The land of granite dust and ornamental stone......one more building.
Around me were the sounds of another grand structure being built. The Business Park is filled with these new, spanking-clean looking structures where the under-30s roam about, feeling as if they own the world. There's not an inch of shade anywhere though; near the "food court" (an awful phrase with bad associations and even worse food), there are some trees that are clearly ornamental to the degree that the local avifauna will not go within a hundred metres of them. Clearly, the birds know these trees to be alien to South India. I've been through much of Bangalore and its environs and I've never seen this tree anywhere! It must be some young, clueless libertine's idea of "being different" (it's amazing how in this age, "being different" just means being exactly like everyone else who wants to "be different"; we have indeed redefined the word "different"!)
Dismally inhospitable but impeccably clean and green
All in all, the Business Park is inhospitable to any sane man. I must say that. It has no decent food anywhere, no pharmacy except a few ramshackle ambulances, and importantly, no shade. Maybe 20 years from now the trees that have been planted will provide some decent canopy. Even the offices are inhospitable. The housekeeping staff are old hands at petty thievery, and loneliness roams the corridors. The ironic thing is the efforts being made to make the place look and feel peaceful; some meadows which manage to attract some wagtails, while driving away any other bird.
Apart from that, there is the dust. Of dry sand and mud, broken kerbs everywhere, and granite lying about like refuse; and worse still, granite dust that eats into everything. Everyday there is the sound of power-drills boring into granite or some other ornamental stone.
*******************************************************************************
We have eyes only for white golf balls
Next door are the Golf Links. There, some play one of the most elitist, costly games in the world on the meadows. Trees are everywhere; some man-made water bodies too; and pristine meadows. It's avifauna paradise, or so it seems; only the people who play golf there have no eyes for these, I'm sure. The customary high nets, unsightly and unfriendly to birds, surround the place though. There's a few feet between the pylons which support these nets and the actual wall that separates the Golf Links from the Business Park. Here there is rich plant life, many trees, but no birds want to really go there because it will be a tough and revealing trench to get out of. I have seen chameleons, though, and heard an insect, the one that buzzes at night, don't know what it's called - and this insect thrives there because there no birds to keep its numbers down.
At a few select spots next to the wall, there's enough of a rise from which one can peer onto the meadows in the Golf Links, from the Business Park. It's like how schoolboys peer over a fence eagerly. Precious few spots, actually; because the taxi drivers often relieve themselves near the wall and you cannot really be sure you're not stepping on something like that.
******************************************************************************
This patch of wall is birding territory for me.
Avifauna in the land of granite dust
It's been interesting that in spite of every difficulty, birds do find roosting places, food and nesting ground. They manage to eke out an existence of sorts even though man has done all he can to keep them out and take over what was their habitat completely - even towards the close of the last millenium this spot, where the Business Park stands today, was just fallow countryside, home to all grassland birds. Now there's nothing left except in the military area next to the Business Park, which in any case had always been there.
Of course there are the usual birds we would all expect to see, like the feral pigeons, House Crows and both kinds of Myna. Both Mynas and Crows, in fact, nest in the hollows at the top of some of the steel pylons that support the high nets.
Within the Business Park, there used to be quite a few birds who want to get away from predators, and so make their homes in the pittance of greenery that is now being grown in the Park. When I first came to the Business Park, we had Spotted Munias, Pied Bushchats, Large Pied Wagtails (or White-browed Wagtails, as they are known today) and Ashy Prinias. The Spotted Munias tried many nesting places, but couldn't sustain these, because the Park management was (and, I suspect, still is) devoted to keeping the place green but driving out any birds - a strange juxtaposition of endeavours. The Munias were quite persistent for many months at many places within the Business Park; nowadays, over the past year or so, I don't recall seeing a single one. They've all gone. So have the Pied Bushchats - they have gone back into the Golf Links.
Ashy Prinias have found some success, though, and are regularly seen and heard within the bushes near the Golf Links. The Wagtails have been successful beyond their dreams; they seem to prefer the Park more than the Golf Links! Not a day goes by on which the Wagtails are not seen. They nest in many places, all near the artificial ornamental water structures all over the Park.
Surprisingly, a huge flock of House Swifts keep flying madly about some of the buildings; the flock could easily number about a hundred or so birds. They are sweet, trilling, tiny, flying about really fast and madly, aimlessly, it seems, and are refreshing to watch.
In March and April, flocks of Starlings (probably both Grey-headed and Rosy) passed by in huge numbers, sometimes 300 - 400 or so in a single flock. There are also what could be Indian Pond Herons or Little Egrets which pass by regularly in flocks of about 10-20.
**************************************************************************
Within the Golf Links, there is a deathly lack of bird life in the trees near the wall separating them from the Business Park. Not even an occasional Flowerpecker or a Sunbird; not even a Tailorbird! I've seen about one or two Purple-rumped Sunbirds in the last year, and today I did see and hear a Tickell's Flowerpecker. But it's like a deathly silence otherwise.
There is enough, however, within the Golf Links meadows, in terms of bird life.
Shikra? Eurasian Sparrowhawk? Common Hawk-Cuckoo?
These last few months I have been trying to track down a bird that sometimes roosts in the trees bordering the pylons. The first time I saw it, it was on the Business Park side and looked like a female Shikra (the Shikra being the most abundant expected short-winged hawk in these parts). On closer inspection, serious doubts have arisen in my mind, though. The other difficulty is that the bird is absolutely silent. It could be a Shikra; or a Eurasian Sparrowhawk; it could also be a Brainfever Bird (or Common Hawk-Cuckoo). The colour seems to say Shikra; the behaviour seems to say either Eurasian Sparrowhawk or Common Hawk-Cuckoo. The sub-terminal bands on the tail seem to point to this being either of the latter birds; but neither of these is too common in these parts. This is an ongoing mystery that hopefully will get solved sometime. It has provided a lot of excitement, though, and I love the fact that this could get solved any day now.
Western Marsh Harrier?
One of the other really exciting sights was one evening well past sundown, when a dark, sooty-coloured raptor flew heavily over the D-Block. It was not large enough to be one of the Kites (besides, the tail was held stiff and straight without a fork) and it was definitely larger than the short-winged hawks, though the wing-shape in flight looked like one of them. It was also particularly sooty-coloured. I suspect this could have been a Western Marsh-Harrier. I've never seen the bird again; so perhaps it was a vagrant in these parts. But I do know it could not have been any of the other raptors.
More usual suspects
There are White-breasted Kingfishers that pass through the Golf Links often; because of the man-made water bodies. This also means that Brahminy Kites are more numerous than usual, too. The Black Kites seem to love the meadows and are often found perched on the ground, pulling up earthworms or other insects and such. They are found in huge numbers; I keep peering to see if an eagle joins them; or a harrier or any other bird of prey. There could well be some other raptor out there too.
Asian Koels are found in plenty within the Golf Links, as are Rose-ringed Parakeets, which is all as it should be. I've never seen any of the robins or chats except the Pied Bushchat, though.
********************************************************************************
The Heron and the Coucal
Today was very refreshing and soothing. I did not see any new birds I've not seen before; but what I saw must be described, because it brought peace to my heart.
There had a been a constant "coop coop coop" going on for a while; I was scanning the trees for the answer to my mystery bird. Then there was a splash of white that fluttered down on to the grass in the Golf Links.
I had to clamber up to a point where I could see the bird, and I was rewarded handsomely by an Indian Pond Heron in breeding plumage. The Pond Heron is not new to the Golf Links; I have seen some of them before on the meadows, but this was a close-up.
It's lovely how birds combine colours - lovely and indeed awe-inspiring. The Pond Heron is crow-sized, with a longish neck and a long, pointed yellow bill with a conspicuous black tip. Seen from under when in flight, it looks absolutely white and graceful. But during the breeding season, the back of the bird attains a lovely chestnut-brown or maroon-brown colour which is in fact the effect of the growth of soft, downy plumes of that colour. It is a work of art, like a water colour that has deliberately been allowed to run a bit in gentle streaks over the white flanks. The neck of the bird attains a light coffee sandy colour. An off-white crest, consisting of longish streamer-like feathers, is also visible, though almost always folded back on to the head and never raised.
I am not attached to water birds; I love passerines immensely more. But this was a lovely sight, I must say. Observing the bird's behaviour was even more soothing. It seemed to move slowly and absolutely daintily; wary, I think, of low-flying raptors (like harriers or sparrowhawks) that flush birds from the ground. Sometimes, a measured dainty walk; sometimes a leg raised but not lowered; and sometimes, a sudden twist, turn, quick few steps to capture an insect morsel. I realised that the bird was watching for unwary insects on the grass.
I had observed that the insistent "coop coop coop" had become louder, more resonant and deep and closer at hand. I had been scanning the trees opposite the meadow, for Greater Coucals which are numerous in and around both the Business Park and the Golf Links. Then, from a tree absolutely at the edge of the net, a huge Greater Coucal descended to the ground. These are huge but wary birds; and somehow, in true Coucal fashion, it perceived me peering over the wall, and it was back into the branches of the tree before I could get a decent glimpse. I then realised how deep, rumbling and resonant the 'coop coop coop' call could be, when I heard it up close. After a few seconds, the bird lifted into flight and disappeared into the top branches of the trees opposite the meadow. I saw a lovely but momentary vision of deep, chestnut wings and glossy black body and long, thick tail as the bird vanished into the tops of the trees opposite.
Greater Coucals love to roost in the trees in the Golf Links and are often heard and quite numerous; I've often seen them roosting at mid-day in the trees that are near the Gate 2 entrance.
************************************************************************
It's amazing to watch the birds; they seem so un-self-conscious, peaceful and free. But it is a wild world out there; in the trees opposite the meadow, on the ground, a huge number of Black Kites regularly descend to the ground. These raptors, though mainly scavengers, are not exactly harmless; they can easily take a crow-sized bird like the Pond Heron with ease if they decided to! And in fact, if my mystery bird is really the Eurasian Sparrowhawk, like I largely suspect, a Pond Heron or even a Greater Coucal, though larger than the Sparrowhawk, can easily be taken by surprise and tremendous speed. Being torn to death under the talons of such raptors is one of the worst fates that a bird can meet with! So while the Pond Heron might have enchanted me with dainty movements and lovely colours, it must have been wary as ever, because the arrival of a Sparrowhawk can send all the birds and small animals racing for cover.
***************************************************************************
An hour spent watching the birds is time well spent; I recommend it even if you cannot recognize even a crow or a pigeon. It can bring a curious peace; and a good dose of refreshing and rejuvenation into our thoughts. Try it!! Get into a park within a city; watch the birds; listen to their sounds.
Around me were the sounds of another grand structure being built. The Business Park is filled with these new, spanking-clean looking structures where the under-30s roam about, feeling as if they own the world. There's not an inch of shade anywhere though; near the "food court" (an awful phrase with bad associations and even worse food), there are some trees that are clearly ornamental to the degree that the local avifauna will not go within a hundred metres of them. Clearly, the birds know these trees to be alien to South India. I've been through much of Bangalore and its environs and I've never seen this tree anywhere! It must be some young, clueless libertine's idea of "being different" (it's amazing how in this age, "being different" just means being exactly like everyone else who wants to "be different"; we have indeed redefined the word "different"!)
Dismally inhospitable but impeccably clean and green
All in all, the Business Park is inhospitable to any sane man. I must say that. It has no decent food anywhere, no pharmacy except a few ramshackle ambulances, and importantly, no shade. Maybe 20 years from now the trees that have been planted will provide some decent canopy. Even the offices are inhospitable. The housekeeping staff are old hands at petty thievery, and loneliness roams the corridors. The ironic thing is the efforts being made to make the place look and feel peaceful; some meadows which manage to attract some wagtails, while driving away any other bird.
Apart from that, there is the dust. Of dry sand and mud, broken kerbs everywhere, and granite lying about like refuse; and worse still, granite dust that eats into everything. Everyday there is the sound of power-drills boring into granite or some other ornamental stone.
*******************************************************************************
We have eyes only for white golf balls
Next door are the Golf Links. There, some play one of the most elitist, costly games in the world on the meadows. Trees are everywhere; some man-made water bodies too; and pristine meadows. It's avifauna paradise, or so it seems; only the people who play golf there have no eyes for these, I'm sure. The customary high nets, unsightly and unfriendly to birds, surround the place though. There's a few feet between the pylons which support these nets and the actual wall that separates the Golf Links from the Business Park. Here there is rich plant life, many trees, but no birds want to really go there because it will be a tough and revealing trench to get out of. I have seen chameleons, though, and heard an insect, the one that buzzes at night, don't know what it's called - and this insect thrives there because there no birds to keep its numbers down.
At a few select spots next to the wall, there's enough of a rise from which one can peer onto the meadows in the Golf Links, from the Business Park. It's like how schoolboys peer over a fence eagerly. Precious few spots, actually; because the taxi drivers often relieve themselves near the wall and you cannot really be sure you're not stepping on something like that.
******************************************************************************
This patch of wall is birding territory for me.
Avifauna in the land of granite dust
It's been interesting that in spite of every difficulty, birds do find roosting places, food and nesting ground. They manage to eke out an existence of sorts even though man has done all he can to keep them out and take over what was their habitat completely - even towards the close of the last millenium this spot, where the Business Park stands today, was just fallow countryside, home to all grassland birds. Now there's nothing left except in the military area next to the Business Park, which in any case had always been there.
Of course there are the usual birds we would all expect to see, like the feral pigeons, House Crows and both kinds of Myna. Both Mynas and Crows, in fact, nest in the hollows at the top of some of the steel pylons that support the high nets.
Within the Business Park, there used to be quite a few birds who want to get away from predators, and so make their homes in the pittance of greenery that is now being grown in the Park. When I first came to the Business Park, we had Spotted Munias, Pied Bushchats, Large Pied Wagtails (or White-browed Wagtails, as they are known today) and Ashy Prinias. The Spotted Munias tried many nesting places, but couldn't sustain these, because the Park management was (and, I suspect, still is) devoted to keeping the place green but driving out any birds - a strange juxtaposition of endeavours. The Munias were quite persistent for many months at many places within the Business Park; nowadays, over the past year or so, I don't recall seeing a single one. They've all gone. So have the Pied Bushchats - they have gone back into the Golf Links.
Ashy Prinias have found some success, though, and are regularly seen and heard within the bushes near the Golf Links. The Wagtails have been successful beyond their dreams; they seem to prefer the Park more than the Golf Links! Not a day goes by on which the Wagtails are not seen. They nest in many places, all near the artificial ornamental water structures all over the Park.
Surprisingly, a huge flock of House Swifts keep flying madly about some of the buildings; the flock could easily number about a hundred or so birds. They are sweet, trilling, tiny, flying about really fast and madly, aimlessly, it seems, and are refreshing to watch.
In March and April, flocks of Starlings (probably both Grey-headed and Rosy) passed by in huge numbers, sometimes 300 - 400 or so in a single flock. There are also what could be Indian Pond Herons or Little Egrets which pass by regularly in flocks of about 10-20.
**************************************************************************
Within the Golf Links, there is a deathly lack of bird life in the trees near the wall separating them from the Business Park. Not even an occasional Flowerpecker or a Sunbird; not even a Tailorbird! I've seen about one or two Purple-rumped Sunbirds in the last year, and today I did see and hear a Tickell's Flowerpecker. But it's like a deathly silence otherwise.
There is enough, however, within the Golf Links meadows, in terms of bird life.
Shikra? Eurasian Sparrowhawk? Common Hawk-Cuckoo?
These last few months I have been trying to track down a bird that sometimes roosts in the trees bordering the pylons. The first time I saw it, it was on the Business Park side and looked like a female Shikra (the Shikra being the most abundant expected short-winged hawk in these parts). On closer inspection, serious doubts have arisen in my mind, though. The other difficulty is that the bird is absolutely silent. It could be a Shikra; or a Eurasian Sparrowhawk; it could also be a Brainfever Bird (or Common Hawk-Cuckoo). The colour seems to say Shikra; the behaviour seems to say either Eurasian Sparrowhawk or Common Hawk-Cuckoo. The sub-terminal bands on the tail seem to point to this being either of the latter birds; but neither of these is too common in these parts. This is an ongoing mystery that hopefully will get solved sometime. It has provided a lot of excitement, though, and I love the fact that this could get solved any day now.
Western Marsh Harrier?
One of the other really exciting sights was one evening well past sundown, when a dark, sooty-coloured raptor flew heavily over the D-Block. It was not large enough to be one of the Kites (besides, the tail was held stiff and straight without a fork) and it was definitely larger than the short-winged hawks, though the wing-shape in flight looked like one of them. It was also particularly sooty-coloured. I suspect this could have been a Western Marsh-Harrier. I've never seen the bird again; so perhaps it was a vagrant in these parts. But I do know it could not have been any of the other raptors.
More usual suspects
There are White-breasted Kingfishers that pass through the Golf Links often; because of the man-made water bodies. This also means that Brahminy Kites are more numerous than usual, too. The Black Kites seem to love the meadows and are often found perched on the ground, pulling up earthworms or other insects and such. They are found in huge numbers; I keep peering to see if an eagle joins them; or a harrier or any other bird of prey. There could well be some other raptor out there too.
Asian Koels are found in plenty within the Golf Links, as are Rose-ringed Parakeets, which is all as it should be. I've never seen any of the robins or chats except the Pied Bushchat, though.
********************************************************************************
The Heron and the Coucal
Today was very refreshing and soothing. I did not see any new birds I've not seen before; but what I saw must be described, because it brought peace to my heart.
There had a been a constant "coop coop coop" going on for a while; I was scanning the trees for the answer to my mystery bird. Then there was a splash of white that fluttered down on to the grass in the Golf Links.
I had to clamber up to a point where I could see the bird, and I was rewarded handsomely by an Indian Pond Heron in breeding plumage. The Pond Heron is not new to the Golf Links; I have seen some of them before on the meadows, but this was a close-up.
It's lovely how birds combine colours - lovely and indeed awe-inspiring. The Pond Heron is crow-sized, with a longish neck and a long, pointed yellow bill with a conspicuous black tip. Seen from under when in flight, it looks absolutely white and graceful. But during the breeding season, the back of the bird attains a lovely chestnut-brown or maroon-brown colour which is in fact the effect of the growth of soft, downy plumes of that colour. It is a work of art, like a water colour that has deliberately been allowed to run a bit in gentle streaks over the white flanks. The neck of the bird attains a light coffee sandy colour. An off-white crest, consisting of longish streamer-like feathers, is also visible, though almost always folded back on to the head and never raised.
I am not attached to water birds; I love passerines immensely more. But this was a lovely sight, I must say. Observing the bird's behaviour was even more soothing. It seemed to move slowly and absolutely daintily; wary, I think, of low-flying raptors (like harriers or sparrowhawks) that flush birds from the ground. Sometimes, a measured dainty walk; sometimes a leg raised but not lowered; and sometimes, a sudden twist, turn, quick few steps to capture an insect morsel. I realised that the bird was watching for unwary insects on the grass.
I had observed that the insistent "coop coop coop" had become louder, more resonant and deep and closer at hand. I had been scanning the trees opposite the meadow, for Greater Coucals which are numerous in and around both the Business Park and the Golf Links. Then, from a tree absolutely at the edge of the net, a huge Greater Coucal descended to the ground. These are huge but wary birds; and somehow, in true Coucal fashion, it perceived me peering over the wall, and it was back into the branches of the tree before I could get a decent glimpse. I then realised how deep, rumbling and resonant the 'coop coop coop' call could be, when I heard it up close. After a few seconds, the bird lifted into flight and disappeared into the top branches of the trees opposite the meadow. I saw a lovely but momentary vision of deep, chestnut wings and glossy black body and long, thick tail as the bird vanished into the tops of the trees opposite.
Greater Coucals love to roost in the trees in the Golf Links and are often heard and quite numerous; I've often seen them roosting at mid-day in the trees that are near the Gate 2 entrance.
************************************************************************
It's amazing to watch the birds; they seem so un-self-conscious, peaceful and free. But it is a wild world out there; in the trees opposite the meadow, on the ground, a huge number of Black Kites regularly descend to the ground. These raptors, though mainly scavengers, are not exactly harmless; they can easily take a crow-sized bird like the Pond Heron with ease if they decided to! And in fact, if my mystery bird is really the Eurasian Sparrowhawk, like I largely suspect, a Pond Heron or even a Greater Coucal, though larger than the Sparrowhawk, can easily be taken by surprise and tremendous speed. Being torn to death under the talons of such raptors is one of the worst fates that a bird can meet with! So while the Pond Heron might have enchanted me with dainty movements and lovely colours, it must have been wary as ever, because the arrival of a Sparrowhawk can send all the birds and small animals racing for cover.
***************************************************************************
An hour spent watching the birds is time well spent; I recommend it even if you cannot recognize even a crow or a pigeon. It can bring a curious peace; and a good dose of refreshing and rejuvenation into our thoughts. Try it!! Get into a park within a city; watch the birds; listen to their sounds.
