A morning in Nandi Hills

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Last weekend, I was at Nandi hills, a short 50km drive from Bangalore, hoping to witness the magnificent foggy mornings that usually happen in the winters and rainy seasons. Not to disappoint me, it was indeed foggy, cool and beautiful. Cold breeze on my face is something I always long for and that's just what I got when I went up. I was hoping to find a spectacle like this while I was there, and though it did not happen, I still got to see clouds above and below me, magically segregated by a line of blue sky!


Cloud formation on the hill


A typical foggy morning on Nandi hills. This is an old image made during the monsoons two years ago. It was cold, windy, foggy and very very beautiful

Also see: Weekend getways from Bangalore

I waited till 9am looking for cloud formations, and was ready to return when it did not happen. It is on my way back that I noticed a small strip of paper oscillating on a tree, and wondered if it is a pfc. I went to have a closer look, it indeed turned out to be a paradise flycatcher(pfc). I was lucky to watch it for nearly an hour. Sometimes I got as close as a couple of meters to it and watched its acrobatics - flying around with its tail taking some time to follow it! I had never had such close interaction with this beautiful bird.


The Paradise Flycatcher has an amusingly long tail. When it flies, it looks as if the tail is lagging behind and trying hard to catchup - a very funny sight!


This was my first ever sighting of a Blue Capped Rock Thrush, and he made sure I will remember this sighting, by posing nicely for a photograph!

As I went behind the flycatcher, I was also treated with some more sightings like the Grey Wagtail, Blue Capped Rock Thrush, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Purple Rumped Sunbirds and a few more species. I managed to make decent images of the Blue Capped Rock Thrush and Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, but the pfc which was hanging around me for a long time never gave me a chance to make a good picture of it.


A Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

What if I did not get to see the magical cloud formation I was looking for, the day still rocked, thanks to the great weather and the pretty birds.

About Nandi Hills


Nandi Betta is a hill 1200m above sea level and is just a 50km drive from Bangalore. It is incredibly beautiful in winter mornings and all through the monsoon days as gets filled with fog and spreads a mystical magic on the hill. To reach Nandi Hills, take the 6 lane Bellary road towards the new Bangalore International Airport and drive on the highway till Devanahalli. Continue on the highway and after a 5 minute drive from Devanahalli, you will see a left turn which takes you to Nandi Hills. For those who want to stay through the night, government accommodation(typical PWD guesthouse) is available in limited numbers but no other options. Food is available on the hill top but is very basic and don't have high expectations.