Bannerghatta with Rosita and Mark: All the Feet, 030614

Rosita called and invite me to go with her and Mark to his yoga teacher, Rama’s farmhouse in Bannerghatta, and I immediately said yes.

It was a quick visit, but it was so pleasant and enjoyable. The farmhouse is situated right behind that of Fred and Clare Pais..and I had a wonderful time looking at two feet (and a huge beak) (Loten’s Sunbird)

The beak amongst the blooms:

Six feet:

Six very tiny feet with a very business-like sting:

Tiny jasmine:

Two feet that have difficulty, yet go everywhere:

A place for feet to pass:

A beautiful place for feet to tread:

Here are Mark and Rosita, four feet, posing happily for me:

Other photos from the visit, click on my FB album

here

Great company, the great outdoors…a great pleasure, indeed!

A morning with children! Valley School, 010614

Email to the bngbirds egroup:

I suppose by now everyone who went for the first Sunday outing to Hebbal would have come back, digested breakfast and settled down to the rest of the day…meanwhile, Garima, Jahnvi,Niket, Pradnya, and I went to Valley School to see what the morning would yield.

Summer colours on the ground:

In the trees:

It turned to be a very enjoyable morning..and Valley School always shows us something unexpected. This seemed to be a morning of children! We saw a Jungle Babbler mother literally “spreading her wings” over her baby, as she also preened her baby.

We saw many juvenile Small Green Bee-eaters. whose plumage lacked the bright sheen of the adults, or the distinctive tail. Coppersmith Barbet “children”, too, were everywhere; the crimson patch on their foreheads not developed yet.

White-browed Bulbuls

and Red-whiskered Bulbuls, too, seemed to be flying about with their young ones. We watched several Flamebacks.

Birders at the Banyan tree near the sheds:

Spotted Owlet in the Banyan tree:

Young White-cheeked Barbets:

The children were not only of the bird species. A few showers have had a magical effect on the landscape in the Valley School area; greenery is bursting forth everywhere, as fresh shoots push their way up through the wet. fecund soil.

A couple of caterpillars reminded me that babies come in all shapes and sizes. I will be asking for id’s for these; but their beauty by any other name would remain as beautiful.

Here’s one, on a blade of grass:

Here’s another, on the Calatropis (Milkweed) plant:

I was also fortunate enough to meet Thomas Job and Ajit Ampalakkad…

the latter immediately showed me the Indian Lavender plant,

and proceeded through the morning, to edify me on matters botanical.

Hog-Plum tree:

I renewed my acquaintance with several trees and plants, and “shook hands” with a few more.

Loranthus (epiphyte), aka Mistletoe:

There was, indeed, one seed, round and a light mauve in colour, dispersed around one area; that we could not source the parent tree of,or id.

Grasshopper with a spider sitting on its head:

Plain Tiger:

Common Gull:

Young saplings of Flame of the Forest (Butea monosperma) seem to be coming up in large numbers. This made me dream of the day when, festooned in flame-coloured blooms, these young trees will attract a lot of birds (though Ajit tells me that only one or two species pollinate the tree!). To dream of a Nature Future is lovely, especially when all the land nearby is getting flattened….perhaps for “Prakriti View Layout”s, or perhaps, as Niket said, a temple is going to come up. The green saplings give hope in an atmosphere of pessimism!

I watched several “ant rivers” pouring along the path as their nests must have got submerged…they were busy carrying larvae along. I watched, fascinated, as two Ant-mimicking Spiders fought each other fiercely; the contest ended abruptly, and they went their separate ways.

A Solitary Hunter Wasp flew along…where would she make her nest and stun her prey,storing it in the nest and laying her eggs on it, so that the newly-hatched children would have fresh food to eat? We just prevented ourselves from walking into a web with a very tiny spider in it…the home was ready, the next step was procreation!

I enjoyed watching the camouflage of the Malkohas, and even of a Jumping Spider that just melted into the tree-trunk with exactly similar markings.

I did try to catch some of it on my camera…but for the most part, I just watched, and enjoyed myself hugely.

What is the need to build a temple? The whole place, with all our fellow-citizens on this planet, seems to be a temple of Nature to me. I go there, I feel peace in my heart and mind, and come away energized…to me, all of the beautiful wilderness is a temple, and God (I am an agnostic, I don’t know if there is a God or a Goddess..or not) seems to reside in every leaf, every feather, every piece of stone.

We also met several other birders there, and it’s nice to say hello to like-minded people even if one does not exchange names. Two boys from Valley School asked us, on our way out, what we’d seen…and I was happy to see these two youngsters on their way to absorb the various wonders that Nature has in store for them. A magical place, the Valley School area…long may it last!

I’ve put up my SMS (Shamelessly Mediocre Shots) on my FB album at

https://www.facebook.com/deemopahan/media_set?set=a.10152224313113878.1073742178.587058877&type=1

You can see the riotous colours of the summer blossoms, and the many tiny and large wonders that we experienced.

Garima has shared the bird list with me on E-bird. The list is at

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18643924

I’m not sure if this is good enough, or I need to give another link? Let me know, O ye E-bird savvy birders!

Butterflies:

Blues, Various
Cerulean, Common
Cerulean, Dark
Coster, Tawny
Crimson-tip, White
Emigrant, Common
Gull,Common
Jezebel, Common
Orange-tip, White
Pioneer
Rose, Common
Rose. Crimson
Tiger, Blue
Tiger, Dark Blue
Tiger, Plain
Wanderer, Common
Yellow, Common Grass

Others

Ants, Bees, Beetles, Dragonflies, Grasshoppers, and Wasps.

One Rat Snake, scurrying away quickly from me. This Garden Lizard, basking in the sun.

If my words make you decide to go into the outdoors next weekend…I am really happy!

Ladybug:

Riotous colours of summer:

Harley Estates, Sakleshpur, Karnataka, 24,25,260414

Amith, Deepak, Sachin and I went to do a bird census for some friends, on their coffee estate in Sakleshpur. I must say, I didn’t expect such a dream list of birds at the end of April!

Signboards to various places.

The estate is about 450 acres, so, the best of our ability, we divided it into four quadrants and tried to cover one during each outing.

What a difference between a tea and a coffee plantation! Tea plants need the sun, so no other trees are grown; but since coffee needs to grow in shade, a coffee plantation has a variety of trees, and majestic trees are the rule rather than the exception. It was wonderful to see so many spices, beverages, and condiments…pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, coffee, cocoa…all growing together. What a magical region the Western Ghats are!

The fact that the estate had both a small pond and a running stream, even in summer, made for sighting of many more bird species. And perhaps thanks to the elevation, we found many of the migrants still around.

Sunrise:

Deepak, checking the map with Mr Dicky, the manager, to decide on the next place to go birding in:

Another check:

On the birding trail:

Deepak, Sachin, Mr Dicky, and Amith:

Stream and bamboo thicket:

A tiny frog:

Damselfly:

Common Crow on Latana:

Blue Tiger on Lantana:

Moth:

Palm beetle (not the Arecanut farmer’s best friend):

Magical hills…

“Magizham Poo”:

Tiny wildflower.

Datura (the fruit of this plant is very poisonous, but it’s used as an ornamental)

One of the coffee growing areas on the estate, and the year of planting.

Plantation workers streaming in to work at day-break.

Mayflower (Gul Mohar) in full bloom on our way to Sakleshpur:

Wild Jasmine:

Un id wildflower:

Beautiful new leaves:

Un id plant.

Waterlilies at Harley Estate.

Hibiscus

Confederate Rose:

Un id Wildflower:

Bay leaf :

Lures set out to trap Coffee-berry borers, which destroy the coffee crop:

Coffee-berry Borers caught in the lure:

Red-vented Bulbul back!

Red-vented Bulbul front!

Asian Fairy Bluebird:

Jungle Myna:

Scarlet Minivet:

Syke’s Lark:

Chestnut-headed Bee-eater:

Dusky Crag Martin:

Laundry gets done the old-fashioned way, with a washing stone, at Harley Estates.

Deepak and Shravan.

Four-poster bed at Harley Estate:

Beautiful antique mirror at Harley Estate:

House dating from 1959 at Sakleshpur:

Sunset:

Enjoying watermelons and sugarcane juice in the summer heat:

We stopped at this restaurant, named after the imaginary town created by R K Narayan,for an afternoon snack.

The estate census list is compiled by Deepak, and below that is the list I compiled, of the birds we saw on the drive to and from Sakleshpur. Any mistakes are mine.

On a non-birding note, Sakleshpur seems to have some great eating places, and we enjoyed some excellent akki roti!

Consolidated bird list at the coffee plantation:

Gray Junglefowl – Gallus sonneratii
Indian Peafowl – Pavo cristatus
Asian Openbill – Anastomus oscitans
Little Cormorant – Phalacrocorax niger
Intermediate Egret – Mesophoyx intermedia
Little Egret – Egretta garzetta
Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis
Indian Pond Heron – Ardeola grayii
Oriental Honey-buzzard – Pernis ptilorhynchus
Crested Serpent-Eagle – Spilornis cheela
Crested Goshawk – Accipiter trivirgatus
Shikra – Accipiter badius
Brahminy Kite – Haliastur indus
White-breasted Waterhen – Amaurornis phoenicurus
Rock Pigeon – Columba livia
Spotted Dove – Streptopelia chinensis
Emerald Dove – Chalcophaps indica
Gray-fronted Green-Pigeon – Treron affinis
Banded Bay Cuckoo – Cacomantis sonneratii
Southern Coucal – Centropus sinensis
Little Swift – Apus affinis
Asian Palm-Swift – Cypsiurus balasiensis
White-throated Kingfisher – Halcyon smyrnensis
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater – Merops leschenaulti
Malabar Gray Hornbill – Ocyceros griseus
White-cheeked Barbet – Megalaima viridis
Malabar Barbet – Megalaima malabarica
Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker – Dendrocopos nanus
White-bellied Woodpecker – Dryocopus javensis
Lesser Yellownape – Picus chlorolophus
Common Flameback – Dinopium javanense
Black-rumped Flameback – Dinopium benghalense
Greater Flameback – Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus
Heart-spotted Woodpecker – Hemicircus canente
Plum-headed Parakeet – Psittacula cyanocephala
Malabar Parakeet – Psittacula columboides
Vernal Hanging-Parrot – Loriculus vernalis
Malabar Woodshrike – Tephrodornis sylvicola
Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike – Hemipus picatus
Ashy Woodswallow – Artamus fuscus
Common Iora – Aegithina tiphia
Small Minivet – Pericrocotus cinnamomeus
Orange Minivet – Pericrocotus flammeus
Large Cuckooshrike – Coracina macei
Black-headed Cuckooshrike – Lalage melanoptera
Brown Shrike – Lanius cristatus
Indian Golden Oriole – Oriolus kundoo
Ashy Drongo – Dicrurus leucophaeus
Bronzed Drongo – Dicrurus aeneus
Spangled Drongo – Dicrurus hottentottus
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo – Dicrurus paradiseus
Black-naped Monarch – Hypothymis azurea
Rufous Treepie – Dendrocitta vagabunda
White-bellied Treepie – Dendrocitta leucogastra
Large-billed Crow – Corvus macrorhynchos
Dusky Crag-Martin – Ptyonoprogne concolor
Barn Swallow – Hirundo rustica
Red-rumped Swallow – Cecropis daurica
Black-lored Tit – Parus xanthogenys
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch – Sitta frontalis
Flame-throated Bulbul – Pycnonotus gularis
Red-vented Bulbul – Pycnonotus cafer
Red-whiskered Bulbul – Pycnonotus jocosus
Yellow-browed Bulbul – Iole indica
Square-tailed Bulbul – Hypsipetes ganeesa
Greenish Warbler – Phylloscopus trochiloides
Common Tailorbird – Orthotomus sutorius
Oriental White-eye – Zosterops palpebrosus
Dark-fronted Babbler – Rhopocichla atriceps
Indian Scimitar-Babbler – Pomatorhinus horsfieldii
Puff-throated Babbler – Pellorneum ruficeps
Brown-cheeked Fulvetta – Alcippe poioicephala
Rufous Babbler – Turdoides subrufa
Jungle Babbler – Turdoides striata
Asian Fairy-bluebird – Irena puella
Oriental Magpie-Robin – Copsychus saularis
White-rumped Shama – Copsychus malabaricus
Tickell’s Blue-Flycatcher – Cyornis tickelliae
Malabar Whistling-Thrush – Myophonus horsfieldii
Orange-headed Thrush – Geokichla citrina
Southern Hill Myna – Gracula indica
Jungle Myna – Acridotheres fuscus
Common Myna – Acridotheres tristis
Malabar Starling – Sturnia blythii
Golden-fronted Leafbird – Chloropsis aurifrons
Nilgiri Flowerpecker – Dicaeum concolor
Purple-rumped Sunbird – Leptocoma zeylonica
Crimson-backed Sunbird – Leptocoma minima
Loten’s Sunbird – Cinnyris lotenius
Little Spiderhunter – Arachnothera longirostra
White-browed Wagtail – Motacilla madaraspatensis
House Sparrow – Passer domesticus

​Here​’s the bird list for the journey to and from Bangalore to Sakleshpur:

Babbler, Jungle
Babbler, Rufous
Babbler, Yellow-billed
Bushcat, Pied
Barbet, Coppersmith
Barbet, White-cheeked
Bee-eater, Small Green
Bulbul, Red-vented
Bulbul, Red-whiskered
Coot, Common,
Cormorant, Little
Coucal, Southern
Crow,House
Crow, Jungle
Dove, Spotted
Drongo, Black
Duck, Spot-billed
Egret, Cattle
Egret, Intermediat​e​
Flameback, Black-rumped
Flowerpecker, Pale-billed
Heron, Grey
Heron, Indian Pond
Heron, Purple
Hoopoe, Common
Ibis, Black-headed
Iora, Common
Jacana, Bronze-winged
Kingfisher, White-throated
Kite,Black
Kite,Brahminy
Lapwing, Red-watt​l​ed
Lark, Syke’s
Martin, Dusky Crag
Moorhen, Common
Myna, Common
Myna, Jungle
Openbill, Asian
Owl, Rock Eagle
Parakeet, Rose-ringed
Pigeon, Blue Rock
Prinia, Ashy
Pygmy-Goose, Cotton
Robin, Indian
Robin, Oriental Magpie
Roller, Indian
Shrike, Brown
Shrike, Long-tailed
Sparrow, House
Starling, Brahminy
Starling, Chestnut-tailed
Stork, Painted
Sunbird, Purple
Sunbird, Purple-rumped
Swallow, Red-rumped
Swamphen, Purple
Swift, Asian Palm
Tailorbird, Common
Tit, Great
Treepie, Rufous
Treepie, White-bellied
Wagtail, White-browed
Wagtail, Yellow
Warbler, Booted
Waterhen, White-breasted
Whistling-Duck, Lesser
White-eye, Oriental
Woodswallow, Ashy

Butterfly List:

Blue, Various
Bush Brown, Common
Bush Brown, Glad-eye
Castor, Common
Crow, Common
Crow, Double-banded
Coster, Tawny
Damselflies, Various
Dragonflies, Various
Emigrant, Common
Jezebel, Common
Rose, Common
Skipper, Indian
Tiger, Plain
Tiger, Striped
Wanderer. Common
Yellow, Common Grass
Yellow, ​Three-spot ​ Grass

Mammals:

Macaque, Bonnet
Mongoose, Ruddy

Reptiles/Amphibians

Agama, Peninsular Rock
Bullfrog Indian
Frog, un id, Fejarvarya sp.
Snake, Rat

​My photos (er, mixed bag, don’t look if you only want birds!) are on my FB albums at

here

here

and

here

Hope you enjoyed the e-trip!

The persist-ant…

Scurrying across the path
I saw this little ant.
It bore a heavy burden,
Its legs were all aslant.

It stopped every now and then
And shifted the mouthful it had.
But never gave up on the task:
A persistent lady…or lad.

The prey in its jaws
Was about its own size.
But the long-legged ant
Seemed found it tasty and nice.

I never did find out
How the story ended.
Did the ant succeed,
As its way it wended?

Did the other ants in the nest
Cheer at a successful chore?
Or did the ant abandon
Its task, and drag it no more?

I left it a mystery
As I consigned the moment to history.

Birds and other beings at Ganeshgudi :a video by Rana and Sugandhi

Something I’d like to share with all of you is this wonderful video by a couple who are good friends, Raghunath Belur and Sugandhi Gadadhar. The audio for this is a percussion “conversation” between different south Indian musical instruments that often form a part of a classical Carnatic music concert. Apart from the great visuals, they have very creatively incorporated this percussion passage, which, in my language (Tamizh) we call a “thani Avarthanam”.

After the flute,you hear the

MRIDANGAM , a south Indian classical music percussion instrument

alternating with the

TABLA , a north Indian pair of drums used in all forms of music.

They alternate to a diminuendo and then join in and build to a crescendo, after which the flute picks up the melody again and brings the thani Avarthanam to a conclusion that the creatures dance to!

It’s 3’14” long.

Ganeshgudi, in Karnataka, lies in the Western Ghats, with is a World Biodiversity hotspot, and all these birds can be seen in just a day or two.

Here’s a detailed list of what you see:

The opening music is that of the Malabar Whistling Thrush, which our foremost birder, Dr. Salim Ali, has dubbed the “Whistling Schoolboy”.

Cast in order of appearance:
# Malabar Pied Hornbill in flight
# Malabar Pied Hornbill feeding on fig
# Southern Birdwing butterfly – largest butterfly in Southern India
# Blue-eared Kingfisher
# White-rumped Shama
# White-bellied Blue Flycatcher
# Ruby-throated Bulbul and Oriental White-eye (top left)
# Malabar Trogon
# Cruiser butterfly
# Asian Paradise Flycatcher Male
# Black-naped Monarch
# Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher
# Forest Calotes
# Chocolate Pansy butterfly
# Draco (flying lizard)
# Unidentified moth
# Ground Skimmer dragonfly
# Green Bee-eater with dragonfly kill
# Crested Goshawk
# White-bellied Woodpecker
# Blue-capped Rock Thrush
# Yellow-browed Bulbul
# Crested Serpent Eagle
# Grey-headed Fish Eagle
# Grass Funnel Web Spider
# Rat snake
# Cruiser butterfly
# Malabar Barbet
# Oriental Magpie Robin
# Common Emerald Dove
# Unidentified Warbler
# Verditer Flycatcher
# Coppersmith Barbet
# Malabar Pied Hornbill (left: male, right: female)
# Indian Pitta
# Pompadour Green Pigeon
# Malabar Whistling Thrush
# Cruiser butterfly
# White-rumped Shama
# Orange-headed Thrush
# Five-ring butterfly (?)
# Southern Birdwing butterfly
# Blue-capped Rock Thrush
# Coppersmith Barbet
# Blue-capped Rock Thrush (female)
# Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher (female)
# Brown-Cheeked Fulvetta
# Blue-capped Rock Thrush
# White-bellied Blue Flycatcher
# Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher
# Indian Yellow Tit
# Brown-Cheeked Fulvetta
# White-rumped Shama
# Ruby-throated Bulbul
# Indian Yellow Tit
# Asian Paradise Flycatcher
# Indian Yellow Tit
# Purple Sunbird
# Ruby-throated Bulbul
# Forest Calotes
# White-bellied Blue Flycatcher
# Dark-fronted Babbler
# Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher
# Brown-Cheeked Fulvetta
# Blue-capped Rock Thrush
# Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher (female)
# Oriental White-eye
# Asian Paradise Flycatcher
# Yellow-browed Bulbul
# Hanuman Langur
# Malabar Giant Squirrel
# Indian Palm Squirrel
# Unidentied ants
# Malabar Trogon with kill
# Thrush (?)
# Ants – Pachycondyla rufipes
# Gladeye Bushbrown butterfly
# Great Hornbill
# Indian Pitta
# Malabar Pied Hornbill

Visit to Galibore, Cauvery WLS, 150214: Life…and death

She’s beautiful, the Goddess Kaveri:

Some forms of life that I saw:

WHITE-RUMPED SHAMA:

LARGE CUCKOO-SHRIKE:

YELLOW-FOOTED GREEN PIGEONS:

SIRKEER MALKOHA:

SHIKRA silhouette:

SPOTTED OWLET:

INDIAN ROBIN:

ROSE-RINGED PARAKEET (feasting on a watermelon in an angry farmer’s field…!)

BAY-BACKED SHRIKE:

BLACK-TAILED GODWIT:

BLUE-FACED MALKOHA:

SILVERBILLS:

JERDON’S BUSHLARK:

Vendors:

a beautiful, spreading village tree:

a cobbler plying his trade (while preparing to chew his paan)

a flower seller:

flowers of the

FISH POISON tree:

hungry brefus-eaters:

I found the incredible colours of death, too:

Makalidurga and Nandi Hills, 221213

Let me start with a beautiful bird…

Field report to the bngbirds egroup:

It was almost exactly three years to the day since I had been to Makalidurga.

click here to see that visit

Since we read the egroup report about the flurry of birds at Makalidurga, we decided that we’d visit again, and in the chilly dark hours of Sunday, we dilly-dallied perhaps a bit too much,

Dilly-dallying for MCS (Mandatory Chai Stop).

so that we finally got to Makalidurga (the Gopalaswamy temple area) only around 8.15 am after a leisurely breakfast at Dodballapur.

Common Lime, Makalidurga.

Common Kestrel, Makalidurga

.

Rufous-tailed Lark, Makalidurga

Pied Bushchat against the moon!

Life in Makalidurga.

Grasshopper, Makalidurga.

Though we cannot claim that bird sightings overwhelmed us, the birds that we did sight were very rewarding, and we watched several for a long while. Silverbills gathering nesting material; Rufous-tailed Larks foraging on the rocky path; Kestrels hovering; two Sirkeer Malkohas which gave me an exclusive sighting…so went the list of birds, and we were quite happy to soak in the wonderful scenery and the cool, bracing weather as well.

Pied Bushchat female, Makalidurga

Prashanti Express, Makalidurga.

We took a look at Gunjur Lake, as well, but it seems in a very dried-up state, and by the time we got there (nearly noon) there was no activity at all.

We decided that having come all this way, we would go to Nandi Hills as well.

Nandi betta.

We stopped at the base for lunch.

Lunch

Old pavilion at Nursery area, Nandi Hills.

My advice to anyone who is thinking of visiting Nandi Hills in the evening during this holiday period is simple, and consists of three words. Do not go.

The crowds were quite impressive, and I joked that instead of “birding” or “buttering” we would have to go “peopleing”. In spite of this, the Nursery area, where we spent most of our time, and the Nehru Nilaya area, did not disappoint. Olive-backed Pipits, Blue Rock Thrushes, Verditers, one male Asian Paradise Flyacatcher which Santosh captured in the course of changing from rufous to white… we wandered around, quite content with what we saw, and had a very pleasant time.

Birders:

Chandu
Kumuda
Mani
Santosh
Swethadri
and I.

Chandu and Mani

Chandu always has a balanced view

Santosh but not santosh!

Swethadri.

The beauty of the Nursery area.

Verditer Flycatcher, Nursery area.

Ashy Drongo.

Blue Rock Thrush male.

Lovely colours…

Almost done!

Thanks to Santosh for putting the bird list together. The Blue-faced Malkoha was rather doubtful, so it’s been left out.

Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Nandi Hills.

Santosh clicking the Tickell’s Blue (can you see where it is?)

The Camphor tree, Nandi Hills
Birds:

Sl no Name Where
1 Babbler, Jungle Makali
2 Barbet, White-cheeked Nandi
3 Bee-eater, Green Makali
4 Bulbul, Red-vented Makali
5 Bulbul, Red-whiskered Makali
6 Bulbul, White-browed Makali
7 Bushchat, Pied Makali
8 Crow, House Makali
9 Crow, Jungle Makali
10 Dove, Laughing Makali
11 Dove, Spotted Makali
12 Drongo, Ashy Nandi
13 Drongo, Black Makali
14 Drongo, White-bellied Nandi
15 Eagle (un-id) Makali
16 Flowerpecker, Pale-billed Makali
17 Flycatcher, Asian Brown Nandi
18 Flycatcher, Asian Paradise Nandi
19 Flycatcher, Red-throated Nandi
20 Flycatcher, Tickell’s Blue Nandi
21 Flycatcher, Verditer Nandi
22 Honey-buzzard, Oriental Nandi
23 Iora, Common Makali
24 Kestrel, Common Makali
25 Koel, Indian Makali
26 Lark, Rufous-tailed Makali
27 Malkoha, Sirkeer Makali
28 Myna, Common Makali
29 Oriole, Indian Golden Nandi
30 Parakeet, Rose-ringed Nandi
31 Prinia, Ashy Makali
32 Prinia, Plain Makali
33 Robin, Indian Makali
34 Shikra Makali
35 Shrike, Bay-backed Makali
36 Silverbill, Indian Makali
37 Spurfowl, Painted Makali
38 Sunbird, Lotens Makali
39 Sunbird, Purple Makali
40 Sunbird, Purple-rumped Makali
41 Swallow, Barn Makali
42 Swallow, Red-rumped Makali
43 Tailorbird, Common Nandi
44 Thrush, Blue Rock Makali
45 Warbler, Greenish Nandi

The kiss, Nandi Hills

To these I have to add, Kite, Common; Kite, Brahminy, Pigeon, Blue Rock, and Warbler, Booted (yes, yes, the eyebrow was there.). There was also the lone Olive-backed Pipit foraging in the Nursery “cage”. We did not see any of the other Thrushes. Some of the birds (eg Blue Rock Thrush)were sighted at both places. The Owlets that we usually see in the trees near Nandi Multicuisine Restaurant (where the road begins, just past the T-junction) were absent. We also *think* we sighted a Black Eagle, but we are not sure.

Red-breasted Flycatcher,Nandi, 221213

Apropos of this, we were wondering if there have been Owl/Owlet sightings from Nandi Hills, as none of us could recollect seeing any such reports…can the experts throw light on this?

Un id Caterpillar

Peninsular Rock Agama

Butterflies:

Blue, Various (Definitely Pea Blue and Lesser Grass Blue)
Castor, Common
Cerulean, Common
Coster, Tawny
Crow, Common
Emigrant, Mottled
Jezebel, Common
Lime, Common
Mormon, Common
Psyche
Rose, Common
Rose, Crimson
Tiger, Plain
Yellow, Three-spot Grass
Yellow, Spotless
Wanderer, Common

Various beetles, bugs, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and spiders.

I’ve put up my SMS on my FB album at

https://www.facebook.com/deemopahan/media_set?set=a.10151909137458878.1073742060.587058877&type=3

Including some of the fun items that we saw, when we were having lunch!

Dusk, Nandi Hills

Sunset, Nandi Hills

A pleasant and enjoyable day…thanks to my dear friends!

Ragihalli, 021113

What could be a better medicine for severe jet-lag and symptoms of serious withdrawal from one’s grandchilden (who, as the miles slip away behind the aircraft, progressively become the best-behaved, most ideal children of all time)? A visit to my favourite haunt!

Rajesh had posted on the birding e-group, asking if anyone would go to the Bannerghatta area. Well, of course I would! I was joined by Amitabha, Kiran and Zainab, too..

 

the latter were coming for their first birding/natiure trail. The only bird in their lives now is the Stork, which will be arriving early next year.

It was a cloudy and dull morning,

and initially, all birds were Grey ‘Silhouette Birds, I had to keep showing Zainab and Kiran what the birds looked like, in the bird book. But we persisted, and not only did we see a respectable number of species,

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we also enjoyed the beauty of the Bannerghatta forest,

the weak sunshine,

a hot breakfast in the iddli shop in Ragihalli,and the sight of innumerable waterlilies,

and a few white lotuses, blooming in Ragihalli Kola (Pond).

Some living things grew fast after the rain…

The highlight, for me at least, was a big group of Lesser Whistling Duck babies, huddling along, trying to keep right behind their parents, in Ragihalli Kola.

There were several butterflies,

some interesting spiders

and other insects.

and we delighted in the various wildflowers, too.

It was a deeply satisfying morning, and I returned home with peace in my heart, on the festival of lights.

The villagers of Ragihalli told us that the elephant movement was not at a high, but we were warned by the Forest Department people at the Ragihalli watch tower. But the Forest Dept staff keep harassing photographers, even when we are on the main road, and this does not make sense to me. On the whole, they adopt a very confrontational, hectoring tone. When I talked to them, they were a little more polite. Perhaps they come across a lot of tourists who make nuisances of themselves.

The Ragihalli sheet rock area was surprisingly free of broken bottles and picnic litter, and this was a big improvement. However, litter surrounds Ragihalli village.
Our plastic trash is poisoning our environment at an alarming pace.

I have put up some photos (I’ve also written in a narrative) on my Facebook album at

https://www.facebook.com/deemopahan/media_set?set=a.10151797656438878.1073742033.587058877&type=3

The bird list:

Babbler, Jungle
Babbler, Yellow-billed
Barbet,Coppersmith
Barbet, White-cheeked
Bee-eater, Small Green
Bulbul Red-vented
Bulbul, Red-whiskered
Bulbul, White-browed
Bushchat Pied
Bushlark jerdon’s,
Buzzard, Oriental Honey
Coucal, Greater
Crow, House
Crow, Jungle
Dove, Laughing
Dove, Spotted
Drongo Ashy
Drongo, Black
Duck, Lesser Whistling
Duck, Spot-billed
Egret, Cattle
Egret, Little
Flowerpecker, Pale-billed
Francolin grey (heard)
Grebe, Little
Heron, Indian-pond
Hoopoe, Common
Kestrel, Common
Kingfisher, White-breasted
Kite, Black
Koel, Asian
Lapwing Red-wattled
Martin, Asian House
Munia, Scaly-breasted
Myna, Common
Myna, Jungle
Parakeet, Rose-ringed
Pigeon, Blue Rock
Pipit, Paddyfield
Prinia, Ashy
Prinia Plain
Robin, Indian
Shikra
Silverbill, Indian
Starling, Rosy
Sunbird, Purple-rumped
Swallow, Barn
Swallow, Red-rumped
Swallow, Wire-tailed
Swift, House
Treepie, Rufous
Wagtail, White-browed
Warbler, Greenish-leaf

Butterflies:

Blues, Various
Castor, Common
Eggfly, Danaid
Emigrant, Common
Jezebel, Common
Leopard, Common
Lime, Common
Psyche
Rose, Common
Tiger, Common
Yellow, Three-spot Grass
Yellow, Spotless Grass

Various Dragonflies, Damselflies, and Spiders, too.

Bannerghatta zoo area, and Gulakmale, 101112

When Chandu and I planned an outing, we didn’t realize that we would wind up with a fairly large group of friends, but we did…and in alphabetical order, our list went:

Brinda
Chandu
Deepa
Geetanjali
Harish
Harsha
Hrishi
Ranjani
Savitha
Sharmila
Shudhanta
Sumanth
Vinay
Vishnu

Here my friends are:

We started at the parking lot of the zoo area. One sad development that I am seeing, having haunted this area for some years, is the increasing building of enclosures everywhere, cordoning off access for visitors like us. Everywhere there are “watchmen” who harass us, barring access for no valid reason. The parking lot is closed in the mornings, and though I must say it saves us the parking fees, I can’t see why the attendant should prevent us from walking in a deserted parking lot, especially when that is the place where a pair of resident Rufous-tailed Larks always delight us!

Well, we walked through the BMTC Bannerghatta Bus Terminus and walked down the path (to the left) to the Butterfly Park, and looked at the quarry pond, where we did not find the usual Small Blue or Pied Kingfishers. We then slowly walked down the path towards JLR. Here, too, we were harassed, and we had to say we were from JLR (which in a sense, many of us who have done the NTP are!). Luckily, the JLR people and some of the Forest Dept people also know me, so we were granted access, and we walked around the JLR property and went down the sheet rock to the Flycatcher Avenue that runs along the Zoo wall, down to the Kingfisher pond, and looked across into the Herbivore Safari area, and returned.

Flycatcher Avenue did not disappoint us.In alphabetical order, he Asian Brown, the Asian Paradise, the Grey-headed Canary, the Tickell’s Blue, the Verditer, and the White-browed Fantail…all of them delighted us with short or long appearances!

We had a nice dosa breakfast (sponsored by Chandu) at the Mayura Dose Camp, and then some of us decided to go to Gulakmale. So of course I led the others on a chase of that elusive bird, the Wild Goose, as I took the wrong route completely, and wasted quite an hour of everyone’s time until Geetanjali set us on the right route. We went straight to the Gulakmale stream, and on the way back, we touched Gulakmale lake as well.

It was sad to see that Gulakmale lake is in a very dry condition. However, the stream runs as strongly as before, and that was a relief. We do hope that a good monsoon next year will set the lake to rights, and that the drying up is not due (like the case of Puttenahalli Lake) to construction activity in the catchment areas.

So much for the route; our bird list was quite good, and it went like this (alphabetical order again…I never remember to write down birds in their order of appearance, and find it difficult to locate birds in such lists, so I prefer AB order!)

At the zoo area:

Babbler, Jungle
Babbler, Tawny-bellied
Babbler, Yellow-billed (yes, we saw the difference!)
Barbet, Coppersmith
Barbet, White-cheeked (Small Green)
Bee-eater, Blue-throated
Bee-eater, Small Green
Bulbul, Red-vented
Bulbul, Red-whiskered
Bulbul, White-browed
Bushchat, Pied
Bushlark, Indian
Bushlark, Jerdon’s
Cormorant, Little
Cormorant, Indian
Coucal, Greater
Crow, House
Crow, Large-billed
Cuckoo, Common Hawk
Cuckooshrike, Large
Dove, Laughing
Dove, Spotted
Drongo, Ashy
Drongo, Black
Drongo, White-bellied
Drongo, Spangled
Eagle, un id
Egret, Cattle
Egret, Little
Flameback, Black-rumped
Flowerpecker, Pale-billed
Flycatcher, Asian Brown
Flycatcher, Asian Paradise
Flycatcher, Tickell’s Blue
Flycatcher, Verditer
Flycatcher, White-browed Fantail
Francolin, Grey
Heron, Grey
Heron, Pond
Iora, Common
Kingfisher, Pied
Kingfisher, Small Blue
Kingfisher, White-throated
Kite, Black
Kite, Black-winged
Kite, Brahminy
Koel, Asian
Lapwing, Red-wattled
Lark, Rufous-tailed
Leafbird, Blue-winged
Leafbird, Golden-fronted
Munia, Scaly-breasted
Mynah, Common
Mynah, Jungle
Oriole, Eurasian Golden
Parakeet, Rose-ringed
Pigeon, Blue Rock
Pipit, Paddyfield
Prinia, Ashy
Prinia, Plain
Shikra
Shrike, Brown
Sparrow, House
Sunbird, Purple
Sunbird, Purple-rumped
Sunbird, Loten’s
Swift, Common
Tailorbird, Common
Tit, Great
Wagtail, Grey
Wagtail, Pied
Warbler, Blyth’s Reed
Warbler, Booted
Warbler, Greenish Leaf
White-eye, Oriental

The Butterfly list is smaller because a) the focus was birds and b) I am pretty ignorant about them. So here goes:

Baronet, Common
Blue, various types
Cerulean, Common
Emigrant, Common
Emigrant, Mottled
Gull, Common
Hopper, various
Jezebel, Common
Leopard, Common
Pioneer
Psyche
Rose, Common
Rose, Crimson
Skipper, various
Wanderer, Common

Let me know if I have left out anything
We also saw several types of Spiders….Giant Wood, Hermit, Orb-weaver, Signature, and so on.

But most of all, it was the mammals…Homo sapiens naturophilus….that made the day very enjoyable for me. The group gelled really well, and we laughed a lot, too! A big thank you to everyone for a very pleasant day, especially considering the fact that some people came from as far away as Sahakar Nagar and C V Raman Nagar.

I have put up the photos and the narrative on my Facebook album…

The Sting…

In the same tub/sump where we found the two fieldmice, we saw this deadly beauty:

This

is what the Wiki has to say about scorpions.

Let me remind you of the tiny creature we saw in Arikere Reserve Forest:

Death, this IS thy sting!