Cubbon Park
was just a short walk away for the first eight years of my life in Bangalore….and I was, of course, just a walker and a cyclist, never a birder or naturalist. And recently, having seen the bird species deplete almost before my eyes and Lalbagh, I have never felt that there could be a lot of varieties of birds in the Park.
When
Shreeram
asked me if I’d like to go with him and Radha to document some of the flowering trees of Bangalore, I agreed, and never thought of birds at all.
But the birds gave us a surprise....I realize that familiarity must have bred contempt (and ignorance) as I never thought I'd see so many birds today.
But the minute we stepped into the Park, a Spangled Drongo alighted on a Tabebuia argentea tree, and set off a bonus birding session....later, a mixed party of Ashy Drongos, Chestnut-tailed Starlings, added to by Spotted Doves, Rose-ringed Parakeets, and Common Mynahs, staged a spectacle that had us watching spellbound, our cameras switched off for the most part.
I've posted my SMS and account
here
and here's the bird list...when we were not looking for birds at all..... an hour and a half of trees...with the birds being a great plus!
Barbet, Small Green
Barbet, Coppersmith
Cormorant, Little
Crow, House
Crow, Jungle
Dove, Spotted
Drongo, Ashy
Drongo, Black
Drongo, Spangled
Flowerpecker, Pale-billed
Flycatcher, Asian Paradise
Kite, Brahminy
Kite, Black
Mynah, Common
Mynah, Jungle
Oriole, Eurasian Golden
Robin, Oriental Magpie
Sparrow, House (yes, they were there, gearing up for March 20!)
Starling, Chestnut-tailed
Sunbird, Purple-rumped
Tit, Great
Waterhen, White-breasted
Perhaps...we should do the second Sunday outing to Cubbon Park instead of Lalbagh :)
, here's a quick pic of the
Spangled Drongo
that I took just for you!
It's such a beautiful bird...
It's such a beautiful bird...