High drama ..unexpectedly!
Never underestimate an urban birding area or even a short evening outing!
Today (Mon, 27 Dec '21)I went with Jay and our friend Nayanatara...and the checklist at Puttenahalli Lake, MICO Arikere Layout area, south Bangalore, was so satisfying: 40 species!
https://ebird.org/checklist/S99512369.
The highlight, however, was the appearance of a Marsh Harrier, which (alas) we could only spot through the trees; it was mobbed immediately by two Brahminy Kites who did not like the intruder barging into their territory.
We watched these dramatic skirmishes for a while...
this is the only shot I was able to get of the Harrier (no loffing allowed at the quality of the photo.)The amazing thing is that in all these years, this is my second sighting of the Marsh Harrier at this lake. The first time, it was a lifer for me (on a Bird Race) and the judges identfied my photograph. The photo is still on display at the lake....
The rest of the photos from the evening are on my Flickr album,
here
and on my FB album
here
Here's a Purple Heron with a huge fish that it caught:
And a juvenile Common Coot learning to forage with two adults, possibly its parents:
Today (Mon, 27 Dec '21)I went with Jay and our friend Nayanatara...and the checklist at Puttenahalli Lake, MICO Arikere Layout area, south Bangalore, was so satisfying: 40 species!
https://ebird.org/checklist/S99512369.
The highlight, however, was the appearance of a Marsh Harrier, which (alas) we could only spot through the trees; it was mobbed immediately by two Brahminy Kites who did not like the intruder barging into their territory.
We watched these dramatic skirmishes for a while...
this is the only shot I was able to get of the Harrier (no loffing allowed at the quality of the photo.)The amazing thing is that in all these years, this is my second sighting of the Marsh Harrier at this lake. The first time, it was a lifer for me (on a Bird Race) and the judges identfied my photograph. The photo is still on display at the lake....
The rest of the photos from the evening are on my Flickr album,
here
and on my FB album
here
Here's a Purple Heron with a huge fish that it caught:
And a juvenile Common Coot learning to forage with two adults, possibly its parents: