Outing report: Bngbirds 4th Sunday outing, Valley School, 230723
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Some amount of road and other construction in the Valley School campus had paused our fourth Sunday outings for a while, but last Sunday, we were able to re-start the walk
Several notable nature experts and ornithologists were invited to participate in the walk the usual number of registering participants (20) was reduced to 15; But these 15 participants were especially lucky to go on a nature/bird walk with many of the who's who's of the Bangalore nature community!
We started our walk standing under the Banyan tree at the entrance gate, while Prasad talked a bit about the history of these walks in the Valley School area. Mittu of the School then added that we might see many changes, but hoped we would still observe enough interesting creatures,both big and small. Even as we spoke, two Indian Grey Hornbills flew overhead, briefly seen through the foliage...I didn't dare disturb the expert exposition though! I waited for Kishan and Prashanth to join us, and off we went.
As we ambled along, a few Small Minivets in the Silver Oaks drew our attention, and we watched them flying about high in the canopy, as they usually do. We found the abandoned nest of a Tickell's Blue Flycatcher; the bird could be heard, here and there, throughout our walk. A Fantail, which is now classed as a Flycatcher, too, was seen in the Acacia trees. One of the Acacias themselves was the subject ot discussion; which species was it, with its very broad leaves and distinctive flowers? (Answer will be given by Ulhas or Subbu).
We looked at some pretty little Indian White-eyes in the trees, and our attention was caught by some Greater Coucals skulking around in the foliage. On went the list as we walked...a Blue-faced Malkoha (another champion skulker...rarely does one see the whole bird, mostly one has to be satisfied with part of the tail, or the lovely blue eye-ring that gives the bird its name), Sunbirds, Tailorbirds....
Nor were we lacking in other things to see. I was able to point out several interesting trees, including the Sand-paper Tree (Streblus asper), some Tent/Dome Web Spiders, tiny, delicate blooms of Pavonia or Mimosa, or the Tiny Periwinkle. A stand of Glory Lily flaunted its flame-like blooms, and Swamy explained how this plant, all parts of which are poisonous), has its leaves modified into tendrils. I showed the heart-in-the seed of the Balloon Vines, and explained that the genus is called Cardiospermum (cardio, heart, spermum, seed.) Some beautiful mushrooms had us asking Mamla to explain more about them.
Gopi kept making sorties to capture various small denizens of the insect world; a Eurybrachis Plant Hopper (which I call the Popcorn Bug because its posterior does look like popped corn), Crickets, Grasshoppers, Katydids...
One of the highlights for me was Subbu mentioning that he had seen a Jumping Ant (let me see if I can remember the scientific name right, Harpegnathos saltator (I got some advice to remember "salt eater"). He saw it jumping up in the air to catch a moth, and we all rushed to get a look at this marvel. There was, apparently, nest hole with (probably) several of them inside, but one did come out, with its mandilbles filled with the scales of the captured (and devoured) moth . Mobiles and camera were hard at work, getting this unusual ant on record (Read more about this on Aravind Ramamurthy's lovely article: https://jlrexplore.com/gallery/photostories/an-afternoon-with-harpegnathos-saltator)
We were able to look at several butterflies, too. Apart from the usual Common (or is it now the Indian?) Jezebel, and the Common Four-rings and Grass Yellows, we observed a Dark Cerulean, an exquisite Red Pierrot, a Chocolate Pansy, and others. Moths like the Asian Swallowtail Moth (family Geometridae) or the Day-flying Handmainden Moth also came in for their share of attention.
As we crossed the footpath over the stream, a burrow of a Porcupine was found. The hole in the mud bank was too large for a rodent, and the clump of scat, consisting of the seeds of Jamun fruit, was appparently a good pointer to the occupant being a Porcupine. We may never see these shy denizens of our forest patches, but it is good to see the evidence of their existence.
As we neared the end of the walk, we kept a respectable, and respectful, distance from the nest of a Purple-rumped Sunbird (we had sighted a Loten's Sunbird, too, earlier). Ulhas' announcements about tea and biscuits being ready were not heeded as we noticed a Jerdon's Leafbird couple bringing nesting material to the Kadamba tree. Quite fifteen minutes went by before we could tear ourselves away!
With a last look at a Pale-billed Flowerpecker ( to ensure that it was not a Thick-billed Flowerpecker, which can sometimes be seen here) and a couple of Common Ioras (Prashanth and Kishan had been watching these on their way in early in the morning, too) , we finally wound up sitting together, with biscuits and chai, exchanging notes and mobile numbers. A dead Asian Hornet was, we thought, one of the last of the creatures we saw; but on our way out to the gate, a beautiful Giant Wood Spider captivated us, and had us clicking.
I would be remiss, though,if I didn't refer to one of the fun parts of the walk...the camaraderie and the good-natured banter. The nesting material used by the Leafbirds was held to come from Kishan's beard; when someone asked if the porcupine was still in the burrow, he was given"helpful advice" to put his hand in and find out; the Common Gull had Gopi asking, "kee gull hai?", and so the puns and the witticisms went, all through the walk, and at the post-walk breakfast at Paakashala on Kanakapura Road, too. (we were all quite hungry and demolished the rufous dosas, the white-breasted iddlis, the speckled chutney, and the ferruginous coffee). MBK repeated his famous sugar trickfor a laughing audience. By popular demand, here is my video of his performance, almost exactly 13 years ago, 17th July 2010!
https://youtu.be/SOzxUrY0W94
For some reason, I am not able to bring up this video on my mobile phone. MBK must have cast a spell on it. You can see Vittal, and see and hear Uma KS laughing her head off!
We dispersed on a happy note, looking forward to the week ahead (and the weekend folllowing it!)
The eBird checklist, a satisfactory 49 species, is at
https://ebird.org/checklist/S145350598
and my observations (the ones I photographed) are at
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-07-23&place_id=any&user_id=deemopahan&verifiable=any
My photos from the morning are on a Flickr album at
https://www.flickr.com/photos/86494503@N00/albums/72177720309959427
(you can click on each image for the caption/id)
Hoping to meet some of you next weekend,
Cheers, Deepa.
Some amount of road and other construction in the Valley School campus had paused our fourth Sunday outings for a while, but last Sunday, we were able to re-start the walk
Several notable nature experts and ornithologists were invited to participate in the walk the usual number of registering participants (20) was reduced to 15; But these 15 participants were especially lucky to go on a nature/bird walk with many of the who's who's of the Bangalore nature community!
We started our walk standing under the Banyan tree at the entrance gate, while Prasad talked a bit about the history of these walks in the Valley School area. Mittu of the School then added that we might see many changes, but hoped we would still observe enough interesting creatures,both big and small. Even as we spoke, two Indian Grey Hornbills flew overhead, briefly seen through the foliage...I didn't dare disturb the expert exposition though! I waited for Kishan and Prashanth to join us, and off we went.
As we ambled along, a few Small Minivets in the Silver Oaks drew our attention, and we watched them flying about high in the canopy, as they usually do. We found the abandoned nest of a Tickell's Blue Flycatcher; the bird could be heard, here and there, throughout our walk. A Fantail, which is now classed as a Flycatcher, too, was seen in the Acacia trees. One of the Acacias themselves was the subject ot discussion; which species was it, with its very broad leaves and distinctive flowers? (Answer will be given by Ulhas or Subbu).
We looked at some pretty little Indian White-eyes in the trees, and our attention was caught by some Greater Coucals skulking around in the foliage. On went the list as we walked...a Blue-faced Malkoha (another champion skulker...rarely does one see the whole bird, mostly one has to be satisfied with part of the tail, or the lovely blue eye-ring that gives the bird its name), Sunbirds, Tailorbirds....
Nor were we lacking in other things to see. I was able to point out several interesting trees, including the Sand-paper Tree (Streblus asper), some Tent/Dome Web Spiders, tiny, delicate blooms of Pavonia or Mimosa, or the Tiny Periwinkle. A stand of Glory Lily flaunted its flame-like blooms, and Swamy explained how this plant, all parts of which are poisonous), has its leaves modified into tendrils. I showed the heart-in-the seed of the Balloon Vines, and explained that the genus is called Cardiospermum (cardio, heart, spermum, seed.) Some beautiful mushrooms had us asking Mamla to explain more about them.
Gopi kept making sorties to capture various small denizens of the insect world; a Eurybrachis Plant Hopper (which I call the Popcorn Bug because its posterior does look like popped corn), Crickets, Grasshoppers, Katydids...
One of the highlights for me was Subbu mentioning that he had seen a Jumping Ant (let me see if I can remember the scientific name right, Harpegnathos saltator (I got some advice to remember "salt eater"). He saw it jumping up in the air to catch a moth, and we all rushed to get a look at this marvel. There was, apparently, nest hole with (probably) several of them inside, but one did come out, with its mandilbles filled with the scales of the captured (and devoured) moth . Mobiles and camera were hard at work, getting this unusual ant on record (Read more about this on Aravind Ramamurthy's lovely article: https://jlrexplore.com/gallery/photostories/an-afternoon-with-harpegnathos-saltator)
We were able to look at several butterflies, too. Apart from the usual Common (or is it now the Indian?) Jezebel, and the Common Four-rings and Grass Yellows, we observed a Dark Cerulean, an exquisite Red Pierrot, a Chocolate Pansy, and others. Moths like the Asian Swallowtail Moth (family Geometridae) or the Day-flying Handmainden Moth also came in for their share of attention.
As we crossed the footpath over the stream, a burrow of a Porcupine was found. The hole in the mud bank was too large for a rodent, and the clump of scat, consisting of the seeds of Jamun fruit, was appparently a good pointer to the occupant being a Porcupine. We may never see these shy denizens of our forest patches, but it is good to see the evidence of their existence.
As we neared the end of the walk, we kept a respectable, and respectful, distance from the nest of a Purple-rumped Sunbird (we had sighted a Loten's Sunbird, too, earlier). Ulhas' announcements about tea and biscuits being ready were not heeded as we noticed a Jerdon's Leafbird couple bringing nesting material to the Kadamba tree. Quite fifteen minutes went by before we could tear ourselves away!
With a last look at a Pale-billed Flowerpecker ( to ensure that it was not a Thick-billed Flowerpecker, which can sometimes be seen here) and a couple of Common Ioras (Prashanth and Kishan had been watching these on their way in early in the morning, too) , we finally wound up sitting together, with biscuits and chai, exchanging notes and mobile numbers. A dead Asian Hornet was, we thought, one of the last of the creatures we saw; but on our way out to the gate, a beautiful Giant Wood Spider captivated us, and had us clicking.
I would be remiss, though,if I didn't refer to one of the fun parts of the walk...the camaraderie and the good-natured banter. The nesting material used by the Leafbirds was held to come from Kishan's beard; when someone asked if the porcupine was still in the burrow, he was given"helpful advice" to put his hand in and find out; the Common Gull had Gopi asking, "kee gull hai?", and so the puns and the witticisms went, all through the walk, and at the post-walk breakfast at Paakashala on Kanakapura Road, too. (we were all quite hungry and demolished the rufous dosas, the white-breasted iddlis, the speckled chutney, and the ferruginous coffee). MBK repeated his famous sugar trickfor a laughing audience. By popular demand, here is my video of his performance, almost exactly 13 years ago, 17th July 2010!
https://youtu.be/SOzxUrY0W94
Click to viewFor some reason, I am not able to bring up this video on my mobile phone. MBK must have cast a spell on it. You can see Vittal, and see and hear Uma KS laughing her head off!
We dispersed on a happy note, looking forward to the week ahead (and the weekend folllowing it!)
The eBird checklist, a satisfactory 49 species, is at
https://ebird.org/checklist/S145350598
and my observations (the ones I photographed) are at
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-07-23&place_id=any&user_id=deemopahan&verifiable=any
My photos from the morning are on a Flickr album at
https://www.flickr.com/photos/86494503@N00/albums/72177720309959427
(you can click on each image for the caption/id)
Hoping to meet some of you next weekend,
Cheers, Deepa.