JP Park Birding

This post is being created 8 months after the birding trip to JP Park in Bangalore. This is a new park built to compensate for the diminishing greenery in the Garden City. Well, it is not very conveniently accessible to people all over Bangalore, but those staying around Yelahanka, Hebbal, Mekhri Circle, Malleshwaram, KR Puram, Frazer Town, Vasanth Nagar and surrounding areas may find it convenient. However, if you don’t mind travelling 20-40 kms to reach this place, you can visit it no matter where in Bangalore you stay. I enjoyed my trip to this park.

The Journey

We started from home by 6:30 in the morning and reached the park by 7:00. Took me some extra time ‘cause I didn’t know the way – first time you see. It was surprising to see a whole bunch of people at he park so early in the morning. Totally unexpected. There is a swimming pool (where they conduct classes) that was teeming with young people who had come to attend these classes. Lucky for them, it was summer vacation. Yes, we visited this place in April, 2012.

The Park

After parking the car we started our walk into the park. I carried my camera, Nikon 5100, with Nikon 18-55mm and Tamron 70-00mm lenses along with my trusty tripod. I was ready. One reason I chose to visit this park was the fact that there is a huge water body right in the center of the park. It’s beautiful. Take a look for yourself.

The roads in the park are well paved, plus there is a nice children’s play park inside. There are cast-iron benches all around the walkway where you can sit and enjoy the sights and sounds of the park.

The Birds

Well, now comes the interesting part – the birds. Weren’t they the lure for me? Of course, they were; and, I was ready to shoot them!

The park is home to a lot of water birds and a few common raptors as well. A subset of the sightings are listed below:

1.       Pond Herons

2.       Little Egrets

3.       Great Egret

4.       Black Kites

5.       Grey Heron

6.       Mynas

7.       Greater Coucals

8.       Ashy Prinia

9.       Great Cormorant

10.   Purple Moorhen
11. Crow

If you plan to go to this park, go early. There are many morning walkers all over the park (and many of them are curious and may scare your birds away).

How to Reach...

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Kondajji Camp Site Wildlife

Here's a small representation of the wildlife found in the Kondajji camp area near Davanagere, Karnataka. We reached the place quite late in the morning (almost 9am) by which time the birds had moved away in search of food - away from my camera.

There were weaver birds and others as well (including some Prinias and Sunbirds); but, I couldn't get a good shot of them. Maybe next time.

Unnoticed, but Present - Backyard Birding

Well, I did not realize Bangalore - more specifically, my neighborhood - had so rich a variety of plumages.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found Wagtails, Sunbirds, Eagles, Kites (including Brahminy), Pheasants, Cuckoos, Grey/Blue  Tits, Munias, Parrots, Cormorants, Pond Herons, Egrets (Great and Little), Bee-Eaters, Prinias, Tailor Birds, Caucals, Crows, Doves, Pigeons, Mynas, Sparrows, Chickens, and many more.

We spotted all these birds within a radius of 50-200 meters from my home in Bangalore. I'm sure you can find a lot of these birds and many more in your own surroundings. Backyard birding is interesting indeed. Place a comment if you spot any of these.

Happy Birding! Enjoy God's creation.



PS: I've taken a break from birding but will get back to it very soon.

The picture is just for representation purposes: you may not find all those birds in your backyard.