Wish you all a very Happy New Year 2010!
I’d been looking forward to this long weekend since the previous long weekend 
. Having not birded much in Bangalore this winter, I was feeling guilty of missing out on a lot of feathered visitors. So, I decided to check out different places around Bangalore.
Day 1 – New Year’s Day
When the whole world sleeps late after a party, I woke up early and was on Kanakpura road when the first rays of the Sun touched Bangalore. I’d gone to Halagur (around 80km from home and 30km from Kanakpura town) with a group of friends last week and was really keen to revisit the 2 “big” lifers that I’d got – Black-bellied Tern and Blue-tailed Bee-eater.
My first stop was at a small lake beyond Kaggalipura. The water wasn’t at its fullest and the lake was divided into one large water body with multiple small pools around it. River terns were flying all over the lake very noisily, hunting for their morning meal. There were a lot of waders – Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover – all along the shores.
Egrets and herons were busy looking for a meal in the water.
Beyond Kanakpura, I stopped at the sight of a Montagu Harrier gliding over some fields. This place turned out to be awesome for raptors – Crested Serpent Eagle, Crested Honey Buzzard, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Shikra and a pair of Spotted Owlets! Those very-busy babblers, Tawny-bellied Babblers were moving from one bush to another in a huge flock. Green Bee-eaters were making the most of a very clear day.
Halagur Lake seems to be getting from bad to worse. A lot of digging has happened all along the banks of the lake. The area was teeming with larks and pipits though. A flock of Indian Silverbills was all over the place.
The Blue-tailed Bee-eaters were far more confiding than last week.
Western Yellow Wagtails were common all along the banks of the lake.
The big miss for the day was a Booted Eagle (dark morph) that was resting in the shade of a tree by the road. Unfortunately, the electric wires proved a hindrance to my getting a clear shot of the bird.
All in all, a great start to the New Year with 75 birds in the checklist and a very satisfying photography outing.
Day 2 – Rampura Lake
I didn’t know about the existence of this lake till my friend Fauzia decided to show me around. We were joined by Mike Prince and James Williams at the lake.
Rampura lake is located near Hennur. A fairly large wetland surrounded by fields, it has a mix of reed beds as well as wide open water bodies. The morning light brought out all the birds in their glorious best. Purple Swamphens showed off their multi-colored plumage.
Warblers were busy getting out and back into their reeds. Clamorous Reed Warblers, Paddyfield Warblers and Blyth’s Reed Warblers were seen.
Suddenly, Mike Prince shouted “Snipe!” and pointed his Swarowski to the other bank of the lake. A Pin-Tailed Snipe, which I would’ve definitely missed had I gone alone! And, beside it popped a Baillon’s Crake! 2 huge lifers in a minute!
Walking along the reeds, we noticed a brown bird flitting in and out of a Lantana bush. A closer look revealed a Bluethroat – another lifer!! What an amazing day for lifers!
A Western Marsh Harried made an appearance as we started walking back to our cars.
Day 3 – Hesaraghatta
Well, this is definitely one place that seems to be on every birder’s list this winter. We counted an astounding 20+ cars there on Sunday morning!
Ashy-crowned Sparrow Larks, Oriental Skylarks and Paddyfield Pipits lined all the pathways. Barn swallows had virtually taken over the air space. Black Drongos occupied all the lucrative real estate atop the shrubs.
What was surprising was the total absence of water birds (save for a few Intermediate Egrets, Indian Pond Herons and Little Egrets) and the very few Black and Brahminy Kites. We sighted a few waders though (Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper and Green Sandpiper).
The raptor sightings though were fantastic. A Crested Serpent Eagle was perched atop a coconut tree enroute to Hesaraghatta. A Tawny Eagle and a Common Kestrel were comfortably seated next to the pathway. Driving into the scrub jungle at the far end revealed a couple of Crested Honey Buzzards.
We signed off with a Siberian Stonechat perched beside the pathway.
I’ve published the complete list of birds seen here.
Nice photos. Would have loved to see the Booted Eagle! Do post the migrants you see on Migrantwatch, if you are already not reporting them. See http://migrantwatch.in for details.
Always loved your wildlife photos…
The blue tailed bee eater is striking!
Deepak
Hi Shreeram,
Wonderful account and beautiful photographs! We had been to Hessaraghatta a couple of weeks back but missed seeing the raptors. We got to see the tawny pipit and the lesser whitethroat, though.
On your trip to Halagur, did you visit or pass by Kaggalipura lake as well? I heard there were around 300 bar-headed geese there a few weeks ago…
Cheers,
Uma
Beautiful birds and excellent photographs of those birds!