Going Birdwatching

So, I have an uncle who’s been a huge ‘birder’ for as long as I can remember. A man I deeply respect and I now found myself wondering, what on earth could have this man so enamoured by these avian creatures.

I talked to him and asked him to take me birding one day, and that’s how I ended up waking up today at 6 in the morning to go to Hoskote Lake.

I gotta say, birdwatching is fun.

Now I need to put some context first, the day before was a very long conversation between me and my uncle where he went over the wonderful stories that take place in nature. I, am not particularly inclined towards nature in the slightest, at least I wasn’t. Like everyone else, I also had my Nat Geo phase but those days were long behind me.

Now the stories my uncle told me captured me. He spoke of the treacherous koel and how it sneaks its eggs onto other birds’ nests. He spoke of why a coppersmith barbet is called that. He spoke of the peregrine falcons back in Chennai that remarkably always managed to end up in the same perch year after year.

So I was off, to Hoskote Lake, armed with a Canon Powershot, the Merlin app and an excitement that had only been curiosity up until now.

And the verdict? It was great. I felt truly present, squinting my eyes at every branch, my ears perked up at every new call and song, I was fully alert.

I took some pictures.

The aftermath of all this is I now randomly pull out the Merlin app every time I hear a bird chirp.