Circa 2020 - Birding in an urban thicket - Part 2


Birding Valley School Birds Nature Wildlife
Common Hoopoe     PC: Kalirajan Subramanian


29 Dec 2019 - We had just returned back to Bangalore after our memorable visits to the Kabini Reservoir and Wayanad. The holiday was still on and we were still high and craving for more wilderness. A quick visit, at the least to a nearby woodland, would be the only fix for our lingering hang-over. So we decided to break the day in our favorite green spot – The Valley School thicket

 

07:00 am- we were there. This time, choosing a trail different from the previous one

 

Birding Valley School Birds Nature Wildlife
Small water body alongside the mud trail    

We walked past the big banyan tree to the cottage and further down. Beautiful water bodies and a small stream were filled with water, thanks to the recent rains. This trail had thick tree growth making us wonder what a dense jungle is hidden inside the unassuming entrance. Variety of bird calls but none to be seen. All of them happily busy behind the dense leaf cover. Their calls were so exhilarating that we decided to stand still in one spot to let some of the gutsy ones venture out. We so badly wanted a glimpse of them.

Birding Valley School Birds Nature Wildlife
The small stream in the path   



Birding Valley School Birds Nature Wildlife
A shady clearance amidst the dense tree cover


Our stillness started yielding results, though we could tell the birds were equally watchful too. A Tickel’s blue flycatcher could be seen on a branch few feet away from the trail. But if we even slightly moved our fingers, it would take off. Unfortunately it’s perch needed lot of focusing with the camera which it would not allow. Hence we chose to rather etch it in our neurological memories than digital.

 After few minutes a White-browed bulbul ventured out from the other side. This was one was a better sport, giving us a slightly longer appearance that we could record in the camera.  Next came the very interesting Indian white eye, which we were seeing for the first time on our own. With its characteristic white ring around the eye, it was quite a spectacle to watch. 

Birding Valley School Birds Nature Wildlife
Indian White Eye    PC: Kalirajan Subramanian


Birding Valley School Birds Nature Wildlife
White-browed bulbul   PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

Our silent rendezvous which had just picked some pace was interrupted by a group of workers who used the mud trail to walk to their work site. We learnt from them that there were more jungle fowl inside but seeing them is usually very difficult, owing to the tree cover. So we traced our way back to the cottage and decided to go to the grassland on the other side. This is the usual haunt for the chatty babblers and they of-course were there, enjoying the mild morning sun.


Our silent rendezvous which had just picked some pace was interrupted by the walking of a group of workers who used the mud trail to reach to their work site. We learnt from them that there were more jungle fowl inside but seeing them is usually very difficult owing to the tree cover. So we traced our way back to the cottage and decided to go to the grassland on the other side. This is the usual haunt for the chatty babblers and they of-course were there, enjoying the mild morning sun.
The grassland side of the thicket 


A few feet away on the ground we could see a movement. A Common hoopoe was foraging past, resplendent under the yellow sun. In a tree further away, a Black drongo sat elegantly perched like a celebrity posing for the shutterbugs, who were clicking their heart away. 

Our silent rendezvous which had just picked some pace was interrupted by the walking of a group of workers who used the mud trail to reach to their work site. We learnt from them that there were more jungle fowl inside but seeing them is usually very difficult owing to the tree cover. So we traced our way back to the cottage and decided to go to the grassland on the other side. This is the usual haunt for the chatty babblers and they of-course were there, enjoying the mild morning sun.
Black Drongo    PC: Kalirajan Subramanian

Oblivious to all this, a Purple-rumped sunbird was merrily hovering the flowers sipping the choicest nectar

Our silent rendezvous which had just picked some pace was interrupted by the walking of a group of workers who used the mud trail to reach to their work site. We learnt from them that there were more jungle fowl inside but seeing them is usually very difficult owing to the tree cover. So we traced our way back to the cottage and decided to go to the grassland on the other side. This is the usual haunt for the chatty babblers and they of-course were there, enjoying the mild morning sun.
A hovering Purple-rumped Sunbird    PC: Kalirajan Subramanian


Our silent rendezvous which had just picked some pace was interrupted by the walking of a group of workers who used the mud trail to reach to their work site. We learnt from them that there were more jungle fowl inside but seeing them is usually very difficult owing to the tree cover. So we traced our way back to the cottage and decided to go to the grassland on the other side. This is the usual haunt for the chatty babblers and they of-course were there, enjoying the mild morning sun.
Purple-rumped Sunbird   PC: Kalirajan Subramanian


A visit to valley school park is seldom repetitive. We had seen and clicked a set of birds very different from the ones we saw in our last visit. This time again, a sumptuous breakfast at the Adigas and a piping hot filter coffee brought the curtains down on the year-end vacation of 2019

2020 was just around the corner. Little did we know then, about what it had in store !! Neither did we have the faintest idea, that this could be our last carefree outing, in quite a while to come …

 Click here for Part 1.


Birds nature wildlife valley school birding
PC: WWW



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