Feathered Bipeds & Me.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Nandi hills & Rampura lake, 04/Sept/2005
What a way to get back into the field after a lazy summer!
Nick was on business in India yet again, though earlier this
year, and I chose to play guide on a birding trip to Nandi
Hills & then Rampura lake.
We left Anil Kumble circle at 8am on Sunday.(Nick reached
India the previous midnight & grabbed only a few hours
of sleep, not to mention jet lag). Such passion for birding
is rare & a pleasure to be part of.
The traffic was slightly more that normal thanks to the
travelling sunday public.
We parked the car at the parking lot & set off on foot.
We started off near the tank, where we could see 10+
grey wagtails frolicking on the steps of the tank, and
could hear the greenish warblers up in the foliage.
Phishing was having awesome results. Among the first
to respond were tawny bellied babblers & purple rumped
sunbirds.
We birded along the steps right till the Ultramarine
flycatcher spot, where we saw a tickell's blue flycatcher.
Some whitish on the wing actually made me think it
was a UMFC, until I actually saw it perched.
Then we climbed onto the road just past the big tower,
walked till Tipu's drop, where we watched the Alpine
swifts. We were unfortunate to see zero raptors.
Then we walked back to the tank via the other side,
and then took the other pathway from the tank,
which gave us 4 white-throated groundthrushes,
& a couple of blackbirds.
We walked down the road & the driver picked us
up half an hour later.
Overall, it was a great trip.
As we reached bangalore, we headed straight
for Rampura lake, where we got to see few ibises,
a nesting streaked weaver & 2 cute little coot
families. I managed to digiscope the weaver.
By 3:30pm, clouds set in & we called it
a day.
Next in line is a ramanagaram trip on Wednesday,
the 7th. Best of luck to me for Longbilled Vultures
& Shaheen Falcons!
Nick was on business in India yet again, though earlier this
year, and I chose to play guide on a birding trip to Nandi
Hills & then Rampura lake.
We left Anil Kumble circle at 8am on Sunday.(Nick reached
India the previous midnight & grabbed only a few hours
of sleep, not to mention jet lag). Such passion for birding
is rare & a pleasure to be part of.
The traffic was slightly more that normal thanks to the
travelling sunday public.
We parked the car at the parking lot & set off on foot.
We started off near the tank, where we could see 10+
grey wagtails frolicking on the steps of the tank, and
could hear the greenish warblers up in the foliage.
Phishing was having awesome results. Among the first
to respond were tawny bellied babblers & purple rumped
sunbirds.
We birded along the steps right till the Ultramarine
flycatcher spot, where we saw a tickell's blue flycatcher.
Some whitish on the wing actually made me think it
was a UMFC, until I actually saw it perched.
Then we climbed onto the road just past the big tower,
walked till Tipu's drop, where we watched the Alpine
swifts. We were unfortunate to see zero raptors.
Then we walked back to the tank via the other side,
and then took the other pathway from the tank,
which gave us 4 white-throated groundthrushes,
& a couple of blackbirds.
We walked down the road & the driver picked us
up half an hour later.
Overall, it was a great trip.
As we reached bangalore, we headed straight
for Rampura lake, where we got to see few ibises,
a nesting streaked weaver & 2 cute little coot
families. I managed to digiscope the weaver.
By 3:30pm, clouds set in & we called it
a day.
Next in line is a ramanagaram trip on Wednesday,
the 7th. Best of luck to me for Longbilled Vultures
& Shaheen Falcons!
