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The Elusive Shama photographed in the neighbourhood forest On the 27th of November 2021, three of my friends and I visited the BM Kaval Agara forest for the first time, for a session of bird watching and bird photography. When I heard the term ‘forest’ I thought it was going to be a long drive but within 45 minutes we had reached the destination. This enchanted forest is within 25 kilometres from the Silicon Valley of India - Bangalore. As soon as we got down from the car I started to feel like I have reached home. The place is filled with life. The early morning light rays which were fighting against the canopy to reach the ground gave the woods a magical look.   The sight of the lush green forest, the smell of decaying leaf, the sound of the burbling streams on the forest floor and the feel when a cool breeze brushes past your skin makes it feel like it is heaven. We could hear hundreds of birds calling, crying and singing to their hearts content in this beautiful habitat.  ...

The Ghost Crab   We all have been to beaches enjoying the warm sand, cool waves and the beautiful view. The same beaches are a home to thousands of other living creatures and one amongst them is the master of hide and seek, the Sand Crab.  The Sand crabs are semiterrestrial crabs of the sub family Ocypodine. The colour of these crabs blend in well with the colour of the sand due to which they are popularly known as Ghost Crabs. They are extremely quick and are good in making hide outs by digging the sand due to which it makes it harder to find them even though they are present in thousands.  These Crabs have four pairs of legs, one pair of claws and stalked eyes that can swivel 360 degrees which helps them to sense danger coming from any direction providing them security from the eyes of pred-ators. Grabbing a sight of the sand crab is truly a pleasure. The write up with the picture was published in MIC Weekly AM PLUS  

B angalore, the capital of the south Indian state, Karnataka, was once home to 1000 lakes says sources but as of today there are only 189 lakes present in the state and the main cause is Development and urbanisation. On an average of 25 years, Bangalore receives 877.8 mm of rainfall every year and until a few years ago it never faced the problem of floods during monsoon. Yes, flooded roads and never-ending traffic are major problems for the city dwellers during monsoon but there are other problems which may seem minor to the majority of the population but these problems have a major impact on the natural ecosystem. Let us take the example of Saul Kere Lake. Saul Kere Lake is situated in Sarjapur which is the heart of Urban Bangalore. There are 200 different species of birds, 4 species of snakes and other interesting urban wildlife which have been recorded in the lake. Even though the lake is situated in the middle of the city, the habitat of the lake is suitable for many species of mig...

Every day when we wake up, we are presented with problems to solve and hurdles to cross in order to enjoy the basic necessities of life.  In this picture the buildings represent the problems and the hurdles, the rising sun represents the living beings overcoming the problems and the food court represents the basic necessities we fight to enjoy. The picture was published in Am Plus with the title Picture of the Week Screen Shot from Am Plus  

Cattle Egret enjoying its time in the fake rain created by sprinklers The Grounds at End Point, Manipal look like hives of thriving bees in the mornings and evenings filled with enthusiastic footballers and cricketers. Most would assume that the ground seems dead or dry if they looked at it in the afternoon, but the afternoon is when the grass on the field is watered using jet sprays and it becomes a perfect playground for birds in the scorching Manipal Heat. This picture and write up were published in the Manipal Institute of communications weekly paper - AM PLUS Screenshot from Am Plus 

Family of lesser whistling ducks I turned my head slowly as the car took off, looking at the home in which I had spent my entire life. The thought of coming to the hostel never haunted me because I never imagined that my own house would become a vacation destination. As I lay on the bed of Manipal Lake observing this happy family of lesser Whistling ducks through the viewfinder of my camera, my mind swam into the countless memories of me and my beloved family.  I started to realise how much of an impact moving out of my home had on me.  I started to dream that these ducks were incarnations of my family. Our mother showing us the path from the front, me and my sister in between and our father supporting and guiding us from the back. I could hear the laughs, the grunts and the conversations we would have had if we were actually those ducks but it was all just in my mind. The cold from the moist ground, the hard pebbles, the sharp thorns, and the itchy insects made it a nightmare...

This is a summer night I am standing in the open  Two of my thoughts are having a fight They are both using their might The Stars are cheering with their twinkling light The fight is to see which of them is Right  One says money is more important to reach the height  The other says money doesn’t matter keep your relations tight

  My Experiences In The Journey Of The Great Back-yard Bird Count (GBBC) 2022 - Aaditya   G.Tili What is GBBC The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) was initiated in the year 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology along with the National Audubon Society and has been continued every year in the month of February. The GBBC was the first Online Citizen-Science Project (also referred to as community science). The focus of the project was to collect data on wild birds and create a real-time snapshot of bird populations.   My Experiences during the GBBC When it was finally announced that the GBBC will be conducted from the 18th to 21st of February in 2022, I was extremely excited and very glad because my End Semester Exams ended on the 16th of Feb and I had Vacations until the 21st of February.   GBBC says that the participants can look for birds in less than 15 minutes and Can look for birds for one or more days during the bird count which lasts for 4 days. This gave me the...