A promising Bangalore Lake in transition

Location: Doddakallasandra Lake or Konankunte Lake
Date: Dec 26th, 2018, 4pm to 6pm.
To get there: [Click here for Google Map].
It is located in South Bangalore behind Sri Kumarans Childrens Home, Mallasandra.
Distance:  15kms from Vidhana Soudha
Trail type: Go on the path between the school gate and parking lot. After 50 meters you will come on to a short walking path around hundred meters with benches to rest. Rest of the lake is inaccessible at this time.

Facilities: Benches to sit in few places. No toilet facilities. Food, you are still in the city so plenty of places close by. Avoid picnicking. If you have to, get only finger food in reusable boxes and do not litter.

We used to visit this lake 10 years back when my child was studying at this school. One just needed to scramble up to the bund from the parking lot to enjoy the then fairly clear and beautiful lake.

So, I was looking forward to checking out the lake again when a request came to me for a quick bird survey on the lake. Few of us reached at the same time and trudged up the initial short path towards the lake. On the right hand side there is foliage to make it a nice habitat for forest birds while on the left we have flowering trees along the school compound attracting many nectar feeding birds.

As we reach the lake, there is a newly made walking path on the left for about 50 to 100 meters with benches for those inclined to sit and take in the vista. Rest of the lake can be circumvented fully by the adventurous though not at all welcoming or easy at many points. There is a small island in the middle.

The first thing that strikes you as a bird watcher are the numerous Gray Herons that inhabit the tall trees on the island. They can be seen flying to and from the shore, sometimes carrying nesting material. As you scan the waters, numerous Little Grebes and Common Coots are spotted easily. Egrets on the far side trees with Pond Herons on the shores. Spot billed Ducks and Cormorants

can be seen along the islands as well. As we were walking along the short path, there are numerous trees which hosts Warblers, Sunbirds, Mynahs as well as a lone Brahminy Kite. We were also lucky to spot a pair of Common Moorhens and a solitary Green Sandpiper flying across the water.

The lake itself has had better days. Because of pollution from sewage and garbage inflow from neighboring localities, it has turned green with algal growth with significant amounts of garbage along the shores. Though much effort is being made to clear the garbage and revive this lake by various groups, the source of the problem remains and garbage makes its way to the lake within weeks. This problem is also being worked on and hopefully will be solved soon.

After about an hour or so, we headed back to our cars. A pleasant surprise awaited us as we saw a flock of about 30 to 50 birds swirl around and settle on a tree adjacent to the school. They turned out to be mainly the migrant Chestnut-tailed Starlings with few Rosy Starlings also. Happily we returned to our cars and were again greeted by several large flocks of Rosy Starlings returning to roost on the trees near the lake. It was an amazing sight to watch as 100s of them settled down quickly on small trees to rest for the night.

Ebird check lists from the 2 visits we made to this place for the bird count:
Dec 19th Morning
Dec 26th Evening

As always, do not litter the place. Even though some spots may look bad, we don't really want to add to that, do we?

Our own Garden

A little different write up for this blog. Nature is there, yes, but the ramble is much easier. Just around the house garden!

Couple of years back we got an opportunity to build our own house. When the architect asked us to list our requirements, garden space was at the top. So, in a 2400 sq feet plot, we managed to end up with about 900 sq feet of garden space, most of which were filled with soil, and 300 sq feet of car porch area tiled with stones where grass could grow in between them.


OK, we had the garden space, now what? We did not want the garden to be artificially landscaped and preferred a practical organic one with no pesticides. So, we approached Urban Mali whose mantra was in line with ours. They got us started with a lot of native plants. Now we have a small lawn with a pond housing guppies and other visitors in it. A flower patch with colorful Hibiscus plants, Kanakambaram (Crossandra infundibuliformis), Spatika (Barleria), Parijatha (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis), among others. No, I am not a botanist. Names thanks to google and wikipedia! They also made a vegetable patch, and planted fruit trees like Guava and Sapota. Its been about a year and the garden has done fairly well with much hand holding from Urban Mali via maintenance as well as advice. Many lessons learnt and many more yet to learn and implement which I will try to list below.

Lily Pond with a Frog

Ashy Prinia

First, a big bonus for me has been the nature in the form of birds, animals and insects the garden has attracted. As an avid birder, Ashy Prinia's which we would enjoy only during our outings, became a regular guest to our kitchen garden, for few weeks with its sweet calls delighting all. Other bird who have graced the garden are Purple-rumped Sunbird, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Oriental White eye and Tailor Bird. We had a snake visit us too, frogs hopping around all the time, insects, a garden lizard which camped in our garden for few days until food ran out and snails galore. Variety of butterflies have placed our house on their regular daily route. Overall, it has been a pleasure each and every time we spot any of them.

Gauva

As for my gardening effort and success, it has been a mix of results so far. The hard work of cleaning, planting and weeding is done by the Urban Mali gardeners who visit once a month. I mostly water it, do some weeding and harvest the produce! Success has been in most of the greens we planted (Spinach, Basil, Lemon grass, etc,), Guava fruits, and the native flowers. Lily pond, though small, has sustained itself very well with a lily blooming almost all the time.

Lily Moth Caterpillar

Harvest

Some lessons I have learnt. Watering with a proper schedule is important. We lost a lot of the nursery plants we tried to nurture. Manure is key. Without proper nutrition yield is very low or none. Still learning this. I don't have a in-house compost setup. It appears this is a must if we are hoping for good produce as the cost of store bought manure is too expensive. Managing pests such as army ants, aphids is an ongoing struggle. The lily moth caterpillar pretty much chomped away all our lilies. I am told they will grow back. Still waiting. I guess with the organic approach we do share our garden with the rest of the nature. Neem oil as a deterrent helps but its a struggle to keep away some of the pests.

Garlic Vine

Regardless of the struggles we are enjoying our garden so far as it embodies nature at its best with variety of plants, animals, insects, pests and all! Looking forward to many more visitors and bountiful harvests in the future!

Makkalidurga: Trek for the views

First views of the formidable Makalidurga hill

Location: Makalidurga or Makkalidurga, Doddaballapura, Near Bangalore
Date: Dec 27th, 2015
To get there: [Click here for Google Map]. Go on Hebbal Road and take the exit to Doddaballapura a few kms after Hebbal Lake. Go through Doddaballapura towards Makalidurga. Trail head is  few kms after the Makallidurga Railway Station. You need to take a left on a dirt road just before a village(Gunjur) and go on that for about a km. Parking is next to the railway tracks.
Distance: 60km from Bangalore
Trail type: Rocky. Few places may need a bit of scrambling for the inexperienced trekkers.  Trail is marked with a white arrow painted on rocks in few places. At the top, there is a temple and fort which one can explore. We had kids aged 10 who did the trek quite easily. Still I would suggest to be careful as it was quite slippery in many spots due to small mountain streams. Also, younger kids can find it a bit strenuous.
Facilities: Doddaballapura is close by. Shops selling drinks and snacks are there on the main road near the trail head.

It had been a while since we had gone on any family trek close by. When a few friends also expressed interest to just go out and get relief from the City's chaos for a day at least, it seemed like our trek drought will end. After some internet research, we settled on Makalidurga near Doddaballapura even though it is on the other side of the city, as most reviews seemed to suggest that it a nice 1/2 day trek which is what we wanted.

Breakfast with a view!

Parking near the railway line

So, bright and early on the last Sunday of year 2015, 27^th December, 4 adults, 2 kids and one teen set out in 2 cars northwards. We had packed sandwiches, fruits and snacks for our breakfast on the trek, some of which disappeared during the drive! Reached the trail head around 9, a bit late but not too bad. The Makalidurga hill towers over the railway line and the trail curves around a temple and them upwards. We met a few brave souls who had camped out at the top in the night.

White arrows to guide you in tricky places

Slippery slopes had to be maneuvered carefully

Truly scenic trails

View of the fort as we approached the top

Shortly after we started and as soon as we found a nice spot with some view, we settled down for a relaxed and pleasant breakfast. The trail from here goes around the hill and steadily up. It is clearly marked in few places with a white arrow. However, it is a bit of a scramble at some points and care should be taken to avoid an incident. I would suggest ensuring you have shoes with good soles to make it easier.

Fort walls

Fort ruins

At the top there are ruins of a fort and a small temple. Many paths and trails exist but no clear signs on where one should go or information boards about the fort. One can just explore the area as they see fit. We did one walk around and settled down on a boulder which gave a wide vista of the plains including the railway line near where we had parked our cars.

Black-shouldered Kite hovering over our lunch spot looking for its own lunch!

While relaxing there, we were treated to close up views of the hovering ability of the Black-shouldered Kite.There were also numerous Barn Swallows and Swifts putting on a nice aerobic display.

We finished up the rest of our food and started back. The trail back was somewhat easier. Or so we thought. By the time we reached our car though it was close to 2 pm and lunch was on everyone's minds. So, we stopped in Yelahanka on the way which had some good eateries. By evening we were back in our house after the much needed break from city pollution!

Hope to do the next one without such a long break!

If you do get to visit this or similar place around Bangalore, please ensure that you do not litter *anything* there to keep the place as pristine as possible for others.

Spotted a Common Kestrel as we were climbing down.

Trudging through some tall grass

Rose-ringed Parakeets

View of the railway line

Birding in an urban Lake

Location: Puttenahalli Kere or Puttenahalli Lake, near JP Nagar, Bangalore
Date: Dec 15th, 2011
To get there: [Click here for Google Map].
It is located in South Bangalore next to Brigade Millenium.
Distance:  < 10Kms from Vidhana Soudha! :)
Trail type: Walking path going around the Lake. Educative and a good work out for kids aged 1 to 8. Too easy for older kids and adults. So, it is more of a nature walk for them.

Facilities: Benches to sit in few places. I did not notice any toilet facilities but should be there. Food, you are still in the city so plenty of places close by. Avoid picnicking. If you have to, get only finger food in reusable boxes and do not litter.

Pheasant-tailed Jacana

One of my favorite birds to spot whenever I see a lotus covered pond is the Pheasant-tailed Jacana. PTJ and its cousin Bronze-winged Jacana are 2 beautiful birds which gingerly walk on the wide leaves of the Lotus plants earning the name leaf-walkers. Nature has provided them with feet having long fingers which are suited for this type of life style.

Mom and Me! Common Coot 

Unfortunately, one usually needs to drive to the outskirts of Bangalore to spot them. Lalbagh and Yediyur Kere both of which contain lotus vegetation have not been successful in attracting and protecting these birds long enough for them to call it their homes. But, Puttennahalli Kere, in JP Nagar, is an exception now. This lake which was once a dump yard and encroached upon has been restored through a citizens initiative PNLIT led by Usha Rajagopalan. The key point in this restoration project is that, they have not made this lake into a "soup bowl" like Ulsoor, Sankey or Lalbagh tanks. The edges are left to nature to create an habitat which can sustain these and other birds.

Purple Swamphen

So, for us nature enthusiasts, we no longer need to drive 30-40 kilometers out of town to see these beautiful birds. One can take nature stroll, or ramble if you will, around this lake in the middle of Urban sprawl and enjoy them in leisure. When we went there, we also spotted many other equally colorful water birds such as Herons, Coots, Purple Swamphens, Lesser Whistling Teals and the migratory Garganeys.

So, if you have a couple of hours to spare one day and wish to observe and enjoy some nature, head out to this lake and you wont be disappointed.


As always, do not litter the place. Even though some spots may look bad, we don't really want to add to that, do we?

 Lesser Whistling Teal(open wing), Common Moorhen (Red knob),  Pheasant-tailed Jacana (foraging on left) and Garganeys (huddled at the top)

Workout with great views: Shivaganga near Tumkur

The peak from far

Location: Shivaganga Peak, Near Tumkur
Date: Sept 25th, 2011
To get there: Go on NH4 Towards Tumkur. At Dobbaspet take a left under the flyover towards Shivaganga. There is a sign board immediately after you take this turn. Shivaganga is about 6 to 7km from here.
Distance: 60 km from Bangalore
Trail type: Crudely cut or man made steps on the hillock with some rocky path in between. There are railings for support when it gets too steep. It is going up almost all of the time, so one has to completely stop for a respite. The peak is at 1350m elevation, making it a gain of about 400 meters during the trek. Distance is around 2km. Trash can be seen all along the path though it was not as bad as in some other temple trails.
Facilities: Refreshments such as cut cucumber, soft drinks, bottled water, majjige, bajji, charmuri are available by trail side vendors at constant intervals along the trail.
Map: Click here for the Google map.


This spot was picked for the first ever group trek by the residents of Brigade Classic Apartments as an easy to moderate trail. The group comprised of families with kids from 6 yr old to 15yrs. It was finally a total of about 25 of us who set out in a bus at around 7am with a packed brunch and plenty of energy for a good workout. As it was a Sunday, it took us less than 2 hours to reach Shivaganga town. The traffic was light and the new elevated freeway up to Nelamangala made the drive even smoother. Some fun games like Dumb Charades and 20 questions helped us reach "quicker".


The trail starts from the main road close to the temple tank as a flight of steps leading to the base temple. To go to the top you have to turn left just before you enter the temple compound. We chose to carry the packed lunch of Idlis and Karabath to picnic on the trail taking a chance on the warnings about monkeys which we were told liked to give company. More on that later.


It is a steady climb all through and will be quite tiring if you attempt to do it too fast. The best way is to go slow enjoying the views and taking rest as required. We made 3-4 stops on the way for coffee, fruits, water, etc., All of our group right from 5 yrs to almost 50 made it to the Shiva Ganga statues after about 2km trek and 300 meters gain. On the man made steps, it is easier to navigate though steeper while on the undeveloped parts of the trail one has to be careful about slipping on the small rocks. 

The monkeys. Well, they kept us company all through the trail. A few times they were aggressive enough to come close and sniff at the bags or, as it happened, at a lollipop that a child was sucking on. It did not go away until the lollipop was gifted to it. Advice: Do not carry any exposed food item! So, here we were hungry and ready to picnic but not at all comfortable with the patiently stalking monkeys waiting for their share of the food. A kind vendor came to our rescue by allowing us to use a barred enclosure behind the statues. This worked well though when you think about it, we were in the cages feeding while the monkeys were free outside looking in at us! Gives a different perspective to the "zoo" experience. :)


After the refreshments, about 8 of us chose to go ahead and reach the peak while the rest decided to head back. The final 100m climb is a very steep climb on man made steps. It is quite strenuous though there is adequate support in railings. But we made it, even a little one at less than 6 yrs. At the top there is a Gangadeshwara temple also marked as Dakshina Kashi and a Nandi on an adjacent rocky outcrop. 


After spending a few minutes there, we started our descent which is a little more trickier and prone to accidents if one is not careful due to the steep gradient. We managed to get down fairly quickly with no mishaps. 


There was not much birding to do. We could see and hear White-browed Bulbuls all over, Purple-rumped Sunbird and many Black kites hovering overhead. Highlight, could be a possible Thrush or Robin on which I will update here, if I am able to find its ID. (Confirmed now. It was indeed a Blue Rock Thrush one of the first visitors to India this migrant season)


Overall, it is a nice trek if one is looking for some challenge without it becoming too difficult. I would think kids 8yrs or more should be able to do it with some exceptions both ways. After lunching at Kamat Upachar which is located on NH4 few kilometers after Dobbaspet, we were back home around 4pm with some well-earned aches and pains! :)

Some more images from the trek are here.