Chandu Bandi, Job Joseph, and I went on a nature trail at the Valley School yesterday (071212, Saturday), and the Valley never disappoints. We managed to see 66 species of birds and several species of butterflies, and we were also able to observe many things at leisure, such as the courtship dance of one Coppersmith Barbet pair all over a couple of trees, ants tending to aphids, wasps laying their eggs on figs, and a wasp collecting mud for her nest..

We were especially fortunate to see wasps laying eggs on the Ficus…I think it was Ficus benghalensis, but I am not sure. Chandu pointed out one wasp to me with a long ovipositor, and I managed to get that!

It was sad to see every water body completely dry.

We we managed to see several Flycatchers, and when, on the way home, we overshot our turning to Bannerghatta Road, and went ahead on the NICE road, we spotted several Painted Storks and Little Cormorants far away from the road, at what we think was Begur Lake. Overhead, we sighted a Booted Eagle being mobbed by a Black (Common) Kite.

I have put up some photos on an FB album at

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151194598328878.468744.587058877&type=3

Birds:

Babbler, Jungle Babbler, Large Grey Babbler, Puff-throated Barbet, Coppersmith Barbet, White-cheeked Bee-eater, Small Green Bushchat, Pied Buzzard, Oriental Honey Cormorant, Little Coucal, Greater Crow, House Crow, Large-billed Cuckoo, Common Hawk Cuckoo-shrike, Black-headed Dove, Spotted Drongo, Ashy Drongo, Black Eagle, Booted (NICE road) Egret, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Intermediate Flameback, Lesser Flowerpecker, Pale-billed (Tickell’s) Flycatcher, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Asian Paradise (White) Flycatcher, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, White-browed Fantail Francolin, Grey (heard) Grebe, Little Heron, Pond Iora, Common Kestrel, Common Kingfisher, Small Blue Kingfisher, White-throated Kite, Black Kite, Brahminy Koel, Asian Lapwing, Red-wattled Minivet, Small Munia, White-rumped Mynah, Common Mynah, Jungle Oriole, Eurasian Golden Parakeet, Rose-ringed Pigeon, Blue Rock Prinia, Ashy Robin, Indian Robin, Oriental Magpie Sandpiper, Green Shikra Stork, Painted (NICE Road) Sunbird, Purple Sunbird, Purple-rumped Swamphen, Purple (heard) Swift, Palm Tailorbird, Common Tit, Great Wagtail, Grey Warbler, Booted Warbler, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Greenish Leaf Waterhen, White-breasted White-eye, Oriental Wood swallow, Ashy (66 sp.)

Butterflies:

Albatross Baron, Common Blues, Various Cerulean, Common Crow, Common Emigrant, Lime Emigrant, Mottled Gull, Common Jay, Tailed (?) need help with id Jezebel, Common Lime, Common Pioneer Psyche Rose, Common Rose, Crimson Wanderer, Common Yellow, Common Grass Yellow, Three-spot Grass Yellow, Spotless Grass

There were several other butterflies and skippers that I could not identify…except one Chestnut Bob and an Indian Skipper.