Amatuer Ornithology

There is an initiative called MigrationWatch, which mobilizes bird watchers around the country to track the migratory patterns of certain birds. The group uses the data to figure out if there are changes in the migratory patterns due to global warming. I read about this in The Hindu a couple of months ago, and joined a Bangalore based Bird watchers yahoogroups which was mentioned in the article.

Obviously, I was quite lost at the flurry of bird species names that fly around on the forum. Apparently, all of these birds are sighted within Bangalore- but whenever I look up in the sky, I didn't seem to see any!

This Sunday, I finally had the opportunity to join an outing of this group at Hebbal Kere ('Kere' is 'lake' in Kannada). So come Sunday 615 AM, I huffed and puffed my way some 30 KM on my cycle to this lake (so that I don't miss my morning practice for the marathon coming up in Mumbai...yes, I am showing off now :-)) and spent 2 hours with the bird-watching pros, as they went about their job.

It was an eye-opening experience. In that hour, I saw many beautiful birds at close quarters and learnt interesting things about them. For instance, there are no parrots in India, apparently. What we call a Ramachiluka or Totha is actually a rose ringed parakeet. The lake border abounded with them, and they are not shy birds either. I made my acquaintance with the Greenish Warbler, a diminutive bird that weighs less than 10 grams but flies all the way from the Himalayas to Bangalore, often covering the distance with hardly any breaks. I saw truly majestic birds, graceful and large: Brahminy Kites, Giant Cormorants, Spot-billed Pelicans and Purple Herons.

Before I knew it, I had recorded sightings of 15 different species of birds in my notebook, and knew that I can identify them easily any other day. That is a very satisfying feeling! Poonam came over to pick me and my bike up, and I showed off my new found knowledge to her. She also enjoyed the experience.

The best part: this morning, as I was sipping my coffee in Infosys, I heard a chirp in the tree behind me- a greenish warbler again! Not too bad that I can detect a bird by its chirp, after just one outing, even if I do say so myself.

Here is the list of birds and some snaps from the web of some of the more grand ones. I can hardly wait for the next Sunday, when I meet these chaps again.

Birds I sighted that day:

Large Cormorants

Tickle Flower Pecker

Greenish Warbler

Rose Ringed Parakeet

Purple Heron

Marsh Harrier

Egret

Spot Billed Pelican

Purple Moorhen

Brown Coucal or Greater Coucal

Purple Sunbird (female)

Red Wattled Lapwing

Spot Billed Duck

Grey Heron

Asian Koel (male)

Brahminy Kite

Pariah Kite/Black Kite

Some pics:

Greater Coucal
Pelican
Warbler
Purple Heron