Birding on a foggy morning at Nandi Hills

October 19, 2014

What a foggy day it was yesterday at Nandi Hills. We could barely make out what was in front of us. Not a good day for birding at all.

How our priorities have changed! Any other time, before we got hooked on to birding, we would have been thrilled to see the white blanket of fog. After all, what could be more romantic than the mist shrouding us on the hill top, away from the bustling world, and the fresh dew drops on leaves and flowers?

But while things had changed for us, it was still the same for the crowd that visited Nandi Hills. The crowd was larger than ever, at that early hour, and their senses seemed to have heightened in the midst of the fog. For, they were louder, their laughter more raucous, and some even attempted to imitate the roar of tigers. I did not mind that much – fun quotient is different for different people. But the thing that irked me most was the car stereos blasting loud music, quite spoiling the beautiful ambience of the morning.

Anyways, I digress. We went around our usual jaunts in the area, looking for our winged friends. They seemed to have decided not to make their appearances till the fog lifted. Yet, we could hear their songs from the tree tops. I almost had a creak on my neck looking up for long stretches, trying to locate the source of the song. Not that we could make out much in the thick fog. Most of the photographs that we clicked of birds were vague outlines and silhouettes. It was a frustrating identify-the-bird-from-its- shape game that we played that morning.

We packed up relatively early that day. For the first time I had forgotten to carry a jacket for my son and although he didn’t complain of the cold, I could not help getting anxious. As if on cue, the fog lifted just as we pulled out of the area.

And so, I leave you with a few images of the foggy morning at Nandi Hills. Have left out most images of birds for obvious reasons (eg. the olive-backed pipits, tawny-bellied babblers). Hope you will visit Nandi Hills soon and have a nice time out there! Do take care about the noise pollution, though.