Ramnath Kamat

In this blog I tried to capture some of the birds at Agara lake. I had visited Agara lake once but planning to visit it again sometime in future.
All photos were taken with Canon 550D and EF 55-250mm lens. The clarity of the pictures are not that great.



The black kite (Milvus migrans) is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. It is thought to be the world's most abundant species of Accipitridae, although some populations have experienced dramatic declines or fluctuations.^[2] Current global population estimates run up to 6 million individuals.^[3] Unlike others of the group, black kites are opportunistic hunters and are more likely to scavenge. They spend a lot of time soaring and gliding in thermals in search of food. Their angled wing and distinctive forked tail make them easy to identify. This kite is widely distributed through the temperate and tropical parts of Eurasia and parts of Australasia and Oceania, with the temperate region populations tending to be migratory. Several subspecies are recognized and formerly had their own English names. The European populations are small, but the South Asian population is very large.





An egret /ˈiːɡrət/ is a bird that is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season.


The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most ofNorth America and Central America as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores, England and the Netherlands. An all-white population found only in the Caribbean and southern Florida was once treated as a separate species and known as the great white heron.

Horsley hills is a hill resort in Andhra Pradesh about 120 Kms from Bangalore. The hill is near Madanpalle town. The hill offers a good road for riders who want to get away from Bangalore on a weekend.

My friends Mahesh is from MadanPalle. He once had asked me to come to his place. So, one jobless weekend I decided to goto his place. I ganged up with 3 more friends of mine and we left to Madanpalle on Saturday afternoon. We reached Madanpalle by 4'o clock. Horsley hill is about 25 kms from his house, last 10km being riding on the hill just like Nandi Hills but a much denser forest.

There is no entry ticket to the hill and the bike goes till the top of the hill. The hill offers 2-3 sunset points. The hill hosts a resort where you can stay for the night but you need to book the rooms in advance by AP tourism website. There is a restaurant and bar on the top of the hill.

The sunset here was splendid. I carried my tripod with me thinking that I will be able to do some night photography but I conveniently forgot that its a Full moon night.

Sunset at Horsley hills

That's me

View of the town after the sunset

That's all of us

After spending some time in the quiet night we had some food at the restaurant and left to Mahesh's house in Madanpalle. He was generous to offer us food and stay :)

Next morning he took us to MahaMallaswara hills which is about 10 kms from Madanpalli. You need to offroad to reach the top of the hill. Off road was quite fun. There is a Shiva temple on the top of the hill. You can  see the town MadanPalle from the top of the hill

Enjoying the view

Shiva temple on the top of the hill

That's us again.

Here is the link to the offroading video.





Summary:
1. Horsley hill is about 120 km from Bangalore. A 2 hour ride.
2. There is a guesthouse and restaurant on the top of the hill.
3. MadanPalle is near by town
4. MahaMallaswara hills is about 10 kms from MadanPalle on the way to Bangalore.
5. One needs to offroad to reach the hill or simply walk.


Happy Riding :)

I am on a mission. Mission to document birds at many places, one place at a time. I am starting off with Ranganthittu bird sanctuary where I visited twice in last two years. Species description of each bird is given along with the picture.

[Some of the pictures are not of god quality but are blogged nonetheless. Species information is sourced from Wiki.]



Tickell's blue flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae) is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family. This is an insectivorous species which breeds in tropical Asia, from theIndian Subcontinent eastwards to Southeast Asia. Its range stretches across all the countries from India to Indonesia. They are blue on the upperparts and the throat and breast are rufous. They are found in dense scrub to forest habitats.










The spot-billed pelican or grey pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) is a member of the pelican family. It breeds in southern Asia from southern Pakistan across Indiaeast to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes. At a distance they are difficult to differentiate from other pelicans in the region although it is smaller but at close range the spots on the upper mandible, the lack of bright colours and the greyer plumage are distinctive. In some areas these birds nest in large colonies close to human habitations.







The pale-billed flowerpecker or Tickell's flowerpecker (Dicaeum erythrorhynchos) is a tiny bird that feeds on nectar and berries, found in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The bird is common especially in urban gardens with berry bearing trees. They have a rapid chipping call and the pinkish curved beak separates it from other species in the region








The painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is a large wading bird in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctive pink tertial feathers give them their name. They forage in flocks in shallow waters along rivers or lakes. They immerse their half open beaks in water and sweep them from side to side and snap up their prey of small fish that are sensed by touch. As they wade along they also stir the water with their feet to flush hiding fish. They nest colonially in trees, often along with other waterbirds. The only sounds they produce are weak moans or bill clattering at the nest. They are not migratory and only make short distance movements in some parts of their range in response to changes in weather or food availability or for breeding. Like other storks, they are often seen soaring on thermals.






The purple-rumped sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) is a sunbird endemic to the Indian Subcontinent. Like other sunbirds, they are small in size, feeding mainly onnectar but sometimes take insects, particularly when feeding young. They can hover for short durations but usually perch to feed. They build a hanging pouch nest made up of cobwebs, lichens and plant material. Males are brightly coloured but females are olive above and yellow to buff below.






The white-spotted fantail or spot-breasted fantail (Rhipidura albogularis) is a small passerine bird. It is found in forest, scrub and cultivation in southern and central India. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the white-throated fantail.















The stork-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis) (formerly Halcyon capensis), is a tree kingfisher which is widely but sparsely distributed in the tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia. This kingfisher is essentially resident throughout its range.






The oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but now considered an Old World flycatcher. They are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright as they forage on the ground or perch conspicuously. Occurring across most of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia, they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. They are particularly well known for their songs and were once popular as cagebirds. The oriental magpie-robin is national bird for Bangladesh. People of Bangladesh recognize it as "Doel".






The red-whiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) is a passerine bird found in Asia. It is a member of the bulbul family. It is a resident frugivore found mainly in tropicalAsia. It has been introduced in many tropical areas of the world where populations have established themselves. It feeds on fruits and small insects and they conspicuously perch on trees and their calls are a loud three or four note call. The distinctive crest and the red-vent and whiskers makes them easy to identify. They are very common in hill forests and urban gardens within its range.




The common tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius) is a songbird found across tropical Asia. Popular for its nest made of leaves "sewn" together and immortalized byRudyard Kipling in his Jungle Book, it is a common resident in urban gardens. Although shy birds that are usually hidden within vegetation, their loud calls are familiar and give away their presence. They are distinctive in having a long upright tail, greenish upper body plumage and rust coloured forehead and crown. This passerinebird is typically found in open farmland, scrub, forest edges and gardens. Tailorbirds get their name from the way their nest is constructed. The edges of a large leaf are pierced and sewn together with plant fibre or spider silk to make a cradle in which the actual nest is built.




                                                      The Great Egret

The great egret (Ardea alba) also known as common egret, large egret or (in the Old World) great white heron,^[2][3][4] is a large, widely distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized. In North America it is more widely distributed, and it is ubiquitous across the Sun Belt of the United States and in the Neotropics. The Old World population is often referred to as the great white egret. This species is sometimes confused with the great white heron of the Caribbean, which is a white morph of the closely related great blue heron (A. herodias).