The Birdwatchers' Field Club of Bangalore is a

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

club in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

founded in the 1970s.

Activities

The group has been active in conducting mid-winter

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

censuses. The club was also involved in a survey of wetlands around Bangalore in collaboration with the Forest Department of the

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

state and was involved in a comprehensive survey of water quality parameters including chemical, physical and biological status. The results of this survey helped in the creation of action plans for wetland

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

and have helped in highlighting the roles of wetlands in cities.

Meetups

An informal organization, it meets every second Sunday of the month at 7:30 am in the Lalbagh Glass House. No membership fees or other formalities are needed to be a part of the group. Other trips happen at the Hebbal Lake on the 1st Sunday of every month at 7:30 am and near

Bannerghatta National Park Bannerghatta National Park is a national park in India, located near Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded in 1970 and declared as a national park in 1974. In 2002, a small portion of the park became a zoological garden, the Bannerghatta Biologi ...

on the 3rd Sunday of every month at 6:30 am. Intimations for the trips are made on the email discussion group. 4th Sunday around Sarjapur.

Birds in the region

Nearly 390 species of birds have been recorded from the Bangalore region of which around 186 species may be seen with ease.

Birding locations

Some of the important birding locations in and around Bangalore include

Parks

Lal Bagh Lalbagh Botanical Garden or simply Lalbagh (), is an botanical garden in Bangalore, India, with an over 200-year history. First planned and laid out during the dalavaiship of Hyder Ali and later managed under numerous British Superintendents ...

Botanical gardens - provides garden and wetland habitats *

- scrub and forest habitat (permission required)

Lakes and water bodies

* Thippagondanahalli reservoir - (30 km away) deep water lake with open countryside (permission required) * Hebbal Lake - wetland with numerous waterbirds, especially good in winter * Puttenahalli Lake Lake - near

Yelahanka Yelahanka is now a suburb of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka and one of the zones of BBMP. It is the oldest part of present Municipal Bengaluru (Bangalore) city and is in the north of the city. It is Nadaprabhu Kempegowda I, of the Yelaha ...

- small waterbody with surprising birdlife * Puttenahalli Lake - JP Nagar 7th Phase, near Brigade Millennium - maintained b
Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust

Others

* Nandi Hills - (50 km away) a good habitat for

thrushes The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flyca ...

and forest birds *

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...

Campus (permission required) *

The Valley School ''For schools of similar names, see Valley School (disambiguation)'' The Valley School is a co-educational private day school 20 km south of Bangalore city in India (). The school was founded in 1978 by philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. ...

- scrub and forest habitat (private property) * UAS-GKVK campus - scrub and agricultural land (permission required) * UAS-Hebbal campus - agricultural and garden land (permission required) * Turahalli reserve forest * Muninagara, Bannerghatta Outskirts * Ragihalli, Bannerghatta Outskirts * Shivanahalli, Bannerghatta Outskirts * Gulakamale and TK falls

References

External links

Birds and Wildlife of Bangalore email discussion groupAnnotated Checklist of the birds of Bangalore (1994)Birding in IndiaBirds of Karnataka