I so thoroughly enjoyed myself on our trip to Bannerghatta Zoo area today….we were FIFTEEN of us! (Names follow, where they belong..in the mammals’ list!)

We finally decided on the Zoo area as we got extremely delayed, and some of us were also constrained to get back early…some of us were actually going in to work! It was the easiest destination to get to, and Fauzia, for example could quickly take a bus from the terminus and get back to work.

I must say, the Zoo area never disappoints me….here we are, setting out after parking our cars….on the left is the JLR Hill View Restaurant, and on the right, with the buildings showing behind us, is the new bus terminus….

And…here are our shadows on the rock!

Since we were not allowed to go on the road behind the Butterfly Park, we just walked through the eucalyptus groves and lantana that surround the JLR Hill View Restaurant, and we started out with several ORIENTAL WHITE-EYES... can you see one in this pic? If not, NOW, can you see it? It was lovely to watch a whole flock of them for a while, along with lots of Sunbirds...here's a PURPLE-RUMPED SUNBIRD in eclipse plumage: We sighted an ORIENTAL HONEY BUZZARD (pic on Facebook album) and another un id raptor that looked like a Falcon (id to be confirmed) and the migrants we sighted were the BROWN SHRIKE: the Barn Swallows, the Asian Paradise Flycatcher, and the Grey Wagtails. I loved the sight of this beautiful BLACK-HEADED CUCKOO-SHRIKE: a SMALL MINIVET couple delighted us with their appearance: Later, at the lake, I got two lovely SMALL BLUE KINGFISHERS... one looking left, and one looking right: Here's a lousy video...I was shooting right against the harsh sun...of two PIED KINGFISHERS hovering over the Crocodile Pond: and then, Pratima spotted the actual CROCODILE itself...here it is, its name is Basker.. its grin seems more fearsome than its tears! then, next to it, Vittal spotted a MONGOOSE: and here are both of them, together! We also ..er...spotted a CHITAL (pic on FB). Smaller creatures included this PUPA of a PREYING MANTIS: but "remains" seemed to be the order of the day, as we saw the discarded moult of a COMB-FOOTED SPIDER: and the shell of a SNAIL that had been killed when a fire was lit in the area: Another sad thing was this dead COMMON MORMON ...this one was the uncommon Cyrus morph (thanks, Rohit!) I've taken several more photographs.... click here for all the photos on Facebook...I especially like those abandoned chappals! Here's the creatures list, it includes our group of mammals, too! Babbler, Jungle Babbler, Yellow-eyed Barbet, Coppersmith Barbet, White-cheeked Bee-eater, Small Green Bulbul, Red-vented Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul, White-browed Bushchat, Pied Bushlark, Jerdon's Buzzard, Oriental Honey Cormorant, Little Coucal, Greater Crow, House Crow, Jungle Cuckoo, Common Hawk Cuckoo-shrike, Black-headed Dove, Laughing Dove, Spotted Drongo, Ashy Drongo, Black Drongo, White-bellied Egret, Little Falcon (which one has to be confirmed) Flowerpecker, Tickell's Flycatcher, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Brown-breasted( id to be confirmed) Flycatcher, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Verditer Flycatcher, White-browed Fantail Francolin, Grey (heard only) Heron, Pond Leafbird, Golden-fronted Minivet, Small Monarch, Black-naped Munia, Scaly-breasted Mynah, Commmon Mynah, Jungle Oriole, Eurasian Golden Parakeet, Rose-ringed Pipit, Paddyfield Prinia, Ashy Prinia, Plain Robin, Indian Robin, Oriental Magpie Roller, Indian Sandpiper, Green Shrike, Brown Shrike, Long-tailed Sparrow, House Sunbird, Purple Sunbird, Purple-rumped Swallow, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Tit, Great Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Pied Warbler, Blyth's Reed Warbler, Booted Waterhen, White-breasted White-eye, Oriental Butterflies Blues, different types Bush Brown, Common Jezebel, Common Leopard,Common Mormon, Common, Cyrus Morph Rose, Common Rose, Crimson Tiger, Common Insects Assorted Crickets and Grasshoppers Mantis, Preying, Pupal form Snail, African Snail, Common Spider, Comb-footed Spider, Giant Wood Mammals Hare, Black-naped Deer, Spotted Macaque, Bonnet Mongoose, Stripe-necked Reptiles Agama, Peninsular Rock Crocodile Lizard, Garden Birders Advit Arun Ram Fauzia Girish Gopalan Prabha Prashant Pratima Rama Shalini Srini Valli Vishnupriya Vittal

Happy Pongal/Sankranti/Lohri to everyone who celebrates the festival tomorrow!