On World Wetlands Day, some funerary fanfare at Bengaluru’s dying lakes
That’s the way a wetland dies. It desiccates and seeps into memory, and then awaits a rain of retrospective wisdom that may never come.
Category: Beej
All posts authored by Beej
Watching Butterflies – Field Lessons from Rishi Valley
In Rishi Valley, where trees and rocks are teachers, watching butterflies is a highly enjoyable part of the education. Here are field notes from wandering around the school grounds spotting butterflies on the last morning of 2017.
Backyard Birding Notes from Kasavanahalli Lake in winter
Winter has come to Bengaluru’s Kasavanahalli Lake but the migrants are slow to arrive. A few sandpipers here, a few wagtails there and the odd Warbler or Ashy Drongo or two. It’s a slow start to winter birding in 2018
Encounter – Yellow-throated Bulbul at Rishi Valley
From an apparition to a presence, the endangered Yellow-throated Bulbul regaled us with an appearance on a short birding walk at Rishi Valley.
In Borneo, we met the Colugo – the Flying Lemur that isn’t
Daytime wildlife spotting in the rainforest can be luckless. But then, walking the coastal trail at Bako National Park, we met the extraordinary Colugo aka the Sunda Flying Lemur
Manchanabele – Birding in Bangalore’s extended backyard
An unplanned trip to Manchanabele leads to some interesting bird-watching. But also a residue of sadness
Flowering Gliricidia is a feast for the Tufted Gray Langur
Few distractions can thwart a morning of birding, especially in late winter when it’s time to “clean up” the migrants. However, stopping to watch a troop of Tufted Gray Langur feast on flowering Gliricidia at Horsley Hills is certainly one
Summer in the Nilgiris – an escapee’s photo-diary
While the glens and vales of the Nilgiris cope with a torrent of tourists, the resident and endemic birds have the hills to themselves. There’s no better time to observe them nesting and bringing up their families. Without moving a muscle, just to prove that lazy birding does have its rewards.
Ranganathittu – revisiting an old birding haunt
Many birders shun Ranganathittu for the artifice of its environs and the easy photographic pickings. But the birds seem at home here, and that matters! Here’s a photo-essay from a recent visit when the Eurasian Spoonbills had just started to fledge and the Asian Openbill Storks were nesting
Winter birding – it isn’t over until it’s over
Visiting the same location time and again has been the secret of this year’s winter birding escapades. It’s March but the migrants are still here. Among this week’s surprises was a flock of Garganey, wintering ducks from Europe that I have observed at Kaikondrahalli for the first time
Great Backyard Bird Count – it’s a wrap
The Great Backyard Bird Count came to a close on Sunday evening, with nearly 70 species surveyed from three lakes in the neighbourhood. A surprisingly decent list for an otherwise unrewarding winter
Backyard Birding – Kaikondrahalli and Kasavanahalli
This is the weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count. All of 64 species from two neighbourhood lakes. Not bad for a morning’s backyard birding!
Seychelles Diaries – Morning in the mangroves
Among the diversity of habitats in the Seychelles, the mangroves are intriguing for the life forms they shelter. One such habitat, made accessible and enjoyable for the curious visitor by means of a wooden walkway, is close to the Avani Seychelles Barbarons Resort and Spa. The Vacoa Nature Trail takes you into the heart of the mangrove swamp beside the sea, urging you to watch crabs, fish, insects and birds that inhabit this unique ecosystem
Northern Pintails and other finds at Kaikondrahalli Lake
Though winter has been erratic these last few years, migrants are still seen in Bangalore’s dwindling lakes. At Kaikondrahalli, the sighting of two Northern Pintail drakes is a cause for celebration, however minor
Sharavathi Valley and the great web of life
The little big treasures of Sharavathi Valley won’t interest the seeker of charismatic mega-mammalian fauna. And that’s probably a good thing.