Nature watch: 2013-09 1st and 7th Bhandup

On 30th Aug was discussing with 2 of my friends (Abhijit and Rohit) and where we can go birding.

We shorted 2 places Bhandup or Talawe. Abhijit staying near Bhandup and free on Sunday morning decided to do a quick outing to the Bhandup pumping station.

On his return he came back with reports of blue tailed bee eaters in quite good numbers and we immediately finalized on Bhandup as birding spot for evening. Ritesh Bagul also joined us and 4 of us reached Bhandup by 4:30pm.

On 7th Sept decided to do a morning trip with my parents and Ritesh.

At the entrance itself we were welcomed by the calls of yellow eyed babblers and Baya Weavers.

There was a nesting colony at the entrance itself.

Little ahead started seeing the munias and white cheeked bulbuls.

Got some pics of beautiful yellow flowers (id please?)

Once on the tar road we saw the ashy and plain prinas in the grass

and Abhijit immediately spotted the painted grasshoper. What a beautiful insect it is!!

It was present very near that spot even after a week.

The blue tailed bee eaters were very much there and flying around.

At one point there were 3 of them sitting on the same tree and others sitting on poles and shrubs in the grassland.

But they were missing on 7th of sept.

A small water pond has got created in the center of the grassland before the main waterbody.

There was a white breasted waterhen, and many pond herons in this water pond.

Later in the evening and on 7th saw baya weavers roosting and collecting nesting materials from the grass growing in the middle of this pond.

Decided to check the waterbody but nothing in it.

There many redshanks and pond herons in the waterbody on the left.

Also along the mangroves on this road we got very near shots of ashy prinias chasing each other and

White cheeked bulbul with a juicy grub

A lone grey heron on the 7th in the middle of the large waterbody with dark clouds in the background made a beautiful setting.

Baya weavers were building nest on babul tree next to the path and red munias and baya weavers were quenching their thirst with the water collected on the path.

Here we also saw very briefly the wire tailed swallows collecting mud.

On the mangroves and behind in the grass we saw scaly breasted munias, ashy prinia and white cheeked bulbul.

A pied crested cuckoo was seen around the tree on which the bayas were building their nest many times. Not sure if it was trying to find a nest to lay its egg.

Up in the sky a brahminy kite was circling searching for food and

as the evening of 1st started to set in the night herons were seen flying

with also a little green heron making a small flight and vanishing in the grass near the canal.

Spotbilled ducks, spoonbills, painted storks, black tailed godwits and curlew sandpiper were seen flying past.

Also other winter migrants also showed up on 7th of sept which were not seen on the 1st and these were the chestnut tailed starling and the long tailed shrike.