Munia Mania

It all began when i noticed my Lemon Grass in the kitchen garden looked like it had been pruned by a 5 yr old. At first I thought it was the cook doing some gardening and gave it no further thought. That was until on a sunday morning while making tea, I heard soft twitters from the balcony and peeked out the window. I had caught the lemon-grass thief in action!



I moved over to the other bedroom window and from there I could get a good view of them ( yes, there were of them ). One sat on the grill as a lookout, while the other picked at a leaf ( they are tough leaves and difficult to cut ). All the while the one doing the picking would give out a soft 'chee' sound periodically. When it was done, it made a 'ti tee ti tee' like sound and the two of them took off with a long green streamer of lemon grass behind them.



This wasn't the first time I had seen a Scaly Breasted Munia (also called Spotted Munia). It was the first time I had heard it though. This has been a daily occurrence since June, there are 2 of them outside the window tweeting away as I type this out. They visit in the morning and in the afternoon.They are nesting in our apartment campus in a Ficus.

Last week there were four of them sitting on the grill near the plant. They are now used to my presence and I was able to open the window slowly and push out my lens between the grills and take these photos. 



Spotted Munia Info (Lonchura punctulata)

Spotted Munia are a species of Finch   They are native to India. They look quite distinctive so are hard to confuse with other birds. They are sparrow sized. Male and Female look exactly alike. Research says that the male sings more than the female and has a slightly darker head.


Nesting season is June - August ( monsoon ). It seems that the Munias are dedicated builders, they seem to be showing no signs of stopping. I don't know how much longer my lemongrass can take the constant pruning. They must be having the most fragrant nest in the neighborhood.

Spotted Munias are easily spotted in flight by the long green streamers they fly around with as they ferry them back to the nest. Ive seen them nest in Ficus quite a bit. We even had one nesting in a potted Ficus in the Office open air cafeteria.  My first sighting of them was at Madivala lake.




Food: Munia eat grass seeds and small insects. They dont seem to like rice grains or mixed dals, because I put a few out and they weren't interested.

Are there other Munias ? Yes there are indeed : 1. Red Munia - Avadavat ( seen only once and record photo by K in Manchinbele ) 2. White Rumped Munia - seen in Ranganthittu 3. Silver Bills - seen in Maidanhalli and Manchinbele 4. Black Headed Munia - Seen in Ranganthittu  5. Green Avadavat - (north and central india) very rare and Threatened species.

Highrise Birding

Living in an apartment building in the middle of the city doesnt mean you are bereft of birds. The Munias are not our only visitors. Other birds that we see on a daily basis from our 9th floor abode:

Large Pied Wagtails
Purple Sun Bird
Bush chat - male and female
Blue Rock pigeons ( these I dont encourage )
Tiny Bats ( we had one as a house guest for a day )
Red rumped swallows

Other birds we've seen from the terrace or on walks around the campus:

Shikra (regular sighting)
Spotted Owlet (regular sighting)
Jungle Myna (not the regular myna, these have a tuft on the beak)
Tree Pie
Kites
1 Peacock - ( I kid you not! )

We saw the peacock a month or so ago, walking on the terrace of the neighboring apartment building. We still cant believe it ourselves. (Checked with people, its not a pet). I also saw a few years ago an egyptian vulture on top of the ITPL building. There is a forested area not too far way, so I'm guessing the peacock, tree pie and the monkeys come from there.


 
Can I get these birds to visit me?


Certainly, You can grow lemon grass for starters. ( just kidding ).

A bird bath is a good bird magnet. But it will encourage pigeons ( which make quite a mess ) so unless you have a large balcony or terrace, I wouldn't recommend it. Place an earthen ware pot filled with water in a shaded area. Place a stone in the middle ( as an island ) for smaller birds.

The best way is to attract small nectar drinking birds like sunbirds. Plant native species of Hibiscus ( Red, Pink, White) or the Blue Clustervine, Yellow Trumpet or butterfly pea vine and with some luck, you will soon have a few sunbirds drop by.

Feathered neighbours

Eurasian Golden Oriole


I am posting after a seriously long break - having been delayed by work, lethargy, a trip to Mangalore (next post), the flu and a wisdom tooth. But I am now back, albeit minus the tooth, which my dentist extracted, much to my relief.

The combination of flu and wisdom tooth kept me at home for a week and gave me a chance to see the bird life at home. (something we usually get to see only in the mornings at breakfast)

The tamarind tree was the last (among the rest) to shed leaves and when it did, no one was happier than I! At last, there was a clear view of all the twittering little birds that tormented us every morning.

We have had the following visitors this Summer:

The Golden Oriole is back, the Black naped oriole (migratory) is now not seen anymore, so I assume it has returned home. The barbets are nesting and are often seen in pairs. Offlate, we have seen them with berries in their beaks; no doubt, take-aways for the kids at home.

The white breasted Kingfisher made a rare appearance on our terrace on a sunday morning, much to our delight. We have seen a pair of them recently.

Barbet Couple

White Breasted Kingfisher

The lake at bagmane is being fished by the fishery dept. and this presents a great opportunity to watch kites ( black kites and brahminy kites ) fish in the lake and then squabble over the rich pickings. We also saw a nice yellowish water snake. Bad pictures though. The pied kingfisher was also seen on his favourite perch, though the male was alone this time.



Lakeview Bldg - Bagmane Tech Park (see the nets, white dots)


To help our feathered friends beat the summer heat - I have been keeping a shallow clay vessel filled with water, in the shade of the red hibiscus I have growing in the garden. I was pleasantly surprised to find a pair of Great Tits using it to bathe and drink every morning. If you are planning something similar and don't have a shallow vessel, place a few large stones in the pot so that the birds can use it as a island.



Great Tit - Early Morning.


Another surprise visitor and one who often comes in at tea-time is a Shikra. An adult male; ( I know this, because it has red eyes ) he likes to use the terrace fence as a lookout post, always sits in the same spot and tolerates our presence, albeit from a distance.

Shikra Adult Male

Greenish Warbler?

The fearless visitors are the pied wagtails. Four of them, who like to occasionally inspect the garden by walking along the edge and sing cheerfully from the cable wires that are overhead. Even the presence of Keshav; bazooka in hand, a few feet away, does not bother them. But their constant movement prevents me from getting any good photos.

The regular visitors are there as usual, the spotted dove couple, the three drongos and a bunch of flowerpeckers, one of which bravely posed for photos.

Spotted dove at dawn

Flowerpecker

Some new visitors; recently, but not often spotted are the Red whiskered bulbul ( seen only once ) , a warbler ( possibly greenish warbler - id confirmation is appreciated) and the Coppersmith barbet ( seen only in the afternoons, when the light is too harsh for good photos )



Surprised Pond Heron


Nothing lasts for ever .... And the bare tamarind tree returned to its former glory recently, sporting a most luxuriant growth! No doubt, it surprised this pond heron who decided to test it by perching at the very tip of a twig.

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Lalbagh has been in the news lately, and while reading an article on it on Google News, i came across the unauthorized use of 2 of my photos by the Mid-Day Newspaper.

Link:
http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/apr/300409-Lalbagh-Metro-Construction-No-Bird-Watching-Bangalore-news.htm

The photos - 2nd and 3rd are taken from an early blog post on lalbagh.
I'm not surprised that a paper would not have asked permission before using pictures found on the net. I am however surprised when a email to their editors, pointing out their oversight, is not replied to.

As a general rule, I have decided now, to place the © mark on all my posted images.

Lalbagh - Rose Ringed Parakeets

I usually go to Lalbagh early in the morning, around 6:30 am.

It is possible to see a lot of Parakeets there. Their characteristic calls usually give them away, I've seen them in gregarious groups; often high up on the trees that circle the lake. If one walks around the lake, particularly near the chickoo trees, it's possible to see and photograph them.

In flight, they are rather fast and Im not skilled enough to capture them then.

The parakeets in Lalbagh, that I've seen, are all Rose Ringed Parakeets. They have a pink and black ring around their necks. This ring is only visible in the male birds and not in the female.

Finding their nests, makes it easy to photograph them. This little bird, surprised me by suddenly popping its head out while I was trying in vain to capture a Thickbilled Flower Pecker.

Rose Ringed Parakeet - Female possibly juvenile

This bird was being mobbed by a bunch of sly Mynas that had their nest higher up in the same tree. The bird would try to come out of its hole, and the Mynas would fly at it, making it go back in again.

Walking near the chickoo trees, which were fruiting, I was able to see this magnificent male bird.

The rose and black ring is clearly visible and it was very busy with its chickoo to notice me.

Adult Male - Rose Ringed Parakeet

Near the Glass house building, I saw this bird and had no clue as to what it was, until I got home and checked Dr. Salim Ali's book.

Koel - Female

Near by was this fearless little squirrel that simply refused to move, no matter how close I went to its tree.
On my way out, passed by another parakeet nest (different from the first). The female had just landed on the tree, she put her head into the hollow and then simply refused to take it out. I waited for around 5 min before leaving her.

The Alexanderine Parakeets have a red patch on their shoulder. The males of that species also have the rose ring. The red patch there fore, is the only way to distinguish them.

Female - Note the absence of the Rose coloured Ring

All in all, it was a successful outing. The Thickbilled flower peckers ( small brown birds that sit up high on the trees ) valiantly eluded being caught by my camera. Another such bird was the Ashy Wren Warbler that hopped from tree to tree, in and out of bushes and when in one place, it would jump about, not sitting still for a single minute. After 15 min, and several fuzzy pictures later, I gave up.

LalBagh - Water Birds II

Just before the onset of the monsoons, the Rose colored starlings ( formerly know as Rosy Pastors) who are migrants from Europe, come to India for the winter. Often seen with them are Grey Headed Mynas.

Usually I get to see these birds from the comfort of my balcony. This year though, they had not made an appearance yet, so I hoped to see them in the Lalbagh Gardens.

It was actually perfect weather, light clouds and a cool gentle breeze, around 6:20am. I hoped to see some activity. We walked to the lake at first, as is our usual route - we go around the lake from the main gate till the west gate, have breakfast at the Kamat Hotel and make our way back from west gate to main gate.

The lake yielded its usual bounty. A spirited pair of White Breasted Kingfishers chased each other about. There was the usual sprinkling of pond herons and the occasional egret.

Then, we saw a pair of Purple Moor Hen, and looked like one of them was collecting nesting material. They were also making a fair amount of noise, rather a grating hooting sound. Checked my book - I refer to Dr. Salim Ali's Book of Indian Birds.
The arrival of the S.W. Monsoon marks the beginning of the breeding season. The male holds water reeds in his bill (he breaks them off first) and bows to the female as a part of the courtship display.

Also Spotted a lone White breasted waterhen, for the first time, saw it on land and it obligingly came rather close.


I have once spotted a Purple Heron at the lalbagh lake and even have a picture of it mocking me from behind a clump of bushes, safe in the knowledge that I cant get a good shot.
Hoping for another tantalising glimpse, instead was rewarded with a cooperative Grey Heron instead.


The grey heron is a lighter coloured bird but about the same size as the purple heron. Patiently it posed, turning first this way, then the other way.


Accidentally got some exceedingly bad shots of a group of adult night heron lurking in the shadows while taking pictures of a tree. Consultations with Dr. Salim Ali via his excellent book - 'The Book of Indian Birds' revealed that the bird I had considered to be a juvenile Pond Heron is actually a juvenile Night Heron. I had put a photograph of it in my previous posting but wrongly identified it as a Juvenile Pond Heron.

Black and White - The little cormorant and the little egret (note the yellow feet)

Bird Sightings

1. Purple MoorHen (2)
2. White Breasted Waterhen (1)
3. Indian Moor Hen
4. White Breasted Kingfisher (2)
5. Pond Herons
6. Grey Heron (1)
7. Night Heron Juveniles
8. Little Egret (1)
9. Little Coromorants
10. Large Cormorant (1)

Notable Sightings - will be featured in my next blog

1. Rose Ringed Parakeets - several
2. Ashy Wren Warbler (1)
3. ThickBilled Flowerpeckers - Many thanks to Mrs. Ranjini Kamath for help in identification.
4. Small Green Barbet
5. Brahmini Kite