An opportunity to work amidst the birds and the bees

by July 8, 2015 Environment

Last week, Madhurima, who regularly tracks the birds at Puttenahalli Lake had lots of “good news” for us.

“We had a babies’ day out at the lake. First the Coots brought one of their babies out. A Brahminy Kite spotted it and dived towards it, but unsuccessfully. So no casualties. Later the Coots brought out both their babies. Then the White-throated Kingfishers brought out two juveniles and the Wagtails also presented,  what looked like a juvenile.  And then, an Ashy Prinia brought out a tiny little Ashy Prinia! It was so tiny that we could not see it with our naked eyes.”

The previous day, she had other exciting sightings. 
“When I walked into the lake premises today, I saw a pair of what I think are Black-winged Stilts flying out. Then I saw 2 Purple Herons, followed by a flock of 12 Scaly-breasted Munia and then the Oriental White-eye showed up with the missus. And that was not all, after coming home and zooming into the photos of some Little Grebes that I had taken, I realized that they weren’t Little Grebes at all. They were baby Coots. The Pheasant-tailed Jacanas are still here. Hopefully we will have some Jacana chicks soon.”


Bird babies at the lake (Pics: Madhurima Das)


Black-winged stilts and Oriental White-eye (Pics: Madhurima Das) 

Are you interested in spending a few hours in such an environment and getting paid for it? PNLIT is looking for a Manager for Puttenahalli Lake, near MLR Convention Hall, J.P. Nagar. This is an exciting, unique and deeply fulfilling assignment. As Manager, you become a partner with the trustees to not just maintain the lake and its premises but to complete its transformation into a rich thriving eco-system – an achievable dream.  
 
Requirements – an open mind and love for nature with some fluency in spoken Kannada. The job would include, but would not be limited to the following: assign work to the staff, supervise them, follow up with officials, help with organizing events, run small errands as needed, work together with the trustees. 
 
The right candidate can expect a reasonable remuneration/ honorarium. To know more about PNLIT visit the website http://www.puttenahallilake.in. If you are interested in exploring this opportunity, drop a mail to puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com.

 

Sections:

About Arathi Manay Yajaman

Arathi is a market researcher who loves to run and write. She has been actively involved in issues that affect citizens, including apartment management, waste management and lakes. She used to live in Mumbai and is now based in Bengaluru, working as a Community Anchor with Citizen Matters.
Read more by Arathi Manay Yajaman

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Story

Bengaluru’s flowering Tabebuia Rosea trees: Think green, not just pink

by May 6, 2026 Environment
Cities must not confuse beauty with ecology; Bengaluru’s pink weeks are lovely, but unchecked ornamental planting could make the city prettier but less alive.

Late each winter, Bengaluru briefly transforms into an Indian Kyoto, as roads blush pink, office parks turn photogenic, and social media buzzes with claims of a local “cherry blossom” season. But the star of this spectacle is not cherry at all. It is Tabebuia rosea, the pink trumpet tree, a neotropical ornamental whose native range runs from Mexico to Ecuador. What seems like a harmless aesthetic win is, ecologically, far more complex. The history Bengaluru’s pink canopy is not new. Much of it can be traced back to the 1980s under forester S G Neginhal, who drove a major greening…

Continue reading

Similar Story

Inside Chennai’s AQI: Why hyperlocal monitoring of air quality is crucial

by April 30, 2026 Environment
Official data masks Chennai's toxic air. Citizen Matters travelled with the IITM team to map variations in air quality. Watch the video to know more.

Across cities, official Air Quality Index (AQI) readings often overlook local hotspots. Chennai has eight Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) that function 24/7 throughout the year. But this isn’t enough to map particulate matter. Air changes every few metres, as researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras tell us. Seasonal variation, construction, vehicular movement, and proximity to industries also change the air we breathe, In 2022, over 17 lakh people died in India due to air pollution (PM 2.5), according to a Lancet study. With better hyper-local air data and public awareness, citizens and policymakers can target pollution…

Continue reading