Hi, everyone

After a very long gap, I was able to go for the 4th Sunday outing to the Sarjapura area,thanks to Suneel’s very kindly offering to pick up my friend Ravi Srinivasan (from Chennai) and myself.

However, co-ordinating with multiple members and multiple meeting points caused a lot of delay and instead of depending on the correct directions that Shishir had given, we made the mistake of asking the locals, and this delayed us even further! When we finally reached Muthanallur kere, we were never able to meet up with the main group, and we wandered around the lake bed and the banks on our own. The mist also played its part…

After a pathetic monsoon this year, it's a blessing to be able to visit any kere with water in it, and Muthanallur kere was very picturesque and scenic (with not too much of litter, either). We were able to observe many of the waterfowl, whether resident (like Brahminy Kites or Pied Kingfishers) or migrant. While we felt sad that we could walk so much on the lake bed, it certainly allowed us to get just that little bit closer to the waterfowl. However, the presence of the bodies of three dead Brahminy Kites at various places on the lake bed, and that of many dead fish along the banks (uneaten by any predator), made us wonder about the quality of the water. There was a lot of algae in the lake, which, at places, gave it a bright emerald colour. However, since there were live fish, too, and some Checkered Keelbacks, we felt the water might be OK. Several raptors soared on the thermals and being "rocky on raptors", I was hard put to id them. The Red-necked Falcon delighted us with an appearance, as did several other birds of prey. However, it seemed to be Brahminy Kites which have adopted the lake; we saw many juveniles soaring and hunting. As usual, there were not too many small waders, but there was a good number of Painted Storks and Openbills. Two Pied Kingfishers hovered, dived, and then dried themselves on the mud banks. We managed to sight, and observe, the WESTERN REEF EGRET for a while... Ravi and Suneel decided to go to Decathlon, and I took a ride with the Managoli family, Vaibhav and Deepu. Of course we got lost again, and finally decided to eat brunch at Sarjapura before making our way home, watching Kestrels and some of the warblers on the way. Moral of the story: never try to use the words "early return" on a birding trip! I do not know who else was there, but our group consisted of: Aparna Deepu Ravi Sanjeev Suneel Surekha and I. Bird List (let me know if I have left out any) Babbler, Jungle Barbet, Coppersmith Barbet, White-cheeked Bee-eater, Small Green Bulbul, REd-vented Bulbul, Red-whiskered Bulbul, White-browed Bushchat, Pied Bushlark, Indian Coot, Common Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Little Coucal, Greater Crow, House Crow, Large-billed Cuckoo, Common Hawk Cuckooshrike, Large Darter Dove, Laughing Dove, Spotted Drongo, Ashy Drongo, Black Drongo, White-bellied Eagle, Indian Spotted (I think) Eagle, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Tawny Egret, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Little Egret, Western Reef Falcon, Red-necked Flowerpecker, Pale-billed Flycatcher, White-browed Fantail Flycatcher, Asian Paradise Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Grey Heron, Indian Pond Heron, Purple Honey-Buzzard, Oriental Ibis, Black Kestrel, Common Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Small Blue Kingfisher, Whitethroated Kite, Common Kite, Brahminy Koel, Asian Lapwing, Red-wattled Leafbird, Golden-fronted Martin, Dusky Crag Minivet, Small Munia, White-rumped Mynah, Common Mynah, Jungle Openbill, Asian Oriole, Eurasian Golden Parakeet, Rose-ringed Pigeon, Blue Rock Pipit, Paddyfield Plover, Little Ringed Prinia, Ashy Prinia, Plain Redshank, Spotted Robin, Indian Robin, Oriental Magpie Roller, Indian Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Green Stork, Painted Sunbird, Purple-rumped Swallow, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Wire-tailed Swift, Asian palm Tailorbird, Common Treepie, Rufous Wagtail, Grey Warbler, Greenish Leaf Warbler, Booted Warbler, Blyth's Reed Warbler, Wagtail, Pied White-eye, Oriental Butterflies were there in plenty, too. Blues, various Castor, Common Emigrant, Common Emigrant, Mottled Gull, Common Jezebel. Common Leopard, Common Pioneer Psyche Rose, Common Rose, Crimson Tiger, Plain Wanderer, Common Yellow, Three-spot Grass We also saw many Dragonflies and Damselflies; and I thought of Ajay as I watched some Weaver ants for a while, as I rested in the shade of the Eucalyptus trees, through which the wind soughed as it rippled the surface of the lake. The fine Cirrus clouds overhead promised only sunshine....and we came back feeling much hotter than when we set out! I am sending some photographs to the experts I know, for id...so the list may get amended. Sorry, folks, I make LOTS of mistakes!

I have put up photos from my Mary’s Lamb camera (Sony HX200) on an FB album, at

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151215624103878.471834.587058877&type=1

Please, if I have made wrong id’s, feel free to correct them!

Cheers, and with heartfelt good wishes for the festive (and holiday!) season ahead…

Deepa.