The Hunt for the Blue Bearded Bee Eater

Muthanallur Lake greeted us early in the morning and I was back there with a friend for what was meant to be a quick walk that somehow turned into a full blown mission. We began at the regular side of the lake only to realise that the trail had turned into an obstacle course. It looked as if a water hyacinth excavator had ploughed straight through it and left the ground in a mood of its own. Every step felt like trying to balance on a badly made mattress.

Just then a fellow birder mentioned that the other side of the lake was buzzing with activity. A White-naped Woodpecker with chicks on a coconut palm. Too tempting to ignore. We took the location pin from him and headed straight across with the enthusiasm of two people convinced the bird would pose for us. Of course it did not.

But the trail had other surprises. Another birder informed us that he had just seen a Blue-bearded Bee-eater. Since that bird is as rare and dramatic as a celebrity stepping out for a morning walk, the mood shifted instantly. We turned into assassins on a mission and began treading that long trail in search of our elusive target.

More than ten thousand steps later we finally heard the puppy like bark that gives the bee eater away. And like seasoned assassins we got our shot. A satisfying end to a long and tiring chase.

Along the way we collected a few more moments that made the walk worth every step. Here are the photos from the day.

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The day began in hushed light, the sun barely brushing through the clouds.

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A Greater Coucal slipped through the branches while we made our way along the barely walkable trail.

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A Jacobin Cuckoo appeared next, proudly carrying its wriggling breakfast.

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The third bird we met was this Chestnut tailed Starling, looking effortlessly elegant.

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Another birder pointed us to the far side of the lake, home to a nesting White-naped Woodpecker. The woodpecker eluded us, but the trail opened up beautifully and the place felt promising.

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A pair of Grey-headed Swamphens doing a careful beam walk in the misty light.

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A Black Kite sat calmly on a sun bleached branch, watching the morning unfold.

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A Pied Bushchat sat with its tiny treat.

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We followed the trail that seemed to stretch for miles, hoping to find the migrant flycatchers hiding ahead. Partway through the walk a fellow birdwatcher mentioned a recent sighting of the Blue-bearded Bee-eater, and our focus shifted instantly to this new objective.

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The Blue tailed Bee eater posed with its catch, an unexpected rarity. Although rare, our hearts were set on the Blue bearded.

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The Golden Orb web Spider held its place in a sunlit web, adding a different kind of beauty to the walk.

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The kite had moved far away now, sharing a bare tree with a relaxed White throated Kingfisher.

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True to its name, the Asian Green Bee-eater paused with a bee it had just caught.

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The trail brightened for a moment as a Crimson Rose hovered over the flowers.

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By now hours had slipped away. We had started from home at 5:30 in the morning, and at 12:10 the trail at last echoed with the puppy like bark of the Blue-bearded Bee-eater. Listen to the call that changed everything for us.

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The bird showed itself for a moment and was gone before we could click. We stayed put for fifteen minutes. At 12:33 the assassins finally locked onto the target.

The assassins did what they came for. Shots were fired. Mission complete.

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By the time we wrapped up, it hit us that we had skipped breakfast, forgotten to carry water, and walked far more than we planned. But with the Blue-bearded Bee-eater finally in the bag, none of it mattered. The assassins had completed their mission — tired, thirsty, hungry, but absolutely satisfied.

Thanks for reading. If this little adventure made you smile, drop a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

The rubythroat and the rest of Hoskote

The migration season is now in full swing, and every lake around Bangalore seems to be hosting its own international conference of winged immigrants. Hoskote has been in the news this week, thanks to the sudden appearance of a rare Himalayan Rubythroat, which created quite a buzz among birdwatchers.

I’ll admit, I was a little hesitant about visiting on a Saturday. A rarity like that is enough to summon half of Bangalore’s birdwatchers, photographers, and tripods. And sure enough, when I reached, the crowd confirmed my fears. So I let the rubythroat rest for a quieter day and turned my attention to the many other beauties the lake had to offer, and they did not disappoint.

A few days later, on Tuesday, I returned to Hoskote. This time the lake had exhaled, the chaos had thinned, and the calmness had returned. In that serene setting, the Himalayan Rubythroat finally showed itself, making the wait absolutely worth it.

Here are the photos from both visits.

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The first bird of the morning greeted me even before I stepped out of the car. A Eurasian Hoopoe was calmly foraging by the roadside, completely unaware of my arrival. I stopped the car as quietly as I could and reached for my camera, but, by the time I was ready, the bird had already sensed the sudden attention. It lifted off and settled on a nearby tree, its crest fully raised as if to say it had caught me in the act. That brief moment of alarm made the sighting even more striking.

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It was a cloudy morning, and the light was muted. The sun peeked out for a moment, and I managed to capture it before it slipped back behind the clouds.

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A Jacobin Cuckoo was sitting deep inside the bushes at first, and I almost missed it. After a few minutes it stepped out into the open and gave me a clear and satisfying shot.

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As soon as I spotted this Common Cuckoo, it took off and landed on a distant branch. It stayed there long enough for a record shot.

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A long tailed shrike also appeared for a moment and then vanished just as quickly, leaving me with this one fleeting shot.

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There was no dearth of black drongos that morning. They seemed to be everywhere, and each one posed as if it owned the place.

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I finally reached the spot where the Himalayan Rubythroat had been reported, and the crowd was enormous. I did not wait for the bird. Instead, I found myself more amused by the sheer number of hopeful sighters gathered there.

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I decided I would return on a weekday, when the rush would be far less. For the moment, my attention was drawn to a calm little pied bushchat perched on a cut tree stump, as if completely unaware of the chaos nearby.

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A small group of rosy starlings huddled together on a branch, enjoying the soft morning light. They looked completely at ease and made for a lovely frame.

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A lone rosy starling sat on a dry perch, showing off its soft peach tones in the gentle light. It looked quite regal all by itself.

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Just as I was about to move on, this rosy starling sprang into the air with its wings fully open, giving me a perfect parting shot.

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At this point, I met a young man with binoculars who was almost half my age. He suggested we walk toward an adjacent water body. On the way, our first sighting was this beautiful Indian roller perched in the soft morning light.

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Perhaps the most endearing sighting of the day was this Indian Spotted Eagle, sitting proudly on a bare branch and soaking in the morning light.

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It sat calmly for a while and then took to the air, giving me a wonderful view of its broad wings as it glided past.

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Farther ahead, it settled again, this time sharing the tree with a black kite. It was a pleasant surprise to see both the eagle and the kite sitting together so peacefully.

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A rose ringed parakeet sat tall on a lone pole. It added a nice splash of colour to the morning.

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A long-tailed shrike balanced on another bare pole, looking alert and slightly puffed up in the cold.

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A pair of tricolored munias were happily munching on the ripe paddy and millet crop. A farmer nearby was drumming on a can to shoo them away, but the munias seemed in no hurry to leave.

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After quite a long walk, we reached a small pond where a lone Asian Openbill was feeding quietly. It was sharing the space with a Red wattled Lapwing, which was patrolling the edges in its usual restless style.

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We sat quietly on the rock, waiting for any bird to show up, and, as if out of pity, two stunning red avadavats arrived and put on a brief but beautiful display.

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A female pied bushchat watched us from the top of a dry pole.

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An Oriental Garden Lizard peeked out from the rocks, pausing just long enough for a couple of frames.

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We checked Google Maps and spotted another waterbody nearby, so, after a short trek through some rough terrain, we finally reached Legumenahalli Lake.

A Pied Kingfisher greeted us at Legumenahalli Lake, hovering and diving with its trademark confidence.

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It skimmed the water with perfect precision, and a moment later it even caught a fish.

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A Jerdons bushlark sat on the wire for a moment.

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An Indian Pond Heron sat on a dark perch, and, for a moment, it had me thinking it was a bittern.

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We were exhausted after the long walk, so when a fellow birder offered us a lift back to Hoskote Lake, we happily hopped in.

Back at Hoskote Lake, we saw a Crested Honey Buzzard circling above us.

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A Shikra perched silently on a bare branch far away.

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That was the last sighting of the day, and I headed back, determined to return on Tuesday to look for the rubythroat.

Came back on Tuesday to find the place empty, except for cows, who clearly had no interest in rare migrants.

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After a brief wait, the Himalayan Rubythroat arrived, looked around, and posed like a seasoned model doing a quick cameo.

After a couple of photos, I quietly left it to its morning and headed home.

It had been a long and rewarding couple of days at Hoskote. Tuesday’s calm morning, the quiet fields, and that brief appearance of the Himalayan rubythroat wrapped up the visit perfectly. Moments like these remind me why birding continues to pull me out of bed before sunrise and why every trip, no matter how familiar the place, writes its own little story.

If you enjoyed the photos and the experience, do leave a comment below. I would love to hear your thoughts.