Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Shivanahalli Trail & other pictures taken by Mahesh Chand

www.flickr.com/photos/81mahesh
(mahesh81chand@gmail.com)

Shivanahalli Trail & other pictures taken by Mahesh Chand

www.flickr.com/photos/81mahesh

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Few other photos taken around my house at Nisarga Layout


Shikra


Grey Wagtail



Black Drongo



Great Tit

Third Sunday Outing-18th October 2009-Trip report by Ulhas P A

Here is the report of the Third Sunday Outing of October by Ulhas P A (http://wildcards.blogspot.com)


Place: Behind Ramakrishna Mission School (Google Map Link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=12.722772,77.57206&num=1&t=h&sll=12.760743,77.624567&sspn=0.009397,0.019162&hl=en&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=&ll=12.72239,77.57199&spn=0.002794,0.003449&z=18)


Start Time: 8:15 AM
Date: 18th October, 2009
Weather: Clear & sunny, no clouds
*
List of Birds*

1. Black Headed Cuckoo Shrike
2. Red Wattled Lapwing
3. Oriental White-eye
4. Red Vented Bulbul
5. Palm Swift
6. Ashy Wren Warbler
7. Copper Smith (calling)
8. Red Whiskered Bulbul
9. Laggar Falcon
10. Small Green Bee-eater
11. Hair Crested Drongo
12. Purple Sunbird
13. Jungle Crow
14. Pariah Kite
15. Loten's Sunbird
16. Tickell's Blue Flycatcher
17. Greenish Leaf Warbler
18. White Breasted Kingfisher (calling)
19. House Crow
20. Paradise Flycatcher (male, brown with long tail)
21. Magpie Robin
22. Small Green Barbet (calling)
23. Bright-green Leaf Warbler
24. Tailor Bird
25. Indian Shag
26. Little Cormorant
27. Collared Scops Owl
28. Jungle Wren Warbler
29. Gold Fronted Chloropsis (mimicking the call of a Shikra)
30. Short-toed Eagle

*
List of Butterflies*

1. Common Rose
2. Crimson Rose
3. Common Leopard
4. Blue Mormon
5. Unid. Bush Brown
6. Dark Blue Tiger
7. Common Crow
8. Unid. Dart
9. Two Spot Grass Yellow
10. Three Spot Grass Yellow
11. Common Gull
12. Double Branded Black Crow
13. Psyche
14. Common Sailer
15. African Babul Blue
16. Small Grass Yellow
17. Emigrant
18. Striped Tiger
19. Tailed Jay
20. Tawny Coster
21. Glassy Blue Tiger
22. Common Mormon
23. Common Lime
24. Spotless Grass Yellow
25. Common Castor
26. Common Wanderer
27. White Orange Tip
28. Plain Tiger

After the group birding, we headed out to Jigani Tank for old time's sake :)

Place: Jigani Tank (Google Map Link: http://bit.ly/ 2Y6jL1)
Start Time: 12:35 PM
Date: 18th October, 2009
Weather: Sunny, with sparse tufts of cumulus

Here's the list.

1. Black-bellied Tern
2. Red wattled Lapwing
3. Coot
4. River Tern
5. Darter
6. Dabchick
7. Large Egret
8. Median Egret


Also link to Gowrishankar's photos


http://picasaweb.google.com/shankarsg77/BirdingShivanahalliOct09?authkey=Gv1sRgCKmdtsPqwd_PowE

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Third Sunday Outing-18th October 2009

Its nice to receive so many mails about the Sunday Outings.After taking into account all the suggestions it is decided that we shall revert back to our old timing of 6.00 am as the starting time. People coming from far off places will be hosted for Saturday night stay close to the birding area.More than 10-15 become a crowd so the group size will be limited to 15.However, still waiting for others to post their pictures.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Shivanahalli Trail

30 kms away from the city centre, the small hamlet Shivanahalli , is truly a great place for birdwatchers. A branch of Ramakrishna Mission, operates a village school , vocational training centre and a medical camp every Sunday.They are also compiling the list of birds seen regularly around their campus.The head of this branch Swami Vishnumayanandaji was kind enough to offer breakfast  to all the participants.


Today's trail had the maximum no. of people since we started these trails a year back.Nearly 35 had confirmed their participation and around 32 turned up. Senior and very experienced birders like Dr.M.B.Krishna,Naveen,Swamy ,Ullas took part in today's trail.So it was a great learning experience for people like me.When they are around its not only about birds, but you get to learn about butterflies,trees,insects etc. Thanks to Krishna's suggestion I created this blog so that the bird list for these trails can be compiled and shared around.As and when I get time, will upload all the bird list we have seen in the last one year during these trails.


Though usually we start sharp at around 7.00 am ,the large number of birders as well as the breakfast session in the morning delayed our trail by around one and half hours.So predictably we missed out spotting lot of birds. The group got divided into three and were in three different directions. I and few others followed Dr.Krishna and did our trail around the coffee plantation. The other two groups were around the rocky terrain outside the plantation area.


The list of birds seen today :


White Browed Wagtail
Red vented Bulbul
Coppersmith
Large Cuckooshrike
Small Green Bee eater
Spangled Drongo
Greenish Leaf Warbler
Loten's Sunbird
Purple Rumped Sunbird
White Breasted Kingfisher
Tickel's Blue Flycatcher
Asian Paradise Flycatcher
Tailor Bird
Collared Scops Owl
Common Myna
House Crow
Golden Fronted Leafbird
Short Toed Eagle
Little Cormorant


Also learnt a bit about
Spittle Bugs
Giant Wood Spider
Oxalis Plant
Tawny Coaster
Bush Brown
Emmigrants
Woodfordia Fruiticosa




Few of us also had the opportunity of seeing the fossil , birds,butterfly,insects and reptile collection of the mission. Swamiji also wanted the seniors to do the survey of the birds and other species found in the campus.


The second group spotted the following birds as compiled by Mahesh Chand:


Coppersmith
White Throated Kingfisher
Green Bee Eater
Crested Serpent Eagle
Red Whiskered Bulbul
Brahminy Kite
Black Kite
Black Shouldered Kite
Hen harrier
Mountain Hawk Eagle
Baya Weaver Bird
Greater Coucal
Purple Sunbird
Purple Rumped Sunbird
Pied Bushchat
Yellow Billed Babbler
Ashy Prinia
Plane Prinia
Grey Wagtail
Little Cormorant
Rose Ringed Parakeet
Black Drongo
Common Myna
House Crow
Large Billed Crow
Intermediate Egret
Spotted Dove
Laughing Dove


We also had three lovely siblings Sharadaprasad,Diwakar and Chitra, who had come all they way cycling .All in all it was a wonderful trail, apart from that only regret is that I could not meet all of them to thank as some of them had come from far off places. 


Here are the few photos taken during the trail


http://picasaweb.google.com/itnatureclub/ThirdSundayOuting18thOctober2009#


Links to photographs taken by Mahesh Sripathi ( mahesh@digiclick.co.in)
http://picasaweb.google.com/digiclickbsk/BirdWatch1