Four of us: Jayashree, Padma, Ramaswamy and I…went to

Ramnagara

for some evening birding, and to see the critically endangered

Long-billed Vultures

at the betta.

On the way, we saw three Spotted Owlets in a tree.

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The beautiful rocky outcrops welcomed us in the evening sunlight.

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Usually, the gates to the hill are closed, but on this day, they were open, and I clicked several cars coming down after the passengers had visited the rAmA temple at the top.

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We saw a couple of

Egyptian Vultures

first:

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and we were also able to locate their nest.

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and then I saw this

Short-toed Snake Eagle

perched high on the edge of the cliff.

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It then treated us to a flight display as well:

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Muniyappa, a young boy from the nearby settlement, came to join us. He was quite good at spotting birds, too.

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Jai lent him her binoculuars.

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Finally, a lone

Long-billed Vulture

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came out on to the ledge and preened itself, delighting all of us.

The sun sank behind the hills on the opposite side,

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and I captured Jai against the moon and Venus.

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We stopped at Bidadi for

thatte iddli

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on the way home, and though Jai had to do some marathon driving through the choked highway, we returned home content with our evening’s birding!

Pics on my FB album

here