It must have been nearly two years since I tried photographing birds. I was itching to go with the camera to shoot birds for a long time now, but never really got around to doing it. I did go birding a few times in recent past, but had not taken the camera with me. I finally made an early morning trip today to a lake near the city and shot a few bird pictures. Thanks to the hardcore naturalists who were with me, I could sight, identify and photograph much more than what I could have done on my own. Here is a picture of an Indian Cormorant. More will follow, once I process them all.
An Indian Cormorant drying its wings
Unlike most waterbirds such as ducks, cormorants do not have oil glands to keep their wings from getting wet. Each time they get out of the water, they sit on the bank for sometime and spread their wings for drying.
Ask everyone, and they say Bangalore has changed a lot in the last few years. There are more buildings everywhere, more roads, more people, unbearable traffic and the like that come with unchecked growth. Lakes are shrinking and green cover around the city is making way to gleaming modern structures. But Bangalore still remains a favourable destination for many, and fortunately it has remained so with our feathered friends too. Between December and March last winter, pelicans had made their annual trip to the lakes in the city, and so did migrant Drongos and Swallows and the like.
An Ashy Prinia at Madiwala Lake.
The green patches and the lakes around the city have always housed many species of birds through the year and host a lot more during the winter months, when migratory birds flock in from the cold regions in the north. Like everywhere else, their habitat is shrinking in Bangalore too. But still there are many places in and around the city that can charm a birdwatcher with plenty of variety.
An Ashy Crown Sparrow Lark near Jigani
Keen eyed birders have always been finding places that are teeming with many species of birds. Many water bodies like Hebbal Lake, Madiwala Lake, Yelemallappa tank and Hoskote Lake attract large migratory birds in drones during winter. Nandi Hills occasionally throws up surprises with unlikely birds like Malabar Whistling Thrush or Blue Capped Rock Thrush.
A Blue Capped Rock Thrush in Nandi Betta
A Purple Rumped Sunbird at Hebbal Lake
It is a pleasure to watch those birds colouring up the periphery of the city. There is plenty of beauty, melody, action and even humour in tailing the birds. There are many things attractive, like the pleasant whistling call of the Dronogs, graceful flight of Gray Herons or of Barn Owls, and bright colors and the beauty of Blue Capped Rock Thrush or Parakeets. And then there is some interesting action to watch in the skies when a gang of crows manage to chase away much larger and powerful Kites – a frequently observed scene in the city’s skies. If the crows do this in the city, smaller birds like Black Drongos perform the same acts of bravery in the greener areas outside the city. Watching a paradise flycatcher fly past and its unusually long tail that looks very out-of-place and trying to keep up with the flight of the bird can be comical.
A Paradise Flycatcher in Nandi Betta
A River Tern in Ranganthittu
When the thirst to see more of these beauties overpowers the Bangalorean, there is always Ranganathittu bird sanctuary just two hours away from the city. Ranganathittu is an ocean of joy for any bird lover, with its swarming population of birds of both migratory and resident kind. The ever-present River Terns on the rocks along Kaveri never fail to amuse their visitors. The dense population of large birds like Asian Openbill, White Ibis and Spoonbill always manage to entertain people who have never seen those big birds in such numbers.
A gang of White Ibis in Ranganthittu
A Rose Ringed Parakeet at Hebbal Lake
Indeed all is not well with the city that is growing rapidly. Like in other cities of the world, Sparrows have long since gone away. Lakes are shrinking and Painted Storks that were once common in Hebbal Lake are not seen as often in the city. Rosy Starlings that came in large numbers to a tree near my house have not arrived in the last two years. It is only likely that their numbers keep coming down in the years to come. There have been many initiatives from the concerned people to save the city’s birding hotspots from destruction, and let’s join them and hope that all that work bears fruit, and these winged beauties continue to flock into the city as they have always done.
A Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher in Nandi Hills
A Purple Moorhen at Hebbal Lake
Information
Popular birding hotspots in and around Bangalore: Lalbag, TG Halli reservoir, Rampura Lake, Hoskote Lake, Indian Institute of Science, Valley school, Turahalli minor forest, Nandi hills and Banneraghatta National Park. Ranganathittu bird sanctuary, two hours drive from Bangalore is a great place to see huge flocks of migratory birds in winter.
For more information on birding Bangalore, join the Bangalore’s most popular birding group bngbirds. They regularly meet fortnightly for birdwatching sessions around the city.
