Rediscovering the Urban Jungle

Dr Salim Ali, the well known Indian Ornithologist & the recipient of Padma Vibhushan once said & I quote "PEOPLE SAY YOU CAN'T MAKE A LIVING FROM BIRD WATCHING. THAT'S PERHAPS TRUE BUT, IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE. JUST LOOK AT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO SUCH HOBBIES AND SPEND ALL THEIR TIME SOLELY ON EARNING A LIVING. AFTER 60, WHEN THEY RETIRE FROM OFFICIAL CHAIRS, THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THE TIME IN THEIR HANDS AND JUST SPEND IT WATCHING THE CLOCK ! IF THEY HAD CULTIVATED A HOBBY LIKE BIRD WATCHING, PERHAPS THEY WOULD HAVE LIVED LONGER TO ENJOY THEIR PENSION"

For me, "Bird Photography" is more than a hobby, PASSION will be an apt word for it. That PASSION drives me to different places (not necessarily far off) & this time it took me to "The Valley School", near Kanakpura Road, Bangalore. If you are a birder from Bangalore, you would have heard about this place for sure. In fact my first blog on bird photography revolves around this school, a good year ago approximately. This place obviously has a special place in my heart.

I reached the school at around 7:10 in the morning. The sun was already out & I could see many photographers/bird watchers near the entrance gate. The usual suspects like barbets, drongos, parakeets were chirping their heart out while I made my way into this urban jungle. For a moment, my senses were lulled by the morning breeze. On my way in, I clicked this lonely White Cheeked Barbet (Psilopogon viridis) roosting on a branch. This species have a distinctive supercilium and a broad white cheek stripe below the eye and is endemic to the forest areas of the Western Ghats & South India.

Like woodpeckers, the barbets perch on the trunk to hollow their nest.

As per the sources, these barbets plays an important role in forests as seed dispersal agents. They also visit the flowers of Bombax for nectar and may be involved in pollination.

Talking about the place, there is a sense of calmness associated with it, a place where you would want to spend some time with yourself. In the hustles and bustles of life we sometimes miss what we call as "MY SPACE" .

After taking couple of steps towards the jungle, I saw a flock of Jungle Babblers (Turdoides striata) jumping around the bushes. The first thing that strikes you while looking at a babbler is - Why on earth do they look so angry? At least I kind of get this feeling. I believe it has something to do with their wide open eyes.

Don't judge them by their looks though, they are extremely gregarious birds that forage in small groups of six to ten. This has given them several colloquial names such as saath behen, saath bhai etc. The groups maintain territories and will defend it against neighbours but will sometimes tolerate them as well. They are known to gather and drive away the potential predators such as snakes.

Thanks to their social nature, I could capture some close-ups which came out really good & sharp.

Singing the song of freedom ?? May be !!!!

After the portrait photoshoot session with Jungle Babbler, I decided to let them off & move in search of others. Talking of others, I crossed my path with an old friend, the Green Bee Eater (Merops orientalis), a bird which I photographed n number of times. I am always being awed by their beauty. These are the easier ones to photograph, they normally don't hop branches & stick to same place. It allowed me to come closer & so could take some lovely clicks. He/She need some grooming though.

Though my sighting has been really great but I was looking for a lifer (a bird which has been sighted by a birder for the first time). It always excites if you could get a glimpse of a bird you have never seen before. With that thought I proceeded towards the denser part of the jungle. The sun rays were unable to pierce through the trees, the bamboo trees were hugging each other & the sounds coming out of it were straight from horror movies. And then I saw this, don't know who kept it here in the middle of a jungle.

Without trying to dig deep into it, I followed my path in search of a lifer. I crossed my paths with some other photographers & checked with them if they have sighted anything interesting, "nothing amazing" is what I heard from most of them. Another 100 metres & I got the glimpse of White-browed bulbul (Pycnonotus luteolus). Though not a lifer but I never photographed them. It was an opportunity I could hardly miss. It was trying to hide behind the branches & leaves which was making it very difficult for me to get a clear shot. After 5-10 mins of hide-and-seek, I could click a photo but not a clear one (a branch came in between), else it would have been a near perfect shot.

Just to brief you about White-browed bulbul, It has olive-grey upperparts and whitish underparts. They forage within bushes for fruit, nectar and insects. The bird is more ofter heard than seen though.

I decided to take a break for breakfast & rehydrate myself. Though the sun was blowing hot, the persistent cold breeze were keeping the temperature in check. I saw an old couple (60+ probably) gazing the jungle in search of birds. They were carrying the telephoto lenses which are quite heavy, very fit I must admit.

I saw one white spotted fantail (Rhipidura albogularis) that flew just across me which I couldn't capture. A Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) followed the fantail but fortunately it sat on a tree. Though it was hopping from one branch to another, I had a clear view of it every time. Ultimately I could capture the yellow beauty in my camera once it became a bit tired. Common Iora feeds mainly on insects, searching for them from leaves high in the canopy.

Just when I thought nothing much was happening, I saw three peafowls (female) flying across me one after another in a matter of seconds. I was stunned for a moment, looking at them till they disappeared in the jungle. I have never seen such a big bird flying from such a close range, it was a wow moment which I will never forget in my life. There are times when you do know how to respond, that was once such moment.

As the moment was sinking in, I saw a small blue colored bird making its way to a branch of a small tree. It was a lifer for sure but couldn't determine which one. After some anxious moments I got a nice view of the bird, Black Naped Monarch (Hypothymis azurea) it was !!! It is one the most beautiful bird I have seen till date. I don't know how many times I would have pressed the shutter button. Fortunately I got some good shots, Thank God I murmured. These chances doesn't come easily & when they do come, you better be ready.

I got more than what I bargained from today's outing. Got some close-up shots of Jungle Babbler & Green Bee Eater while capturing the Black Naped Monarch was the icing on the cake.

With not much happening around, I decided to call it a day. The body was tired but the mind was fresh as I walked out from the lap of nature.

Adios for now.

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