The Long Walk for a European Roller

I went to Hoskote Lake for a quick birding trip and somehow came back having walked 8 kilometres. And I have a European Roller to thank for it.

This surprise visitor from afar had turned up at Hoskote, and naturally, I couldn’t resist going in search of it. So off I went, camera in hand, walking through the open grasslands and scanning every possible perch, while the sun did its best to cook me alive.

But the long walk wasn’t entirely about the Roller. A few other interesting birds turned up along the way, making the sweaty trek a little more worthwhile.

So, follow me on this very tiring birding trip to Hoskote Lake.

~~~
I started late and reached Hoskote Lake around 8 AM, planning to spend just 45 minutes to an hour before heading back. At this point, I had no idea about the European Roller sighting or the long walk that awaited me.

The first birds to greet me were these Indian Spot-billed Ducks, calmly enjoying the morning in the lake. A pleasant start to what I thought would be a short outing.

~~~
I spotted this White-throated Kingfisher perched quietly on a dead branch. A familiar sight around here, but still hard to resist when it gives you a clean pose like this.

~~~
I walked further into the grasslands and found this Tawny Eagle perched on a dead tree stump. The cars in the background were a bit distracting, but with nearly a dozen cars lined up, they were hard to ignore. Clearly, something interesting was happening here, and I started wondering what everyone else had come to see.

~~~
On my way towards the cars, I crossed these beautiful marigold fields, making for a colourful little detour before I found out what had brought everyone here.

~~~
A Jungle Myna caught my attention next, looking rather dapper with its stylish tuft and striking blue eyes.

~~~
And then came an Indian Roller, adding another splash of blue to the morning. I was still completely unaware of the European Roller that had brought all those birders here.

~~~
Just then, I met a birder driving back who asked, “Did you see the Roller nearby?” I confidently said yes, thinking of the Indian Roller I had just seen.

Then came the follow-up: “European?”

And there it was. The penny finally dropped. I had been admiring the wrong Roller while nearly a dozen cars of birders were parked there for the real prize. Clearly, I needed to pay a little more attention to the birding gossip.

It was another long walk towards the cars, but when I got there, not a single birder was in sight. They had probably walked much farther into the grasslands in search of the Roller. I had found the cars, but apparently not the birders.

I roamed around looking for a sign of civilization, feeling increasingly like Man vs. Wild, and found this Green Sandpiper instead. At this point, I’ll take it.

~~~
The Red-wattled Lapwing was enjoying the quiet too. With no birders around, it had the whole grassland to itself and seemed perfectly happy keeping things peaceful.

~~~
Normally, a Red Avadavat would have me pretty excited. But today, with the European Roller somewhere out there and no clue where the other birders had gone, even this beauty came with a nagging feeling that I was missing out.

~~~
I finally spotted a few birders who pointed me in the right direction, but also warned me not to venture out into the sun. The Roller was about 2 km away, with another 2 km back.

I asked one of them to show me a photo, and he pulled up a shot of the European Roller in flight. That was all the motivation I needed. Against my better judgement, I decided to take on the 4 km trek alone.

~~~
Ahead of me was endless grassland, dotted with dry, leafless trees. It was a long, lonely stretch with plenty of sun and no shade, but somewhere out there was the European Roller I had come all this way to see.

~~~
Along the way, I spotted this juvenile or female Pied Bushchat perched on a wire. Another little distraction on my increasingly long walk towards the Roller.

~~~
And finally, after all that walking, I found what I had come for. The European Roller. Suddenly, the 4 kilometre trek in the heat didn’t seem quite as crazy. Almost.

Some European Rollers cross thousands of kilometres during migration. I managed 4 km through the Hoskote grasslands and was already questioning my life choices.

~~~
I waited for the Roller to take off, camera ready. And finally, it did, flashing its brilliant blue wings in the sunlight. For a moment, the long walk and the scorching heat were completely forgotten.

~~~
On the way back, I spotted an Oriental Skylark, my final sighting of the day. A nice way to end the birding, if only my legs had agreed.

In total, what was supposed to be a 45 minute to 1 hour visit turned into an 8 kilometre round trip, with the 4 kilometre Roller detour making up the extra distance. Not quite the quick morning outing I had planned, but definitely one I won’t forget.

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The Leopard That Wasn’t

This trip to Turahalli Tree Park had been brewing for months.

CR, AK, CA and I had been discussing, planning, postponing and re planning the outing for what seemed like forever.

Then, somewhere along the way, a piece of news changed the mood considerably: a leopard had apparently entered the park through a breach in the fence.

From that point on, the leopard became a regular participant in our trip discussions, at least as far as CR was concerned.

As the trip drew closer, the excitement was gradually replaced by a healthy dose of caution. On the eve of the outing, after much thought and deliberation, CR finally decided to opt out. And just when we thought the remaining three were set, CA dropped out on the morning of the trip, struck down by fever.

So, in the end, it was just AK and me who carried on.

And as it turned out, we had little to worry about. We came back with a pretty good haul of birds, and, most importantly, a leopard sighting.

Well... technically.

The only leopards we actually encountered were a couple of Common Leopard butterflies.

Here are a few pictures from our morning at Turahalli Tree Park.

~~~
Our first sighting was a White cheeked Barbet, perched nicely on a bare branch against the blue sky.

~~~
AK spotted the crescent moon still hanging in the morning sky and pointed it out: “For the blog!”

Of course, a picture had to be taken.

~~~
The rain had left the trail damp and fresh, making the walk particularly pleasant. Along the way, we spotted a pair of tortoise beetles, apparently busy with matters of their own.

~~~
We also came across this beautiful Red Star Glory flower.

~~~
The morning light was beautiful after the rain. The grass was still covered in droplets, sparkling in the early sunlight.

~~~
We then came across a beautiful Stinking Passionflower. Its rather unfortunate name comes from the unpleasant smell released by the plant when its leaves or stems are crushed. Thankfully, the flower itself was far more attractive than its name suggests!

~~~
The bubbly calls of the White browed Bulbul seemed to be everywhere, echoing through the trees.

~~~
The White spotted Fantail was next, but it certainly did not make things easy for us. It kept flitting from branch to branch at great speed, giving us only fleeting chances to get a photograph.

~~~
The Indian White eye was another lovely sighting. It was busy moving through the foliage, pausing just long enough for us to grab a few shots before disappearing among the leaves again.

~~~
Among the flowering branches, we spotted a female Common Iora.

~~~
The Purple rumped Sunbird was another highlight, especially this gorgeous male feeding among the bright yellow flowers.

~~~
And then came the Common Leopard, not the four legged kind that had caused all the panic, but a beautiful butterfly.

~~~
A honey bee was busy working the delicate pink flowers of the Shame plant.

~~~
Turahalli’s charm lies as much in its open landscapes and skies as in its birds and wildlife.

~~~
While I was posing with the giant ladybird and AK was clicking pictures, a little girl came by and playfully announced, “I saw a tiger!” Her dad immediately clarified that she meant the tiger sculpture nearby, not a real one.

~~~
Sandalwood (Santalum album), a fragrant treasure growing quietly in the wild greens.

~~~
A female Purple Sunbird, quietly perched amid the greenery.

~~~
With about 30 minutes left before the park closed at 10 a.m., we met UV, an ardent birdwatcher who lives nearby. Her familiarity with the area proved invaluable, as she showed us a spot where fantails and flycatchers nest during the season.

UV then showed us the reused nest of a White spotted Fantail. Interestingly, the fantail reuses the nest rather than constructing a new one every season, making this tiny, well camouflaged cup among the branches even more fascinating.

~~~
Just when we were searching for the fantails, an Oriental Magpie Robin suddenly emerged and gave us a pleasant surprise.

~~~
The Blue faced Malkoha was playing hard to get, keeping itself deep within the foliage and revealing only tantalising glimpses through the leaves.

~~~
Finally, we got a good shot of the White spotted Fantail, its fan shaped tail beautifully spread as it stood on the forest floor.

~~~
And then, another fleeting moment, a White spotted Fantail caught in mid flight.

~~~
And then, Asian green bee-eaters.

And in the end, although the only “leopards” we saw had wings, Turahalli still gave us exactly what we had come looking for: a morning full of surprises.

Share your thoughts in the comments below.