18 of us went together to cover the areas of Ragihalli, Bannerghatta Zoo area, Valley School and Vaderahalli Lake, to document the bird species and record their numbers. Here’s the photo that I took:

And here’s one a passerby took of all of us:

L to R: Murali, Anirudh, Saandip, Bhaskar, Mani, Gokul, Sindhu,Amit, Jayashree,YT, Kumuda, Santosh, Raghavendra, Skanda,Anjana,Gaurav,Shijo, Murugan. Santosh explained the how-to's to everyone during the MCS (Mandatory Chai Stop): We fanned out at Ragihalli koLA (pond) Brefus was after we covered the Zoo area, and at the Mayura, we all had masal dosas: This basket caught my eye: So did the birds...a HOOPOE: a RUFOUS WOODPECKER which was working away at an ant's nest. We thought it was simple predation, until I saw Prof. Raguram's blogpost, here about the actual complexity and wonder of what really happens. Nature has such incredible complexities! a COMMON HAWK CUCKOO: a SHIKRA a completely unafraid JERDON'S BUSHLARK: I loved the affection between these two: What was the chance that these three were bird-watching? Nun! A CRIMSON-TIP:

My friend Kumuda wore this lovely top, and when she walked, the ladies with their pots of water sashayed along, too!

You can see more photos on my FB album

here

Let me close with another image of the Bold Bushlark: