Saul Kere: my account of two visits
Saul Kere, Ulhas told us during our last Bngbirds walk to the lake, derives its name from 'savala kere' or lake of clay. Whether the soil being of clay was one of the factors, or whether the lake was not well-managed , with low water-carrying capacity, is debatable; but on September 5 this year, after torrential rains, the lake flooded the banks and nearby areas, causing consternation and of passing the buck between the various authorities.
Be that as it may, Saul Kere has dried up considerably now, and is once again a beautiful wetland area, and a home to many species of living beings, of which, of course, the most prominent are the birds.
Bijoy Venugopal, who visits the lake regularly, made an excellent post about it (he practically bursts into poetry!) here:
https://jlrexplore.com/explore/unexplored-areas/four-seasons-at-saul-kere-a-wilderness-in-suburbia
I made two trips to the lake in the past few days: the first, on the 6h of November, was the first Sunday Bngbirds walk, guided by Bijoy. We were about 30 people on that walk...and one of the highlights was the sighting of the Lesser Cuckoo.
On the walk, we covered the perimeter of the lake, which is a shade over 2 km. We got a good variety of shore and water birds, as evidenced by the checklist Bijoy shared with me:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S121932746 (69 sp).
If you have the patience to go through my Flickr album of the morning,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/86494503@N00/albums/72177720303476976
You can see some of the many birds we saw.
One of the highlights of that walk was the sighting of the Lesser Cuckoo, which is quite a rare bird anywhere in Bangalore, leave alone Saul Kere! So the walk was a very happy one for all the birders there.
Subsequently, a Fork-tailed Drongo Cuckoo was also sighted, and this resulted in many birders and bird watchers visiting the lake to look at, and click, these two birds.
On the night of the 14th, I got a message asking if I wanted to go to the lake. I am not a "tick" birder, being as happy watching two Red-whiskered Bulbuls as with sighting a rare bird; but my friend Amit is a seasoned birder, and I didn't let the opportunity slip! So there I was,back on the lake path, by 6.30am on the 15th of November.
Many things were different on this morning. Instead of going anti-clockwise as we usually do, we turned left on entering the gate and headed for the "wooded patch" where the path turns to the right, following the lake. Our walk, which was just ambling to start with, slowed to a meandering step-by-step as we scanned the trees for either of the Cuckoos. I slowly walked back to a spot where there were many bare trees....and then the action started!
It was nothing short of a bonanza of birds, which came and sat on those bare branches at the top of the dead trees! Chestnut-tailed Starling, Black-headed Ibis, Coppersmith and White-cheeked Barbets, Rose-ringed Parakeets, Black and Ashy Drongos, Spotted Doves, White-eyes, Magpie Robins, a Verditer Flycatcher...the list just went on, and of course, the star of the show appeared too!
The Drongo Cuckoo is quite easy to mistake for an "ordinary" Drongo, but the lovely white dots on its plumage (I call them diamond dots) set the bird apart and we watched, fascinated, as the bird caught a worm (the early bird gets the worm, but the poor early worm is doomed!) and despatched it. It then flew about, perching here and there, generally in the clutter of branches, making a clear view (or shot, for the bazooka lens-wielders) impossible.
As if finally taking pity on us, it then flew to reasonably open perches (even I, with my little bridge camera, got a nice pic of it calling, with its rose-pink inner mouth showing!) and the binoculars and cameras were immovable as everyone had their fill (and filled their memory cards) of the bird.
Bijoy also showed many of us the image of the Tree Pipit that he had seen earlier. It's not in my eBird list of the morning, as I didn't see it: my list is at
https://ebird.org/checklist/S122445693 (76 sp).
I will certainly be looking out for this bird on future visits, having seen it only in the Ragihalli/Bannerghatta area recently.
As far as I was concerned, there was another kind of bonus to the morning....the birders! So many of my fellow-birders, from all parts of the city, were there, and it was a joy to meet some of them after a long gap or even just after a few days. Ajit, Bijoy, Bindhu, Hrishi,Jithin, Kakul, Shubho, Sunil,Supriya, Venkatraman...id'ing the birders was as exciting as id'ing the birds! It was really an A-Z of Bangalore birdwatchers and bird photographers.
One of the reasons I conduct my walks is the many interesting people I meet, who may be from very different backgrounds, pursuing very different professions, but all sharing the love of nature and birds. So for me, this was a real double treat!
If you see my Flickr album from the morning of the15th,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/86494503@N00/albums/72177720303691105
You will see the parade of birds that I saw (alas, I could click only some of them!) in the short stretch of the path from the entrance to the turn of the path in the wooded area.
Birding is always full of surprises; the unexpected times when it rains birds are what keeps us going through our many outings and walks! Saul Kere has, over the years, given us many gifts, and I end here, with an earnest prayer that this beautiful wetland is spared to us for its many wonders, for several years to come.
Er, I did, as usual, look at the plants, spiders, butterflies and other living things too, but this post is concentrating on the birds!
I have attached the pic of the Drongo Cuckoo calling. Did it sound like a Drongo or a Cuckoo? Go to the lake, birders, and find out for yourselves!
Cheers, Deepa.
Be that as it may, Saul Kere has dried up considerably now, and is once again a beautiful wetland area, and a home to many species of living beings, of which, of course, the most prominent are the birds.
Bijoy Venugopal, who visits the lake regularly, made an excellent post about it (he practically bursts into poetry!) here:
https://jlrexplore.com/explore/unexplored-areas/four-seasons-at-saul-kere-a-wilderness-in-suburbia
I made two trips to the lake in the past few days: the first, on the 6h of November, was the first Sunday Bngbirds walk, guided by Bijoy. We were about 30 people on that walk...and one of the highlights was the sighting of the Lesser Cuckoo.
On the walk, we covered the perimeter of the lake, which is a shade over 2 km. We got a good variety of shore and water birds, as evidenced by the checklist Bijoy shared with me:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S121932746 (69 sp).
If you have the patience to go through my Flickr album of the morning,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/86494503@N00/albums/72177720303476976
You can see some of the many birds we saw.
One of the highlights of that walk was the sighting of the Lesser Cuckoo, which is quite a rare bird anywhere in Bangalore, leave alone Saul Kere! So the walk was a very happy one for all the birders there.
Subsequently, a Fork-tailed Drongo Cuckoo was also sighted, and this resulted in many birders and bird watchers visiting the lake to look at, and click, these two birds.
On the night of the 14th, I got a message asking if I wanted to go to the lake. I am not a "tick" birder, being as happy watching two Red-whiskered Bulbuls as with sighting a rare bird; but my friend Amit is a seasoned birder, and I didn't let the opportunity slip! So there I was,back on the lake path, by 6.30am on the 15th of November.
Many things were different on this morning. Instead of going anti-clockwise as we usually do, we turned left on entering the gate and headed for the "wooded patch" where the path turns to the right, following the lake. Our walk, which was just ambling to start with, slowed to a meandering step-by-step as we scanned the trees for either of the Cuckoos. I slowly walked back to a spot where there were many bare trees....and then the action started!
It was nothing short of a bonanza of birds, which came and sat on those bare branches at the top of the dead trees! Chestnut-tailed Starling, Black-headed Ibis, Coppersmith and White-cheeked Barbets, Rose-ringed Parakeets, Black and Ashy Drongos, Spotted Doves, White-eyes, Magpie Robins, a Verditer Flycatcher...the list just went on, and of course, the star of the show appeared too!
The Drongo Cuckoo is quite easy to mistake for an "ordinary" Drongo, but the lovely white dots on its plumage (I call them diamond dots) set the bird apart and we watched, fascinated, as the bird caught a worm (the early bird gets the worm, but the poor early worm is doomed!) and despatched it. It then flew about, perching here and there, generally in the clutter of branches, making a clear view (or shot, for the bazooka lens-wielders) impossible.
As if finally taking pity on us, it then flew to reasonably open perches (even I, with my little bridge camera, got a nice pic of it calling, with its rose-pink inner mouth showing!) and the binoculars and cameras were immovable as everyone had their fill (and filled their memory cards) of the bird.
Bijoy also showed many of us the image of the Tree Pipit that he had seen earlier. It's not in my eBird list of the morning, as I didn't see it: my list is at
https://ebird.org/checklist/S122445693 (76 sp).
I will certainly be looking out for this bird on future visits, having seen it only in the Ragihalli/Bannerghatta area recently.
As far as I was concerned, there was another kind of bonus to the morning....the birders! So many of my fellow-birders, from all parts of the city, were there, and it was a joy to meet some of them after a long gap or even just after a few days. Ajit, Bijoy, Bindhu, Hrishi,Jithin, Kakul, Shubho, Sunil,Supriya, Venkatraman...id'ing the birders was as exciting as id'ing the birds! It was really an A-Z of Bangalore birdwatchers and bird photographers.
One of the reasons I conduct my walks is the many interesting people I meet, who may be from very different backgrounds, pursuing very different professions, but all sharing the love of nature and birds. So for me, this was a real double treat!
If you see my Flickr album from the morning of the15th,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/86494503@N00/albums/72177720303691105
You will see the parade of birds that I saw (alas, I could click only some of them!) in the short stretch of the path from the entrance to the turn of the path in the wooded area.
Birding is always full of surprises; the unexpected times when it rains birds are what keeps us going through our many outings and walks! Saul Kere has, over the years, given us many gifts, and I end here, with an earnest prayer that this beautiful wetland is spared to us for its many wonders, for several years to come.
Er, I did, as usual, look at the plants, spiders, butterflies and other living things too, but this post is concentrating on the birds!
I have attached the pic of the Drongo Cuckoo calling. Did it sound like a Drongo or a Cuckoo? Go to the lake, birders, and find out for yourselves!
Cheers, Deepa.