Gaita, Srikant (spelling?), Vidyut, Tara, Shalini, Apoorva, Damini, Priyanka, Lakhan, Digil. Gaita’s daughter Seher joined just after I took the photo.
Where: Saul Kere When: Sunday, May 5th, 2024 Meeting time:6:30 am (walk ends by 9.30 am) Meeting point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/HmnUzgALVGQVFiS2A (access through RMZ Ecoworld/Adarsh Palm Retreat road)
Nearest Bus Stop: Intel stop on Ring Road, 2 Kms/20 mins walk to the lake. Buses plying from Banashankari towards Marathahalli and other routes stop here.
Wear: Dull-coloured clothes, hats/caps, comfortable walking shoes, rain gear if there is rain forecast.
Bring: Notebook and a pen/pencil, and water. Optional: Bird books/apps, binoculars, cameras, and any snacks you may need.
A Pitta was sighted by half the group. Here is everyone hopeful that it will make another appearance…it did not!
Pheasant-tailed Jacana
We saw a large, heart-warming group of Painted Storks feeding. Later, they took to the air
Oriental Garden Lizard sunning itself
Grey-headed Swamphen on the flowers of Water Hyacinth
Karthik and I witnessed a funny incident today at Saul Kere, during the Bngbirds 1st Sunday walk. A Blue Tiger and a Common Crow were pirouetting together. I was just wondering why they were doing this pas de deux, when suddenly, an Ashy Woodswallow swooped on them…and then left them alone, probably realizing that they are not good food! It appears birds carry a memory of edible and inedible butterflies.
Most of the group: Damini, Savitha,Arnab, Gopinath, Mani, Tarachand, Kunal, Chaitra.
A few of us at the start
Arpita, Sumanth, Tarachand, Arnab, Savitha
Announcement:
DMW, Sat, 4 May ’24
Where: Byatarayana Doddi Kere (Lake)When: Saturday, 4 May ’24 Meeting/Parking Point: https://goo.gl/maps/7XjLfeJCRhBZ3yHs9 (The location shows the lake only in the “terrain” mode of Google Maps) Meeting time: 6..30am
Fairly level terrain Paths near the edge may be a little muddy if it has rained. Not a circular trail, people can leave whenever they wish to.No shade. We generally wind up by 9 am. Wear: Dull-coloured clothing, hats/caps, comfy walking shoes. Rainwear, depending on the forecast. Bring: Binoculars, cameras, bird books/apps, pads/pencils if you like to take notes, or sketch. Plenty of water, and snacks if you like to share (we do!) Those who would like to participate in this outing, please join the WA group at
In case of need/ emergency, contact: Deepa Mohan99800 10366 Post-birding breakfast : Udupi Gardeniaa,near Bannerghatta Circle, location: https://goo.gl/maps/ZoYQLKU7dnfjt1gr8 Looking forward to meeting some of you,
Most of the group (Abhishek and 2 more people are missing…total 15 people)
Announcement:
Bioblitz: Walks Populi.DMW, Puttenahalli Kere, Sat, 27 April ’24
As part of the City Nature Challenge , a 4-day event where we gather to observe the natural world around us, I am happy to announce a bioblitz ( a biodiversity walk, in other words!)
Where: Puttenahalli Kere, a tiny lake that has been maintained diligently by Usha Rajagopalan and her team of dedicated volunteers, at Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT).
Meeting Point Location, just inside the entry gate on Millenium Road
Walks Populi/DMW: Outing to Muthanallur Lake, Sun, 21 Apr ’24 Where: Muthanallur KereWhen: Sun, 21 Apr ’24 Meeting time: 0630 hrs. Meeting point location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/FnDnLcVEgJw1hcVm6 Level terrain. No washrooms available. Wear: Dull-coloured clothes, caps/hats, comfy walking shoes. Bring: Binoculars, bird books/apps, cameras, water, and snacks if you like to share (we do!) Those who would like to participate, please join the WhatsApp group for the walk, on this invitation link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/C13YoFtre5lBOvmvzuguXC After joining the group, we can discuss car-pooling logistics before, and exchange information and images after, the walk. Post-walk breakfast point: Adyar Anand Bhavan (A2B): location https://goo.gl/maps/Q7MdsoJkzvVhty7c9 In case of need/emergency, contact: Deepa Mohan, 99800 10366 Damini Gupta, 96207 16510 Shalni Ukunge, 78291 55214 Looking forward to meeting some of you on Sunday! Cheers, Deepa.
I should not give the Devi temple as a Google maps location. Almost all of us were led astray, Mani, his cousin Raj, Anu and her cousin did not mark the location where they parked and spent hours after the walk, hunting, in the hot sun. We had to park about 1km from the temple but marked our location and were also able to walk to the temple and find our way back afterwards. Many people came up the “pig farm” path, turned left and parked.
Location to give, on the opposite side of the lake
Wishing everyone a prosperous Ugadi! DMW: Aagara Lake near Valley School, Tuesday, 9 April ’24
Where: Agara Kere near Valley School (not to be confused with Agara Lake near HSR Layout) When:Tuesday, 9 April ’24 Meeting point: Aagara Lake bund Location: https://goo.gl/maps/Y2GZcnPyfDLrA12D9 Meeting time: 6.30am.
Bring: Binoculars, cameras, bird books/apps, pads/pencils if you like to sketch or take notes.
Wear: Dull-coloured clothes, comfortable walking shoes,hats/caps. Level terrain, after climbing up the bund. Linear path (not a circular path that has to be completed). No restrooms available
In case of need/emergency, contact: Deepa Mohan, 99800 10366 Shalini Ukunge, 78291 55214 Looking forward to meeting some of you tomorrow, Cheers, Deepa.
eBird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S167820886 (65 sp) Shared with : pinkoriole,shalini_ukunge,deekay81,mature_eye,Sriky1, AnandSundaram, harishchandra403
A day when mango and neem trees lose a lot of foliage…not because of the hot weather, but because everyone plucks the leaves and takes them home to adorn their pujas, and to serve neem leaves (baevu) along with the “bella” to wish others for Ugadi! My walk to Aagara Kere (near Valley School area) was much better attended than I thought it would be, and we observed some very interesting things. There were all the usual waterfowl: Little, Indian and Great Cormorants, Little Grebes and Coots, a Little Egret or two stepping daintily on their yellow feet, that are called “Golden Slippers” in the US…and on the land side, several we-are-still-here Warblers (Booted, Blyth’s Reed, Clamorous Reed, and Greenish), Prinias, Coucals, Malkohas, all the three commonly seen Bulbuls, both Barbets…a flashing, flying full tailed Paradise Flycatcher….and so the list went. We saw several Jezebels nectaring on the Albizia amara flowers; Striped and Plain Tigers floated past us. Crimson and Common Roses, several kinds of Blues…the butterfly list was not lacking. Srikanth pointed out a Praying Mantis, I showed everyone the nymphs of the Jewel Bugs; we observed several ground plants inclucing the Coldenia and some Andrographis. Flowering and fruiting trees and plants all around us…Albizia amara, Melia dubia, Orange Climber, Coat Button…there was so much to see and enjoy! The eBird checklist is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S167820886 (65 sp) and my photographed observations on iNaturalist are at https://tinyurl.com/5hfpbf5f You can see all the photos I took on my Flickr album at https://flickr.com/…/86494503…/albums/72177720316101838/ I must particularly mention Dyuthi, the only child (alas!) on the walk, who was keenly interested in everything, and quickly made a conical container for her nature collection out of the leaves of the Palash tree. Many of us also gathered for a chatty, getting-to-know-each-other-better breakfast at the newly-opened (16 days old!) Rajathagiri Palace. Aagara Kere, DMW, Ugadi Walk, 9 Apr ’24.
Winged seeds of Indian Elm (Holoptelea integrifolia)
Common Jezebels nectaring on Albizia amara tree flowers
Common Iora
Harish, Arjun and Neha
Snack time
Nymphs of Jewel Bugs
Dyuthi with her Palash-leaf container
A happy, get-to-know-each-other-better brefus at Rajathagiri Palace, which opened 16 days ago
🕖 Time: the walk starts at 6:30 am. Make sure you reach 15 min early to look for parking, find the entrance, etc. We will not be available for phone calls to give directions.
Duration: 2 hours
Participants Kindly Note ☀️🦟Dress to protect yourself from the sun and mosquitoes – wear fully covered clothes and apply mosquito repellent. Please wear dull coloured clothes if you don’t want birds to fly away as soon as they see you!
🚶🏽♀️We will be walking a bit so carry water. And a light snack!🥪
🦜We will also bring some binoculars for you to share.
👩👧👦Feel free to bring kids.
🦋If you have any special needs, please message us separately.
Deponti to the world 