Lake update

The birds are definitely less in number this year and it is worrying us a great deal. The lake has clean rain water, level is fairly good, as deep as 12 feet or more at places. The 3000 fingerlings we'd introduced last Sept. have multiplied and can been seen at times especially around noon just below the surface of the water. 

The resident birds, though few, are constantly perching on the different dead trees we'd planted in the lake bed,  From Jan. 2014 many more new species of birds were spotted at various times and yet, the total number has not gone up. Bird experts tell us to be patient. We are trying very, very hard to follow their advice!

Too often in the recent months, the rainfall was just enough to water the plants, but the rain today evening has increased the level considerably. Since it poured while we were present, we had the pleasure of seeing the water gush in from the inlets. This year several of the trees have started maturing and flowering. The latest is the Shisham (Dalbergia Sissoo) in the viewing deck. This is the tree adopted Anjana and her friends by giving to PNLIT the money Anjana would have spent on Dussehra. This Haldi kumkum tree  is flowering profusely. It is a mild fragrance that is attracting a number of bees. Read more about Shisham here.

One dilemma that we faced was with a Champak Tree sapling (Michelia Champaka, Sampige in Kannada)  we'd planted in July. Its new and tender leaves are a favourite of the Tailed Jay caterpillar and the leaves are full of these fat, green creatures! Do we save the tree or let the caterpillar become butterflies? We decided on the latter and left them alone for, after all the tree will sprout new leaves. In any case, this is the way of nature, isn't it? 

Deepavali greetings to all!

Usha

From fire to moth

Couldn't resist the morbid pun in the subject line. :-) On a more serious note - several of you have expressed concern about the birds affected by y/day's fire. Well, we didn't have the heart to inspect the burnt areas in the lake bed today more so because the adult birds would have fled leaving behind the chicks and eggs. 

We have to let nature take its course and do the repair work. A few showers will help. We got the gardeners to mend the fence, water the burned down trees and shrubs in the hope that the roots would be revived and perhaps new leaves would sprout. To prevent a repeat incident, the gardeners have begun controlled burning as advised by the fire men. They are collecting the dry weeds away from the trees and burning them in small piles. Till we raise money for a composting unit, we'll unfortunately have to follow this practice to prevent arson.

Prime Jyothi from Brigade Gardenia, an avid butterfly enthusiast and photographer had come to the lake today morning to see the damage caused by the fire. He came again in the evening and spotted some Oleander Hawk Moth caterpillars. Not surprisingly, they were found on the Nerium Oleander in the garden near the Gazebo. We had planted the Oleander and the other plants there specifically to attract butterflies and moths. 

Pics: Prime Jyothi

The Oleander Hawk Moth is apparently a large sized moth found in Africa and Asia and is said to be a migratory species. For more info see here.

Usha