Having rested for 48 hours was more than my daughter could do…and on Sunday she came downstairs with a plan to drive to the World Bird Sanctuary …update on 8 March, their blog is at

http://world-bird-sanctuary.blogspot.com/

…so off we went.

The big joke was that we came from balmy Bangalore to visit them, and ….all the outdoor shows (including the raptor exhibits) were “Closed Because of Extreme Cold”! We did laugh.

DISCLAIMER: I did NOT bring the 20D or the 300mm Canon lens…all I had was my little Canon S3…so what quality of pictures you see, is what quality of pictures you get! Also, it was either very harsh light off the grey skies one minute, or low light the next….so…

The Visitors’ Center did have a few birds sitting on the sign, as if to welcome us…

We found a few birds in spite of the wind and the biting cold. Here are the TUFTED TITMICE (singular, Titmouse) sitting on the bird feeder near the sign: There were several WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES flying around, hopping over the tree-trunks in their typical way: I got this not-too-good-but-will-suffice shot of the DOWNY WOODPECKER (I don't know if it's called "downy" because of its feathers, or because of other meaning of the word, which is "canny or intelligent"): There were some MOURNING DOVES sitting forlornly on the bare trees: We entered the Visitors' Center, where, luckily they did have a HARRIS HAWK and BARN OWL on display: Here's the owl landing on the trainer's glove: Later, in Lone Elk Park (why this name, we don't know, we saw several Elk), I saw this nest box put up for barn owls, as they are as endangered here as they are in Bangalore and its environs: Here's a close-up of that beautiful barn owl, what a lovely heart-shaped face!

Let me close with my “signature” photograph (either sunrise or sunset or moonrise or moonset, in this case, the third of the lot):

Coming up next, Lone Elk Park, the Elk, the American Bison, the beauty of a dry landscape in winter….with a sundown pic there, too….

Thanks to DnA who took us there!