My first birdwatching expedition| Blog by Eshaan,10, Bangalore

Hello my name is Eshaan Arshad. I am 10 years old and have been a bird enthusiast since my grandpa, Shankru Thatha got me my first pet budgerigar bird home sometime after the first wave of covid ended. Let’s not get into the story of my pet birds but get into the story of my first bird watching experience.

It all started on the 29th of July, a Saturday. I was doing a science project when my mother said she received information about a bird watching expedition that was taking place the next day and that she was going to sign us up for it. I couldn’t believe my ears! I got pumped up and over excited about it. But a few hours later, my mother told me that we couldn’t join them because the maximum number of participants had exceeded already and that no more entries would be taken. I felt really sad. My mother did not give up on that easily.  She called the person and asked him to reconsider the registration but that did not work. The organizer mentioned that a large crowd would disturb the birds. Again as a last try, she messaged on the whatsapp number provided. She mentioned that I am a bird enthusiast and that it would be very helpful if I was allowed to be a part of the bird walk and that we would be very quiet and co-operative in every way to have a smooth bird watch. She repeatedly requested him until he finally allowed us.  I was very very happy.

I kept everything ready for the next day. I packed a water bottle, a pair of binoculars, ear muffs etc.

The next day, we woke up at 5:00 a.m. My elder sister Ahana, my grandma Indu Ajji and I got ready and my mom drove us to the Dorekere lake just in time, even though Google Maps led us to a dead end.  There were roadblocks but the people around that area helped us with directions. We had not missed much and we managed to get into the group. The person with whom my mom had spoken, was none other than Mr. J.N. Prasad  who has been a keen naturalist and a bird watcher for the last four decades. Other than us, there were morning walkers too.

We saw many exotic insects. We saw crickets

grasshopper

butterflies

two types of spiders

and

dragon flies.

I also saw a funny insect called the “Assassin bug” .  When this bug kills an insect, it carries the dead insect on its back and goes around.

There was more than one person to explain to us and we got a detailed description of everything.

We walked 300 meters and it took us two hours to cover such a small distance. We got to see either a bird or an insect or a tree to stop by and talk about. 

We first saw a black bird skimming over the water. Mr. J N  Prasad, told us it was a Great Cormorant. We saw many more birds. They were:-

• Great Cormorant
• Spot- billed Duck
• White breasted Kingfisher
• Purple Moorhen / Purple Swamphen
• Painted Snipe(a rare bird)
• Anhinga / Darter
• Little egret
• The Ibis
• Grey heron

There were other two bird watchers who had spotting scopes which they set up for us to have a closer look at the birds. This helped us a lot.

That’s me!

This was my first bird walk and I enjoyed it very much. I had missed taking a book and pen. Mr. J N Prasad gave us tips about how to be a bird watcher, what all we need to carry along, what basic equipment can help us get a closer look, what kind of clothes we need to wear during bird watching etc. He explained about different shapes of the birds, the structure of their beaks, colourful feathers, migratory instincts, building nests , breeding, caring for chicks, hunting for food, different kinds of bird feet and legs, webbing of feet etc. This was very informative.  We were also told about flightless birds.

We all stood for group pictures.  We thanked everyone for their time and knowledge they shared with us not only about birds but also about insects and trees we came across.

Seen here are myself,  my mother, my sister Ahana, Mr. J N Prasad and two other bird enthusiasts who were classmates in high school and had started bird watching together since then.