Wildlife

A foggy start to the morning. Pic: Kere Habba* On January 9th 2016, Kaikondrahalli Lake played host to a bunch of events for the second time with more than 4,500 people from neighbourhood participating. Kere Habba 2016 aimed at raising awareness, increasing community participation and fostering an appreciation of lakes in Bangalore. Birders looking to spot as many species. Pic: Kere Habba* Dechamma Chetan, a visitor said, "The lake is a beautiful place for bird watching", and that she had a great time. Another visitor, Chirdeep Shetty, he said too loved the event. Mukesh, who lives near the lake, came…

With young students like Anvitha Rao and Joiston Pereira taking the initiative, the annual Waterfowl Census, which had been suspended some time ago due to lack of support by the authorities, was revived again on some of the lakes of Bangalore. On Saturday, 26th Dec, 2015, the census was started at Agara Lake. Several concerned citizens,birders and environmentalists participated. On Saturday, lakes along Sarjapura Road were covered; on Sunday, the focus was on Hosur Road.  While doing the bird counts, participants were also asked to input data on the condition of the lakes. Here is an update from Joiston Pereira:…

Posting below, a mail from Anvitha S (Undergraduate student, St Joseph's College) on <bngbirds@yahoogroups.com>, requesting for volunteers for the Waterbird Survey 2015-16. We are reviving the waterbird survey which was conducted between 1987 - 1996 by the Bird Watcher's Field Club Of Bangalore. We request experienced birdwatchers and others to contribute to this effort.  In the 80s and 90s the Mid-winter waterfowl survey proved to be a great experience for novices and specialists in sharing and learning skills. Since then the water scape of Bangalore has changed dramatically. So an initiative is planned to revive waterbird survey in atleast the surviving…

At the last minute, on the morning of December 13th, I convinced 20 other birders that instead of going to Valley School, we should bird along the Kaggalipura-Bannerghatta stretch, and then go to check out Hulimangala. And there, at nearly the end of a long birding outing, we saw a migrant which has never before been sighted in the Bangalore area... the Demoiselle Crane. Can you spot the crane in its habitat?  Here it is: Demoiselle cranes undertake one of the toughest migrations in the world.... as tough as that of the Bar-headed Geese.  From late August through September, they gather in…

Our Puttenahalli lake is a little world in itself, of the best kind because it includes birds, butterflies, trees, flowers and more. Showcasing these is our calendar for the new year, "Life at Puttenahalli Lake."  Take a sneak peek at the gorgeous photos taken by experienced photographers who are also from our neighbourhood. Each of these photos shows the miracle that is Nature. We are printing a limited number of copies. If you would like to have a copy or two, or more, please place your order in advance.    Calendar details Format - Desk top  Size - 5.7" x…

Wildlife surrounds us, and one doesn’t have to go anywhere except to the nearest patch of greenery to observe it. Last week, I’d been to Lalbagh, and observed the wonder of the Weaver Ants . The scientific name for these ants (not that we need to bother much about it!) is Oecophylla. Weaver ants, especially the worker ants, make their nests by creating an 'ant-silk'... Workers construct nests by weaving together leaves using larvalsilk. But this time, it was unusual to see the ants covering the fruit of the Soursop tree (Annona muricata) for their nests! Perhaps the ants were finding…

Very often, after the rains, one sees dragons in the air. Not fire-breathing ones, of course; those belong in the realms of fantasy. But the often-ignored dragons I am talking about, are marvellous creatures, too! Here’s a closeup of a dragonfly that I took, recently. Dragonflies are called 'odonates'; that is, scientific-name wise, they belong to the order Odonata. Dragonflies are agile fliers; you can find them hovering, quite motionless, in the air, and then, suddenly, zipping off at great speed. Contrary to their gossamer, delicate appearance, they are voracious predators, both in their aquatic larval stage, when they are…

Name : Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre Website : http://www.wrrcbangalore.org/ Phone : +91 80 2294 7307 | 91 80 2294 7317 email : wrrc-rescue@googlegroups.com | wrrc.projects@gmail.com | wrrcbrc@gmail.com   Name : People For Animals Website : http://www.peopleforanimalsbangalore.org/ Phone : 91 99000 25370 | 91 99803 39880 Landline : 080-28611986 | 080-28612767 | 080-22733350 email : info@peopleforanimalsbangalore.org | rescueservice@peopleforanimalsbangalore.org   Name Karuna Animal Welfare Association of Karnataka Website : http://karunaanimalwelfare.org/ Phone : 080 22860205 | 080 -23411181 | 080-23511329 email : contact@karunaanimalwelfare.org   Update: On 29 Dec 2016, I got the number of the Bangalore Cat Squad from Vidhya Sunder, it's 9845553850…

The resilience of birds never ceases to amaze me. All around us, in the face of "development", I see so many birds which manage to adapt to urban life, and live amongst us. The crow, the kite, the myna, the pigeon... these are the common examples, as are cattle egrets and pond herons. But yesterday, at the busiest of places... the Silk Board junction, I saw these beautiful Red-rumped Swallows flying and perching on the wires! Long may our urban birds last!

We witness a beautiful aerial stream of butterflies between March and May, and once again between September and November. These butterflies are not, like other wildlife, only to be found in the forests; you can often see them floating around you, and past you, as you walk in the city.  The most common butterflies that migrate twice a year are the Blue Tiger, and the Common Crow. The Common Crow is a dark brown, almost black butterfly; but the Blue Tiger is a blue jewel!  You can see them clustering on some plants even in uncultivated fields. The butterflies migrate…