Let me start with a beautiful bird…

Field report to the bngbirds egroup:

It was almost exactly three years to the day since I had been to Makalidurga.

click here to see that visit

Since we read the egroup report about the flurry of birds at Makalidurga, we decided that we’d visit again, and in the chilly dark hours of Sunday, we dilly-dallied perhaps a bit too much,

Dilly-dallying for MCS (Mandatory Chai Stop).

so that we finally got to Makalidurga (the Gopalaswamy temple area) only around 8.15 am after a leisurely breakfast at Dodballapur. Common Lime, Makalidurga. Common Kestrel, Makalidurga . Rufous-tailed Lark, Makalidurga Pied Bushchat against the moon! Life in Makalidurga. Grasshopper, Makalidurga. Though we cannot claim that bird sightings overwhelmed us, the birds that we did sight were very rewarding, and we watched several for a long while. Silverbills gathering nesting material; Rufous-tailed Larks foraging on the rocky path; Kestrels hovering; two Sirkeer Malkohas which gave me an exclusive sighting...so went the list of birds, and we were quite happy to soak in the wonderful scenery and the cool, bracing weather as well. Pied Bushchat female, Makalidurga Prashanti Express, Makalidurga. We took a look at Gunjur Lake, as well, but it seems in a very dried-up state, and by the time we got there (nearly noon) there was no activity at all. We decided that having come all this way, we would go to Nandi Hills as well. Nandi betta. We stopped at the base for lunch. Lunch Old pavilion at Nursery area, Nandi Hills. My advice to anyone who is thinking of visiting Nandi Hills in the evening during this holiday period is simple, and consists of three words. Do not go. The crowds were quite impressive, and I joked that instead of "birding" or "buttering" we would have to go "peopleing". In spite of this, the Nursery area, where we spent most of our time, and the Nehru Nilaya area, did not disappoint. Olive-backed Pipits, Blue Rock Thrushes, Verditers, one male Asian Paradise Flyacatcher which Santosh captured in the course of changing from rufous to white... we wandered around, quite content with what we saw, and had a very pleasant time. Birders: Chandu Kumuda Mani Santosh Swethadri and I. Chandu and Mani Chandu always has a balanced view Santosh but not santosh! Swethadri. The beauty of the Nursery area. Verditer Flycatcher, Nursery area. Ashy Drongo. Blue Rock Thrush male. Lovely colours... Almost done! Thanks to Santosh for putting the bird list together. The Blue-faced Malkoha was rather doubtful, so it's been left out. Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Nandi Hills. Santosh clicking the Tickell's Blue (can you see where it is?) The Camphor tree, Nandi Hills Birds: Sl no Name Where 1 Babbler, Jungle Makali 2 Barbet, White-cheeked Nandi 3 Bee-eater, Green Makali 4 Bulbul, Red-vented Makali 5 Bulbul, Red-whiskered Makali 6 Bulbul, White-browed Makali 7 Bushchat, Pied Makali 8 Crow, House Makali 9 Crow, Jungle Makali 10 Dove, Laughing Makali 11 Dove, Spotted Makali 12 Drongo, Ashy Nandi 13 Drongo, Black Makali 14 Drongo, White-bellied Nandi 15 Eagle (un-id) Makali 16 Flowerpecker, Pale-billed Makali 17 Flycatcher, Asian Brown Nandi 18 Flycatcher, Asian Paradise Nandi 19 Flycatcher, Red-throated Nandi 20 Flycatcher, Tickell's Blue Nandi 21 Flycatcher, Verditer Nandi 22 Honey-buzzard, Oriental Nandi 23 Iora, Common Makali 24 Kestrel, Common Makali 25 Koel, Indian Makali 26 Lark, Rufous-tailed Makali 27 Malkoha, Sirkeer Makali 28 Myna, Common Makali 29 Oriole, Indian Golden Nandi 30 Parakeet, Rose-ringed Nandi 31 Prinia, Ashy Makali 32 Prinia, Plain Makali 33 Robin, Indian Makali 34 Shikra Makali 35 Shrike, Bay-backed Makali 36 Silverbill, Indian Makali 37 Spurfowl, Painted Makali 38 Sunbird, Lotens Makali 39 Sunbird, Purple Makali 40 Sunbird, Purple-rumped Makali 41 Swallow, Barn Makali 42 Swallow, Red-rumped Makali 43 Tailorbird, Common Nandi 44 Thrush, Blue Rock Makali 45 Warbler, Greenish Nandi The kiss, Nandi Hills To these I have to add, Kite, Common; Kite, Brahminy, Pigeon, Blue Rock, and Warbler, Booted (yes, yes, the eyebrow was there.). There was also the lone Olive-backed Pipit foraging in the Nursery "cage". We did not see any of the other Thrushes. Some of the birds (eg Blue Rock Thrush)were sighted at both places. The Owlets that we usually see in the trees near Nandi Multicuisine Restaurant (where the road begins, just past the T-junction) were absent. We also *think* we sighted a Black Eagle, but we are not sure. Red-breasted Flycatcher,Nandi, 221213 Apropos of this, we were wondering if there have been Owl/Owlet sightings from Nandi Hills, as none of us could recollect seeing any such reports...can the experts throw light on this? Un id Caterpillar Peninsular Rock Agama Butterflies: Blue, Various (Definitely Pea Blue and Lesser Grass Blue) Castor, Common Cerulean, Common Coster, Tawny Crow, Common Emigrant, Mottled Jezebel, Common Lime, Common Mormon, Common Psyche Rose, Common Rose, Crimson Tiger, Plain Yellow, Three-spot Grass Yellow, Spotless Wanderer, Common Various beetles, bugs, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and spiders. I've put up my SMS on my FB album at https://www.facebook.com/deemopahan/media_set?set=a.10151909137458878.1073742060.587058877&type=3 Including some of the fun items that we saw, when we were having lunch!

Dusk, Nandi Hills

Sunset, Nandi Hills

A pleasant and enjoyable day…thanks to my dear friends!