Birds captured after the rains

Thanks to the rain and the treated water, the level has gone up at the lake. Unfortunately though, the notoriously difficult to control alligator weed is also growing lushly. We hope when the level increases even more, the weeds will be submerged and rot. Well, we may be unhappy about the weed spreading but the birds are very happy about it. The number of birds frequently the lake has increased. 
 
For the past few months, Madhurima Das, a “resident birder” from the neighbourhood has been regularly doing a weekend census of the birds at the lake, and taking pictures as well. Today she was happy to have captured a few candid moments. Pictures below.
 
Pheasant-tailed Jacana in breeding plumage
 
Little Cormorant 
 
Great Cormorants that flew past for a recce perhaps!
 
White-throated Kingfisher with catch
 
Spot the two Purple Herons? 
 
Pheasant-tailed Jacanas in a mating dance perhaps …. 
 
Little Grebes – they had laid three eggs but lost two to predators. Way of the wild!
 
A first time visitor to our lake – Jacobin Cuckoo, considered to be a harbinger of the monsoon! 
 
Pics: Madhurima Das
Captions: Usha Rajagopalan 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Similar Story

The wild in the city: What citizen scientists tell us about Bengaluru’s biodiversity

Spatial and temporal biodiversity patterns, as observed by citizen scientists in the city during 2016-2025, were studied at a datajam in December 2025.

Imagine you’re out on a morning walk, phone in hand, when you spot a butterfly you’ve never seen before. You snap a photo, log it into a citizen science app, and voila! You’ve just contributed to crucial biodiversity monitoring. This isn’t just a hobby; it’s part of a global movement where ordinary people collect, record, and sometimes analyse data about plants, animals, and ecosystems. Citizen science stretches the reach of ecological research. Every observation adds to unique longitudinal datasets that reveal phenology — periodic events in the life cycle of a species — along with species distribution shifts and population…

Similar Story

Air quality management is a governance problem, not just an environmental one

Despite massive funding, Indian cities face weak governance, poor data, and limited capacity, as air pollution continues to worsen.

Indian cities are struggling to breathe. Air pollution is a year-round governance challenge. In 2024, 35 of the 50 most polluted cities globally were in India, with PM2.5 concentrations above 66.4 μg/m3. This is at least 13 times the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and at least 1.6 times the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in India. Citizens continue to bear the brunt of worsening air quality, and urban local governments (ULGs) are at the forefront of the problem, being primarily accountable for their citizens' first mile. While they do have a role to play in addressing this threat,…