Van Vihar, national park of Bhopal. It is quite interesting to hear and see this gregarious ducks which flock here.

Swan at Upper lake in Bhopal

Red Munia in Bhopal

The Red Munia, is a sparrow-sized bird of the Munia family. They are popular cage birds due to the colourful plumage of the males in their breeding season. Their normal habitat is open grassland and paddy fields. They breed in the monsoon season. The species name amandava and the common name of avadavat is derived from the city of Ahmedabad from where these birds were exported into the pet trade. The beak begins to turn red in May and darkens during November and December. The beak then turns rapidly to black in April and the cycle continues.

Child rights meet at Bhopal - Children Day special

Dalit Adhikar Manch held children's meet at Gandhi Bhawan in Bhopal to mark Children's Day. Children and NGOs from 14 districts of Madhya Pradesh participated. The meet was hosted by Dalit Sangh in support with NGOs from 14 districts and Action Aid. It was an opportunity for children to speak out their views, enjoy play and voice their opinions. Adults not only listened and interacted withy them but also welcomed the children who were on dias. A booklet Child rights in Hindi was also released by children. Children were also distributed children’s newsletter titled ‘Bacchon ki Pehl’ which is brought about child reporters, a initiative oif Dalit Sangh supported by UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh.

Large Cormorants come home !

As winter sets in large cormorants flock trees in Van Vihar in huge numbers. They have started doing so, though not in numbers as one sees earlier, may be they have got late !!. In picture taken yesterday wherein large cormorants can been seen on a tree in Van Vihar, the national park in Bhopal.

Pied Kingfisher at Bhopal's Van Vihar

The Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) is a water kingfisher and is world's third most common kingfisher. One cannot miss it, with its pied shade along with its noise it is visible. But is very jittery so one needs patience to click unlike the other kingfishers which are 'photograh friendly'. This one eats fish, and will also take crustaceans and large aquatic insects. It usually hunts by hovering stationarily over the water and dives down bill first directly below to catch fish. Th picture has been taken at Van Vihar at the aviary section of the park.

Bhopal's Winged fly

Plain Tiger Butterfly at Bhopal's 12 Shed. Plain Tiger is a medium-sized 'winged fly' with a wingspan of about 7–8 cm. The body is black with many white spots. The wings are tawny the upper side being brighter and richer than the underside. The apical half of the fore wing is black with a white band. The hind wing has 3 black spots around the center. The hind wing has a thin border of black enclosing a series of semicircular white spots.

This is commonest of Indian butterflies and is a familiar sight to practically everyone on the subcontinent. It flies from dawn to dusk, frequenting gardens, sipping from flowers and, late in the day, fluttering low over bushes to find a resting place for the night.

The Plain Tiger is protected from attacks due to the unpalatable alkaloids ingested during the larval stages. The butterfly therefore flies slowly and leisurely, generally close to the ground and in a straight line. This gives a would-be predator ample time to recognise and avoid attacking it. Inexperienced predators will try attacking it, but will learn soon enough to avoid this butterfly as the alkoloids in its body cause vomiting. The butterfly also has a tough, skin to survive such occasional attacks.

Bhopal's Cat !

An evening at a Bhopal lake

Crackers light Bhopal

Crackers light Bhopal on Gyaras, post Diwali