Hope in many forms

The fire that raged through the lake on the 16th of March almost killed our spirit. By burning several of our trees, it had made a mockery of our effort to increase the green cover in the area. The sun's heat, rapidly evaporating the water in the lake, sapped our enthusiasm as well. Whatever little water was present was getting covered with the Salvinia Molesta. Our many efforts to mobilize skilled labour to remove the Salvinia were making no headway. Attempts to get more residents to strengthen our effort drew a blank as well and only our regular volunteers attended our recent assessment meeting. Despite all these, we couldn't throw up our hands in despair. Not yet at least. Not while our trees and shrubs are growing so well. Not while our resident birds are, well, still resident. 

We got our gardeners to water the plants every day buying a tanker load of water every three or four days (we still do not have a reliable water source at the lake) in the hope of reviving them and they did! The ground around the trees may be black and the few dried leaves cling obstinately to the branches but new leaves are sprouting!! Fresh, green and tiny but spelling hope and promise of a new beginning. 

Peepal sprouting new leaves 

Flame of the Forest sprouting new leaves

Two trees, the identity of which had puzzled us resolved the issue once and for all by flowering for the first time. The trumpet shaped yellow coloured flower tinged with honey brown is unmistakably Gmelina arborea (Shivani in Kannada, Gamhar in Hindi). The other is the Tabebuia rosea (Pink Trumpet Tree), and there are two of them growing tall in the corner near the encroachment, adjacent the main road from Brigade Millennium. 

Gmelina arborea (yellow flowers on tree) and Bougainvillea (pink flowers)  

Today morning, birder Srinivas called excitedly to say that while passing by he'd spotted a Painted Stork in the lake. What? Despite the little water and the salvinia? This had to be seen to be believed. We rushed to the lake and what do you know? There was indeed one big Painted Stork foraging for fish! Giving him/her stiff competition were a large sized Egret (Intermediate?) and a Grey Heron. 

Painted Stork foraging for fish

Three large birds - Painted Stork, Intermediate Egret, Grey Heron

The things that give us such great pleasure may seem trivial and small to others but may the lake continue to surprise and enthuse us all!

Usha

Fire at the lake

While residents were celebrating Holi, we were battling a fire at the lake. Today at about 2.30 p.m., we spotted smoke and rushed to the lake. Some miscreant, we think, must have flung a lighted cigarette or beedi on the dry grass on the revetment. It took just that simple action to set off a conflagration which spread not just on the slope but also along the dry areas of the lake bed. Today being Sunday, our gardeners were off duty and the home guard it seemed had decided to take a holiday. 

We called the fire brigade and got the flame doused but by then quite a number of our trees and shrubs had suffered. Our gardeners have been clearing the slope but not the lake bed because here's where birds like Ashy Prinia and Bulbul frequent. This was also the place we'd spotted the Bay backed Shrike a few months ago, rare for an urban setting, as mentioned in our post here. 

Even as the fire raged and smoke billowed, a flock of kites hovered around. We do not know how many of the Prinias and Bulbuls and other small birds perished in the fire. All the water birds had moved to the far end, away from danger so they are safe. 

A request to each one of you who uses the lake even as a short cut - if you see anyone smoking a cigarette or beedi, ask them to put it out at once. Show them the burnt grass. Please wait to see that they indeed put out their cigarette or beedi. Thank them for saving the birds from another fire. 

The lake belongs to all of us. Help us take care of it. 

Usha