Kere Hopping in Mysore district

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And it was yet again the time for our yearly pilgrimage to pray that we have a wonderful year travelling as much as we can. This time around we got greedy and decided to grab as much as possible. So whilst the majority of Bangalore crowd went bar hopping till wee hours, we woke up before sunrise on the first day of the year 2017 and went Kere Hopping!!

Kere for the non kannadigas translates to lake. And the first stop over was the Linghambudhi Kere At Mysore. A temporary home to migrant birds, it was a sight every bird watcher dreams of. Make sure that you cover all the sides of the lakes including the bund road to sight as many birds as possible.


Yellow wagtail


Common Kingfisher



Northern Shoveler Male and female


















Some of the birds we spotted included
Yellow wagtail
Indian Silver bill
Clamorous Reed warbler
Common iora
Common Kingfisher
Purple sunbird
Black headed ibis
Wood sandpiper.
Black winged stilt
barn swallow
Rosy starling
Red napped Ibis
little ringed plover
Spot billed pelican
Eurasian coot
Pond heron
Northern Shoveler

Picnic lunches are the best option when one wants to kere hop. The clean air, perfect weather, good company and sight of our feathered friends  can make even the simplest lunches worth every bite. It was already early afternoon by the time we started to the next lake. we did not have much hope as it was an odd time for bird watching. But we were not disappointment at Kannali Kere Mandya. After spotting glossy ibis, grey heron spot billed duck and few others in a lily swamp we headed to our next pit stop.




Glossy Ibis


Barn Swallow

Sooley kere was a perfect place to take a leisurely walk along its bund. Though it was late afternoon we had the company of few birds. We promised ourselves we would return to this place someday and enjoy its sight early in the morning. A perfect end to our short trip away from home doing what we love. Here is to more such wonderful trips!!

January 2017
Mysore district Karnataka
The Travel Connection: Practice makes perfect
Tip: Explore all possible accessible locations around the lakes.



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