Energised by my Hesaraghatta birding trip, I now decided to explore other birding hotspots in Bangalore. Top on the list were Nandi Hills and Valley School campus near Kanakpura Road.
Was thinking about these options over the past few days when I incidentally bumped into Narayanan Srinivasan (Srini) who lives in the same apartment complex as mine. From his facebook profile I had observed that he was an avid photographer and hence broached the subject to him. He was quick and positive in his response and we agreed to explore Valley School area, being nearer to our complex.
Started off from JP Nagar at 6.15 am and within 20 minutes we reached the right turn on Kanakpura Road leading towards Valley School. Sunrise was about to happen and the chirping of birds had already started. Just as we entered the small road leading towards Valley School, Srini's keen eyes observed a hoopoe in the misty background. Our clicking started off in right earnest.
Would have been great if the sunlight was more but we were still happy to start off on a great note. Hardly a few moments had passed and we observed another bird perched on a distant tree - looked like some type of a kite or an eagle.
We moved on and reached the valley school campus. Made the entry in the visitors register and entered the semi-forest. The slight chill in the morning air combined with the freshness of natural surroundings was really invigorating. Walking along the long path leading to the grasslands was a great opportunity for us to share notes about our backgrounds and interest in photography. Srini has been into photography for more than seven years. Being a complete novice in this field, I happily absorbed some of the tips which he shared on cameras , lenses and accessories. By this time, the sun was also up and we got the chance to click some landscape snaps.
The next couple of hours were spent walking our way through the shrubs and the grasslands, looking up the trees to spot the small birds. Our sightings were many, including bee-eaters, drongos, mainas, robins and other small birds.
While roaming around the grasslands, we saw about 8 to 10 other birders who were trooping in with their equipment at different points in time. For us however, it was time to go back, and a bit reluctantly, we were on the path leading towards our car. The return journey was no less fruitful, as we saw a beautiful bulbul perched on a nearby tree.
I also used a moment to take some abstract snaps, which is something I really love to do.
The so called "dessert" of our birding sojourn came in the form of a few parrots who gave us some beautiful clicking moments.
Kudos to Srini for sharing his valuable insights and for the wonderful company during the outing. Here is a compliment to him - in the form of his snap clicked during the trip.
Will be back soon to Valley School area in near future !
Was thinking about these options over the past few days when I incidentally bumped into Narayanan Srinivasan (Srini) who lives in the same apartment complex as mine. From his facebook profile I had observed that he was an avid photographer and hence broached the subject to him. He was quick and positive in his response and we agreed to explore Valley School area, being nearer to our complex.
Started off from JP Nagar at 6.15 am and within 20 minutes we reached the right turn on Kanakpura Road leading towards Valley School. Sunrise was about to happen and the chirping of birds had already started. Just as we entered the small road leading towards Valley School, Srini's keen eyes observed a hoopoe in the misty background. Our clicking started off in right earnest.
Would have been great if the sunlight was more but we were still happy to start off on a great note. Hardly a few moments had passed and we observed another bird perched on a distant tree - looked like some type of a kite or an eagle.
We moved on and reached the valley school campus. Made the entry in the visitors register and entered the semi-forest. The slight chill in the morning air combined with the freshness of natural surroundings was really invigorating. Walking along the long path leading to the grasslands was a great opportunity for us to share notes about our backgrounds and interest in photography. Srini has been into photography for more than seven years. Being a complete novice in this field, I happily absorbed some of the tips which he shared on cameras , lenses and accessories. By this time, the sun was also up and we got the chance to click some landscape snaps.
The next couple of hours were spent walking our way through the shrubs and the grasslands, looking up the trees to spot the small birds. Our sightings were many, including bee-eaters, drongos, mainas, robins and other small birds.
While roaming around the grasslands, we saw about 8 to 10 other birders who were trooping in with their equipment at different points in time. For us however, it was time to go back, and a bit reluctantly, we were on the path leading towards our car. The return journey was no less fruitful, as we saw a beautiful bulbul perched on a nearby tree.
I also used a moment to take some abstract snaps, which is something I really love to do.
The so called "dessert" of our birding sojourn came in the form of a few parrots who gave us some beautiful clicking moments.
Kudos to Srini for sharing his valuable insights and for the wonderful company during the outing. Here is a compliment to him - in the form of his snap clicked during the trip.
Will be back soon to Valley School area in near future !
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