Wildlife

One doesn’t have to visit distant forests or wildlife sanctuaries in order to find the beauties of Nature… a visit to the local park will do just as well. Here’s what I did on a recent morning visit to Lalbagh. First of all, I soaked in the morning sun, and the freshness of the air. I then walked along the lake, and I found these Black-crowned Night Herons, looking, hopefully, for a fish breakfast. There were so many flowers still blooming, even though Bengaluru has been at its hottest. Here are the Gulmohar blooms, setting the park afire. Here are…

When we talk of conservation, we often think of trees, water, mammals and birds. However, Rohit Girotra, who, in the past few years, has popularized  butterfly walks, and indeed, has discovered several species of butterflies in and around Bangalore, writes: Bangalore is surrounded by beautiful spots for watching butterflies. Camp Gee Dee in Shivanahalli, is one of these havens. Camp Gee Dee is home to a host of birds, reptiles, mammals and butterflies. At last count we had recorded around 100 butterfly species in the Camp Gee Dee grounds. What makes Camp Gee Dee special is its proximity to Bannerghatta…

On the March 13th, we went to Arekere Reserve Forest (aka Doresanipalya) and while there, we found this baby Black Kite, badly injured, upon the ground. It was so badly off that it could not even clamber to its feet as it lay there in the grass clutter. It was heart-rending to watch the poor little one look at us with terrified, mute appeal. But alas! Very often, one cannot follow up on one’s emotional impulse to intervene in wildlife... whether in urban or forest areas. In this case, the very fact that it was so immobile told me that…

Some years ago, a majestic tree stood just outside our house, not far from the heart of Bangalore. It was home to a squadron of monkeys, numerous squirrels and many varieties of birds. There were probably many snakes around, too. In those days, there was ample wildlife where we lived. That was probably how it was in most other Indian cities then, too. But that’s a story from a bygone age. The three-striped palm squirrel is one of the most commonly found 'wild' creatures in Bengaluru. Pic: Vikram Nanjappa Today, a mammoth-sized school occupies the space which that sprawling tree…

I enjoy taking groups of people on nature and bird walks. So, when my friend Vaibhav Chaudhury, who’s involved in many social initiatives, called me to help him guide the residents of a gated community on a bird walk in Madiwala kere, I was very happy to do so. So off we went to the kere at 4pm. I first got a photo of him with the bird board that Brickwork India had put up. The photos of the waterfowl are all by him and Dr Sanjeev Managoli, a paediatrician who manages to follow his passion for birds and contribute…

The Great Backyard Bird Count came to a close yesterday and there were three things that stood out for me.  One: the birding wasn’t exactly great, but it was satisfying. Two: I stuck to the backyard of my immediate neighbourhood, not foraying too far from where I live. I did this for a reason. Often, it’s tempting to go to bird-rich habitats and notch up a big count. I was keen to survey and re-survey the same stretch of the backyard – old, familiar haunts – to see what kind of bird diversity I could dig up and compare it with…

This is the weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count  (February 12th to 15th). I wanted to get away and do some serious birding away from the immediate backyard this weekend. I set out this morning to explore my usual neighbourhood haunts — Kaikondrahalli and Kasavanahalli lakes. This week turned up a lower species count than last week – the terns, in particular, were missing at both lakes. Backyard birding, it seems, turns up some pleasant surprises. Indian Spot-billed Ducks and a single Northern Pintail drake (centre) at Kaikondrahalli Lake. Pic: Bijoy Venugopal Kaikondrahalli lake I was at Kaikondrahalli by 6.15 am and it was a lot…

The situation in Vibgyor got out of hand only because there were so many people around because of which the leopard panicked. The recent incident at Vibgyor school, Marathahalli in Bengaluru, involving the rescue of a leopard which had strayed into the school premises, has once again brought up the topic of man-animal conflict in urban areas. The rescue mission which lasted ten hours, was traumatic for both the animal in question, as well as the several men who were injured during the course of the rescue. While the animal was captured and moved to a rescue centre, there are…

To most people, Whitefield is synonymous with ITPL, the Sai Baba Ashram, luxurious villas and of course traffic jams. But there’s another positive aspect of Whitefield which is the number of lakes in the area. These are some of the lakes which are located to the east/north-east of Marathahalli Bridge and west/south-west of Hope Farm.  Munnekolala and Chinnapanahalli lakes inside AECS Layout Hoodi lake behind Zuri (no direct access to the lake) Seetharampalya lake near Graphite signal Sheelvantharakere Lake behind Palm Meadows Nallurahalli lake on the Nallurahalli-Borewell road Thubarahalli lake, opposite Mainland China (no direct access to the lake) Kundalahalli lake…

Here’s a video I took, of some remarkable ‘fishers’ that we are able to see, even in urban lakes such as Madiwala or Lalbagh, in the winter. These are Spot-billed Pelicans which are local travellers. There are some long-distance travellers, too. These are Bar-headed Geese landing at Hadinaru Kere, near Nanjangud, Karnataka, in August 2015; they come all the way from Mongolia! Here’s one, which was tagged in Mongolia (yes, I received a reply from the scientists there when I emailed them, it was quite a thrill). This winter, we had another lone, and surprise visitor. The Demoiselle Crane was a lone bird that I spotted in a lake…