Spot-billed Duck brood at Dorai Kere

At about 29 acres, Dorai Kere in Uttarahalli, is one of the large water bodies in South Bangalore. 

Location of Dorai Kere 

In Dec 2010, DNA had reported that the lake was being restored by the BBMP at a cost of Rs 8 crore, including a sewage treatment plant (STP) to treat 1 MLD of sewage. One corner of the lake currently houses the STP. With a track along the bund, and lots of greenery, the lake is a nice place for morning walkers and joggers (despite a number of stray dogs). It is also a good place for bird watching.

Recently, Mr Vinaya Kumar Thimmappa, on the bngbirds email group, reported the sighting of Spot-billed Pelicans at the lake. To check out the pelicans, Mr Deepak Jois, a resident of the area visited the lake. Apart from the pelicans and a host of other birds (more than twenty species), he was pleasantly surprised to see a brood of eight Spot-billed Duck chicks. The Spot-billed Duck is one of the commonly seen birds in Bangalore lakes, often in pairs. However, the species breeds in a very few places inside the city, which is why Deepak feels that documenting this sighting is quite important.   

Spot-billed Ducks at Dorai Kere (Courtesy: Deepak Jois)

To see Deepak’s delightful video of the brood getting separated by a pack of marauding dogs, and later reuniting, see this youtube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY3xT9z84DM.
 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Similar Story

As cities heat up, traditional South Indian homes give a blueprint to cool down

This Madras Day, experts suggest elements and tips for cooling from Chennai’s traditional homes that have survived the test of time.

Imagine this: the electricity zaps off at noon during summer, and the air conditioning switches off. The sweat begins trickling down your back, and the hot air envelops your room. In these situations, Abirami DM and her family sit near the courtyard of their traditional home in Chintadripet, as the breeze filters in. This two-storey home, which has witnessed six generations of Abirami’s family, is built with materials like red oxide flooring and mud walls. “I grew up here, so I couldn’t find the difference in terms of heat until my maternal side of the family moved from a traditional…

Similar Story

Building on a floodplain: Why residents and experts are warning against Chennai’s Sports City

The ₹261-crore project, being built on a wetland basin could worsen monsoon flooding for hundreds of Chennai residents.

For Dhanasekaran, a resident of Ezhilmuga Nagar, an area adjacent to the proposed Global Sports City project site, the vast stretch of land in Semmencheri is more than an empty plot waiting to be developed. Every monsoon, he watches it transform into a sheet of water, carrying runoff from surrounding neighbourhoods towards the Pallikaranai Marshland. "We are the poorvakudi (original inhabitants) of this place. Even though we were relocated here years ago, this has become our home," says Dhanasekaran, standing beside the 112-acre site where the project is set to come up. "Officials may not know how much water will…